Art News: A Preview Of The Lucas Museum Of Narrative Art and A Roberta Flack Auction at Julien’s

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, a 300,000-square-foot institution designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec, will open in Los Angeles' Exposition Park on September 22. The 11-acre campus includes a park by Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA and will feature over 1,200 objects across 30 galleries, showcasing narrative art from ancient sculptures to modern cinema, drawn from the museum's founding collection. Separately, Julien's Auctions will host "Roberta Flack: Style, Art & Music," a no-reserve auction celebrating the singer's life and cultural impact, including her Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand Piano.

Lucas Museum of Narrative Arts Adds ‘Star Wars in Motion’ Exhibit to Opening Lineup

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has announced a new exhibition titled "Star Wars in Motion" as part of its inaugural lineup, set to open on September 22, 2026, in Los Angeles's Exposition Park. The showcase will feature vehicle designs, props, costumes, and illustrations from the first six Star Wars films, including iconic items like Luke's Landspeeder and General Grievous's Wheel Bike. The museum, co-founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, will open with over 30 exhibitions and more than 1,200 objects spanning visual storytelling from ancient sculptures to modern cinema.

From Gaza to Syria: Stories from Middle East dominate art exhibition in Portugal

The Anozero – Bienal de Coimbra in Portugal is presenting a significant number of works addressing conflict and displacement in the Middle East. The biennial, curated by John Zeppetelli and Hans Ibelings, features projects like Taysir Batniji's "Just in Case #2," a series of 250 photographs of keys belonging to displaced Palestinians, and Adam Broomberg and Rafael Gonzalez's "Anchor In The Landscape," documenting destroyed olive trees.

MoA+L to Present Career-Spanning Daniel Rozin Exhibition Exploring Interactive Art and Perception

The Museum of Art + Light (MoA+L) has announced a major career-spanning exhibition of Daniel Rozin’s interactive installations, titled "Interference: The Interactive Art of Daniel Rozin." Running from April 15 through September 27, 2026, the show features over three decades of work, including iconic pieces like "Wooden Mirror" and "RGB Peg Mirror No. 5." These works utilize motion-sensing technology and mechanical grids to transform the viewer’s physical presence into real-time visual data.

'100 Candleholders' by Blunk Space is an exhibition to ignite creativity

Blunk Space gallery in Point Reyes Station, California, is presenting '100 Candleholders', an exhibition running from 17 January to 28 March 2026. The show features 100 artists and designers from around the world—including Max Lamb, Bethan Laura Wood, Ido Yoshimoto, and Jonathan Cross—each invited to create a candleholder inspired by the late sculptor JB Blunk, his work, or his self-built home and studio, Blunk House. This is the second installment in the '100' series, following '100 Hooks' in 2023-24, and takes its cue from Blunk's own 1981 exhibition '100 Plates Plus', which explored the artistic potential of everyday objects.

How Javier Milei’s war on history is threatening art spaces in Argentina

Argentina's President Javier Milei has escalated his campaign to rewrite the history of the country's 1976-1983 dictatorship by closing art and human-rights spaces on the grounds of the ESMA Museum and Site of Memory in Buenos Aires, a former clandestine prison turned memorial and UNESCO World Heritage Site. In January, the Haroldo Conti Cultural Centre was shuttered for 'internal restructuring,' with 50 of its 87 employees fired; in early April, the government halted operations at Espacio Memoria, suspending salary payments and funding pending an audit. Both centres are public institutions managed by the Human Rights Secretariat, which has undergone mass layoffs and changes under Milei's administration.

Lucas Museum unveils inaugural exhibitions curated by George Lucas himself

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles will open to the public on September 22, 2026, with about 20 inaugural exhibitions curated by George Lucas himself across more than 30 galleries. The $1-billion, 300,000-square-foot museum in Exposition Park, designed by Ma Yansong of Mad Architects, will display over 1,200 objects from Lucas's collection of more than 40,000 works, including manga, comics, children's illustrations, and narrative art by artists such as Norman Rockwell, Beatrix Potter, and Dorothea Lange, with only one exhibition focused on "Star Wars" memorabilia.

MOWA hosting new landscape exhibition for America’s 250th

The Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA) in West Bend is presenting a new exhibition titled "The American Landscape: Beyond the Horizon" from Saturday through July 19, in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary. The show brings together works from MOWA’s permanent collection and select loans, spanning the 19th century to the 2020s, to examine how artists have interpreted Wisconsin’s landscape through painting, photography, and sculpture, highlighting native voices and immigrant narratives.

Fabian Perez Gallery Showcases 20 Artists in Neo-Emotionalism Exhibition

Fabian Perez Gallery in Los Angeles is hosting the Neo-Emotionalism Group Exhibition, featuring 20 artists working in painting, photography, and sculpture. The show, running through May 23, centers on feeling and memory, with artists like Shaylen Nelson, Awadé Wade, James Smith, and Martinos Aristidou presenting works that explore personal and cultural narratives. Nelson, an Afrocentric Realism painter, uses Black figures and music to place culture within traditional painting, while Wade’s piece "Abstract Love" draws on a Prince song and uses a tree as a symbol of life and transition.

Check Out JP First Fridays at Galleries, Studios, Art Spaces (and a Famous Bench) on May 1

Jamaica Plain First Fridays returns on May 1, 2025, from 5:30-8:30 pm, featuring six locations that showcase painting, photography, multi-media works, and a famous bench. Highlights include artist Matthew Hincman celebrating the 20th anniversary of his guerrilla-style bench on Jamaica Pond, plus exhibitions at Eliot School Annex, JP Clay, Green Street Photo Collective, Jameson & Thompson Picture Framers, and Boston Cyberarts Gallery. The event is free and walkable.

MiC initiates cultural bridge between Italy and Mozambique on contemporary art

On April 20, 2026, the Italy-Mozambique project "A Bridge Made in Art" launched in Maputo, Mozambique, running until June 2027. Sponsored by Italy's Ministry of Culture and the National Museums of Perugia, the initiative includes workshops, exhibitions, and training in contemporary art, involving Mozambican institutions such as Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Fundação Leite Couto, and Núcleo de Arte. The program is part of the Mattei Plan for Africa, aiming to redefine Italy-Africa relations through cultural cooperation.

Fowler Museum at UCLA presents ‘Construction, Occupation,’ exploring art, activism and housing justice

The Fowler Museum at UCLA has opened 'Construction, Occupation,' an exhibition exploring the intersection of art, activism, and housing justice. The show revisits the 2016–17 occupation of the abandoned Cambridge Hotel in São Paulo, Brazil, by low-wage workers, refugees, and artists—a project known as the Cambridge Artistic Residency (CARe)—which led to the building's transformation into government-funded social housing and a cultural hub. Curated by Alex Ungprateeb Flynn, Juliana Caffé, and Yudi Rafael, the exhibition features 24 artists and collectives, primarily from Brazil, with photography, video, installations from the original residency, and newly commissioned works. It runs through January 11, 2026.

María Lucía Alemán: Cultural Expressions Are Uniting the Region More

MARIA LUCIA ALEMAN CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS ARE UNITING THE REGION MORE

A panel discussion titled "Building Institutional Narratives" was held as part of the FORO initiative during Pinta Panama Art Week. It featured museum directors María Lucía Alemán (MAC Panama), Manuel Segade Lodeiro (Museo Reina Sofía, Spain), and Rafael Tamayo Franco (MAMM, Colombia), moderated by Elena González. The conversation focused on how museums construct their institutional stories and programming to better represent and connect with their local and regional contexts.

Marin gallery exhibits self-portraits of county workers

The Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, California, is hosting an exhibition titled "The Art of Public Service," featuring self-portraits created by 21 county employees. The works were produced during lunchtime art workshops organized by employment analyst Erika Powell and library administrator Juliet Schiller, who aimed to help participants let go of perfectionism and explore creativity. The exhibit, which runs through September 24, 2026, includes portraits made from diverse materials such as dried chili peppers, burlap, and embroidered saree fabric, reflecting the employees' personal stories and cultural heritage.