Somali Artists Take Issue With Nation's First-Ever Venice Biennale Pavilion

Somalia's first-ever national pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale has sparked controversy, with local cultural organizations accusing organizers of excluding Somalia-based artists. The pavilion, titled SADDEXLEEY, features only diaspora artists—Somali-Swedish painter Ayan Farfah, Somali-Danish poet Asmaa Jama, and Somali-British poet Warsan Shire—while the Somalia Arts Foundation (SAF) and queer collective Warbixinta Cidda have denounced the appointment of Italian co-curator Fabio Scrivanti, citing colonial tensions. SAF founder Sagal Ali and others allege that artists in Somalia were not meaningfully consulted, and that organizers used intimidation tactics against critics. The pavilion's organizers claim it includes Mogadishu-based painter 4C and will host accompanying events, but details remain unconfirmed.

Sylvie Retailleau : « Pendant cinq ans, tout a été remis en jeu »

Sylvie Retailleau, former French Minister of Higher Education and current president of Universcience since January 2026, details the tense negotiations between the Grand Palais and the Palais de la découverte. She reveals that the Palais de la découverte nearly disappeared during the Grand Palais renovation, but will reopen in March 2027. Universcience ceded a 1,200 m² gallery to the Grand Palais as a financial contribution (worth about €30 million over ten years) and is lending another 350 m² gallery until June 2030 for Centre Pompidou exhibitions during its renovation. In exchange, Universcience gains full control over the programming of the Palais des enfants.

A new wing to solve the problems of the Galleria Borghese in Rome. Beautiful challenge, tedious controversy

Una nuova ala per risolvere i problemi della Galleria Borghese a Roma. Bella sfida, stucchevoli polemiche

The Galleria Borghese in Rome, one of Italy's most extraordinary museums, faces significant accessibility and capacity issues due to its historic 17th-century structure. The museum is difficult for visitors with disabilities, overcrowded, and forces visitors to book far in advance—often waiting over a month for a time slot—while many masterpieces remain in storage. In 2025, the engineering firm Proger offered to sponsor a feasibility study for a new wing, contributing nearly 900,000 euros to fund an international architecture competition and a technical-economic feasibility plan. The study, currently underway, aims to explore whether a new annex can be built within the protected Villa Borghese park to create new entrances, exhibition spaces, and services.

The best and worst we saw at the Venice Art Biennale 2026. Artribune's hits and flops

Il meglio e il peggio che abbiamo visto alla Biennale d’Arte di Venezia 2026. Top e flop di Artribune

The 61st Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys" and directed by Koyo Kouoh, opened amid significant turmoil: the death of a newly appointed curator, diplomatic tensions over the presence of Russia and Israel, political protests, and the unprecedented collective resignation of the jury, which led to the Golden Lions being awarded by public vote for the first time. Despite this chaotic backdrop, the exhibition—featuring a record 100 national pavilions—has been widely praised for avoiding moralistic pedagogy and instead embracing visual seduction, formal quality, and sensory joy while addressing themes of identity, memory, colonialism, ecological crisis, and violence. The article highlights top and flop moments from the opening week, including strong showings by Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco and a standout exhibition at Fondazione Prada.

Interview with the artist of the enchanting New Zealand Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale

Intervista all’artista dell’ammaliante Padiglione Nuova Zelanda alla Biennale Arte 2026

Fiona Pardington, a Māori artist from Devonport (1961), will represent New Zealand at the 2026 Venice Biennale with a deeply spiritual and ecologically conscious installation in the national pavilion. Her project centers on the takahe, a bird long thought extinct, using photography, sound, and immersive space to evoke loss, memory, and transformation. Pardington’s work draws on Ngāi Tahu culture, colonial history, and natural history, featuring a taxidermied takahe specimen from the British Museum that she re-photographed and chromatically restored.

Summer 2026 Midnight Moment Program

Times Square Arts has announced the Summer 2026 Midnight Moment program, featuring three artists: Sonia Boyce (June), Tromarama (July), and Maia Chao (August). Boyce's 'Transform' presents a kaleidoscopic film of Andean ancestral movements, presented with the Queens Museum. Tromarama's 'Turn On #2' examines technology's impact on reality and the environment, presented with The Kitchen. Maia Chao's 'Studies for American Idle' draws from a 2025 site-specific performance in Times Square. The works will be shown nightly from 11:57 pm to midnight on nearly 100 electronic billboards.

LUCRECIA LIONTI: GRAFISMOS DESTERRADOS

Lucrecia Lionti, an Argentine textile artist from Tucumán, is the subject of a feature examining her solo exhibition "Grafismos desterrados" at Sorondo Projects in Barcelona (2026). The article details how Lionti's practice, spanning over fifteen years, merges modern art with craft, using textiles as a political and affective device. It highlights her involvement since 2018 with the feminist collective La Lola Mora – Trabajadoras de las Artes de Tucumán, and her recent exhibition at MALBA titled "Fabril la mirada." The show presents works where language becomes material—woven, knotted, and frayed—featuring illegible marks that blur writing and drawing, evoking loss and exile.

A Rare Blue-Green Diamond Ring Sold for Over $17 M. At Christie’s Geneva

A rare 5.5-carat blue-green diamond ring, named Ocean Dream, sold for over $17 million at Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction in Zurich on May 13, 2026. The triangular-cut stone, estimated at $9–12 million, is set in an 18-karat white gold band with pink and white diamonds. The buyer was an unnamed private client, and the ring took 20 minutes to sell. It had previously fetched nearly $10 million at Christie’s Geneva in 2014.

French Parliament Accuses Louvre of Prioritizing ‘Prestige And Influence’ Over Security Prior to Jewel Heist

French MPs Alexis Corbière and Alexandre Portier have released a parliamentary report accusing the Louvre of prioritizing "prestige and influence" over security, leading to a brazen jewel heist on October 19, 2025. Thieves entered the museum in broad daylight and stole nine pieces of jewelry worth an estimated $102 million in under eight minutes. The report, based on over 20 hearings with 100 insiders, reveals that security had been "relegated to the background" despite audits in 2017 and 2019, and that a Security Equipment Master Plan from 2019 was not implemented in time by former director Jean-Luc Martinez. The report also casts doubt on President Emmanuel Macron's nearly $1 billion renovation plan for the Louvre, announced nine months before the heist.

Getty’s Black Visual Arts Archives receives additional $1.8m in funding

The Getty Foundation has awarded an additional $1.8 million to its Black Visual Arts Archives initiative, bringing total funding to $4.5 million across 20 awards. The program supports institutions in processing, digitizing, preserving, and activating archival collections related to Black artists and arts organizations in the US. Grantees include Afro Charities, the Auburn Avenue Research Library, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Charles H. Wright Museum, Morgan State University, the South Side Community Art Center, the University of Chicago’s South Side Home Movie Project, and the David C. Driskell Center. Notable discoveries include footage of the original Wall of Respect mural from the South Side Home Movie Project.

Venice in Crisis Mode

Venedig im Krisenmodus

The 61st Venice Biennale has opened under extraordinary circumstances, marked by political protests, a jury resignation, and canceled awards. The Biennale's jury resigned en masse after announcing they would exclude Israeli and Russian contributions from their decisions, leading to the cancellation of the Golden Lion awards and a crisis over the international competition's legitimacy. A newly introduced audience prize also faced boycotts from artists in solidarity. Protests, closed pavilions, and pro-Palestinian actions dominated the preview days, with artists pasting protest posters directly onto their works, reflecting heightened tensions.

V&A East targets young people

Le V&A East vise les jeunes

The Victoria and Albert Museum has opened a new branch called V&A East in Stratford, east London, within the former Olympic Park. The £135 million (€155.8 million) building, designed by O'Donnell and Tuomey, features 479 sand-colored concrete panels and houses around 500 objects from the V&A's collection across two permanent galleries titled "Why We Make." The museum opened on April 18 and is part of the East Bank cultural complex supported by the London municipality. It prioritizes local engagement and mediation tailored to attract younger audiences, with exhibitions addressing social justice and environmental themes.

Parliamentary Report Outlines Major Issues In French Museums After The Louvre Heist

A French parliamentary commission released a report on May 13 detailing severe security deficiencies in French museums, following a December 2025 heist at the Louvre where French Crown Jewels worth $100 million were stolen. The report, overseen by MPs Alexis Corbière and Alexandre Portier, draws on over 20 hearings and highlights that only 25% of surveyed museums have a finalized security plan, with the Louvre itself criticized for dilapidated conditions and ignored audit warnings from 2017 and 2019 that predicted the thieves' modus operandi. Former Louvre director Laurence des Cars, who resigned in February, faced criticism for delays in implementing a security master plan.

Venice Biennale’s Russian Pavilion and Pussy Riot Spar Over Usage of Protest Footage

The Russian Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale has become embroiled in a new controversy after accusing the anti-Putin art collective Pussy Riot of censorship. The pavilion posted on Instagram that Pussy Riot demanded the removal of footage featuring them from a documentary film about the pavilion's project, labeling the request as self-censorship. Pussy Riot responded sarcastically, questioning the pavilion's use of Instagram given Russia's 2022 ban of the platform. The dispute follows earlier protests at the pavilion's opening, led by Pussy Riot and FEMEN, against Russia's participation in the Biennale amid its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Political Fallout Rocks Venice Biennale Prize System

Dozens of artists participating in the 2026 Venice Biennale have withdrawn from consideration for the newly created Visitor Lion awards, replacing the traditional Gold and Silver Lion prizes. A total of 57 artists from the main exhibition and 22 national pavilions signed a statement published on e-flux on May 9, acting in solidarity with the five-person prize jury that resigned on April 30 over the continued participation of Russia and Israel. The jury had objected to awarding prizes to artists from countries whose leaders face International Criminal Court charges, including Russian president Vladimir Putin and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In response, the Biennale organizers postponed the awards ceremony to November 22 and introduced visitor voting, a move they described as consistent with openness and dialogue. Meanwhile, the Russian Pavilion, which returned after lending its space to Bolivia in 2024, faced protests, closure after previews, and a €2 million funding pull by the European Union for the 2028 Biennale.

Putin ‘Won’ the Venice Biennale, Quips Italian Culture Minister

Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin "won" the 2024 Venice Biennale, criticizing Russia's controversial return to the event. Giuli, who repeatedly denounced Russia's presence, told Corriere della Sera that Russian artists in the pavilion cannot express dissent against their regime. The Biennale faced widespread calls to remove Russia, with the EU threatening to withhold a €2 million grant, but organizers argued they lacked legal authority to exclude the country. Protests by Pussy Riot and FEMEN marked the pavilion's opening, while the Biennale's jury resigned en masse after announcing that nations charged with crimes against humanity would be ineligible for Golden Lions.

Venice Biennale Artists Decline Consideration for Golden Lions Chosen by Public Vote

Nearly half of the artists in the main exhibition of the Venice Biennale have signed a statement declining consideration for the Golden Lion awards, in solidarity with the jury that resigned last month. The statement, published by e-flux, includes prominent names such as Alfredo Jaar, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, Otobong Nkanga, and Walid Raad, as well as national pavilion representatives from France, Lithuania, and the Netherlands. The Biennale had planned to replace the jury-selected Golden Lions with "Visitor Lions" decided by public vote, but the artists' refusal marks an unprecedented protest within the exhibition.

Close encounters: the new wave of women photographers – in pictures

The Saltzman-Leibovitz photography prize, founded in 2025 by Lisa Saltzman and Annie Leibovitz, announces its winners and runners-up for 2026. Bolivian photographer Marisol Mendez wins for her series 'MADRE,' which challenges patriarchal representations of women in Bolivia through portraits of matriarchs and references to the Inca moon goddess. Runner-up Miranda Barnes documents African American debutante cotillions in Detroit, while other featured photographers include Bettina Pittaluga and Cole Ndelu, whose works explore body diversity and the fusion of Zulu cosmology with Catholicism. The exhibition runs at Photo London, Olympia, 13–17 May 2026.

Dana Awartani on Representing Saudi Arabia at the 61st Venice Biennale

Dana Awartani, an artist based in Jeddah, will represent Saudi Arabia at the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026, with her pavilion located in the Arsenale under the theme 'Celebrating Visions.' In an interview with ArtReview, Awartani discusses her exhibition, which builds on her practice of foregrounding Arab cultural histories and preserving the region's material heritage. She connects her work to the Biennale's theme 'In Minor Keys' by focusing on repair, healing, and the quiet consequences of conflict, emphasizing craft as a form of quiet resistance against mechanization. The pavilion, she says, reflects the diversity of voices within Saudi Arabia's artistic community rather than a single national narrative.

81 artists withdraw from Venice Biennale competition

At the Venice Biennale, Canada’s entry blooms with unease

Montreal artist Abbas Akhavan's installation "Entre chien et loup" transforms the Canadian pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale into a living climate system, featuring a humid, Amazon-like environment with a pond of Victoria water lilies. The seeds were sourced from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and germinated at the Orto Botanico di Padova, with the lilies growing and blooming over the course of the biennale.

‘Your homes will be destroyed, your family killed’: the US has dropped millions of war propaganda leaflets – but do they work?

The United States military has been dropping propaganda leaflets in psychological operations (psyops) for over a century, from World War I through the Gulf War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A new interactive exhibit at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, organized by the digital archive group Khajistan, displays hundreds of these leaflets, including those dropped on Japan during World War II and in more recent conflicts. However, declassified internal documents, such as a 1971 US Air Force report, reveal that leaflets were often used as toilet paper, cigarette rolling paper, or souvenirs by enemy soldiers, undermining the official narrative of their effectiveness.

Threshold Art Gallery and the Hermitage Museum Present Landmark Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Art

Threshold Art Gallery and the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, are presenting a landmark exhibition of contemporary Indian art titled "Sediments of Becoming: Fossilised Present, Summoned Pasts." Opening on 4 June 2026 and running until 4 October 2026, it is the first dedicated presentation of contemporary Indian art in the Hermitage's 260-year history. The exhibition features works by eleven Indian artists—including Afrah Shafiq, Anindita Bhattacharya, Debashish Mukherjee, Gargi Raina, Lakshmi Madhavan, Manjunath Kamath, Maya Krishna Rao, Pushpamala N., Ravinder Reddy, Sumakshi Singh, and V. Ramesh—several of whom created new commissions after a 2025 residency at the Hermitage. Curated by Marina Schulz and Tunty Chauhan, the show places contemporary works alongside historical objects from the museum's vast collections, fostering a dialogue across time and geography.

Koray Duman is Architecting Engagement from the Venice Biennale to Carnegie International

Architect Koray Duman and his studio Büro Koray Duman (B-KD) have unveiled five major international projects, including designs for the UAE National Pavilion and Denniston Hill's special project at the 61st Venice Biennale, the 59th Carnegie International in Pittsburgh, the National Academy's "Future Schools" exhibition in New York, and a multi-generational upstate residential project. Duman's work emphasizes inclusivity, cultural exchange, and architecture as a social tool, with installations like "Chimera" for Denniston Hill and a sound-and-memory-focused pavilion for the UAE.

Pio Abad Explores Home and Diaspora for the 2026 Venice Biennale

Filipino artist Pio Abad is presenting a series of intricate, hand-drawn works at the 2026 Venice Biennale as part of the exhibition "In Minor Keys," conceived by the late curator Koyo Kouoh. The works, created over four years with a 0.3-millimeter pen, include pieces such as "I’m Singing a Song That Can Only Be Born After Losing a Country" (first shown at the Ashmolean Museum in 2024), "Banua" (his first drawing on fabric), and "1897.76.36.18.6," which reflects on the looting of the Benin Bronzes. Abad, born in the Philippines and based in London, explores themes of migration, memory, exile, and the itinerant nature of objects and language.

Antonia Papatzanaki: Unseen Brought to Light Exhibition Opens May 22

Mosaic ArtSpace in Long Island City, NY, presents Antonia Papatzanaki: Unseen Brought to Light, a solo exhibition running from May 22 to September 30, 2025. The show features Papatzanaki's stainless steel light sculptures, inspired by microscopic imagery such as cellular formations and plant tissues, creating immersive environments that blend art, science, and technology. The opening reception is on May 22, 5-8 PM.

At this year's Venice Biennale, a clash of politics and art exposes the need for a rethink

The 2026 Venice Biennale is plagued by controversy and structural issues. Curator Koyo Kouoh died of cancer in 2025, leaving her team to execute the main exhibition "In Minor Keys" without her. The Biennale's jury resigned after refusing to judge entries from countries charged with war crimes, and media coverage during preview week focused on protests against the Israeli and Russian pavilions rather than the art. The sprawling exhibition features 96 national pavilions and 110 artists, with works ranging from Daniel Lind-Ramos's found-material figures to María Magdalena Campos-Pons's tribute to Toni Morrison and Kouoh.

Lauder heir hands gallery and $135mn Klimt to New York’s Metropolitan Museum

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has received a major donation from the Lauder family: a historic townhouse gallery on the Upper East Side and Gustav Klimt's 1907 portrait "Adele Bloch-Bauer II," valued at $135 million. The gift comes from the estate of Estée Lauder heir Ronald S. Lauder, a longtime museum trustee and collector, and includes the former Neue Galerie building at 1048 Fifth Avenue, which will be renovated to expand the Met's modern and contemporary art exhibition space.

Memorial Art Gallery admission will become free starting in 2027

The Memorial Art Gallery (MAG) in Rochester, New York, announced on May 13 that admission will become free for all visitors starting in 2027, eliminating its current $20 entry fee permanently. The museum, part of the University of Rochester, raised over $9 million through its "Free for All, Forever" campaign, surpassing its original target faster than expected. Key donations included a $1 million gift from Dr. Alexander A. Levitan and his wife Lucy K. Levitan, a $3 million donation from UR trustee Doug Bennett, his wife Abby, and the Sands Family Foundation, and $2 million from Mary Ellen Burris. Additional support came from anonymous donors, Kitty and Nick Jospé, and Sandy Hawks Lloyd and Justin Hawks Lloyd.

(BPRW) Getty Awards $1.8M to Increase Access to Black Visual Arts Archives

The Getty Foundation has awarded $1.8 million in grants to eight institutions through its Black Visual Arts Archives initiative, a multi-year program aimed at increasing access to archival collections related to Black artists and arts organizations. The grants will support processing, digitization, and public programming at venues including Afro Charities, Auburn Avenue Research Library, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Charles H. Wright Museum, Morgan State University, South Side Community Art Center, the University of Chicago's South Side Home Movie Project, and the David C. Driskell Center. This brings Getty's total funding for the initiative to $4.5 million since 2022, supporting 20 grants nationwide.