Eugenio Viola, former artistic director of the Bogotá Museum of Modern Art (MAMBO), argues that museums must evolve from authoritative cultural temples into critical civic spaces. He contends that in polarized societies marked by inequality and contested histories, museums are essential infrastructures for hosting discomfort, divergent memories, and unresolved tensions, fostering collective dialogue and visibility for excluded narratives.
Artist Hannah Black opened a solo exhibition titled "Harsh Muting" at the gallery zaza' in Naples. The show runs from March 20 to May 3, 2026, and is documented with 14 images on the Contemporary Art Daily platform.
A new group exhibition, "That Lovely Land of Might-Have-Been," opened at The Falstaff Project in El Paso, featuring works by over twenty artists including Haydee Alonso, Diamond Stingily, and Edward Thomasson. Curated by artist Miguel Bendaña, the show presents a diverse range of media, from video installations to other contemporary forms, and will run from January 29 through March 8, 2026.
A coalition called Health Workers 4 Palestine has organized an art auction, Seeds of Solidarity, to support medical professionals in Gaza. Taking place on 1 February at the Savoy hotel in London, the auction features works donated by 21 visual artists including Antony Gormley, Brian Eno, Mona Hatoum, Lisa Brice, Caroline Walker, and Hassan Hajjaj. Proceeds will benefit the Gaza Medics Solidarity Fund, which provides stipends to doctors, supports mobile clinics, and helps reconstruct maternity wards in the enclave. The sale is curated by Zayna Al-Saleh, known for her Voices of Palestine auctions that have raised over $1.4 million.
14-year-old artist Andres Valencia will open his first solo exhibition, "Profiles in Color," at the Nassau County Museum of Art on March 21, 2026. The show features his Cubist-inspired large-scale portraits, which blend bold colors and geometric forms. Valencia, who began painting at age five, first gained attention at Art Miami in 2021 and has since published an art book, launched a limited-edition print collection with Mourlot Editions, and been collected by celebrities including Eva Longoria and Sofía Vergara.
Taiwanese Mandopop superstar Jay Chou has curated two simultaneous auctions on Pharrell Williams's platform Joopiter: one featuring 14 personal memorabilia items from his three-decade career, and another titled "The Contemporary Take: A Look With Jay Chou" offering 25 paintings and prints by international artists. Highlights include works by Oscar Yi Hou, Young-il Ahn, Daniel Richter, Hajime Sorayama, Diane Dal-Pra, Ernie Barnes, and Yoshitomo Nara. Bidding closes on October 31 for the art sale and November 4 for the memorabilia. Proceeds from the memorabilia sale will support a charitable initiative backed by Chou.
The Ohio Art League has opened a new exhibition titled "Uncensored" at RAW Gallery in Downtown Columbus, running from July 13 through September 12, 2025. The show features provocative, unfiltered artworks that address politically charged topics such as gun violence and reproductive rights. Participating artists include Jim Bowling, a professor at Otterbein University, whose sculpture "Second Amendment Rites" critiques gun violence and was previously questioned for being "too political"; Gwen Waight, whose assemblage "Free Abortion" was censored in another show over funding concerns; and Kenia LaMarr, a master's student at Ohio State University, whose painting "Virtuous Intimacy" explores the sexualization of women's bodies. The exhibition is free and open to the public.
Martha Stewart has curated her first-ever art auction with Joopiter, Pharrell Williams' auction platform, titled "The Contemporary Take." The sale features nearly 50 works by leading contemporary artists including Andy Warhol, Amy Sherald, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Damien Hirst, and Ai Weiwei, running from April 28 through May 6. Highlights include Yiadom-Boakye's "Bark Scraper" (estimated $900,000–$1.2 million), Hirst's pillcase "Up at Dawn" ($500,000–$700,000), and works by George Condo, Esther Mahlangu, and Hank Willis Thomas.
JOOPITER, the auction platform founded to rethink collecting for a digital generation, will launch its first dedicated contemporary art sale this spring. Titled "The Contemporary Take," the online auction runs from April 28 through May 6, 2025, and is curated in collaboration with Martha Stewart. The sale features nearly fifty works by established and emerging artists, including Alex Katz, Jeff Koons, Amy Sherald, George Condo, Esther Mahlangu, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Ai Weiwei, and Damien Hirst, selected to reflect the renewal and vibrancy of the season. The auction also marks the debut of late Iranian-American artist Davood Roostaei.
Artlogic, a major art inventory management firm, and ArtCloud, a gallery software company specializing in collector engagement and AI tools, have announced a merger. The combined entity will support over 6,000 galleries, artists, and collectors, managing more than 15 million artworks. Artlogic CEO Mike Profit described the move as a long-term infrastructure play, while ArtCloud CEO Alex West will become Chief Innovation Officer of the merged company.
The 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair will return to New York's Starrett-Lehigh Building from May 13 to May 17, 2026, for its 12th edition. Featuring over 20 exhibitors from 12 countries, the fair introduces a curated section titled "1-54 Presents: Brazil Beyond Brazil," led by Brazilian curator and professor Igor Simões, marking the fair's first focus on Afro-Brazilian art and the cultural connections between Africa and Latin America. New participants include Adegbola Gallery (Lagos), Aura (São Paulo), and Black Pony Gallery (Bermuda), alongside returning exhibitors such as 193 Gallery and Galerie Myrtis.
Alzueta Gallery in Barcelona is presenting 'T-10 Project', an exhibition by artist Andrea Torres Balaguer. The show is part of the gallery's ongoing program, which spans five locations across Barcelona, Madrid, Casavells, and Paris, and includes exhibitions, art fairs, residencies, and collaborative projects.
The Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI) will hold its 15th Summer Auction on February 28, featuring a curated selection of Peruvian art. The lots span from historical Indigenismo works by artists like José Sabogal to contemporary pieces by emerging talents such as Venuca Evanán, encompassing painting and sculpture.
The article explains the concept of an Artist Corporation (A-Corp), a new business structure for artists introduced in a bill before the Colorado state legislature, originally proposed by entrepreneur Yancey Strickler. It allows artists to form a legally recognized business entity without hiring a lawyer, simply by filling out a form, and provides liability protection by separating personal assets from business assets. The bill is expected to reach the governor's desk by mid-May and be enacted within six months, with five or six other states, including New York, expressing interest.
A Venezia il famoso street artist JR avvolge completamente un palazzo storico con un’installazione
Street artist JR has wrapped the historic Palazzo Ca' da Mosto in Venice—now the Venice Venice Hotel—with a large-scale installation timed to the 61st Venice Biennale. The project, titled "Il Gesto," reinterprets Paolo Veronese's 1563 masterpiece "The Wedding at Cana" as a contemporary fresco featuring 176 people from the Refettorio Paris community kitchen. Inside the palazzo, an immersive installation combines photographic portraits, reflective surfaces, and audio recordings to create a layered narrative. A monumental tapestry woven by Giovanni Bonotto and the Fondazione Bonotto, made from recycled plastic, wool, cotton, and washi paper, extends the work into a durable, contemplative form.
In ex fabbrica di Milano ha aperto la mostra-fiera MEGA. Tutte le foto e 5 stand da non mancare
The third edition of MEGA Art Fair has opened in Milan, relocating to SPAZIO PROFUMO, a former perfume factory in the Barona district. Running from April 15 to 25, 2026, the event strategically bridges Milan Art Week and Design Week, featuring over 30 international exhibitors from Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Eschewing traditional booth structures, the fair utilizes a cohesive curatorial layout that integrates industrial archaeology with contemporary practices, including a dedicated video program and a section titled 'City of Glass.'
The Brooklyn Fine Art Print Fair (BFAPF) has returned for its second edition at Powerhouse Arts, expanding significantly from its inaugural "beta test" last year. The fair now features over 60 exhibitors, including a diverse mix of independent print shops, academic departments, self-represented artists, and established international galleries. This year's iteration emphasizes experimental mixed-media practices and a rigorous juried selection process, moving beyond traditional printmaking to include illuminated plexiglass screenprints and sculptural paper works.
ShanghART Gallery presents Dai Chenlian's solo exhibition 'Waxing and Waning of the Augustness III' at its M50 space in Shanghai from April 10 to May 29, 2026. The show is the final chapter of the artist's 'Mother Trilogy,' centering on his mother's life from 1954 to 2025. Through a reconstructed old house made from loom parts, along with painting, installation, performance, sound narration, and shadow puppetry, the exhibition explores themes of memory, migration, and female resilience, drawing on a line by Tang dynasty poet Li Shangyin.
Castle Gallery, a new contemporary and local art space, will open this weekend in Middleburg, Virginia, timed with the town's Christmas parade. Founded by art advisor Catherine Dolaher, the gallery is her first permanent location after a successful Georgetown pop-up. The opening features works by local artists Caroline Jean Gray, Lydia Marie Elizabeth, Megan Elizabeth, and Tara Andris, with prices ranging from under $200 to $10,000. Dolaher, who previously worked at the Hirshhorn Museum and other institutions, aims to blend contemporary art with a welcoming, home-like atmosphere, partnering with The Paradise Antiques for furnishings.
暗闇をくぐってみたら Part1 竹内公太展「のののののまつり」@ 市原湖畔美術館
The Ichihara Lakeside Museum, currently under renovation since late 2025, will partially reopen on May 1, 2026, with a theater-style series of solo exhibitions titled "Kōta Takeuchi: Nononononomatsuri" as its first installment. Artist Kōta Takeuchi, born in 1982 in Hyogo Prefecture and based in Fukushima, presents new video installations created during a four-month residency in Ichihara, where he visited over 70 stone monuments across the city—including horse-headed Kannon statues, Koyasu statues, and war memorials—to explore themes of parallel bodies and possession. The exhibition features works such as "Disassembly of the Sansha-za" (2013–2023), "Cement Thief" (2024), and "Sigh of the Ground" (2022), with a map showing the locations of the documented stone monuments.
公募｜Tokyo Contemporary Art Award 2026-2028
The Tokyo Contemporary Art Award (TCAA) 2026-2028 has opened applications starting June 9, 2025, targeting mid-career artists with international ambitions. Organized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Tokyo Arts and Space (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture / Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo), the award offers a 3 million yen prize, up to 2 million yen for overseas activities, an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, and monograph production. Two winners will be selected through a combination of nominations and open call, with new jurors Joselina Cruz (Director and Curator, MCAD Manila) and Kenichi Kondo (Senior Curator, Mori Art Museum) joining the panel.
The Middletown Arts Center is currently hosting the Garden State Watercolor Society’s 56th Annual Open Juried Exhibition alongside the 8th Annual Art Installation Exhibition. Juried by Joseph Gyurcsak, the main showcase features 64 selected watercolor paintings, while a special installation titled "Revolution as Reinvention" presents 55 miniature works exploring the history of artistic rebellion. The exhibition is open to the public through May 30, 2026, with a digital version available online.
Artist Ravi Jackson opened a solo exhibition titled "Handholders" at two New York galleries, PAGE (NYC) and Dracula's Revenge. The show ran from March 6 to April 11, 2026, and was documented with 27 images on the Contemporary Art Daily platform.
Nick Cave è alla Biennale 2026. Sette opere tra perdita, memoria e protesta
Nick Cave presents "Two Points in Time at Once" at the 2026 Venice Biennale, a project spanning seven locations across Venice. The installation features a series of bronze works, including the "Amalgam" series (Seated, Origin, Plot, Resuscitation, Meditation) along with "Grapht" and "Siren." This marks a significant material shift from Cave's iconic fabric Soundsuits to bronze, exploring themes of loss, memory, trauma, and protest through a more static yet politically charged presence.
Le Pussy Riot e le FEMEN in protesta al Padiglione russo alla Biennale di Venezia. “Il sangue è il vero linguaggio della Russia”
On May 6, 2026, during the preview days of the 61st Venice Biennale, Pussy Riot and FEMEN staged a joint protest outside the Russian Pavilion. Led by Nadya Tolokonnikova, the activists denounced Russia's participation in the Biennale as a form of political normalization while the war in Ukraine continues. The action included chants and slogans such as "Russia kills, Biennale exhibits. Blood is Russia's art," and targeted the Russian ambassador present inside the pavilion. The protest was unannounced and caught Biennale security off guard, drawing a crowd of journalists, visitors, and art professionals.
The Kelterborn Collection, a German private collection focused on video art and experimental installations, will be exhibited in Italy for the first time at Venice's Contemporary Forces platform from May 7 to September 27, 2026. The exhibition, titled "Who’s a good boy??," is curated by Anastasia Stravinsky and Mario von Kelterborn in collaboration with IKT – International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art, and features works by twelve artists including Joseph Beuys, Gary Hill, Laure Prouvost, and Ulay. The show aligns with the theme of the 61st Venice Biennale, exploring power "in minor keys."
Storia della Torre Branca di Milano che torna protagonista grazie alla trasmissione tv di Fabio Volo
The Torre Branca in Milan, originally designed by architect Gio Ponti in 1932 for the V Triennale di Milano, is experiencing renewed cultural relevance. After years of abandonment and restoration by Fratelli Branca Distillerie (which gave it its current name), the tower reopened to the public in 2002. In April 2026, it became the set of "Kong – Con la testa tra le nuvole," a new television program hosted by Fabio Volo on Rai 3, featuring celebrities and cultural figures discussing existential themes. Additionally, the tower was recently reinterpreted through contemporary photography in an exhibition by Francesco Jodice at Galleria Frittelli Rizzo in Milan.
Aspettando la Biennale Arte 2026, su Sky Arte Artbox racconta il festival torinese EXPOSED
The 24th episode of Sky Arte's program "Artbox" airs on May 5, 2026, coinciding with the official start of the Venice Biennale Arte 2026. The episode focuses on the third edition of EXPOSED Torino Photo Festival, themed "Mettersi a nudo" (Stripping Bare), inspired by Baudelaire. Artistic director Walter Guadagnini, photographers Toni Thorimbert and Paola Agosti, and curator Giangavino Pazzola discuss the festival's exhibitions, including Paola Agosti's feminist photography at the Museo Nazionale del Risorgimento and Yorgos Lanthimos's photographs at the Cripta di San Michele Arcangelo. The episode also covers a Max Bill retrospective at the m.a.x. museo in Chiasso, Switzerland, and features segments on art and truth, a book on Milan's Central Station, and a project from Milan Design Week 2026 by Spanish artist Pau Aguilò.
Nasce a Venezia la Kunsthaus Paradiso: l’arte italiana ha una casa, malgrado la Biennale
A new project called Kunsthaus Paradiso has opened in Palazzo Molin Querini in Venice, running from May 4 to May 31 in conjunction with the Venice Biennale. Founded by curator Caroline Corbetta, the initiative evolved from her earlier Crepaccio project (2012–2016) in Milan and the Padiglione Crepaccio, which debuted at the 2013 Biennale Arte curated by Massimiliano Gioni. Kunsthaus Paradiso focuses on Italian and Venice-based artists—including Thomas Braida, Fabio De Meo, Caterina Rossato, Ornella Cardillo, Alessandro Miotti, Melania Fusco, Mauro Campagnaro, Marta Spagnoli, Barbara De Vivi, Spazio Punch, Giorgio Andreotta Calò, Mattia Sinigaglia, and the collective Scafandra—offering a platform for emerging and local talent during the Biennale.
Jiaqi Wang dà un nuovo volto e un nuovo tratto a Miss Chiquita per questa Milano Art Week 2026
Chiquita has selected Chinese-born, New York-based illustrator and animator Jiaqi Wang as the third artist for its 'Pop by Nature' campaign, which connects the brand with contemporary art. Wang has reinterpreted the brand's iconic Miss Chiquita mascot with her signature vibrant colors, clean lines, and scenes of daily life. The campaign includes out-of-home installations, urban interventions like a mural in Milan, limited-edition banana stickers, and culminates with an immersive 'Miss Chiquita House' experience during Milan Art Week 2026.