Spanish woman who found fame for botching fresco restoration dies

Cecilia Giménez, the Spanish woman who accidentally became famous in 2012 for her botched restoration of a 19th-century fresco of Ecce Homo by Elías García Martínez, has died. The painting, housed in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church near Zaragoza, was severely deteriorated when Giménez, then 81, attempted to repaint it with the permission of the local priest. Her amateur restoration transformed the original into a viral internet meme dubbed "Monkey Christ," drawing global ridicule but also unexpected tourism to the quiet town of Borja.

Sarasota Art Museum exhibition highlights 40-year career of Janet Echelman

Sarasota Art Museum presents "Radical Softness," a retrospective exhibition spanning visual artist Janet Echelman's 40-year career. The show features her signature large-scale mesh sculptures suspended in cities worldwide, including the temporarily closed "Bending Arc" in St. Petersburg, alongside full-scale pieces and scale models. Echelman's work originated from a 1997 Fulbright lectureship in India, where lost paints led her to create art with fishing nets. The exhibition also includes her computer-programmed sculptures, which calculate angles, weight, and wind forces.

Former Guilford Student Selected For Prestigious Art Exhibition

Keoni Mcfee, a former Guilford High School student who graduated in 2025 and now attends the University of Hartford, has been selected for the 2025 AP Art and Design Digital Exhibition presented by the College Board. His artwork, drawn from his AP Drawing Sustained Investigation, explores the relationship between human growth and nature using mixed media, collage techniques, and wild-style graffiti. Mcfee is one of only 51 student artists chosen from over 82,000 portfolios submitted worldwide.

Michelle Cassar Cavarra Hosts First Charity Art Exhibition To Support Neighbour In Need

Maltese abstract artist and poet Michelle Cassar Cavarra is hosting her first charity art exhibition to raise funds for her neighbor Kate, who has been diagnosed with Tatton-Brown-Rahman syndrome, a rare condition affecting only about 400 people worldwide. The exhibition, sponsored by Marsovin, takes place at Ic-Civil Valletta and features Cassar Cavarra's unique abstract works, with proceeds going toward Kate's specialized equipment, therapies, and a home pool to aid her mobility.

Global share of contemporary art auction revenue 2024

A Statista chart published in April 2025 shows the geographical distribution of post-war and contemporary art auction revenue worldwide in 2024. The United States dominated with 48% of the combined post-war and contemporary market, followed by China (17%), the United Kingdom (15%), France (6%), Germany (2%), and other countries (11%). When broken down, the U.S. held 50% of post-war and 45% of contemporary revenue, while China captured 13% of post-war and 25% of contemporary revenue, reflecting its stronger position in the contemporary segment.

Artist studios in Kyiv damaged by Russian drone strike for second time

A Russian drone strike on November 14 damaged the studios of Nahirna22, a collective of young artists based at the Kyiv Institute of Automation, for the second time in three months. The attack, which killed six people in Kyiv, shattered wooden windows and left studios covered in glass and rubble, though plastic windows installed after a previous strike in August survived. Co-founder Marta Nyrkova expressed uncertainty about whether the building can be repaired, while the collective plans a fundraising event and a sale of works in Berlin.

Hyde Park youth artists show Promontory Point paintings in citywide exhibition

Hyde Park youth artists Via McEwen and Asha A. Edwards showcased their paintings at the annual Marwen Art Fair, held on October 17, 2025, at Marwen, a downtown Chicago nonprofit offering free art classes to low-income students. The exhibition featured over 400 works from more than 150 young artists. McEwen, a 16-year-old Jones College Prep student, displayed intimate scenes including a portrait with her girlfriend and a figure painting from a Marwen class. Edwards, 23, presented sunset depictions inspired by Promontory Point, reflecting her experiences in Hyde Park and Bronzeville.

Museum of Art Fort Collins brings visibility to Indigenous contemporary art

The Museum of Art Fort Collins has opened “Indigenous Voices: A Contemporary Art Exhibition,” curated by artist Gregg Deal of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. The show features diverse Indigenous artists using distinct visual techniques—from acrylic painting to beadwork and animal hide—to address political, cultural, and social topics. Among the participants is Gregg Deal’s child, Sage Deal, an art history student at the University of Colorado, Denver, and Skye Little Cloud, a Pratt Institute student who founded Little Cloud Studio in 2024. The exhibition runs until January 4, 2026.

Nicolaysen Art Museum hosting open house for Arts Council Biennial Fellowship Exhibition: Wyoming Wind

The Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper, Wyoming, is hosting an opening reception on October 9 for its new exhibition, the Arts Council Biennial Fellowship Exhibition: Wyoming Wind. The event will feature a curatorial conversation with curator Ginger Shulick Porcella and will showcase works by ten Wyoming artists selected as Visual Arts Fellowship recipients, including Aubrey Edwards, Adrianna Hinds, Wendell Field, and others. The exhibition runs from October 3 to December 19.

The Best Art Shows of 2025, So Far

The New York Times has published a mid-year roundup of the best art exhibitions of 2025, highlighting standout shows across museums and galleries worldwide. The list includes critically acclaimed presentations of both emerging and established artists, with a focus on innovative curatorial approaches and significant thematic explorations.

Byungjun Kwon: ‘I want to break away from the passive, one-sided way of experiencing performances’

Byungjun Kwon, a South Korean artist whose practice spans sound, technology, and performance, has been selected for the 2025 Korean Artists Today project. Kwon began his career as a singer-songwriter in the 1990s, later earning a degree in Art Science from the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague and working as a hardware engineer at the Studio for Electro-Instrumental Music in Amsterdam. His works include immersive sound installations, custom-built instruments, and robotic stage machinery, with pieces such as 'Self-sounding Town Resonant Village' (2019) exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Busan. He is currently preparing a new project, 'Speak Slowly, and It Will Become a Song', for the Aichi Triennale in Japan.

Myrtle Beach gallery opens doors & unites local artists

A new art gallery, Gallery 320, celebrated its grand opening in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Thursday. The gallery serves as the new permanent home for the Waccamaw Arts and Crafts Guild, a collective that has existed for over 50 years. The space features a diverse range of local artists, including woodworkers, metalworkers, weavers, photographers, and painters, and is located in the Arts and Innovation District at 320 Broadway Street.

NRW will Verbot für Handel mit Holocaust-Dokumenten

The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) is introducing a legislative bill to ban the commercial trade of personal Holocaust documents and artifacts, such as letters from concentration camps, Gestapo cards, and yellow stars. The initiative follows international outrage over a planned auction in Neuss in November 2025, which was halted at the last moment; around 460 objects from that auction were transferred to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation. The bill, to be presented at the Bundesrat session on May 8, aims to prohibit the sale of items directly linked to Nazi victims, while exempting museums, archives, and research institutions.

Gitte Zschoch wird Generalsekretärin des Goethe-Instituts

Gitte Zschoch has been appointed as the new Secretary General of the Goethe-Institut, taking over the role and chairmanship of the board on July 18. She succeeds Johannes Ebert, who has held the position since 2012 and will now lead the institute's regional office in Athens. Zschoch, currently Secretary General of the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (ifa), previously worked for the Goethe-Institut in various roles, including founding director of its branch in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The appointment was confirmed by German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and approved by the institute's presidium.

The 2026 Venice Biennale, Explained

The 2026 Venice Biennale, the 61st edition of the world's oldest and most prestigious contemporary art biennial, will run from May 9th to November 22nd, with previews from May 6th to 8th. Its central curated exhibition is titled "In Minor Keys," and it will be accompanied by a series of national pavilions.

Water Samples from Around the World Melt into Dima Rebus’ Dreamy Paintings

London-based artist Dima Rebus creates large-scale watercolor paintings using water samples collected from strangers around the world. In her series "Floaters," she freezes the crowdsourced water with pigments, then lets it melt across paper to form abstract color fields, later adding figures and aquatic landscapes. Each sample arrives with a letter, building an archive of rain, rivers, seas, oceans, and glaciers that serve as both material and human message.

Explore a Growing City of Meticulously Crafted Miniature Paper Buildings by Charles Young

Artist Charles Young is expanding his intricate city of miniature paper buildings, with 258 structures already completed from a series inspired by Sanzo Wada's color theory book. He is currently working on the final 90 models from the first volume, which explores two-color combinations, and has also created works featuring multiple colors.

Redwood Art Association Gallery Hosting Humboldt Youth Exhibition on May 2

The Redwood Art Association Gallery in Eureka, California, will host the Humboldt Youth Exhibition on Saturday, May 2, from 6 to 9 PM. The event will feature music by guitarist Ron Hoenig and is open to the public at the gallery's location on 603 F Street.

Mural artist will give Volunteer Millers program in Fulton

Mural artist and designer Eve Van Kampen is scheduled to present a public program hosted by the Volunteer Millers at the Windmill Cultural Center in Fulton. The event will showcase Van Kampen’s twenty-year career in large-scale public and commercial art, highlighting her portfolio of bold, colorful works that span the Midwest and Southern United States.

Rory J Browne | Dawn, Cow Parsley (2026) | Available for Sale

British artist Rory J Browne has released a new contemporary realist landscape titled 'Dawn, Cow Parsley' (2026). The oil-on-canvas work, which features a detailed foreground of wild plants silhouetted against a warm, atmospheric sunrise, is currently being offered for sale through Signet Contemporary Art in London and via the Artsy platform.

Art, Beats + Lyrics Makes Anticipated Return to Charlotte

The traveling exhibition Art, Beats + Lyrics (AB+L) is returning to Charlotte for the first time in seven years, scheduled for March 28 at Blume Studios. Founded in Atlanta over two decades ago, the event merges visual art with hip-hop culture, featuring a curated selection of contemporary works alongside live musical performances and immersive installations. This year’s stop features headliner Premo Rice and is curated by Dwayne “Dubelyoo” Wright, marking a significant homecoming for a tour that considers Charlotte one of its foundational markets.

TWiST Art Gallery opens in Naples

TWiST Art Gallery, Art Space & Artist Studios has opened in the Bayshore Arts District of Naples, Florida, as a new non-profit creative hub. The grand opening was funded primarily by two sold-out Embellished Wearable Arts Fashion Shows in 2024 and 2025, which raised over $100,000 for affordable art classes and studios. Additional support came from The Community Foundation, Jan Edwards, and the Gail Danae Kasbi Foundation. The gallery will offer affordable artist studios, a fine art gallery, community workshops, rotating exhibitions, and monthly First Friday Art Walk events. Monique Kutash has been appointed Art Director, and plans include an artist-in-residence program and a Mini Art Gallery Series featuring outdoor micro-galleries hosted by local businesses.

Lagos art fair defies macroeconomic headwinds to reach double figures

Art X Lagos, West Africa's leading international art fair, celebrates its 10th edition in November 2025 under the theme 'Imagining Otherwise, No Matter the Tide.' Founder Tokini Peterside-Schwebig reflects on the fair's resilience despite Nigeria's currency crisis, economic volatility, the Covid-19 pandemic, and a softening global art market. This year's streamlined edition features 15 exhibitors from Nigeria, Uganda, Cameroon, Ghana, and the UK, hosted at the Federal Palace Hotel in Lagos. The fair coincides with the upcoming opening of the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) in Benin City.

Art Basel exhibitors will show ‘the most ambitious works’ despite economic headwinds

Art Basel will host nearly 290 galleries from around the world in Basel, Switzerland, from June 19-22, 2025. Director Maike Cruse expresses confidence in the art market's resilience despite a 12% decline in global art sales last year, citing an uptick in transactions in the middle and low market segments and a surge of new, younger collectors. The fair introduces a new section called Premiere, dedicated to ultra-contemporary works made within the past five years, featuring ten galleries and two first-time Art Basel participants. New EU tax breaks on art purchases, including Germany's VAT reduction from 19% to 7%, could boost sales for the roughly half of exhibitors based in the bloc, though the threat of US tariffs under President Donald Trump creates uncertainty.

A Milano esiste una community di illustratori che racconta la città disegnandola dal vivo

Urban Sketchers Milano, a local chapter of the international Urban Sketchers community, recently held an event at Casa Galimberti, a notable Liberty-style building in Milan. The group, founded in 2007 by journalist and illustrator Gabriel Campanario in Seattle, brings together illustrators who draw urban scenes directly from life, on location. The Milan chapter, active since March 2008, is currently managed by Valentín Di Salvo, Stefano Ziffarelli, and Daniela Paglia, and organizes events such as a recent gathering at the garden of Via San Martino, which drew over 90 artists.

Cultural Observatories: Dinosaurs or Subjects Capable of Interpreting the Present?

Osservatori culturali. Dinosauri o soggetti in grado di interpretare il presente?

The Cultural Observatory of Canton Ticino has published a study on cultural observatories worldwide, including a map and list of surveyed organizations. The analysis reveals that cultural observatories are not a global phenomenon but are concentrated mainly in Europe and South America, with occasional presence in North America (especially Canada and Hispanic-oriented organizations in the US). Africa, Asia, and Oceania are almost entirely absent from the map. The study also highlights a high rate of inactive observatories: among the top 10 countries by active observatories, only Germany shows an effective activity ratio. Spain has 26 active observatories out of about 45 total, while Italy has 11 active out of over 20 inactive. The research defines observatories as non-profit organizations that combine cultural and statistical expertise to deepen and transfer knowledge about the cultural sector, and classifies as inactive those with no recent activity on web or social channels.

In Bologna, an exhibition combines pictorial traditions and contemporary perfumes

A Bologna una mostra mette assieme tradizioni pittoriche e profumi contemporanei

The exhibition "Sogni di natura" (Dreams of Nature) has opened at the Collezioni Comunali d’Arte in Bologna’s Palazzo d’Accursio, coinciding with the 57th edition of Cosmoprof Worldwide. The show transforms the historic Sala Boschereccia into a multisensory "imagined garden" where 18th-century landscape paintings by Vincenzo Martinelli and Giuseppe Valiani are paired with contemporary fragrances. Students from the Italian Perfumery Institute developed these scents by analyzing the historical and symbolic identity of the room’s original decorations.

Lights, Funding, Action – Film Grant Open Call

The Sharjah Art Foundation has launched the ninth cycle of its Short Film Production Grant 2026, issuing an open call for applications from filmmakers worldwide. The grant provides financial support, with a total fund of AED 120,000 (approx. USD 30,000), for the completion of short films of 50 minutes or less across all genres. Selected projects may also premiere at a future edition of the Sharjah Film Platform festival.

Three Years, One City: Tulsa’s Transformative Artist Fellowship.

The Tulsa Artist Fellowship has announced an open call for its 2027–2029 award cycle, seeking ten artists and arts workers for a three-year residency in Oklahoma. Selected fellows receive a comprehensive financial package totaling over $150,000 in stipends, plus housing and relocation support, in exchange for committing to live and work in Tulsa. The program, established by the George Kaiser Family Foundation, emphasizes long-term community engagement and the development of ambitious, site-specific projects.

Pictures: Castle Drogo hosts powerful women’s history art exhibition this March

The Herding Cats Arts Collective is presenting a month-long exhibition titled 'A Woman’s Place' at Castle Drogo, a National Trust property on Dartmoor. The exhibition, running throughout March 2026, features contemporary works that explore the domestic and social structures governing the lives of women connected to the estate during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Through research conducted with castle historians, the artists utilize domestic materials and imagery to highlight the often-overlooked histories of both the working-class staff and the upper-class residents of the fortress.