The 'Spectrosynthesis Seoul 2026' exhibition, opening March 20 at the Art Sonje Center, is the fourth installment of the Sunpride Foundation's series showcasing LGBTQ+ art across Asia. It features over 70 artists, including new commissions, and focuses on the experiences of marginalized communities during Korea's modernization and the queer histories of specific Seoul neighborhoods.
The Los Angeles Times has published a guide to the new public park surrounding LACMA's David Geffen Galleries, designed by architect Peter Zumthor. The 3.5-acre campus features outdoor dining, a sculpture garden, and a 300-seat theater, with free public art including Jeff Koons' topiary "Split-Rocker," Chris Burden's "Urban Light," and works by Alexander Calder, Pedro Reyes, and Shio Kusaka. The article provides a detailed map of installations, amenities, and nearby attractions like the La Brea Tar Pits.
Vanessa German has unveiled a major new installation at the Speed Art Museum titled '…do you remember when you were the sky?', marking the inaugural project of the Sam Gilliam Visiting Artist Program. The exhibition features German’s signature assemblage sculptures, which utilize diverse materials like cowrie shells, quilts, and skateboards to create hybrid figures representing young girls in states of transformation. The body of work is the result of months of community engagement and research into local histories, specifically focusing on the narratives of the Colored Girls Dormitory in Louisville.
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Christie's in Paris is hosting two significant sales featuring masterpieces from the legendary Veil-Picard collection, which had been largely inaccessible to the public and scholars for decades. Highlights include a perfect Watteau drawing unseen on the market since 1900 and two major Hubert Robert paintings commissioned by the famed salonnière Madame Geoffrin, offering a rare glimpse into 18th-century Parisian interiors.
The Denver Art Museum has repatriated a 1,500-year-old marble head of a bearded man to Turkey, following a successful restitution claim. The sculpture, which dates back to the fifth century BCE, was originally unearthed in the agora of the ancient city of Smyrna (modern-day Izmir) and was likely trafficked illicitly before entering the museum's collection. The artifact is now on public display at the İzmir Archaeology Museum.
DeviantArt has undergone a significant resurgence, reaching over 108 million users by 2026 following a multi-year modernization effort. The platform has pivoted away from traditional advertising models to a creator-centric ecosystem that prioritizes artist monetization through subscriptions, digital tip jars, and low-fee sales. By removing third-party ads and implementing advanced image protection technology, the site has positioned itself as a secure alternative to mainstream social media for digital creators.
The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis has announced it is severing ties with its on-site restaurant, Cardamom, following the establishment's sudden decision to lay off its front-of-house staff. The restaurant, operated by chef Daniel del Prado, intended to replace 16 servers and hosts with a QR code ordering system to combat financial losses. Museum director Mary Ceruti stated that the move caught the institution by surprise and does not align with the museum's commitment to providing a welcoming, full-service environment for its visitors.
The Barjeel Art Foundation has officially broken ground on its first permanent museum in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, with a scheduled opening for January 2028. Founded by Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, the 38,750-square-foot facility will be designed by Abdelmoneam Essa of Architecture Corner Consultants, featuring a design inspired by the traditional architecture of the Al Rigga neighborhood.
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office returned 17 stolen antiquities and rare books, valued at over $1.5 million, to Italy and the Vatican in a restitution ceremony. The items include six rare 16th–17th century Chinese-language Jesuit books stolen from the Vatican Archives and other artifacts seized from institutions like the Morgan Library and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Alexander Butyagin, a senior archaeologist at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, was arrested in Poland following an extradition request from Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities accuse Butyagin of conducting illegal excavations at the ancient Greek colony of Myrmekion in Crimea without the required permits following Russia's 2014 annexation. He is specifically accused of removing 30 gold coins, including rare artifacts bearing the name of Alexander the Great, while operating under Russian authority in occupied territory.
The Getty Foundation has announced that the 2030 edition of its PST ART initiative will focus on the cultural and historical exchanges between Los Angeles and the Pacific Rim. Led by inaugural creative director Justine Ludwig, the fourth iteration of the massive regional collaboration aims to explore transpacific influences ranging from colonial-era Chinese porcelain to the contemporary global impact of Korean pop culture.
Ulysses Jenkins, a pioneering video artist, muralist, and performer, has died at the age of 79. His passing was confirmed by the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, the institution that hosted his major 2022 retrospective, "Without Your Interpretation." Born and raised in Los Angeles, Jenkins dedicated his career to using the camera as a tool for social commentary, famously documenting the Watts Festival to counter negative media stereotypes and exploring the complex relationship between mass media and Black American identity.
Anne-Claire Legendre, a senior French diplomat and advisor to President Emmanuel Macron, has been selected to lead the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris. Her appointment follows the abrupt resignation of former director Jack Lang and, if confirmed, will make her the first woman to head the institution in its 40-year history.
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Federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis, led by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and ICE under Operation Metro Surge, have resulted in the deaths of two American citizens, poet Renee Good and nurse Alex Pretti, near major art institutions. The violence and subsequent shelter-in-place orders have directly impacted the local arts community, forcing school closures, remote learning, and causing widespread fear.
The Newark Museum of Art in New Jersey has appointed Lisa Funderburke as its new director and CEO, effective February 1. She succeeds Linda C. Harrison, who left the position seven months ago. Funderburke joins from the Artist Communities Alliance, a much smaller nonprofit focused on supporting artists and residencies.
The Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) announced it would remain closed on Sunday for safety reasons after a Border Patrol agent shot and killed Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, during an ICE operation in Minneapolis on Saturday. The shooting occurred just blocks from the museum, and MIA had already closed early on Saturday following the news. The closure was part of a broader Day of Truth and Freedom protest against ICE operations in Minnesota, and the NBA also postponed a Timberwolves game in response to the incident.
Jonathan Carver Moore, founder of an eponymous gallery in San Francisco, is presenting a solo booth of new paintings by Cameroonian-born artist Sesse Elangwe at the FOG Design + Art Fair. The works, developed during a residency with the gallery, depict local Bay Area subjects against recognizable backdrops. Moore, who opened his gallery in 2023 after a career in nonprofit communications and criminal justice reform, emphasizes creating an inclusive, conversational atmosphere for art viewing and collecting.
The UK government has announced a £1.5 billion funding package for the arts, described as the biggest reset for the sector in a generation. Culture secretary Lisa Nandy said London-based national museums like the British Museum and National Portrait Gallery will receive £600 million but must extend their reach beyond the capital to serve audiences nationwide. The package includes £425 million for a Creative Foundations Fund, £160 million for local and regional museums, £230 million for heritage, and smaller allocations for libraries and national organizations. Meanwhile, Vienna will temporarily close several composer museums due to culture budget cuts, and Jean Cooney has been appointed executive director of Creative Time.
Ukraine has requested the extradition from Poland of Russian archaeologist Oleksandr Butyagin, who was detained in Warsaw on December 4 on suspicion of conducting illegal excavations in Russian-occupied Crimea. Butyagin, an employee of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, faces charges from Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office for unauthorized digs at the ancient Greek colony of Myrmekion between 2014 and 2019, allegedly causing significant damage. A Polish court has ordered his custody until January 13 while the extradition process proceeds; if convicted in Ukraine, he could face up to 10 years in prison.
New York City Mayoral-Elect Zohran Mamdani has signed an open letter supporting roughly 1,000 workers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art who filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to form a bargaining unit. The vote is scheduled for January 13 and 15, 2026, and if approved, the Met would become the largest unionized museum in the country. The letter, released December 18 by the United Auto Workers (UAW), was also signed by Comptroller Elect Mark Levine and Manhattan Borough President Elect Brad Hoylman-Sigal, among other officials. The proposed union would cover curators, conservators, educators, and retail staff, citing long-term pay inequities, lack of job protection, and increasing workloads.
The U.S. Senate has confirmed Mary Anne Carter as chair of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) by a 53–43 party-line vote, returning the same political operative to the post she held during Trump’s first term. Carter, who has no professional arts experience and previously worked for the Heritage Foundation (author of Project 2025), was nominated in May amid a tumultuous period when the Trump administration sought to defund the NEA, senior leaders left en masse, and hundreds of arts organizations had promised grants cut or delayed.
A California antiquities dealer, Aaron Mendelsohn, surrendered a 2,000-year-old bronze statue of a Roman emperor, known as the Nude Emperor, to New York prosecutors. The statue, valued at $1.33 million, was purchased in 2007 from a defunct New York gallery but is believed to have been looted in the late 1960s from a Roman shrine in Bubon, Turkey. In a deal filed in New York Criminal Court, Mendelsohn relinquished claims to the statue without admitting wrongdoing, and prosecutors withdrew an arrest warrant. The statue was repatriated to Turkey in a restitution ceremony on Monday, alongside dozens of other objects, including an $800,000 marble head of Demosthenes seized from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art has accused its former director and CEO, Sasha Suda, of misappropriating funds and lying to cover up theft, according to a motion to compel arbitration filed by the museum. The motion denies Suda's claims of wrongful termination and alleges that she awarded herself unauthorized salary increases after the Compensation Committee denied her requests. Suda had filed a civil suit earlier this month alleging wrongful termination, unfair treatment, and abuse. Her lawyer, Luke Nikas, called the museum's allegations false and part of a pattern of misconduct.
The Philadelphia Art Museum has appointed Daniel H. Weiss, former president and CEO of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as its new director and CEO, effective December 1. Weiss, who led the Met for eight years until 2023 and most recently served as a professor and senior adviser at Johns Hopkins University, will guide the museum through at least 2028. His appointment follows the abrupt ouster of previous director Sasha Suda, who was terminated for cause on November 4 and has since sued the museum, alleging board members falsely accused her of misusing funds. The museum’s board chair, Ellen Caplan, praised Weiss’s leadership experience but did not address Suda’s dismissal.
On Monday, Local 2110 of the United Auto Workers (UAW) filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to unionize roughly 1,000 salaried and hourly workers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The union cites long-term pay inequities, lack of job protection, and increasing workloads as motivations. The Met currently has two smaller unions for security guards and projectionists, and a museum spokesperson expressed respect for the right to seek representation. Employees reportedly first reached out to Local 2110 in 2022, and the drive has gained momentum in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Japan’s Okada Museum of Art is selling 125 works from its collection at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on November 22 to help its founder, Kazuo Okada, pay a $50 million legal bill. The bill stems from a long-running feud with casino magnate Steve Wynn, which began when the two co-founded Wynn Resorts in 2002 and later accused each other of improper payments. The collection includes Katsushika Hokusai’s iconic *The Great Wave Off the Coast of Kanagawa* (1830–32), a rare Qianlong “Eight Treasures” vase, and 16th-century screens by Kano Motonobu. Okada, an 83-year-old billionaire, lost a binding arbitration over the legal fees and must now sell the art.
The Vatican will return several dozen cultural objects, including an Inuit kayak, to Indigenous communities in Canada. The objects are housed in the Vatican Museum's Anima Mundi ethnographic collection and have been subject to scrutiny from Indigenous advocates who argue that cultural heritage stolen during colonial periods should be repatriated. The return follows Pope Francis's 2022 "penitential pilgrimage" to Canada, where Indigenous leaders requested the return of war clubs, masks, and wampum belts. The Vatican plans to use a "church-to-church" model, handing the objects to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, with the understanding that Indigenous communities will be the ultimate custodians. An announcement is expected in the coming weeks, with the objects potentially arriving in Canada by the end of 2025.
Emmanuel Perrotin announced that his gallery is relocating from K11 Atelier Victoria Dockside back to Central, Hong Kong’s business district, where it first opened in Asia in 2012. The gallery vacated Dockside on October 1 after six years, citing the need to better serve its community, enhance accessibility, and reduce operational costs. The move follows Pace Gallery’s announcement that it will close its H Queen’s location by the end of October, and comes amid a broader shake-up in Hong Kong’s gallery scene, with other blue-chip dealers like Lévy Gorvy Dayan also shuttering spaces.
The Manhattan District Attorney's office has returned 29 antiquities valued at $3 million to Greece, following seizures by its Antiquities Trafficking Unit. The objects were recovered from ongoing investigations into looting and trafficking networks run by convicted traffickers Robin Symes and Eugene Alexander. Two of the items—a Bronze Foot in the Form of a Sphinx and a Bronze Applique of a Gorgon, both from the 6th century B.C.E.—were seized from the Metropolitan Museum of Art this year, having passed through traffickers and galleries before entering the museum's collection.
UNESCO's executive board has nominated Khaled El-Enany Ezz as its sole candidate for the next director-general, following a decisive vote during the organization's meetings at United Nations High Week. El-Enany, a 54-year-old Egyptian professor of Egyptology and former minister of tourism and antiquities, previously oversaw the construction and renovation of more than 20 museums, including the Grand Egyptian Museum. He will be the first Arab to lead UNESCO, replacing outgoing director-general Audrey Azoulay.