The George Washington Carver Museum in Austin has unveiled its 2026 programming, headlined by the exhibition "Who Draws the Maps?" featuring three decades of work by the late artist Steven Bernard Jones. The museum is also debuting "And Still I Speak," a window installation of century-old photographs from Clarksville, one of the first freedman's communities in the United States, alongside a new core exhibition titled "The African American Presence in 19th Century Texas."
Curator Donny Caltrider recently concluded "Magic: The Gathering in Miniature III" at Gallery Nucleus in Los Angeles, a specialized exhibition featuring 333 artist proof cards. The show brought together original sketches, inks, and paintings from 111 global artists associated with the iconic trading card game. Marking the third iteration of this series, the event saw record-breaking attendance and a significant commercial reception, with over 70% of the works sold during its two-week run.
21c Museum Hotel Louisville is hosting a free public opening reception on January 17, 2026, for its new contemporary art exhibition, "Revival: Digging Into Yesterday, Planting Tomorrow." Curated by 21c Museum Director and Chief Curator Alice Gray Stites, the exhibition features 70 works by 47 international artists, including Isaac Julien, Yinka Shonibare, Myrlande Constant, Hew Locke, and Kehinde Wiley. The show explores how examining the past can clarify the present and reimagine the future, with themes of imperial legacies, colonialism, diaspora, and personal memory. It remains on view through December 2026, open 24/7 year-round.
The Alexey von Schlippe Gallery of Art at UConn Avery Point presents "Sight and Sound: Artists Consider Long Island Sound," a group exhibition curated by Richard Klein featuring 14 artists including Brechin Morgan, James Prosek, Martha Willette Lewis, and Marion Belanger. The show explores the ecology, cultural history, and geology of Long Island Sound through diverse media, with works inspired by personal experiences and scientific insights about the body of water.
The Manchester International Festival presents "Football City, Art United," an exhibition that pairs 11 footballers with contemporary artists to create collaborative artworks. Highlights include a tunnel installation by artist Paul Pfeiffer and former Dutch footballer Edgar Davids, recreating pre-match tension; a piece by Eric Cantona and artist Ryan Gander exploring fame; and an interactive work by artist collective Keiken with England star Ella Toone. The exhibition is co-curated by Serpentine artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist, Josh Willdigg, and former Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata, and takes place at Aviva Studios in Manchester.
Nadya Tolokonnikova, co-founder of Pussy Riot, began a durational performance titled "Police State" at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles on June 5, 2025. Inside a mock prison cell at the Geffen Contemporary, she screams, plays a pink toy piano, synthesizer, and laptop, and layers live music with sampled prison noises to create an 80-hour experimental soundscape. The performance, running until June 15, references her own 2012 imprisonment in Russia for an anti-Putin protest. On the fourth day, MOCA closed due to clashes between ICE agents, the California National Guard, and protesters over immigrant raids, prompting Tolokonnikova to post: "Police State exhibit closed today due to police state."
Pallant House Gallery in Chichester is presenting 'Seeing Each Other: Portraits of Artists,' an exhibition exploring how artists have portrayed one another from the early 20th century to the present. Featuring over 130 artists by at least 80 different hands, the show spans painting, sculpture, installation, photography, drawing, and printmaking, with works arranged chronologically to highlight artistic circles, friendships, rivalries, and collaborations. Highlights include multiple portraits of Francis Bacon by Lucian Freud and Maggi Hambling, candid photographs of Young British Artists by Johnnie Shand Kydd, and a new double portrait by Ishbel Myerscough and Chantal Joffe.
The Public Works Art Center in Summerville, South Carolina, opens five new exhibitions on May 21 with a reception from 5:30-8:30 p.m. The shows include "GODBODY: THE FEMME," a group exhibition celebrating Black women artists; Amy Stewart's "Intersections" exploring interconnectedness; Nick Cerrato's "Our Society Needs To…" featuring abstract works created with his feet; Sarah Mitchell's "Wildlife in Wool" with needle-felted animals; and the Summerville Artist Guild's annual "All Members Show." During the reception, guild members will create collaborative paintings for sale to benefit the Summerville Rocks Scholarship Fund.
The Northport Arts Association is hosting its ninth annual Northport Photo Exhibit, launching Memorial Day weekend with a free opening reception on May 23, 2026, at its gallery in Northport, Michigan. The exhibit runs through June 14 and features over 100 framed photographs from professional and emerging photographers across Michigan and beyond, with categories judged on impact, lighting, storytelling, and technical quality. Awards include Best of Show, a new anonymous donor award called 'Dem Der Eyes,' People's Choice, and four category prizes.
Florida Atlantic University’s University Galleries opened a new exhibition titled “America 250: We Hold These Truths: We Walk These Grounds” at the Schmidt Art Gallery on its Boca Raton campus, marking the United States’ 250th anniversary. The show features work by six contemporary American artists—Carlos Betancourt, Daesha Harris, Doug Mills, John Hitchcock, Melissa Sclafani, and Yves Gabriel—and runs through March 29, 2026. The exhibition reinterprets familiar American symbols such as apple trees, wild horses, and presidential portraits, using objects and materials to explore themes of patriotism and American history.
The Fort Worth African American Museum and Cultural Center will officially open on June 12 with its inaugural exhibition, "All ’N All: Artists Embracing Community," in partnership with Kinfolk House and the National Juneteenth Museum. The show features paintings, photographs, and mixed-media works by 11 North Texas artists exploring memory, culture, and the Black experience, and is part of the larger Freedom Vibes festival running June 11-20. The museum, which has been in development since 2020, secured its final funding from the Fort Worth City Council in January and purchased a 5,000-square-foot building on East Rosedale Street last summer.
The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Virginia Beach is presenting "O'er the Wide and Plastic Sea," an exhibition of multimedia works by Brooklyn artist Duke Riley, running through August 31. The show spans two decades of Riley's practice, with the centerpiece artwork created from beach trash—including lighters, buoy pieces, and syringes—collected largely from Virginia Beach shores. Riley's work explores tensions between individual and collective behavior, institutional power, and nature's struggle with modern problems, blending early American styles, folklore, and sea-craft aesthetics.
The State Museum of Pennsylvania has announced the finalists for the 58th annual "Art of the State" exhibition, featuring 96 artists from over 30 counties across the Commonwealth. Selected from 2,344 entries submitted by 696 artists, the finalists' works span five categories: paintings, photography/digital media, crafts, sculptures, and works on paper. A panel of selection jurors—Brenton Good, Shin-hee Chin, and Lauren Whearty—chose the finalists, while awards juror Denise Ryner will determine first, second, and third place winners in each category. Cash prizes totaling $5,300 will be awarded, including the Art Docents’ Choice Award. The exhibition opens June 8, 2025, with free admission on opening day, and runs through September 14, 2025.
University of Kansas students and teachers are showcasing ceramics that defy gravity and traditional form at Off-Site Art Space in Lawrence. The exhibition, titled “Almost a Body: Not Quite a Thing,” features works by artists-in-residence Seuil Chung and SunYoung Park alongside their students, including pieces like Natalie Slutsky’s “Vital Exchange,” an anatomical heart with arteries forming a Möbius strip. The show highlights innovative techniques such as using sand-filled brick boxes for firing, French cleat mounting systems, and beeswax finishes inspired by natural forms from the McGregor Herbarium.
Aldine Independent School District (ISD) student artists from Hall Success Academy and Eisenhower High School will have their work featured in an exhibition titled "The Sequence Is Yours," hosted by the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. The opening reception is scheduled for May 8, 2025, at ARTECHOUSE Houston, and the promotional image features a photograph by an Eisenhower High School artist. The students were guided by art educators Ketsia Hamilton of Hall Success Academy and Óscar Medina of Eisenhower High School, with Hamilton also serving on the museum's Teacher Advisory Group.
Melville Open Studios returns for its ninth year, transforming the Western Australian suburb into an open-air gallery for one weekend. Seventy-seven local artists will open their home studios and dedicated hubs—including Atwell House, Goolugatup Heathcote, Applecross Art Gallery, Feld & Co., and Myaree Ceramics—to the public. Visitors can explore ceramics, painting, printmaking, floristry, mixed media, and textiles, purchase artworks commission-free, and take guided bus tours across six routes. Coordinator Jennifer Gaye, who took over the event from the City of Melville in 2022, reports that last year's edition attracted 5,000 visitors and generated over $100,000 in direct sales for artists.
The Edwardsville Arts Center has announced a two-week countdown for artist applications for the 2026 Edwardsville Art Fair. Scheduled for September 25-27 in City Park, the fair seeks roughly 90 artists across various media, including ceramics, painting, and digital art, with a final deadline of April 30. The event features a specialized category for emerging artists that waives booth fees to encourage newcomers to the professional circuit.
Seabreeze Gallery, a new cooperative art space on Bowen Island, will hold its grand opening celebration on Friday, May 22 from 4 to 7 pm at 455 Bowen Island Trunk Road in Snug Cove. The gallery is the only one on the island dedicated exclusively to showcasing Bowen Island artists, featuring work from 19 local makers across diverse mediums including paintings, ceramics, fiber arts, jewelry, woodworks, and glass. The gallery operates as a cooperative, with a different artist opening the doors each day to engage visitors directly.
Four emerging Indigenous artists from Nagula Jarndu, a women's art centre in Broome, have been selected to present their work at Revealed, an annual Perth showcase of new and emerging Western Australian Aboriginal artists. The artists—including Ebony Pierik—created large-scale silk pieces using hand-carved linocut blocks, now displayed in the main gallery of the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art (PICA). The exhibition, curated by Whadjuk, Balladong and Wilman Noongar artist Zali Morgan, also features a large-scale art market where thousands of works are sold directly to buyers, with 100% of proceeds going to the artists.
New Jersey City University (NJCU) Galleries will open "HOME HERE," a site-specific installation featuring 11 women artists from Jersey City, on February 5, 2026. Curated by NJCU alumna Lucy Rovetto, the exhibition runs through March 5 and explores themes of history and memory through overlapping, boundary-less works. Featured artists include Laia Cabrera, Nicole DeMaio, Isabelle Duverger, Jaz Graf, Katelyn Halpern, Jin Jung, Pat Lay, Tina Maneca, Cheryl R. Riley, and Jennifer Roberts, with a tribute to former NJCU art department chair Ward Mount.
Boston University School of Visual Arts is presenting the 2025 Undergraduate Thesis Exhibitions from April 29 through May 10 across multiple galleries on campus, including the 808 Gallery, 808 Corridor Gallery, and Commonwealth Gallery. The exhibitions feature works by 66 graduating seniors from BFA programs in Painting, Sculpture, and Graphic Design, as well as BA in Art students, with a separate BA Capstone Exhibition running from May 5 to 16 in Gallery 5. A public reception is scheduled for May 2, and all shows are free and open to the public.
Bonnie Keren He, a 17-year-old artist born in New York and raised between Suzhou, China, and New York, opened her solo exhibition "INNA BEAUTI" at Flushing Town Hall Gallery in New York City on April 19, 2026. The exhibition, curated by Dr. Hao Qingsong, Cindy Jiang, and Grace Jiang, features works across media including colored pencil, acrylic, oil painting, embroidery, and performance art, exploring themes of cultural identity, memory, and inner reflection. Notable attendees included political figures Jimmy Meng and Ron Kim, and the opening was hosted by Ge Chen of Global Cloud Media.
Western Spirit Museum, Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, partnered with the Arizona Art Education Association to present a Youth Art Month exhibition from March 15 to March 28, 2025. The show featured 109 original works by students in kindergarten through 12th grade from 22 schools across Arizona, spanning multiple mediums and styles. The exhibit concluded with a student artist reception on March 28, drawing families, educators, and community members. Teachers submitted student artwork, which was reviewed and selected by the Arizona Art Education Association Youth Art Month board.
Artwork created by adults with learning disabilities is now on display at Hull's Streetlife Museum in an exhibition titled 'Regeneration,' running until 5 July. The show is organized by CASE Training Services, a charity that helps people with disabilities gain new skills and engage in social activities. The exhibition features sculpture, video, photography, paintings, and portraits, along with interactive 'talking tiles' that visitors can press to learn more about the pieces. Creative arts teacher Pete Vernon and museum curator Frankie Hodson both emphasized the importance of giving these artists a public platform to share their work.