A groundbreaking study from Colorado State University reveals that Native Americans in the western Great Plains were using dice for gaming over 12,000 years ago. Researcher Robert J. Madden identified two-sided dice made of bone or wood from archaeological sites in Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, pushing the known history of games of chance back significantly further than previously recorded.
Poly Auction Hong Kong's Spring 2026 season concluded with a total of HKD 255 million in sales, representing a 23% increase over the previous autumn cycle. The auction was headlined by Liu Wei’s 1995 painting "You Like Pork?", which fetched HKD 27.6 million, followed by a Ming Dynasty 'Grapes' foliate-rim dish that sold for HKD 24.6 million. The event saw participation from collectors across 17 countries, with significant growth in the Modern and Contemporary Art and Jewels and Watches sectors.
Chris Mullen, a distinguished educator and historian of art and design, has died at the age of 81. Throughout a career spanning over three decades at the Norwich School of Art and the University of Brighton, Mullen became a pivotal figure in integrating contextual studies with studio practice. He was renowned for his vast personal archive of printed ephemera and his digital project, "The Visual Telling of Stories," which served as a vital resource for generations of students and researchers.
Longtemps menacé, le Palais de la découverte va finalement rouvrir en 2027 après sept ans de fermeture
The Palais de la découverte in Paris will officially reopen in March 2027 following a seven-year closure for extensive renovations. Located in the Palais d’Antin wing of the Grand Palais, the institution faced the threat of permanent closure or relocation to the Cité des sciences due to economic constraints. However, a joint decision by the French Ministries of Research and Culture has secured its future at its historic site, where it will feature a shared entrance with the Grand Palais to foster a unique dialogue between art and science.
The Rowan University Museum of Contemporary Art is hosting "The Spectrum of Resilience," a solo exhibition by New Jersey-based artist and educator Jazlyne Sabree. The showcase features works that explore the tenacity and authenticity of the African Diaspora, drawing from Sabree’s extensive research and residencies in West Africa, Brazil, and Liberia. The exhibition highlights everyday moments—such as washing hair or embracing children—elevating them into profound artistic statements on ancestral lineage and survival.
Labour peer Margaret Hodge has detailed her proposal to introduce admission fees for overseas tourists at England’s national museums, stipulating that such a move must be preceded by a universal digital ID system. Speaking to a parliamentary committee, Hodge argued that without digital verification, museum staff might resort to profiling visitors based on appearance, which would undermine community cohesion.
Ecuador has selected artist Oscar Santillán to represent the nation at the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026. Curated by Manuela Moscoso and organized by the Museum of Anthropological and Contemporary Art (MAAC), the pavilion will feature a collaboration between Santillán and the collective Tawna. The exhibition, titled after the collective, will explore Andean-Amazonian contexts through a dialogue on territory, indigenous knowledge systems, and coexistence.
Sabbie e riti dagli antipodi. Da scoprire in una ex chiesa di Venezia
The Church of San Lorenzo in Venice, home to Ocean Space, is hosting "Tide of Returns," an exhibition by the Repatriates Collective. The installation transforms the historic nave with sand dunes populated by thousands of decorated shells known as Dadikwakwa-kwa, or shell dolls, from the Anindilyakwa people of Australia. The show also features a tripartite installation of video, textiles, and braids by German-Bolivian artist Verena Melgarejo Weinandt, exploring themes of ancestral connection and the universal significance of water.
A Milano la fiera che dedica un’intera giornata per riflettere sullo stato dell’arte italiana: 8 ore filate di conversazioni
The debut edition of Paris Internationale in Milan, scheduled for April 2026 at Palazzo Galbani, will feature a marathon eight-hour symposium titled "Aperto Italia." Organized in collaboration with the Fondazione Nicola Trussardi and curated by Massimiliano Gioni, the event brings together 35 international galleries and a significant roster of Italian artists. The program is designed as a continuous cycle of conversations to address the current state of contemporary art in Italy, paying tribute to the late Flash Art publisher Giancarlo Politi.
Stella’s Art Gallery in Willoughby, Ohio, is currently hosting two distinct exhibitions: "The Four Seasons," a juried show featuring local award winners like Anna Hsu and Tatiana Strelnikova, and "Unreal: 2 Visions," an abstract showcase in the Annex Gallery featuring artists Josh Chefitz and Gregory Johnson. Additionally, the gallery is preparing for its upcoming "Size Matters" small works exhibition in May, while the Willoughby Arts Collaborative has launched a call for artists to design local utility boxes.
Une nouvelle aquarelle de Marie-Désiré Bourgoin acquise par Orsay
The Musée d’Orsay has expanded its collection with the acquisition of a watercolor by Marie-Désiré Bourgoin. The work depicts a somber interior scene featuring an elderly woman in black seated before a commemorative display of the late painter Ernest Meissonier’s personal effects, including his Academician's sword, Legion of Honor insignia, and his final self-portrait on an easel.
A 3,300-year-old Egyptian stele once owned by bodybuilding pioneer Ben Weider is set to be a highlight at TEFAF New York this May. The limestone carving, which depicts Pharaoh Thutmose IV, was gifted to Weider in 1964 and recently surfaced at a Montreal auction before being acquired by the London-based gallery David Aaron. Alongside the stele, the gallery will present a 2,500-year-old greywacke bust of a goddess, which was recently authenticated after being dismissed as a fake due to its pristine condition and 18th-century restorations.
The United States solidified its position as the world's leading art market in 2025, with fine-art auction sales rising 25.3 percent to reach $5.4 billion. Despite early volatility caused by trade tariffs, a surging stock market and cooling inflation fueled a massive November auction season in New York, where nine of the year's ten most expensive artworks were sold. In contrast, China's market contracted by nearly 11 percent due to a persistent property crisis, while the United Kingdom and France saw significant growth, with Paris benefiting from the momentum of Art Basel Paris.
Australian photographer Elle Leontiev has been named the Open Photographer of the Year at the 2026 Sony World Photography Awards. Her winning image, titled 'Barefoot Volcanologist,' features Phillip Yamah standing on a lava bomb at Mount Yasur in Vanuatu. Leontiev captured the surreal portrait under challenging technical conditions, relying entirely on autofocus beeps after her camera screens shorted out due to volcanic activity.
Lebanese artist and Bard College professor Tania El Khoury discusses her multidisciplinary practice and her recent experience living through the escalation of conflict in Beirut. The interview highlights her interactive performance piece, "The Search for Power," which uses her own 2018 wedding blackout as a jumping-off point to investigate the colonial roots of Lebanon's systemic infrastructure failures. Originally set for a Beirut run in March, the production was postponed due to the outbreak of war.
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) has officially installed a framed team photograph of the Montreal Canadiens celebrating Cole Caufield’s 50th goal of the season. The move originated from a viral social media post by the team’s content creators, who used the popular idiom "Hang it in the Louvre" to caption the dressing room image, prompting the museum to turn the digital sentiment into a physical display.
The Center for Art, Research and Alliances (CARA) in New York is hosting "The Earth, the Fire, the Water, and the Winds: For a Museum of Errantry with Édouard Glissant," an exhibition traveling from the Instituto Tomie Ohtake in São Paulo. The show eschews traditional curatorial hierarchies, instead utilizing the theories of Martinican philosopher Édouard Glissant to present works by artists such as Gerardo Chávez and Eduardo Zamora. Rather than providing didactic labels, the installation encourages "errantry" and "relationality," allowing visitors to discover visual resonances and meanings through their own active engagement with the landscape of the gallery.
Artist Ruben Ochoa has returned to the UC Irvine campus with "Class C," a mobile art gallery housed inside a converted 1985 Chevy delivery van. The pop-up exhibition features works by UCI-affiliated artists Sean Duffy, Beatrice von Rague Schleyer, and André Woodward, showcasing contemporary art within a space that mimics a traditional white-cube gallery. The project is presented in coordination with the exhibition "Breakdown/Breakthrough: Art and Infrastructure" at the Langson IMCA.
À Shanghai, un spectaculaire opéra en spirale conçu par l’agence Snøhetta se dévoile
The Shanghai Grand Opera House, a massive 147,000-square-meter cultural landmark designed by the Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta, has reached structural completion in the Houtan district. Inspired by the form of a traditional Chinese fan, the building features a dramatic white helical roof that doubles as a public walkway, connecting the urban landscape to the waterfront. The interior, which includes a 2,000-seat main hall and various modular spaces, is currently being finalized ahead of a scheduled opening in the second half of 2026.
Tillies Art & Provisions is set to open on May 1 at 512 Commercial Street in Provincetown’s East End. Located in a historic 19th-century grocery store building, the new gallery and community space will debut with a group exhibition curated by Barbara Cohen featuring 17 established local artists. The venue plans to host a diverse seasonal program including art exhibitions, readings, and musical performances.
Le Musée Nicéphore-Niépce fait du surplace
The Musée Nicéphore-Niépce in Chalon-sur-Saône remains in a state of stagnation as long-promised modernization plans continue to stall. Despite over twenty-five years of proposals for a new facility or a "Cité de l'image," the project has become a political "sea serpent," hampered by budget cuts, staff reductions, and shifting municipal priorities. Most recently, the city declined to renew the contract of Fannie Escoulen, a former Ministry of Culture official hired to steer the project, further signaling a lack of progress.
Vanderbilt University has announced its inaugural participation in the Venice Biennale, marking a major milestone for the institution's arts program. Faculty artists Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and Kamaal Malak have been selected to present works in the 61st International Art Exhibition, curated by the late Koyo Kouoh. To complement the exhibition, the university will launch "Resonance: Vanderbilt University in Venice," a two-month public program series featuring sonic inquiries, performances, and scholarly convenings.
Archaeologists in northeastern Romania have unearthed a 6,000-year-old 'megastructure' at the Stăuceni-"Holm" site, attributed to the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture. Measuring approximately 350 square meters, the building is significantly larger than typical dwellings of the period and was strategically positioned near the settlement's entrance. The absence of domestic tools or ritual statuettes suggests the space served as a communal assembly hall or administrative center rather than a private residence.
The American Museum of Natural History in New York has launched a new ongoing exhibition dedicated to the legacy of its most prolific fossil hunters. The display specifically highlights the contributions of Mark Norell and his colleagues, showcasing the significant paleontological discoveries that have shaped the museum's world-renowned collection.
The Institute for Creative Arts (ICA) at the University of Cape Town has announced an open call for its 2026 Live Art Festival. Scheduled for October 14–17, 2026, in Cape Town, the festival seeks proposals for experimental and interdisciplinary live artworks from both South African and international practitioners. The selection process will prioritize conceptual strength and works that challenge conventional artistic forms within a non-commercial, research-driven environment.
The Tarble Arts Center hosted the opening reception for the 2026 Master of Arts in Studio Art Exhibition, featuring thesis projects from 11 graduate students. The exhibition showcased a diverse range of mediums, including an immersive installation by Vitória Kazanovski that recreated her grandmother’s Brazilian kitchen using audio and textured cookbooks, and a ceramic series by Wendy Peters that highlighted the technical mistakes and evolution of her craft.
The H. F. Johnson Gallery of Art at Carthage College is hosting its first round of spring senior thesis exhibitions, featuring the work of graduating students Jake Janovicz, Mauricio Rebollar-López, and Aj Stockdale. The showcase includes a diverse range of media, from Janovicz’s photography and animation projects titled “Stop and Think” and “Distraction,” to Rebollar-López’s politically charged multi-media installation “Oh American the Great,” and Stockdale’s interactive digital and found-object assembly titled “Trepidation.”
The group exhibition "Virgin Islands Contemporary" is set to open at Salt of the Earth Tattoo in St. Thomas, featuring the work of ten local artists. Curated by Lucien Downes, the show highlights a diverse range of visual mediums that move beyond traditional Caribbean iconography like seascapes and historical narratives. The participating artists, including Brenda L. Cotto and Jon Euwema, explore themes of cultural evolution and identity through experimental materials and modern techniques.
Six artists from the SouthCoast region of Massachusetts recently completed the inaugural Hotel Papel residency on the island of Faial in the Azores. The residency, designed to celebrate the sister city relationship between Greater New Bedford and the Azores, allowed the participants to explore local culture, traditions, and landscapes. Their resulting works, spanning ceramics, photography, film, writing, and painting, will be showcased in a group exhibition titled "The Same Sea" at the Massachusetts Design Art and Technology Institute (DATMA).
Recent psychological research confirms that engaging with visual art provides significant physical and mental health benefits, including the alleviation of depression, anxiety, and stress. Studies indicate that viewing art can also enhance cognitive functioning and social skills, prompting new initiatives to explore the specific mechanisms behind these wellness improvements.