Students take the lead: Inside a peer-led tour at Janet Turner Print Museum

Jasmine Lezema, an art history major and museum intern at the Janet Turner Print Museum, has organized a peer-led exhibition tour titled "Through an Art Historian’s Lens," scheduled for Wednesday from 5 to 5:30 p.m. The tour focuses on printmaking at Chico State and encourages students to engage deeply with artworks. Lezema selected three pieces from the current exhibition that personally resonated with her, drawing on her art history training to interpret symbolism, materials, and context. The museum’s director, Rachel Skowoski, and education assistant, Dylan Charlton, emphasize that student interns are empowered to shape programming around their interests, making this tour a product of that philosophy.

With $116 Million Gift, National Gallery Will Send Its Art Around Nation

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., has received a $116 million gift from billionaire art collector Mitchell P. Rales. This donation will fund a new program to send the museum's collection on long-term loans to smaller institutions across the United States in perpetuity, significantly expanding its national reach.

‘Raw honesty’: new museum preserves Thai-Chinese art rebel’s remarkable legacy

The Tang Chang Private Museum opened on May 1 in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, dedicated to preserving the legacy of the late Thai-Chinese artist Tang Chang. The museum was established by his grandson, Nawapooh Sae-tang, who inherited the responsibility of managing the artist's vast archive, a duty originally passed to his father, Thip, by the artist himself.

Smithsonian’s American Art Museum Appoints New Director Amid Turbulent Moment

The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) has appointed Lynda Roscoe Hartigan as its new director, concluding a 17-month search. Hartigan, who is leaving her position as executive director and CEO of the Peabody Essex Museum, will begin her role in September, succeeding acting director Jane Carpenter-Rock. She previously worked at SAAM as a curator in the 1970s and has held senior leadership roles at the Peabody Essex Museum and the Royal Ontario Museum.

History, Culture, and Place Ground LACMA’s Breathtaking New David Geffen Galleries

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has opened its new David Geffen Galleries, a long, elevated concrete structure designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Swiss architect Peter Zumthor. The building, more than 20 years in the making, replaces much of LACMA's mid-century campus with a single winding gallery that hovers above Wilshire Boulevard. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Sunday, followed by a two-week member preview, with the public opening scheduled for May 4. The project is the vision of longtime director Michael Govan, who sought to create a museum without hierarchy, placing objects from different geographies and time periods in dialogue. Artist Mariana Castillo Deball was commissioned to create a plaza installation that incorporates native animal tracks, Mesoamerican imagery, and the labor of migrant workers, reflecting themes of migration and cultural exchange.

Museum kicks off Gorge Artists Open Studios Tour's 20th anniversary

The Columbia Gorge Museum in Stevenson hosted a preview exhibition on April 17, 2026, to launch the 20th-anniversary edition of the Gorge Artists Open Studios Tour. The event featured works from approximately 30 of the 50 participating local artists, allowing guests to meet creators and view a diverse array of regionally resonant art before the public studio tour begins in May.

‘Lillian Pitt: Art, Memory, Home’ exhibition to open May 21 at The Museum at Warm Springs

A major exhibition titled 'Lillian Pitt: Art, Memory, Home' opens at The Museum at Warm Springs on May 21, featuring the contemporary art of celebrated Pacific Northwest Native artist Lillian Pitt alongside works from her personal collection and other institutions. The show, curated by Angela Anne Smith with contributions from Rebecca Dobkins, explores six themes in Pitt's life and work and includes an opening reception sponsored by The Ford Family Foundation.

The Costume Institute Will Debut 25 Mannequins at the 2026 Met Gala in a Move to Embrace Body Positivity

The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art will debut 25 new mannequins for its 2026 Met Gala exhibition, "Costume Art." The mannequins are modeled on a diverse range of real body types, including individuals with disabilities, and are intended to challenge the fashion industry's historical reliance on standardized, thin display figures.

A Blockbuster Take on Ovid’s “Metamorphosis”

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has opened a major exhibition titled 'Metamorphoses,' inspired by Ovid's poem. The show brings together Renaissance masterpieces, antiquities, and contemporary works, grouping them by the myths they depict to explore themes of transformation, desire, and gender through striking visual juxtapositions.

New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art Presents “Musical Bodies” Exhibition

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York will open a major exhibition titled "Musical Bodies" on June 7, 2026. The free exhibition will feature over 130 objects, including musical instruments, paintings, sculptures, and drawings, to explore the 4,000-year relationship between musical instruments and the human body. It will be organized into six thematic sections and includes items from ancient Egyptian rattles to a guitar owned by Prince.

Korean Art Masters Ha Chonghyun and RM's Collection Highlight San Francisco Exhibitions

San Francisco's Asian Art Museum and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art will host major exhibitions of Korean art this fall. The Asian Art Museum will present the first North American museum retrospective of monochrome master Ha Chonghyun, featuring over 50 works spanning six decades. SFMOMA will debut a special exhibition showcasing the personal art collection of BTS leader RM, juxtaposing over 150 pieces from his holdings with works from the museum's own collection.

Smithsonian American Art Museum Names a New Director

Lynda Roscoe Hartigan has been appointed as the new director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. She is a former chief curator of the museum and most recently served as executive director of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts.

Major art exhibition by Joe Lycett to come to city

Comedian Joe Lycett will present his first major solo art exhibition, titled EVERYTHING MUST GO, at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery in July. The mixed-media show explores the theme of "things that are no longer with us," drawing inspiration from the city's collection and featuring subjects like deceased celebrities, discontinued products, extinct animals, and destroyed buildings, all presented in Lycett's signature colorful and humorous style. General admission will be free.

Get a Peek Into the Newly Opened David Geffen Galleries at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has officially opened its new David Geffen Galleries, a major wing designed by architect Peter Zumthor. The 900-foot-long glass-and-concrete structure, which opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 19, 2026, houses the museum's permanent collection and features an open-concept layout intended to let visitors explore freely.

‘Between A Memory and Me’: Navigating Belonging

Photographer Rahim Fortune has opened a new exhibition titled 'Between A Memory and Me' at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The show presents a series of photographs that map memory, land, and Black life across the American South, creating a lyrical cartography where landscape and personal lineage intertwine.

Can You Climb a Ladder? A Conversation with Yvonne Garcia

Yvonne Garcia, owner and director of Houston's oldest operating gallery, Hooks-Epstein Galleries, discusses her journey from aspiring actor to gallery leader in a new interview. She details her initial career in acting and talent representation, her return to the art world through roles at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and Sicardi Gallery, and her fateful hiring by pioneering gallerist Geri Hooks in 2006.

‘Apoi’ and Weaving What Remains

Ugandan artist Acaye Kerunen presents her first solo museum exhibition in Germany, titled 'Apoi,' at the Kunstmuseen Krefeld. The show, installed across the modernist spaces of Haus Lange and Haus Esters, features handwoven textiles, sculpture, sound, and film that draw on Indigenous knowledge systems and intergenerational exchange. It is part of the museum's ongoing 'HL HE Dialog: What Comes After Art' series.

Dancing the Revolution: The Exhibition

The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago has opened 'Dancing the Revolution: From Dancehall to Reggaetón,' a major exhibition exploring dance as a political language. It features over forty artists working across installation, video, sculpture, and sound, tracing the cultural trajectories of dancehall and reggaetón from the Caribbean diaspora to global contexts.

Berlin Museum of Prints and Drawings Wins Award in New York

Berliner Kupferstichkabinett gewinnt Auszeichnung in New York

The Kupferstichkabinett (Museum of Prints and Drawings) in Berlin has acquired two new works from the IFPDA Fine Art Print Fair in New York. The purchases were funded by the museum winning the Richard Hamilton Acquisition Prize, which provided a $10,000 grant specifically for acquisitions at the fair. The new additions are a 2005 paper work titled "Europa" by German-American artist Kiki Smith and a 2001 lithograph titled "Pregnant Caryatid" by Louise Bourgeois.

Joe Lycett to showcase artwork via Birmingham exhibition

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery will stage the first major solo exhibition of artwork by comedian and artist Joe Lycett, titled 'EVERY THING MUST GO', opening on July 29, 2026. The exhibition will feature dozens of new, mixed-media works exploring themes of nostalgia, grief, and loss through Lycett's signature colorful and humorous style, focusing on subjects like deceased celebrities, extinct animals, and discontinued products.

Shooting at Mexico’s Teotihuacán Pyramid of the Moon, Diego Rivera’s Grandson Donates Collection to Mexico’s Museo Anahuacalli, and More: Morning Links for April 21, 2026

A Canadian tourist was killed and several others, including children, were injured in a shooting at the Teotihuacán Pyramid of the Moon, a UNESCO World Heritage site near Mexico City. The gunman died by suicide, prompting security concerns ahead of a planned immersive night show and the upcoming World Cup.

MMoCA acquires major work of former UW professor, will hold exhibition

The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA) has acquired a significant work by artist and former University of Wisconsin-Madison professor, Warrington Colescott. The museum will present a solo exhibition of Colescott's work in the fall of 2025, featuring the newly acquired piece alongside other works from its collection.

Silvia Heyden: Weaving Notes & Nature at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University

The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University has opened the exhibition 'Silvia Heyden: Weaving Notes & Nature,' celebrating the rhythmic tapestries of Swiss-born artist Silvia Heyden (1927–2015). The show features works from her first solo exhibition at Duke over five decades ago, alongside key experimental pieces from the 1960s and 70s, reconnecting her legacy to the Durham campus that shaped her artistic voice.

A Year in Harlem: Residency Open Call for 2026–27

The Studio Museum in Harlem has launched an open call for applications to its 2026–27 Artist-in-Residence programme. The year-long residency, running from November 2026 to October 2027, offers a $50,000 stipend, private studio space, curatorial mentorship, and culminates in a public exhibition for a small cohort of selected artists. The programme is specifically geared toward supporting artists of African and Afro-Latinx descent.

Cameron Art Museum to feature Andy Warhol’s ‘Silver Clouds’ in extended summer installation

The Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, North Carolina, will present Andy Warhol's 1966 installation 'Silver Clouds' from June 19 through September 27. The interactive work, featuring reflective, helium-filled forms that float and respond to movement, will be on view longer than the museum's broader summer exhibition, 'Fresh Air: Inflatable Sculptures,' and includes a member preview and opening celebration.

The National Museum of Mexican Art’s Special Mission

The National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA) in Chicago was founded in 1987 by a group of public school educators, led by Carlos Tortolero, to address a lack of Mexican history and culture in the curriculum. It has grown into a 48,000-square-foot institution with a collection of over 20,000 objects, spanning from Pre-Columbian times to the present, and was the first Latino museum in the U.S. to be accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

Monopol Gives Away 5 x 2 Tickets for Photo Exhibition at Museum Rietberg

Monopol verlost 5 × 2 Tickets für Foto-Ausstellung im Museum Rietberg

The Museum Rietberg in Zurich is presenting the exhibition "Fast ein Paradies" (Almost a Paradise), which critically examines colonial-era photography as an instrument of power. The show juxtaposes historical photographs with contemporary artworks that recontextualize this material, featuring artists like Sasha Huber, Sammy Baloji, Raphaël Barontini, and Andrea Chung, who intervene in the archival images to challenge colonial narratives and restore agency to the subjects.

Dance Your Way to the Museum

Curator Naz Cuguoğlu argues in an opinion essay that museums should embrace the ethos of rave culture to become more welcoming and inclusive spaces, suggesting they can foster new forms of belonging. The article also covers several other art stories, including the discovery of pre-Hispanic rock art in Mexico that led to the rerouting of a train line, an exhibition of Genesis P-Orridge's mail art in Toronto, and artist Jean Shin's memorial project at Green-Wood Cemetery.

Artist Ha Chong-hyun's works to feature in retrospective in San Francisco

Korean artist Ha Chong-hyun, a pioneer of the dansaekhwa (monochrome painting) movement, will be the subject of a major retrospective at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. The exhibition, "Ha Chong-hyun: Retrospective," will feature approximately 50 works spanning his 60-year career, including his signature "Conjunction" series and early informal experiments.

Conference: Baselitz, Immendorff, Lüpertz, Penck Group exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Schloss Derneburg

Konferenz: Baselitz, Immendorff, Lüpertz, Penck Group exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Schloss Derneburg

The Kunstmuseum Schloss Derneburg in Holle, Germany, has opened a major group exhibition titled "Konferenz: Baselitz, Immendorff, Lüpertz, Penck." The show features over 50 significant works by the four celebrated post-war German artists, exploring their unique approaches to national identity during a period of political division. It includes pieces from Georg Baselitz's personal collection of his contemporaries' work, supplemented by archival photographs by Edward Quinn from the 1980s.