chi too, 1981–2026
Malaysian artist chi too, known for his multidisciplinary and community-focused work, passed away on March 7, 2026, at age 44. A self-taught artist, he was a key figure in Malaysia's alternative art scene, creating works across painting, performance, and installation that addressed identity and societal issues through a blend of humor and seriousness.
The WOW SIDE shopping centre in Fiumicino, Italy, has launched an open call for emerging artists as part of its PostArt project, now in its second edition. The 2026 theme is "La Voce" (The Voice), inviting artists to create works during a residency inside the shopping centre from June 26 to 28, 2026. The call is open until May 30, 2026, and selected works will be exhibited in the centre's galleries.
Leoni d’Oro della Biennale votati dal pubblico? 7 motivi per cui non possono funzionare
On April 30, 2026, the International Jury of the Venice Art Biennale resigned en masse. In response, the Biennale Foundation hastily announced a new initiative called the "Visitor Lions" (Leoni dei Visitatori), where paying visitors would vote to award the Golden Lions for best artist and best national participation. The voting system would rely on ticket tracking to verify attendance at the main venues, the Giardini and the Arsenale. However, just a week before the public opening, no further details had been released, raising numerous practical concerns about the mechanism's feasibility.
A new national labor contract for Italy's cultural sector has been signed. The Federculture National Labor Contract, finalized on April 30, 2026, includes a 7.5% increase in minimum wages (effective December 1, 2024), doubled welfare contributions for healthcare, and a simplified job classification system. The agreement was reached between Federculture and major unions including FP CGIL, CISL FP, UIL FPL, and UIL PA, with negotiations for the 2025-2027 term set to resume on May 26.
In Romagna da oltre un secolo c’è un Carnevale “serio” di primavera. La storia dei carri di gesso e di pensiero
A small town in Romagna, Casola Valsenio, has been hosting a unique spring festival for 125 years, featuring massive allegorical floats made of plaster and wood. Unlike traditional carnivals, this event—called the "serious carnival"—takes place in late April/early May and focuses on social and political themes. The floats, up to seven meters long and nine meters high, are built by local youth and paraded twice (day and night) with performers frozen in tableau vivant poses. A jury, this year chaired by Roberto Cantagalli, director of the MAR museum in Ravenna, awards a winner.
Gli animali che siamo. La nuova metamorfosi dell’appartamento-showroom Casaornella a Milano
Interior designer Maria Vittoria Paggini has unveiled the 2026 edition of Casaornella, her apartment-showroom in Milan's Via Conca del Naviglio 10, during Design Week. Titled "L'animale sociale" (The Social Animal) with the subtitle "Nessuno mi può giudicare" (Nobody Can Judge Me), the space is completely restructured each year. For this edition, Paggini removed all doors to create a fluid, open-plan layout, using curtains for privacy. The project explores themes of authenticity and human relationships in the digital age, inspired by Italian pop songs from Mina to Luigi Tenco, which form the exhibition's soundtrack.
Vedere il mondo con gli occhi dei ventenni. Alle Gallerie d’Italia di Torino le foto degli studenti IED raccontano le urgenze del nostro tempo
The Gallerie d’Italia in Turin is hosting "The Searchlights," a public portfolio review and exhibition featuring the work of 18 photography students from the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED). Part of the EXPOSED Torino Photo Festival, the event showcases photographic projects that tackle urgent contemporary issues including the climate crisis, mental health, and digital memory. Each student presents their work in custom-designed boxes on communal tables, facilitating direct dialogue between the young artists and the public.
CRÍTICA DE ARTE: ¿CLARIDAD O AUTORITARISMO MORAL?
The article is a critical essay examining the state of contemporary art production in Mexico, arguing it has become a privatized field designed to please wealthy elites and foreign collectors. It contends that art has shifted from being partly publicly funded to being driven by the market and private initiative, leading to a culture of self-censorship, precarity, and a desperate ambition for visibility and sales.
Kirkby Gallery has announced the opening of "ECHO," a solo exhibition by environmental artist Julie Dodd featuring sculptural works crafted from recycled and reclaimed materials. The show marks Dodd's first solo exhibition in a decade and showcases her practice of transforming discarded books and everyday objects into intricate forms that mimic natural patterns. Alongside the main event, the Entrance Gallery will feature "Supporting Households in Crisis," a research-based exhibition by Patricia McDonald-Holmes exploring food insecurity and community resilience in Knowsley.
Fei Tian College in Middletown, New York, opened its 2026 Fine Arts Exhibition on May 11, showcasing oil paintings and graphic design works by undergraduate and graduate students. The week-long show serves as the MFA in Oil Painting graduation showcase, featuring works that blend traditional techniques with personal themes such as innocence, spirituality, courage, compassion, and humanity. Faculty members curated the layout, but each graduate artist developed their own vision over a year-long creative process, with many spending at least a year on a single painting from concept to completion.
An art exhibition titled "In Full Bloom" is exploring themes of bodily autonomy through a lens of transformation. The show presents works that use floral and organic imagery to address issues of personal agency, identity, and physical change, likely featuring multiple contemporary artists whose pieces engage with the body as a site of political and personal expression.
The Orange Coast College Doyle Arts Pavilion hosted the annual Mass Appeal exhibit on May 7, 2026, featuring student artwork including paintings, drawings, photographs, and sculptures. The exhibition runs until May 21 and is described as having a political theme, with students engaging with current issues through their art.
The article examines a controversy that erupted at the Venice Biennale, centered on a work by an American artist that critics say appropriates Indigenous imagery without proper consultation or credit. The dispute has drawn sharp reactions from Native American artists and activists, who accuse the organizers of perpetuating colonial attitudes in the art world.
On May 1, an intergenerational art exhibition opened at Quest Art School and Gallery in Ontario, Canada, featuring works by female students and older women exploring resilience, healing, and community. Organized by Colibri - Francophone Women's Centre of Simcoe County in partnership with Quest and École secondaire Le Caron, the bilingual exhibit runs through the first week of May in recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Themes include identity, belonging, self-expression, and feminist history, with textile art highlighting women's historical exclusion from the art world and their use of crafts for empowerment.
The New Hampshire Art Association (NHAA) is presenting the Sue Werner Thoresen Juried Exhibition at its Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery in Portsmouth, opening May 1, 2026. The show features 73 artists whose works explore the experiences of women, girls, and gender-diverse people, inspired by the New Hampshire Women’s Foundation’s Status of Women in New Hampshire report. Themes include education, healthcare, economic opportunity, caregiving, safety, representation, and societal expectations, with attention to intersections of race, class, ability, sexuality, geography, and access to resources. The exhibition is held in memory of Sue Werner Thoresen (1944–2024), a longtime advocate for community well-being and gender equity, and includes awards in her honor.
Boston Art Review (BAR), an independent publication focused on contemporary art in Boston, has published an article titled 'ArtWonk: Budgets, Brouhahas, and Beowolff' that appears to cover a mix of art-world financial issues, controversies, and a reference to a figure or concept named 'Beowolff.' The piece is part of BAR's ongoing coverage of the local and broader art scene, including weekly happenings and programs.
The article titled 'SCULPTURE IN THE GARDEN: THE STORYTELLERS' appears to be about a sculpture exhibition or installation set in a garden context, focusing on narrative-driven works. The text is heavily corrupted and unreadable due to encoding issues, but the title and fragmentary content suggest it covers a group of sculptors or a specific show where artworks function as storytellers within a natural setting.
Four African women artists are featured in the exhibition "Bread, Roses and Colors" in Lucca, Italy, exploring themes of identity, rights, and social justice through their work. The show brings together diverse perspectives from the continent, highlighting the artists' personal and collective experiences.
An exhibition titled 'Artivism: Eco Art' has opened at the Batdorff Gallery, featuring works that blend artistic expression with environmental activism. The show highlights artists who use their practice to address ecological issues and promote sustainability through visual art.
Senior contemporary artist Parvathi Nayar's solo exhibition explores the interconnectedness of human histories and natural forces, focusing on themes of salt, memory, and ocean currents. The show features works that examine how human narratives are shaped by and inseparable from environmental elements, as described in a review by Deepa Natarajan Lobo.
The Springfield Art Museum, closed for over a year for renovations and expansion, is offering guided hard hat tours starting April 25, 2026. Led by Museum Director Nick Nelson and Foundation Executive Director Kate Francis, the free tours require advance registration and safety gear, and will run on select Saturdays through August and Tuesdays through September. The project includes a new special exhibition gallery, collection study room, and a naturalized creek and trail, with a second phase pending city funding.
An exhibition titled 'Hamro Sahas, Hamro Kala' (Our Courage, Our Art) is being held at Gallery 108 in Kathmandu, Nepal, from April 24 to April 30. Organized by Maiti Nepal in collaboration with Gallery 108, the show features 15 Mithila artworks that address dowry practices, child marriage, and gender inequality, while promoting women's empowerment and resilience. Each piece is accompanied by a written narrative to clarify its social message.
The Weisman Art Museum (WAM) has launched a new exhibition titled "The Stories We Tell," which investigates the provenance and acquisition histories of its permanent collection. The show features a diverse array of objects, ranging from ancient ceramics to contemporary works, while highlighting the institutional processes that bring art into a public museum setting.
The Hi-Desert Nature Museum has issued an open call for its 20th annual recycled art exhibition, titled "Wondrous Waste." Local artists and community members are invited to submit up to two original works created from repurposed trash and discarded materials. Submissions will be accepted between March 11 and March 14, with the exhibition scheduled to open to the public on March 21.
The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) and the ACLU of Texas have issued a formal challenge to the University of North Texas (UNT) following the abrupt closure of an exhibition by artist Victor “Marka 27” Quiñonez. The show, titled 'Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá', featured works exploring Latin American identity and immigration, including pieces critical of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Shortly after opening, the university shuttered the gallery, covered the windows, and terminated the artist's loan agreement without providing a clear explanation.
The Crown pub in Hastings Old Town is hosting an art exhibition to raise funds for Sustenance Food Charity in St Leonards. Local artists, ceramicists, photographers, and sculptors are invited to donate artwork on the theme of Food, Sharing and Community, with all pieces sold for £50 each and 100% of proceeds going to the charity, aiming to raise £1,000.
Rory Fitzgerald Bledsoe, a PhD candidate in media studies, operates the multimodal art gallery Space__Space in East Boulder. Her inaugural exhibition, "Phones are Heavy," concluded in January, and a new show, "Archive Fever Dream," is set to open in March. She previously ran a similar gallery, Space 121, out of her Boston apartment.
Cal Poly Pomona's Art Department is hosting a triennial exhibition at the Kellogg University Art Gallery, with an opening reception scheduled for February 3, 2026, from 4 to 6 p.m. The showcase features art and graphic work by department faculty and students, exploring themes of environment and nature through landscape, architecture, history, memory, spirituality, and contemporary culture.
The Guam Daily Post reports on an upcoming exhibition titled 'Sacred Waters' that will feature artists addressing environmental issues, particularly those affecting water resources. The exhibit aims to use visual art as a platform to raise awareness about ecological concerns, likely focusing on Guam and the broader Pacific region's environmental challenges.
The annual Surf Art exhibition at Port Noarlunga’s Arts Centre in South Australia has opened, celebrating the region’s surfing culture, lifestyle, history, and coastal environment. First held in 1993, the free exhibition runs until February 2 and features works in various media—painting, jewellery, mosaics, photography, glassware, textiles, and sculpture—by local and interstate artists. Coordinator Nerissa Galloway noted pieces referencing the recent algal bloom, including a painting by Jo Headon depicting a surfer in a hazmat suit. A separate exhibition, 'The Bloom,' will follow from February 6 to March 16, inviting community reflection on the algal bloom and coastal ecology.