Iran will not participate in the Biennale

Iran nimmt nicht an Biennale teil

Iran has withdrawn from the Venice Biennale, according to an announcement by the Biennale organization reported in Italian media. No reasons were given for the decision. The withdrawal comes amid significant turmoil at the Biennale just days before its official opening on Saturday: the entire jury resigned over disputes regarding the treatment of Russia and Israel, the opening ceremony was canceled, and the traditional awarding of Golden Lions at the start has been postponed to the final day in November, with winners now to be decided by visitor vote rather than a jury.

EU Plans Penalty for Russia's Biennale Participation

EU plant Strafe für Biennale-Teilnahme Russlands

The European Union has threatened to cut funding for the Venice Biennale if it allows Russia to reopen its national pavilion at the upcoming exhibition. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas stated that Russia's return is "morally wrong" while the country is bombing Ukrainian museums and destroying cultural heritage. Russia, in coordination with the Biennale foundation, had announced plans to participate this year with works by Russian artists, marking its first appearance since the 2022 invasion.

Art Düsseldorf Sees Increase in Visitors

Art Düsseldorf mit Besucher-Plus

Art Düsseldorf concluded its eighth edition with a significant increase in attendance, drawing 23,000 visitors to the Areal Böhler over the weekend. The fair featured 119 galleries from Germany and abroad, showcasing contemporary art despite broader economic uncertainties. This year's figures represent a notable growth from the previous year, which saw 20,000 visitors and 108 participating galleries.

Who is the mystery man in this portrait?

A gallery has corrected the title of a portrait by British artist Tom McGuinness after the artist's daughter identified the subject as an unknown man, not her grandfather as originally thought. The drawing, initially labeled "Cathy's Dad," has been renamed "Portrait of an Unknown Man" and is included in the exhibition "Tom McGuinness: Out of the Darkness," which runs through the rest of the year and features oil paintings, sketches, lithographs, and family portraits.

Little Artists exhibition to give young creators the chance to show their talent

An annual Little Artists exhibition will take place next Sunday, May 10, at The Lighthouse in North Berwick, from 1:30 to 4:30 PM. Young creators will display artworks based on the theme 'favourite things,' including drawings of their favorite toys, foods, places, and more. The exhibition also features eight large wall murals painted monthly, depicting scenes such as a toy shop, a field of animals, and a rabbit village. Tickets are £10 per family group.

YVC student art show at Larson Gallery

Yakima Valley College (YVC) art students are showcasing their work in the annual Student Art Show at Larson Gallery. The exhibition features artwork created for class assignments from spring and fall quarters of 2025 and winter quarter of 2026, spanning mediums such as ceramics, painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, and design. Awards and honorable mentions were presented at the opening reception on May 5, and many pieces are available for purchase. The show runs through Saturday, May 30, with free admission.

Parkville exhibit celebrates 99-year-old artist who began drawing later in life

Nita Draut, a 99-year-old artist who began drawing at age 70, is being honored with a new exhibition at Fusion Art Gallery in Parkville. Staff at Ascend Healthcare noticed her graphite drawings and helped organize the show as she approaches her 100th birthday while receiving hospice care. Draut sketches people she encounters in everyday life, often asking strangers for permission to draw them.

Daylight Chaser exhibit features Kalispell artist

A new exhibition titled "Daylight Chaser" opens May 1 at Phillips Gallery in Kalispell, featuring oil paintings by self-taught artist Brian Braunberger. The works depict Flathead Valley landscapes, drawing on Braunberger's background in graphic design and marketing to create what he describes as an interpretation of nature's "emotional fingerprint of lighted rhythm." A reception with an artist's talk will be held on opening night, and the show runs through May 30.

Mount Wachusett Community College student art exhibit opens in Gardner

Mount Wachusett Community College (MWCC) has opened its 55th Annual Student Art Exhibition at the East Wing Gallery inside the Raymond LaFontaine Fine Arts Center on its Gardner campus. Running from May 11 through May 26, the show features student work in painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, and design, selected collaboratively by faculty and students. Art department chair, professor, and gallery director Joyce Miller is the contact for the event.

Young Artists Shine: Long Branch Student Art Exhibition Returns to LB Arts & Cultural Center

The annual Long Branch District Student Art Exhibition returns to the Long Branch Arts & Cultural Center in New Jersey, running from May 7 through May 15. The showcase features paintings, drawings, mixed media pieces, and other creative projects by students across all grade levels in the Long Branch Public Schools district, with an opening reception on May 11 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

West Kootenay Camera Club opening show at Castlegar art gallery

The West Kootenay Camera Club is hosting its 35th Annual Photo Show at the Kootenay Gallery of Art in Castlegar from June 4-13, 2026. The exhibition features judged photo entries across categories such as nature, human interest, places and landscapes, creative, black and white, after dark, and alternate media, with an opening reception on June 4 from 5-7 p.m.

Jury or Public? The Biennale Is Not an Algorithm, But Neither Is It a Liturgy

Giuria o pubblico? La Biennale non è un algoritmo, ma neppure una liturgia

The article critically examines the proposal for "Visitor Lions" (Leoni dei Visitatori) at the Venice Biennale, arguing that the idea is a fragile, quick-fix response to a deeper crisis. It questions whether replacing expert juries with public voting would truly improve the selection process, noting that both systems have significant flaws: juries are not necessarily neutral, often rushed and filtered, while public voting risks favoring accessible, easily consumable works and reinforcing existing hierarchies.

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.

In Milan, the furnishings of the White House go on display. Design and architecture to talk about propaganda

A Milano vanno in mostra gli arredi della Casa Bianca. Design e architettura per parlare di propaganda

An exhibition titled 'The White House. Domestic Propaganda' has opened at Dropcity, an experimental center in the tunnels beneath Milan's Central Station, as part of the city's Design Week. Curated by students from the Politecnico di Milano's Interior Design Laboratory, the show critically examines the White House as a domestic space for political propaganda, using installations, models, and drawings to explore how its architecture and furnishings project cultural and social meanings.

Captured in Escalante: Art Festival Invites Artists and Visitors This September

The Escalante Canyons Art Festival returns September 18–27, 2026, in Southern Utah, inviting artists and visitors to engage with the landscape through plein air painting, studio submissions, and special categories like nocturne and miniature works. The festival offers over $10,000 in prizes, including a Best of Show purchase award of $1,500, and features a dedicated junior division with no entry fee. Highlights include the Escalante 150th Anniversary Paint-Out, workshops, live music, judges’ talks, historic walking tours, and a play by local playwright Raymond Shurtz, all set near the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument.

Six contemporary artists reimagine ‘the Gothic’ for new Tyntesfield exhibition

Six contemporary artists have created new works reimagining the Gothic aesthetic for an exhibition at Tyntesfield, a Victorian Gothic Revival house in Somerset, England. The artists were invited to respond to the architecture, collections, and atmosphere of the National Trust property, producing paintings, sculptures, and installations that engage with themes of the macabre, the supernatural, and the uncanny.

California Art Club’s “American Road Trip” Opens at the Old Mill

The California Art Club opens its third exhibition, “A Rite of Passage: The American Road Trip,” at the Old Mill in San Marino on May 14. The show features paintings by CAC artists depicting cross-country highway scenes, including desert roads, small-town main streets, and roadside landmarks, as part of the club’s series celebrating California’s 175th anniversary and the United States’ 250th. The exhibition runs through October 4.

Annual {Ink}arcerated art exhibition returns to Arizona Center May 15

The {Ink}arcerated: Creativity Within Confinement art exhibition returns to the Arizona Center on May 15, featuring 365 new paintings, drawings, and sculptures created by incarcerated individuals. Managed by doctoral students Alexis Klemm and Madeline Boersma from ASU's School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, the program involves distributing art supplies to 17 correctional facilities across Arizona, including a youth facility for the first time, and curating the completed works into a polished exhibition with museum lighting and display walls.

Holding Us Together: Images of Care, Continuity, and Black Life

The exhibition 'Kinship & Community' has opened, drawing from the Texas African American Photography Archive to present a living archive of everyday gestures and images of Black life. The show positions photography as both a witness to and a participant in the formation of community memory, focusing on themes of care and continuity.

Merritt Wins Best Of Show At Spring Juried Art Show

Wesley Dallas Merritt won Best of Show at the Lakeland Art Association's 22nd annual Spring Juried Art Show, held at the Lakeland Art Gallery in Warsaw, Indiana. The show featured 53 works by 19 artists from Fort Wayne, North Manchester, and surrounding counties, including paintings, photographs, metal sculptures, and ceramic works. Judge Andrew Tomasik, a Warsaw Community High School visual arts teacher, also awarded first place to Brenda Stichter, second place to Merritt, and third place to Sherri Johnson, along with six honorable mentions.

Western’s ‘Student Art Exhibition’ now open to the public

Western’s Student Art Exhibition has opened to the public at the school’s Art Gallery, featuring works in painting, printmaking, ceramics, photography, drawing, sculpture, and mixed media. The exhibition runs until August 28, with a public reception and awards ceremony scheduled for May 14, where community members can meet the student artists and purchase their work.

Western’s Art Gallery to host student artworks in end of year exhibition

Western Wyoming Community College (Western) will host its annual Student Art Exhibition in the Art Gallery from May 8 through August 28, with a public reception and awards ceremony on May 14. The exhibition features works in painting, printmaking, ceramics, photography, drawing, sculpture, and mixed media by Western students, many of whom are exhibiting and selling their art professionally for the first time. Proceeds from sales will be split between the artists and the college's Art Gallery. The show is curated by Assistant Professor of Art Ben Nathan with student gallery interns.

LCCC hosts 2026 student art show at Cheyenne campus gallery

Laramie County Community College (LCCC) is hosting its 2026 Student Art Show at the Esther and John Clay Fine Art Gallery on the Cheyenne campus, running through May 10. A public reception will be held on April 28 from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Art instructor and gallery coordinator Daniel Maw expects over 100 submissions from currently enrolled students, featuring drawings, paintings, ceramics, and other media.

The Fox Clark Gallery celebrates Bill Double and his 50-year artistic career in new exhibition

The Fox Clark Gallery is hosting a new exhibition celebrating Bill Double and his 50-year artistic career. The show highlights Double's evolution as an artist over five decades, featuring a range of works that trace his creative journey and contributions to the visual arts.

New art gallery opening in Pokesdown in tandem with Dorset Art Weeks

A new art gallery, Pokesdown Gallery, is opening on Christchurch Road in Pokesdown, Dorset, coinciding with the annual Dorset Art Weeks event starting May 23. The gallery joins a growing arts scene in Boscombe, which includes venues like BEAF, AUGER, Rhythm Store, TOSH, and Factory Studios. Its inaugural exhibition features works by two local artists: printmaker Sarah Humby, who teaches and sketches around Hengistbury Head, and glass sculptor Fabian Rose, who creates pieces using lost wax methods from his Southbourne workshop. The gallery will be open weekends during exhibitions.

FRC student artists present exhibition across 2 galleries

Feather River College's Studio Arts Department is holding its annual Student Art Exhibition in May across two Quincy galleries: Main Street Artists Gallery and Plumas Arts Gallery. The exhibition features student work in drawing, painting, photography, and sculpture, with an opening reception on May 1. Additionally, Main Street Artists Gallery is showcasing three resident fine jewelry creators—Robert Rose, Judy Dailey, and Michael Borofka—alongside other gallery members' work.

ALG Fine Art presents Lisa Moriarty: "Breathing Space" opening reception

ALG Fine Art in Dallas presents "Breathing Space," a solo exhibition by new resident artist Lisa Moriarty. The show features encaustic works built from hundreds of hand-cut elements of silk, organza, and paper, layered with wax to explore themes of memory, stillness, and the restorative power of nature. The exhibition runs through June 17, with a free opening reception.

‘Wild Life’ and May Show Opening Reception

The McLean Art Gallery is hosting an opening reception on May 1 for its May show and a special exhibit titled 'Wild Life,' presented by the local nonprofit McLean Art Society. The exhibit runs from May 1–31 and features over 200 new works in various media including oil, acrylic, pastel, watercolor, mixed media, drawing, photography, sculpture, wood, glass, ceramics, and jewelry, exploring diverse interpretations of the theme beyond just animals.

Ridgewood’s Thriving Art Scene Steps Out of Bushwick’s Shadow

Ridgewood, a neighborhood in Queens, New York, has developed a thriving art scene that is increasingly stepping out of the shadow of its more famous neighbor, Bushwick. The article highlights how a growing number of galleries, artist-run spaces, and studios have opened in Ridgewood, attracted by lower rents and a sense of community, drawing artists and collectors away from the increasingly commercialized Bushwick corridor.

‘Regal Threads: The Majesty of Blue and Purple’ art exhibition

WCBD News 2 reports on the opening of 'Regal Threads: The Majesty of Blue and Purple,' an art exhibition exploring the historical and cultural significance of blue and purple in art and textiles. The show features works from multiple artists and highlights the symbolic use of these colors across different eras and cultures.