The White House has released a list of Smithsonian Institution exhibits it finds objectionable, targeting displays that it claims promote divisive narratives or undermine traditional American values. The list includes specific exhibitions across multiple Smithsonian museums, such as those related to race, gender, and historical figures, which the administration argues should be revised or removed.
A new study published in the Journal of Cultural Heritage warns that rising sea levels will impact Chile’s Rapa Nui National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, by 2080. Coastal flooding threatens at least 51 culturally significant artifacts, including the iconic Moai statues—nearly 1,000 volcanic tuff figures created by a native Polynesian tribe over 500 years ago, some weighing up to 80 tons. Researchers from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa used advanced computer models to simulate wave patterns and map projected flooding, overlaying this data with the locations of cultural assets provided by local partners.
US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social accusing the Smithsonian Institution of focusing excessively on negative aspects of American history, specifically citing exhibits about slavery and the struggles of marginalized groups. He claimed the organization is "out of control" and instructed his attorneys to review its museums, mirroring recent actions against universities. The White House has initiated a four-month review of eight Smithsonian museums, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Portrait Gallery, with a directive to replace "divisive or ideologically driven language" with "unifying, historically accurate" descriptions.
Japanese-born artist Etsu Egami, known for large-scale abstract paintings exploring language and communication barriers, has been chosen to inaugurate Korea's new OAR Contemporary Museum in Gyeongju with a solo exhibition titled "Egami Etsu: Echoes of the Earth." The show, running until September 21, features site-specific works inspired by the city's ancient tombs and the museum's architecture. Egami, who was raised across Washington, DC, Paris, and Japan and studied in Germany, Beijing, and New York, has previously exhibited at the Guggenheim in New York, Grand Palais in Paris, and Mori Art Museum. She first showed in South Korea in 2022 at Tang Contemporary in Seoul, and her work has gained recognition among Korean curators and collectors.
Justin Sun, the billionaire founder of TRON and buyer of Maurizio Cattelan's "Comedian," filed a lawsuit against Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Inc. on August 11 in the U.S. District Court in Delaware. He seeks a temporary restraining order and injunctions to prevent Bloomberg from publishing his highly confidential financial information, including specific cryptocurrency holdings, which he claims would cause irreparable harm, risk of theft, hacking, and physical danger to him and his family. Bloomberg's attorney argued the application is moot because the article had already been published hours before Sun's lawyers gave notice. The Bloomberg profile estimated Sun's net worth at $12.4 billion, detailing his ownership of over 60 billion Tronix, 17,000 Bitcoin, 224,000 Ether, and 700,000 Tether.
A large mural by David Wojnarowicz (1954-92), rediscovered in a Louisville, Kentucky building in 2022, is at risk of being concealed again behind drywall as the building is redeveloped into high-end residences. The site-specific work was created in 1985 for the group exhibition *The Missing Children Show: Six Artists from the East Village on Main Street*, organized by dealer Potter Coe to benefit the Kentucky Child Victims’ Trust Fund. The building's current developers plan to turn the mural's floor into a waiting room for a boxing gym, covering it with sheetrock, though they have guaranteed no damage. The artist's foundation and gallery, PPOW, have proposed covering it with transparent plexiglass instead, but the mural's removal is unlikely due to its size and brick surface.
Nassau-born, Atlanta-based artist Lillian Blades presents 'Through the Veil,' her first solo museum exhibition, at the Sarasota Art Museum. The show features suspended mixed-media assemblages called 'veils,' made from Plexiglas, wood, family photographs, and found objects, stitched together with a metallic knotting technique. Inspired by her mother, who was a quilter and died in childbirth, Blades creates immersive, tapestry-like works that envelop viewers and cast intricate shadows on the museum's walls and floors. The exhibition also includes earlier wall assemblages encrusted with three-dimensional materials like antique mirrors and empty picture frames.
US museums are increasingly adopting bilingual and multilingual programming, primarily adding Spanish translations to wall texts, websites, and catalogs. Institutions like the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA) and MoMA PS1 in New York have led this shift, with MCA hiring bilingual staff and developing a bilingual website, while MoMA PS1 offers texts in Spanish, simplified Chinese, Arabic, Tagalog, and Bisaya for specific exhibitions. This trend responds to the fact that 14% of the US population speaks Spanish at home, and Latinx people represent a growing demographic in cities like Chicago.
The Drawing Center in New York is presenting 'In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney,' a major survey of the artist's works on paper spanning four decades, from 1929 to 1971. Featuring approximately 90 drawings in charcoal, ink, pastel, watercolor, and gouache, alongside a few paintings and archival materials, the exhibition highlights Delaney's evolution from Harlem Renaissance portraiture to Parisian abstraction. It includes early works like 'Harlem Athlete' (1929) and portraits of figures such as James Baldwin, as well as self-portraits and untitled abstractions.
“So Fun! An Exploration of Maximalism” opens at Vision Gallery in Chandler, Arizona, from August 23 to November 2, 2025. The group exhibition features five artists—including Lex Gjurasic, Sarah Hurwitz, and Sofie Ramos—who use plush emoji bean bags, flowers, Perler beads, and other media to create sculptures, drawings, paintings, and site-specific installations that celebrate the aesthetic of excess. Curated by Hanley Ange, the show counters Minimalist traditions and embraces color, pattern, and repetition to foster storytelling, self-expression, and empowerment.
Solomon Lewis Hunter, a Black carnival artist from Nottingham, describes his costume 'Rhythm of Bay Street,' which celebrates the Bahamian Junkanoo festival. The design features cowbells, trumpets, saxophones, and horn motifs to capture the energy of Bahamian brass bands. Hunter began his carnival journey in 2013 with Zodiac Allstars, later trained with Junkanoo Commandos in the Bahamas, and in 2017 founded Inspire Urself, a carnival troupe for young people and adults, with support from Arts Council England.
The Studio Museum in Harlem will open its new building on Saturday, November 15, with a Community Day celebration, after being closed since 2018. Designed by Adjaye Associates, the 82,000-square-foot, seven-story structure features 14,000 square feet of exhibition space, expanded studios for its Artist-in-Residence program, and dedicated education areas. The reopening includes four exhibitions, two site-specific commissions, and reinstallations of iconic works, including a survey of Tom Lloyd, the subject of the museum's first exhibition in 1968. The museum has also updated its hours and admission policies, offering free entry on Sundays.
Artist Julie Green spent 22 years painting the last meals of 1,000 death row inmates on ceramic plates, resulting in the exhibition "The Last Supper" at the Boise Art Museum. The cobalt-blue images on second-hand white plates include specific requests like tacos, doughnuts, fried chicken, and lobster, drawn from newspaper accounts of executions. The exhibition features plates from across the U.S., including two from Idaho, and was inspired by Green's reading of a 1999 newspaper article about a condemned man's final meal.
A new interactive art exhibition called "HORSE" has opened in downtown Detroit at 1001 Woodward Avenue, transforming a basketball court into an artistic installation. The centerpiece is a seven-armed sculpture featuring 21 basketball hoops at various angles and heights, inviting visitors to shoot hoops and play the game HORSE. Created by California-born, Detroit-based artist Tyrrell Winston—known for repurposing objects like basketballs—the project was developed in collaboration with landlord Bedrock and gallery Library Street Collective. The exhibition also includes a 30-by-50-foot painting, a sculpture made of old basketballs, a merchandise store, and a photo spot. It runs through October 5, with hours from Wednesday to Sunday.
On Friday, May 23, arts and culture workers protested at the Whitney Museum in New York following the museum's cancellation of a pro-Palestine performance titled "No Aesthetics Outside My Freedom: Mourning, Militancy, and Performance" by artists Fadl Fakhouri, Noel Maghathe, and Fargo Tbakhi. The protest, organized by Writers Against the War on Gaza, took place during the museum's Free Friday Night event, with demonstrators unfurling a Palestinian flag and a banner reading "Creativity Does Not Have to Rely on Death," distributing brochures demanding the removal of board members with ties to Israel, and calling out museum leadership for censorship. The performance, originally scheduled for May 14 as part of the Whitney's Independent Study Program, was canceled after museum leadership viewed a recording of its initial presentation at the Poetry Project, citing concerns that it "valorized specific acts of violence" and singled out community members based on belief systems.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced its MetLiveArts fall and winter 2025–26 season, featuring world premiere performances and commissions created specifically for the museum's galleries, as well as concerts in the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium. The season highlights a significant number of new works by female artists, including composers and musicians Gabriela Ortiz, Wu Man, Hanzhi Wang, Emily Wells, Layale Chaker, and Leilehua Lanzilotti. Performances will draw inspiration from the Met's collection and special exhibitions like 'Man Ray: When Objects Dream,' with events beginning September 9, 2025, featuring Wu Man and The Knights. The season also includes the JACK Quartet as the museum's 2025–26 Quartet in Residence and the appointment of Sarah Jones as Head of Live Arts.
A new exhibition titled 'Whimsical World' will open at Gallery One on August 6, as reported by the Coastal Point. The show promises to feature imaginative and playful artworks, though specific artists or pieces have not been detailed in the announcement.
Mashonda Tifrere, an art collector, musician, and founder of two art-based nonprofits, has launched two new projects in San Diego. She created a mindfulness audio tour titled "Inscape: Art and Collection at the Stuart Collection" for the Stuart Collection at UC San Diego, guiding listeners through 22 site-specific artworks. She also curated a group exhibition called "Somewhere in Between" at Quint Gallery in La Jolla, featuring works by artists including Taylor Chapin, Megan Gabrielle, and Nathan Wong.
The second edition of the Aspen Art Fair returns to the historic Hotel Jerome from July 29 to August 2, marking the launch of Aspen Art Week. The fair has more than doubled its exhibitor count from 21 to 44 galleries across 15 countries, including newcomers like Sean Kelly and Marianne Boesky, alongside international participants such as Praise Shadows, Anat Ebgi, the Sunday Painter, La Loma Projects, and 193 Gallery. Programming includes talks with artists Mickalene Thomas and Issy Wood, curated home tours, and a site-specific exhibition inspired by *A Room of One’s Own*. Cofounders Becca Hoffman and Bob Chase emphasize the fair's intimate, un-boothlike atmosphere, with in-room installations transforming guest suites into salon-style exhibitions.
Andres Serrano has publicly proposed to represent the United States at the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026 with an installation expanding his ongoing project "The Game: All Things Trump," a collection of Trump-themed memorabilia acquired largely from eBay. The proposal includes a site-specific iteration of the work at the U.S. Pavilion in Venice's Giardini, potentially incorporating his controversial film "Insurrection" about the January 6 riots. The U.S. State Department is accepting submissions through July 30 and will announce its choice on September 1, leaving the winner only eight months to prepare.
This article lists eight London museums and galleries that offer late-night opening hours on specific days, allowing visitors to explore exhibits after standard closing times. The featured institutions include the British Museum, National Portrait Gallery, Photographers' Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum, Science Museum, and London Transport Museum, each with designated late evenings typically on Fridays or Saturdays.
Raúl de Nieves's first solo institutional show in New York City, titled "In Light of Innocence," has opened at Pioneer Works. The exhibition transforms the Main Hall into an immersive, cathedral-like environment featuring 50 faux stained glass panels, a monumental lightbox mural, and works that blend Catholic, Mexican folkloric, and tarot symbolism. The artist uses humble materials like paper, wood, glue, tape, and colored acetate to create kaleidoscopic, light-responsive installations that shift throughout the day.
The National Gallery of Ireland presents 'Picasso: From the Studio', an exhibition opening 11 October 2025 that explores Pablo Picasso's private creative spaces across his career. Featuring sixty works, including paintings, sculptures, and ceramics, the show reconstructs the artist's studios from Montmartre's Le Bateau-Lavoir to the Mougins farmhouse, using archival photographs as ghostly backdrops. Key pieces like 'Violin and Bottle on a Table' (1915) and 'Tête de femme' (1931-32) reveal how specific environments—a cramped Parisian garret, a sun-drenched villa in Avignon, a Normandy stable—shaped his stylistic reinventions from Analytic Cubism to postwar ceramics.
The article is a visitor's guide to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C., describing its hidden, underground location behind the Smithsonian Castle and its extensive collection of ancient and modern African art. It highlights specific works on display, including a mixed media piece by Mary Sibande titled *Sophie-Merica* (2009), a sculpture by Ghada Amer titled *The Blue Bra Girls* (2012), and *Untitled* (2009) by El Anatsui, along with numerous masks, textiles, and photography exhibits by artists such as Lalla Essaydi.
Yad Vashem – The World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem has unveiled a new exhibition titled "Journey in the Wake of Catastrophe" by Israeli artist Tal Mazliach. The exhibition features eleven original works commissioned specifically for the show, which draw a visual and emotional connection between the Holocaust and the October 7th Hamas attack. Mazliach, a resident of Kibbutz Kfar Aza who survived the attack by barricading herself in her home for over 20 hours, is the second artist selected for Yad Vashem's 'Residency' Project. Her paintings incorporate tribal motifs, bold colors, and layered text, blending personal testimony with collective memory by drawing on Yad Vashem's archival collections.
Wolterton Hall, an 18th-century Palladian country house in Norfolk, England, has reopened to the public after a restoration completed by its new owner Richard Ellis. The estate is launching a water-themed exhibition titled "Sea State," featuring site-specific works by artists Maggi Hambling and Ro Robertson. Robertson's outdoor steel sculpture "The Swell" will be the first permanent outdoor artwork on the grounds, while Hambling presents new pieces from her "Wall of Water" series and an installation called "Time" dedicated to her late partner. The exhibition is co-curated by Simon Oldfield and Gemma Rolls-Bentley.
Bernard Williams' solo exhibition "Crossings" is on view across the Elmhurst Art Museum campus, including its parking lot and the Mies van der Rohe house. The show features sculptures, paintings, and installations that reference African American history, such as the "Spirit of Bessie Coleman" works honoring the pioneering aviator, and "Cowboy Dream" with its roosters and cowboy figure. The exhibition's title and layout deliberately avoid linear narratives, instead forcing viewers to navigate a fragmented path that mirrors the complexities of historical memory and racial injustice.
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, has acquired a monumental stained-glass window by Tiffany Studios, titled *Mountain Landscape (Root Memorial Window)* (1917). Measuring approximately nine feet by seven feet, the window was commissioned by the fraternal organization Woodmen of the World as a memorial to its founder, Joseph Cullen Root. Its design is attributed to Agnes F. Northrop, a lead designer at Tiffany Studios for half a century. The window was originally installed in Omaha, Nebraska, moved to San Antonio, Texas in 1931 for a tuberculosis hospital chapel, and later stewarded by the Sunset Ridge Church of Christ. The acquisition, facilitated by stained-glass restorer Bryant J. Stanton, took about a year to finalize.
Freddy Carrasco, a Canadian artist of Dominican heritage based in Japan, is preparing for his first Hong Kong exhibition titled "Return to Nothing" at WKM Gallery in Wong Chuk Hang, running until August 2. The show features paintings and sculptures inspired by the bamboo scaffolding and grid-like structures he observes from his studio window in Tsim Sha Tsui, which he likens to a tesseract—a four-dimensional cube representing space and time. Carrasco's work explores themes of existence, death, religion, and transformation, often depicting abstract black figures suspended in grids, hands in worship, or empty forms suggesting portals between dimensions. He is in Hong Kong on a visiting artist residency with Side Space, supported by Matt Chung, Alex Chan of The Shophouse, and William Kayne Mukai of WKM Gallery.
French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel has mounted his largest-ever exhibition across the city of Avignon, installing 270 artworks—140 of them new—in 10 locations including the Palais des Papes, city museums, public courtyards, building facades, and the medieval St Bénezet bridge. The show, commissioned to mark Avignon’s 25th anniversary as European Capital of Culture and 30th year as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2025, took nearly six weeks to install and involved a team of hundreds, including glassblowers, metalworkers, gilders, and dancers. Othoniel took the 14th-century Italian poet Petrarch as his thematic starting point, exploring different facets of love across the venues.