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Venice Biennale opens without a jury amid strife over Russian and Israeli participation

The Venice Biennale, one of the world's most prestigious contemporary art exhibitions, opens its most contested edition in memory without a jury after the jury resigned in protest over the participation of Israel and Russia, both under investigation by the International Criminal Court for human rights abuses. Protests have erupted outside the Israeli and Russian pavilions, with demonstrators clashing with police, while feminist groups from Ukraine and Russia converged on the Russian Pavilion and Palestinians remembered artists killed in Gaza. The Biennale has replaced the jury with a public vote via email, with winners announced at the close on November 22.

Minor Keys, Major Shifts: Sierra Leone’s Resonant Debut in Venice.

Sierra Leone has made its inaugural appearance at the 61st Venice Biennale with a pavilion titled 'Worlds of Today' located at the Liceo Guggenheim. Curated with a focus on "minor keys" rather than grand spectacles, the exhibition features Sierra Leonean artists Hawa-Jane Bangura, Ayesha Feisal, Hickmatu Bintu Leigh, and Abu Bakarr Mansaray alongside practitioners from other ECOWAS nations. The pavilion functions as a sensorial, porous space that prioritizes communal resilience and spiritual epistemologies over the commodification of identity.

Aude Herledan | Black Venus (2015) | For Sale

This is a sales listing for Aude Herledan's bronze sculpture "Black Venus" (2015), an editioned work from her series "Faithful To My African Roots." The piece is offered by 1831 Art Gallery in Paris, with a certificate of authenticity and price available on request. The listing also provides a biography of Herledan, a French-born artist raised in Kinshasa who studied at the École Estienne, Parsons School, École des Beaux-Arts, and École du Louvre, and who has shown at major fairs including TEFAA and Art Paris.

Linguistics

The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA) announced a lecture by linguist Dr. Salikoko S. Mufwene, exploring the evolution of language and symbols, alongside an exhibition of Gelsy Verna's artwork "Mother, Father, Please Help Me" (May 7–September 27, 2026). Verna, a Haitian-born Canadian artist and former University of Wisconsin–Madison professor, created the piece as a palimpsest over several years in collaboration with David Dunlap; the reverse side has been reproduced for display. MMoCA has added the work to its permanent collection.

Art Formes Presents A multi-disciplinary group exhibition curated by Jean Dreyer

Art Formes presents a multi-disciplinary group exhibition curated by Jean Dreyer at The Old Biscuit Mill in Cape Town, running from 16 April to 11 June 2026. The show features 21 artists including Maja Marx, Katherine Glenday, Gerhard Marx, and others, with works that explore themes of soil, text, and interconnection through painting, ceramics, and sculpture. The exhibition emphasizes dialogue between works and the gallery's architecture, with a press release highlighting the gallery's focus on contemporary African sculpture.

Review | An abruptly postponed Smithsonian show of African LGBTQ+ art is now open

The Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art has opened "Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art," its first major exhibition dedicated to African LGBTQ+ artists. The show, which was abruptly postponed earlier, features works that celebrate queer life through themes of joy, family, and belonging, while also addressing the darkness and loss faced by LGBTQ+ communities globally.

Street art festival transforms Morocco's capital into open-air gallery

The 11th JIDAR Rabat Street Art Festival has transformed Morocco's capital into an open-air gallery, with artists from Ecuador, South Africa, Peru, Russia, and Morocco painting large-scale murals on buildings. Works include Oscar Medina's bird clutching the sun and moon, Keya Tama's lion with Arabic script, and Mohamed Roshdi's portrait of a woman holding fish. The festival runs until 27 April.

At the Walters: Douriean Fletcher’s jewelry for the ‘Black Panther’ movies

The Walters Art Museum is showcasing the intricate jewelry designs of Douriean Fletcher, the specialty jeweler responsible for the iconic adornments in the 'Black Panther' film franchise. The exhibition highlights Fletcher's craftsmanship and her ability to blend Afrofuturist aesthetics with traditional African metalworking techniques, bringing cinematic artifacts into a fine art museum context.

Want to visit Wakanda? Step inside the Walters’ new ‘Black Panther’ exhibit.

The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore is launching "Douriean Fletcher: Jewelry of the Afrofuture," an exhibition featuring the intricate metalwork and costume designs from the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Black Panther franchise. The show highlights the work of self-taught artist and metalsmith Douriean Fletcher, whose collaboration with Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth Carter helped define the visual identity of Wakanda. On display are iconic pieces such as Nakia’s gold-plated brass necklace and Queen Ramonda’s silver bodice cage, alongside new works created specifically for the museum.

Rowan University’s Museum of Contemporary Art hosts final exhibition focusing on black resilience

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.

Philadelphia Museums Launch Landmark American Art Exhibition

The Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) have announced a major collaborative exhibition titled "A Nation of Artists," set to open in April 2026. Featuring over 1,000 works spanning three centuries, the show will integrate paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts, including more than 120 pieces from the prestigious Middleton Family Collection. The exhibition is designed to coincide with the United States' 250th anniversary and the reopening of PAFA’s Historic Landmark Building.

Cover | DIA Welcomes Jewish Museum Treasures in ‘Guests of Honor' Exhibit

The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) has launched a long-term exhibition titled 'Guests of Honor,' featuring significant loans of Jewish ceremonial objects from the Jewish Museum in New York. Running through January 2027, the display includes intricate items such as Torah crowns, pointers, menorahs, and spice boxes sourced from Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. The objects are integrated into various galleries, including the Arts of the Islamic World section, to highlight shared aesthetic motifs and historical connections between different cultures.

Art-in the-Park in Uvongo draws crowd

The South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal is experiencing a surge in artistic activity this holiday season, anchored by the popular monthly Art-in-the-Park event in Uvongo. Local art club Art by the Sea, which has fostered South African talent for over 50 years, is holding a season-long exhibition at the Southcoast Mall, while the Margate Art Museum and Sands Gallery are hosting concurrent showcases of regional painting and sculpture.

Sculpture of John Rhoden opens at Memorial Art Gallery

The Memorial Art Gallery has officially opened a major exhibition dedicated to the work of the late American sculptor John Rhoden. The opening reception, held on March 28, 2026, welcomed patrons and community members to explore a collection that highlights Rhoden’s unique ability to blend modernist sculpture with rhythmic, global influences.

Sculpture of John Rhoden opens at Memorial Art Gallery

The Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester has opened a significant retrospective dedicated to the 20th-century African American sculptor John Rhoden. The exhibition showcases Rhoden’s unique ability to blend modernist abstraction with global cultural influences, featuring a wide array of his bronze and wood works that reflect his extensive travels and commissions.

La Jolla art museum to host party for Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz art exhibit

The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) in La Jolla is preparing to host a major celebratory event for the opening of "Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz." The exhibition showcases a significant selection of works from the world-class private collection of the musical power couple, featuring monumental pieces by influential Black artists.

Slawn Releases ‘Not An Artist’ Album After Live Studio Exhibition at Saatchi Yates

London-based artist Slawn has released a collaborative album titled 'Not An Artist' following a month-long residency at Saatchi Yates gallery. From January to February, the gallery was transformed into a live studio environment where Slawn created paintings and recorded music simultaneously. The project featured a wide array of musical collaborators, including Unknown T and Blackhaine, and was executive produced by Arthur Bean.

New Weatherspoon Exhibition Stitches Black Quilter’s Artistry, Life Stories

The Weatherspoon Art Museum has launched two concurrent exhibitions centered on the legacy of Southern Black quilters. "Of Salt and Spirit: Black Quilters in the American South," curated by Dr. Sharbreon Plummer, showcases 24 quilts from the collection of folklorist Roland L. Freeman, including works by UNCG alumna Gwendolyn Magee. Complementing this is "Harriet’s Powers," a site-specific immersive installation by artist Precious D. Lovell that pays homage to Harriet Powers, a 19th-century quilter born into slavery whose work is now held by the Smithsonian and the MFA Boston.

Art Professor Christopher Richards Honored by Museum at FIT Exhibition

Brooklyn College Associate Professor of Art Christopher Richards is being honored with a major exhibition at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). The exhibition, "Art X Fashion," is directly inspired by his scholarship on African and global fashion, exploring the relationship between fashion and fine art through over 140 objects from the museum's collection.

UNT Gives No Reason for Sudden Closure of Victor Quiñonez Show

The University of North Texas abruptly cancelled the solo exhibition "Ni de Aqui, Ni de Allá" by artist Victor Quiñonez in its College of Visual Art & Design Gallery just nine days after its opening. The university covered the gallery windows with brown paper, removed all promotional material from its website and social media, and informed the artist via a misspelled email that it had terminated its loan agreement with Boston University Art Galleries, which originated the show. The artist was not notified in advance and learned of the closure from students.

Portland Art Museum opens gallery focused on Black artists, named for local trailblazer

The Portland Art Museum has opened a new permanent gallery dedicated to Black artists, named for local artist, dancer, and educator Thelma Johnson Streat. The gallery, which opened on the first day of Black History Month, features a variety of works by Black Oregon artists, including multimedia installations, paintings, drawings, and a large photographic grid.

Alfred Ceramic Art Museum to host “Fihankra,” exhibition by Eugene Ofori Agyei, former Turner Teaching Fellow at Alfred University

The Alfred Ceramic Art Museum will host “Fihankra,” an exhibition of ceramic sculptures by Eugene Ofori Agyei, opening February 12 and running through July 19. The works, created during Agyei’s tenure as Turner Teaching Fellow at Alfred University, incorporate Adinkra symbols from Ghana’s Akan ethnic group, wooden benches, batik fabric, yarn, and found objects to explore themes of diaspora, cultural adaptation, and belonging. A reception will be held from 5 to 7 pm on opening day, and the exhibition will be accompanied by the 2026 Perkins Lecture featuring a conversation between Agyei and independent curator Larry Ossei-Mensah.

Routed West: Twentieth-Century African American Quilts in California

The exhibition 'Routed West: Twentieth-Century African American Quilts in California' will run from September 18, 2026, to January 17, 2027, at BAMPFA. It traces the flow and flourishing of quilts during the Second Great Migration (1940–1970), when approximately five million African Americans moved from the rural South to the North and West, with hundreds of thousands arriving in California carrying quilts as containers of ancestral memory and cultural survival. The show features more than 80 artworks organized across several themes, highlighting repurposed work clothes, improvisational piecing, and pattern-based quilting by migrants from Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas. Works by contemporary artists show how these traditions remain alive today.

Best of the Year: Check Out the Most Voted Exhibitions of 2025

A public poll with over 8,500 votes has determined the top ten exhibitions of 2025 in Brazil. The number one spot went to conceptual artist Ana Amorim's show at MAC USP, followed by Goya Lopes' exhibition at MAM Bahia in second place. Other notable entries include a group show "Floresta de Espíritos" in Salvador, Thiago Martins de Melo's first solo exhibition in his hometown São Luís, and the Monet exhibition at Masp, which broke visitation records with 502,642 visitors. A special highlight is "Memórias do Inconsciente" by Jhonyson Nobre at Sesc Arapiraca, the only exhibition outside the initial shortlist to make the top ten. Maria Bonomi at Paço Imperial received the most votes according to public comments as a bonus.

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.

Little Rock artist Aj Smith’s work to be shown at renovated Studio Museum in Harlem

Little Rock artist Aj Smith has been selected to have their work exhibited at the newly renovated Studio Museum in Harlem. The exhibition marks a significant milestone in Smith's career, bringing their art to one of the most prestigious institutions dedicated to artists of African descent. The Studio Museum recently completed a major renovation, expanding its gallery spaces and programming capacity.

Diana Eusebio’s 'Field of Dreams' exhibit at MOCA is rooted in culture

The Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami (MOCA) has opened three new exhibits as part of its 30th anniversary programming, including 'Field of Dreams,' the first solo exhibition for Miami-based fashion designer and multidisciplinary artist Diana Eusebio. The 27-year-old artist presents 38 works that draw on her Indigenous Peruvian-Quechua and Afro-Dominican heritage, using textiles and fabrics sourced from Miami, Peru, and the Dominican Republic, along with ancestral dyeing techniques and materials native to Miami.

New Cope House exhibit highlights the art of collecting

William Skeet Jiggetts, a longtime art collector and trustee of several museums, founded the Museum of African American Art Collections (MAAAC) to celebrate Black collectors and display their private holdings. The organization's inaugural exhibition, “Collectors’ Life,” runs from Nov. 1 to Dec. 30 at Awbury Arboretum’s Cope House Gallery in Germantown, featuring works curated by local collectors including Diana Tyson, Stephanie A. Daniel, Vashti Dubois, Dr. Robyn Jones, and Adrian Moody. Two accompanying talks will explore portraiture and the evolving relationship between collectors and artists.

Absa L’Atelier ambassador opens Solo Exhibition in Uganda, challenges hair bias

Absa Group has announced that Eric Joe Gayi, an Absa L’Atelier 2023 Ambassador, will open his solo exhibition *Breaking the Norm* on November 1, 2025, at The Summit Residences in Naguru, Kampala, in collaboration with Amasaka Gallery. The show features intricate ballpoint pen drawings exploring Afro hair as a symbol of identity, resistance, and cultural pride, using blue figures to represent conformity and black figures with honeycomb textures to symbolize authenticity and resilience against Eurocentric beauty standards.

In historic move, MFA Boston returns works by 19th-century enslaved artist David Drake to his heirs

The Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) Boston has agreed to return two 1857 ceramic jars by David Drake, an enslaved Black potter, to his living descendants. One vessel will remain on loan to the museum for at least two years, while the other—the "Poem Jar"—has been purchased back by the MFA from the heirs for an undisclosed sum, now carrying a "certificate of ethical ownership." The museum acknowledges that Drake created the works involuntarily and without compensation, marking the first time the MFA has resolved a claim for art wrongfully taken under U.S. slavery.