‘I feel at home here’: Michael Rakowitz’s Acropolis Museum exhibition locates the lines between stories of lost heritage

The Acropolis Museum in Athens has opened "Allspice: Michael Rakowitz and Ancient Cultures," the first exhibition in a trilogy organized with the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and the nonprofit Neon. It is also the first time the museum has presented work by a living artist. The show pairs ancient objects from the University of Chicago’s Institute for the Study of Ancient Culture and the Thanos N. Zintilis Collection of Cypriot Antiquities with 14 works by Iraqi-American artist Michael Rakowitz, including pieces from his ongoing series "The invisible enemy should not exist," which recreates artifacts looted or destroyed from the National Museum of Iraq. Rakowitz’s lamassu reliefs, reimagined from the Palace of Nimrud, and a new commission featuring his mother’s recipes explore themes of lost heritage, memory, and diaspora.

Fragility, resilience and humour: Wolfgang Tillmans and Boris Mikhailov to open photography show in war-torn Kharkiv

A major photography exhibition pairing Wolfgang Tillmans and Boris Mikhailov opens today at the Yermilov Centre in Kharkiv, Ukraine, despite ongoing Russian attacks on the city. Titled "Pairs Skating" (April 25–September 28), the show is organized by the non-profit RIBBON International and curated by Maria Isserlis and Tatiana Kochubinska. It features Mikhailov's never-before-shown Crimean seascapes from the 1990s alongside Tillmans's works including "The State We’re In" (2015), with all prints produced specially for the venue, which is a certified bunker allowing public access during the war.

DAYS ARE NOT THE SAME ZANELE MUHOLI AT CASA SANTA ANA

The Casa Santa Ana Foundation in Panama is hosting Zanele Muholi's first exhibition in the country, titled 'Amalanga awafani (Days Are Not the Same).' The show features major photographic series including 'Somnyama Ngonyama' and 'Faces and Phases,' and includes a new chapter of portraits of Panama's local LGBTQ+ community, integrated into the global archive. The exhibition is free to the public and runs until April 2026, supported by Panama's Ministry of Culture.

bonhams first saudi arabia exhibition

Bonhams, the New York-based auction house, will hold its first exhibition in Saudi Arabia next month. Titled "Judhoor / Roots: The Origins of Saudi Modernism," the three-day show opens October 8 at the LIFT Gallery in Riyadh's JAX District, followed by a London auction on November 25. The exhibition surveys Saudi modern art from early pioneers like Abdulrahman Al Soliman, Safeya Binzagr, and Mohammed Al Saleem to later generations, highlighting works such as Al Saleem's horizon paintings and Al Soliman's 1981 depiction of Al-Ahsa oasis made with local soil. It also features archival material from Dar Al-Funoon, Saudi Arabia's first modern art space, and foregrounds female voices, including Binzagr, the first woman to stage a solo exhibition in the kingdom. A panel discussion will accompany the show, cohosted by collectors Taha Al Kuwaiz and Muneera Al Touq.

‘Certain things you can only see from the sky’: artist Precious Okoyomon on how flying planes has inspired their practice

Artist Precious Okoyomon discusses how learning to fly a propeller plane has influenced their artistic practice, from dioramas depicting aerial perspectives to a video work reading poetry from the cockpit. Their first exhibition with Mendes Wood DM in Paris, titled 'It’s important to have ur fangs out at the end of the world' (through 17 January), features sculptures, wallpaper, a fable, and three lightbox dioramas that draw on sky studies taken while flying. Okoyomon earned their pilot’s license before their driver’s license as a teenager in Ohio, and continues to fly when visiting family, finding the experience a reset for their nervous system.

Seurat and the Sea Is Postcard Perfect

Seurat and the Sea Is Postcard Perfect

The Courtauld Gallery in London is hosting 'Seurat and the Sea,' the UK's first exhibition dedicated to Georges Seurat's seascapes. The show features over half of the artist's lifetime output of canvases, painted during summer trips to the Channel coast between 1885 and 1890, which he intended as visual cleansers from studio work. The exhibition highlights his pointillist technique, using contrasting dots of color to capture seaside light.

met announces first show in whitneys breuer building

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced that its first exhibition in the newly-annexed Breuer building, formerly home to the Whitney Museum, will be titled "Unfinished" (working title) and will explore unfinished works of art from the Renaissance to the present. The show, drawn partly from the Met's own collection, opens March 7, 2016 and runs through September 5, focusing on the historical debate and admiration for the non finito aesthetic.

National Museum of Bucovina to host Stefan Luchian painting exhibition as first

The National Museum of Bucovina in Suceava will open a major exhibition of works by Romanian painter Ștefan Luchian, marking 110 years since the artist's death. The exhibition, titled 'Ștefan Luchian - a universal artist,' will feature 42 works showcasing his flowers, landscapes, portraits, and still lifes, and is presented by gallerist and curator Damian Florea.

“Constellations”: Jewelry as Art

The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) has launched "Constellations: Contemporary Jewelry," its first exhibition dedicated exclusively to its contemporary jewelry collection. The show features hundreds of pieces organized into four thematic sections—Zones of the Body, Archetypes, Signals, and Play—alongside a historical retrospective titled "Connecting the Dots." The exhibition highlights experimental and often impractical works that blur the lines between wearable objects and sculpture, featuring artists such as Brian Fleetwood, Joyce J. Scott, and Peter Chang.

Art Gallery of Algoma celebrates 50 years and Group of Seven Day

The Art Gallery of Algoma celebrated its 50th anniversary on July 7, which also marked the inaugural Group of Seven Day in Ontario. The gallery opened its current home with a ribbon-cutting by A.J. Casson, the last living member of the Group of Seven. Festivities included family art activities, live music, an exhibition tour, a talk on the Group of Seven in Algoma, birthday cake, and Indigenous art activities led by Lucia Laford. The gallery's connection to the Group of Seven dates back to its first exhibition, which featured works by the group, and the artists frequently painted in the Algoma region during the 1920s.

“State Fairs: Growing American Craft” at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery Explores the Stories of Craft Artists at the Fairgrounds

The Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery will present 'State Fairs: Growing American Craft,' the first exhibition dedicated to artists' contributions to U.S. state fairs, from Aug. 22 to Sept. 7, 2026. Featuring over 240 artworks dating from the mid-19th century to the present, the show includes spectacles such as Big Tex's size 96 boots, a life-size butter cow by Iowa State Fair sculptor Sarah Pratt, and a pyramid of preserved fruits by canning champion Rod Zeitler. The exhibition is the result of five years of research involving visits to 15 state fairs, collaborations with artists in five states, and contributions from 43 states and tribal nations.

Immediately after the Second World War, how did six exhibitions attempt to make sense of the atrocities?

Berlin's Deutsches Historisches Museum has opened an exhibition titled "On Displaying Violence: First Exhibitions on the Nazi Occupation in Europe, 1945-48," which revisits six post-World War II exhibitions that attempted to process the atrocities of the war. These shows took place in venues ranging from the Grand Palais in Paris to a Czech villa formerly occupied by a Nazi official, and included displays such as the UK's Daily Express "The Horror Camps" (1945), the French traveling show "Hitlerian Crimes" (1945), "Warsaw Accuses" (1945) at the National Museum in Warsaw, and "Our Path to Freedom" (1947) at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The Berlin exhibition uses original objects, film footage, photographs, and recordings to recreate the experience of these early post-war shows.

Un ciclo di mostre è allestito sotto terra in un ipogeo del quartiere Pigneto a Roma

A family of entrepreneurs acquired an ancient bar in Rome's Pigneto neighborhood in 2020, inheriting a Roman-era hypogeum dating back to the 1st century BC. Originally a pozzolana quarry, later a wine cellar and WWII air-raid shelter, the space beneath the historic bar Necci dal 1924 reopened to the public on March 12 as an exhibition venue. It now hosts "Sottoforma," a cycle of three exhibitions curated by Donatella Giordano and Agatha Jaubourg that explore the theme of the invisible through contemporary art. The first exhibition features works by Eva Marisaldi, Enrico Serotti, and Luca Vitone, running until March 31, followed by shows with Iginio De Luca and Liliana Moro in April, and José Angelino and Elena Bellantoni in May 2026.

Exhibition | Celeste Rapone, 'Hyperarousal' at Esther Schipper, Esther Schipper Berlin, Germany

Esther Schipper Berlin presents 'Hyperarousal', Celeste Rapone's first exhibition with the gallery, featuring three new paintings that explore the intersection of sensuous stimulation and nervous tension. The works depict female protagonists in narratively dense, ambiguous scenes that allegorize millennial angst, using techniques like alla prima painting and color-based formal constraints. Key pieces include 'While Waiting' (2025), showing a figure with pepper spray and a digital camera, and 'Den' (2026), where intertwined figures follow a self-defense tutorial on an iPad.

NYU Steinhardt Presents 2026 MFA Thesis Exhibitions

NYU Steinhardt's Department of Art and Art Professions is presenting its 2026 MFA Thesis Exhibitions in two parts at the 80WSE Gallery in Greenwich Village. The first exhibition, titled 'Hoodwinked,' runs from April 1 to April 18 and features works by Nicholas Koby, Richard Medina, Roselynn Sadaghiani, Mario Saponaro, and Brooke Schneider. The second, 'Eggshells,' runs from May 6 to May 23 and showcases artists Ariel Barish, Christopher Chan, Mélanie Dumas, Roxie de Là, and Fan Qi.

From simple blue to haute couture suit: workwear studied at the Musée Postal

Du simple bleu au tailleur haute couture, le vêtement de travail étudié au musée Postal

The Musée Postal in Paris has reopened with a new name and identity, launching its first exhibition titled "Sous toutes les coutures" ("Under All Seams"). Curated by Elodie Goëssant and Didier Filoche, the show brings together 420 pieces, artworks, and archival objects to explore the history of workwear in France, from uniforms and protective clothing to high-fashion collaborations. It traces the evolution of work attire from the 18th century to the present, highlighting how women lacked dedicated work clothing until the 1970s and how airlines like Air France pioneered partnerships with luxury houses such as Christian Dior to dress flight attendants as national ambassadors.

Yalda Afsah “Surge” at Kunsthal Thy, Hurup Thy

Yalda Afsah presents her first exhibition in Denmark, titled "Surge," at Kunsthal Thy. The show features two video works: "Curro" (2023), which explores human relationships with animals, and "Jarramplas" (2025), which initiates a new series centered on rituals and communal social dynamics.

Look Inside the Met Gala 2026’s Exhibit & See What Celebs Will Be Viewing Tonight!

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has revealed photos from inside the Costume Institute's latest exhibition, 'Costume Art,' ahead of the 2026 Met Gala. Curated by Andrew Bolton, the show explores the relationship between clothing and the body, organized around thematic body types such as the Naked Body, Pregnant Body, and Aging Body. It features garments and artworks from The Met's collection, both historical and contemporary, and will be the first exhibition held in the new Condé M. Nast Galleries, a 12,000-square-foot space adjacent to the Great Hall. The exhibition opens to the public on May 10, 2026, and runs through January 10, 2027.

Vatican to open contemporary art gallery in historic papal library

The Vatican Apostolic Library has created a new exhibition hall for contemporary art, which will be inaugurated by Pope Francis on November 5. The first exhibition, titled "EVERYONE: Humanity on its way," features unpublished works by Roman artist Pietro Ruffo, including a site-specific installation in the Sala Barberini that transforms the space into a tropical forest. Historic treasures from the library, such as a 17th-century map of the Nile by Ottoman explorer Evliya Çelebi, will be displayed in dialogue with Ruffo's contemporary reinterpretations.

Where Words End Exhibition Brings Tom Vattakuzhy’s Story Paintings to Mumbai

Mumbai will host the first exhibition of artist Tom Vattakuzhy's work in the city, titled 'Where Words End,' at the Institute of Contemporary Indian Art (ICIA) from May 3–17, 2026. The exhibition presents a series of his "story paintings," which explore experiences that elude verbal expression, moving beyond his illustrative background to create ambiguous, emotionally resonant works.

Historic opening: Studio Museum in Harlem welcomes the public to its new architectural landmark

The Studio Museum in Harlem has opened its long-awaited new building, a seven-story, 82,000-square-foot structure on West 125th Street, designed by Adjaye Associates with Cooper Robertson. A Community Day on November 15th marked the public debut, featuring inaugural exhibitions including a major show on Tom Lloyd, whose work launched the museum's first exhibition in 1968, as well as "From Now: A Collection in Context" and a survey of works by over 100 residency alumni. The building expands exhibition space by over 50% and public areas by nearly 60%, with dedicated education spaces and artist-in-residence studios.

October at the Torch Theatre gallery: Local artist Sam Farmer’s first exhibition

Local artist Sam Farmer, a former primary school teacher from Pembrokeshire, will hold her first-ever art exhibition at the Joanna Field Gallery inside the Torch Theatre in Milford Haven this October. Titled "Under Pembrokeshire Skies: Seascapes and Stones," the show features paintings inspired by the Welsh landscape and the concept of Cynefin—a sense of rootedness and belonging. Many of the works also appear in her recently published children's book, "Little Puffin’s Pembrokeshire Home." The exhibition runs from October 4 through the end of the month.

Bowdoin College Museum of Art Announces Major Exhibition and Long-Term Loan Partnership with Wyvern Collection

The Bowdoin College Museum of Art (BCMA) has announced a major exhibition and long-term loan partnership with the Wyvern Collection, a prestigious London-based private collection of medieval art. The first exhibition, "Medieval Art from the Wyvern Collection: Global Networks and Creative Connections," will open this fall, featuring more than 57 artworks on long-term loan combined with objects from BCMA's own holdings. The show highlights cross-cultural connections across a vast geographic range—from Japan to Mexico, northern Europe to Africa—challenging traditional Eurocentric views of the Middle Ages.

Penarth artist holds first exhibition after a lifetime of painting

Stephen Stokes, a 66-year-old retired kitchen business owner from Penarth, Wales, has staged his first-ever art exhibition after a lifetime of painting. The show, held at Llanover Hall Arts Centre in Cardiff, features works spanning decades, including portraits, still lifes, and scenes painted from life. Stokes, who studied at art college in Liverpool in the 1980s, was inspired by post-Impressionist masters like Matisse, Van Gogh, and Monet. Around 80 people attended the opening, and several visitors expressed interest in purchasing his work, though he had not initially priced the pieces.

In Kyoto, a photography festival unites artists on society's fringes

Kyotographie, an independent international photography festival in Kyoto, has announced 'The Edge' as its theme for the 2026 edition, following a focus on humanity in 2025. The festival will feature exhibitions exploring fringes, darkness, and extremes of life, including a posthumous show of Fatama Hassona's 'The Eye of Gaza', a focus on South Africa with works by Lebohang Kganye, Pieter Hugo, and a peripatetic library from A4 Arts Foundation, as well as Ernest Cole's 'House of Bondage' at the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art—his first exhibition in Japan. Other highlights include Linder Sterling's survey 'Goddess of the Mind' at the Museum of Kyoto Annex and Anton Corbijn's 'Presence' at the Shimadai Gallery.

Italy-based Chinese artist shares cross-cultural art journey in Beijing

The Italian Cultural Institute in Beijing hosted a lecture on May 12, 2026, featuring Zhou Zhiwei, a Chinese painter based in Italy, who shared his four-decade artistic journey. Zhou, born in Shanghai in 1954, studied under renowned oil painters Yu Yunjie and Liu Kemin before entering the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice in 1980, where he learned from masters like Bruno Saetti and Emilio Vedova. He also trained with Pietro Annigoni and Riccardo Tommasi Ferroni, mastering fresco and tempera grassa techniques. The event was chaired by Federico Antonelli, cultural counselor of the Italian Embassy in China, who recalled Zhou's first exhibition at the institute in 1984. Zhou discussed his solo exhibition 'Notes along the Way,' which explores the Mediterranean through an Eastern lens, blending classical Italian painting with Chinese tradition.

Michigan’s largest‑ever Chihuly exhibition marks long-awaited return to Meijer Gardens

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is hosting its largest-ever exhibition of glass artist Dale Chihuly, titled "CHIHULY: Radiant Forms." Opening May 2 and running through November 1, 2026, the show marks Chihuly's first exhibition at the venue since 2010 and spans the 158-acre campus, including a new concentration of works in the Japanese Garden. The indoor gallery presents a chronological survey of Chihuly's 50-year career, featuring early baskets and cylinders, Venetian-inspired goblets, and iconic sea forms in open-air aquariums.

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art Announces First Exhibitions Curated by George Lucas

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, set to open on September 22, 2026, in Los Angeles's Exposition Park, has announced its inaugural exhibition schedule curated by George Lucas. The museum will showcase a wide range of narrative art, from Americana works by Thomas Hart Benton and Norman Rockwell to documentary photography by Gordon Parks, Dorothea Lange, and Robert Capa, as well as public murals by Diego Rivera and Judith F. Baca. The collection also includes production designs, props, and costumes from the Lucas Archives, alongside illustrations by Frank Frazetta, Maxfield Parrish, and N.C. Wyeth, children's literature art by Beatrix Potter and Jacob Lawrence, and comics and manga by Jack Kirby, Alison Bechdel, and Mœbius.

Six artists: Always in the heart, my homeland

An exhibition titled "Sown by the Traveler: Women and Migrants in Philippine Art" has opened at UPV MACH (UP Visayas Museum of Art and Cultural Heritage) in Iloilo City, featuring 16 paintings by six Filipino artists who lived abroad: Fernando Zobel, Alfonso Ossorio, Macario Vitalis, Juvenal Sanso, Anita Magsaysay-Ho, and Nena Saguil. Curated by Patrick D. Flores from the collection of the Lopez Museum and Library, the show runs until May 8, 2026, and explores themes of migration and longing for home, with its title drawn from Jose Rizal's poem "To the Flowers of Heidelberg."

Hanwha Foundation to Open Michael Joo Solo Show at Space Zero One in New York

The Hanwha Foundation will present a solo exhibition by Korean American artist Michael Joo titled 'Sweat Models 1991-2026' at its New York space, Space Zero One, from February 20 to April 18, 2026. This marks the first exhibition of the year for the Tribeca-based platform, which opened in November with a mission to support emerging artists internationally.