“Young Lords in Chicago” Reminds Us, the Struggle for Social Justice Only Ends if We Concede

The DePaul Art Museum is presenting "Tengo Lincoln Park en mi corazón: Young Lords in Chicago," an exhibition that chronicles the history of the Young Lords Organization (YLO), a Puerto Rican street gang turned socio-political movement founded by José "Cha Cha" Jiménez. Through artifacts like Jiménez's purple beret, newly-commissioned murals by Sam Kirk, and a range of ephemera, the show traces the YLO's fight against displacement and for social justice in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood, linking past struggles to present-day activism.

Delhi exhibition highlights India's controversial slum redevelopments

Artist Paribartana Mohanty's solo exhibition "I Rescued Speed Altogether" at Delhi's Shrine Empire gallery presents 12 paintings and three moving-image works created over eight years of documenting the demolition of the Kathputli art colony, a historic slum cluster in west Delhi known for its street performers. The works, mounted on found objects like glue cans and plastic, focus on the objects and landscapes left behind after demolitions, with human figures absent from the canvases. Mohanty's title comes from his three-year-old son's triumphant statement after learning to pedal a bicycle, which the artist sees as an absurd phrase fitting for what he calls the "absurd acts" of demolition.

ai weiwei confronts memory, catastrophe, and resilience at MAXXI l'aquila exhibition

Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei presents a new exhibition at MAXXI L'Aquila, titled 'Ai Weiwei: Confronting Memory, Catastrophe, and Resilience.' The show explores themes of collective trauma, historical catastrophe, and human resilience through a range of media including sculpture, installation, and documentary works. It draws on Ai's ongoing engagement with political dissent, migration, and the fragility of cultural memory.

Running from one image to another, from one time to another, from one hope to another: at Circolo, in Milan, an exhibition on the contemporary Lebanese scene

The article reviews "Shifting Crossroads. Beirut Contemporary," an exhibition at Circolo in Milan that surveys the contemporary Lebanese art scene. It features internationally recognized artists like Mona Hatoum and Simone Fattal alongside emerging talents, including works from the Saikalis Bay Foundation, founded in 2024 by Nicole Saikalis and Matteo Bay. The show spans historical-archival investigation, photography, installation, painting, and sculpture, with pieces such as Stéphanie Saadé's "Stage of Life" (2021), Catherine Cattaruzza's "I am Folding the Land" (2022), and Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige's "Waiting for the Barbarians" (2013) exploring themes of memory, fragility, and geopolitical instability.

Two Exhibits, Four Artists and a Lot to Think About

The Maude Kerns Art Center is currently hosting two concurrent exhibitions, "Witness: Earth & Sky" and "Consume & Dispose," curated by Liberty Rossel. The shows feature the work of four artists—Rich Bergeman, Amanda Thomas, Rolf Huber, and Jennifer Bucheit—whose practices converge on themes of environmental stewardship, colonial history, and social justice. From Bergeman’s infrared photography documenting indigenous Kalapuya lands to Thomas’s use of toxic mine drainage in her ceramic glazes, the works utilize specific materials and historical research to challenge viewers' perceptions of the landscape and industrial impact.

Art a path to conservation

Art a path to conservation

Dunedin-based artist Clare Reilly is celebrating her 50th year of exhibiting with a practice that merges vibrant depictions of New Zealand’s native flora and fauna with active environmental advocacy. Her work, which frequently features birds in flight as symbols of spiritual uplift, serves as both a tribute to the natural world and a warning about habitat loss. Through her career, she has collaborated with her late husband Max Podstolski under the Primitive Bird Group banner and participated in hands-on conservation efforts, such as the tūī relocation project to Banks Peninsula.

Wilson College unveils anti-war art show by Callot on Nov. 19

Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, will open a new art exhibition titled “Jacques Callot and Those Who Came After” on November 19, 2025, in the first-floor gallery of the John Stewart Memorial Library. The show features 18 etchings from Callot’s 1633 series “Les Grandes Misères de la Guerre,” widely regarded as the first anti-war statement in Western art, alongside works by artists he inspired, including Francisco Goya, Otto Dix, and Ernst Barlach. Curated by assistant professor Adam DelMarcelle, the exhibition was a collaborative effort involving students from multiple courses—Western Art History 1000–1800, Graphic Design II, Typography and the Letterform, and digital photography—who conducted research, designed the visual language, built the catalog, and contributed photographic elements.

‘From Gaza to the World’: A Devastating Art Show Arrives in Brooklyn

A devastating exhibition titled 'From Gaza to the World' has opened at Recess, a nonprofit art venue in Brooklyn, as the first North American pavilion of the Gaza Biennale. Organized by the Forbidden Museum of Jabal Al Risan and launched in 2024, the show features 25 Palestinian artists, many still in Gaza or displaced. Due to the ongoing Israel-Gaza War, most works are documentation—printouts, facsimiles, and video—rather than original objects. Highlights include Malaka Abu Owda's 'When the Body Became a Message' (2024), Firas Thabet's tapestry 'Gaznica' (2025) adapting Picasso's Guernica, and Emad Badwan's docudrama 'Live Broadcast' (2024). The exhibition bears witness to life under bombardment, famine, and displacement, with wall labels including heartbreaking artist quotes.

The Palestinian artist channelling ‘rage, love and hope’ into her paintings

Palestinian artist Malak Mattar presents her new solo show "Falasteen" at Central Saint Martins, featuring works created during her MFA that respond to the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The exhibition marks a synthesis of her earlier vibrant style and the stark monochrome she adopted after Israel's latest assault, with colors cautiously returning alongside themes of hope, resilience, and freedom. The show includes large-scale paintings, a concertina book, and new techniques like photo transfer and collage, including her 2024 painting "No Words," a black-and-white mural recalling Picasso's "Guernica." This is the first solo show by a Palestinian artist ever held at Central Saint Martins.

Image of Family Torn by ICE Wins World Press Photo of the Year

American photojournalist Carol Guzy won the 2026 World Press Photo of the Year for her image "Separated by ICE," which captures a tearful family torn apart by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after an immigration court hearing in New York amid President Trump's broader crackdown. The contest, established in 1955, selected 42 global winners from over 57,000 photographs submitted by nearly 3,800 photographers across 141 countries. Finalists included Saber Nuraldin's "Aid Emergency in Gaza" and Victor J. Blue's "The Trials of the Achi Women," while other winners addressed displacement, war, and environmental crises.

What if the Polaroid had existed in Biblical times? Photographer Mishka Henner asks this in a show in Modena

E se la Polaroid fosse esistita ai tempi della Bibbia? Se lo chiede il fotografo Mishka Henner in mostra a Modena

Belgian photographer Mishka Henner has opened his first solo exhibition in Italy, titled 'Seeing Is Believing,' at Palazzo Santa Margherita in Modena, presented by the Fondazione Ago. The show features 25 new works that explore the nature of photography in the age of artificial intelligence, including AI-generated images of biblical scenes presented as if they were historical Polaroids.

Pride of place: the rise of LGBTQ+ art in Hong Kong

Hong Kong's art scene is witnessing a significant rise in the visibility and institutional embrace of LGBTQ+ art, particularly during its annual Art Week. Exhibitions like the Sunpride Foundation's 'Myth Makers—Spectrosynthesis III' at Tai Kwun Contemporary have acted as major accelerants, moving queer discourse from semi-private contexts into prominent public institutions.

Statues Also Breathe: A Chorus of Clay and Memory, Where the Missing Return as Form.

The exhibition 'Statues Also Breathe' has opened at the Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (MACAAL) in Marrakech. Curated by Meriem Berrada, the installation features 108 terracotta heads created by artist Prune Nourry in collaboration with artisans and students. The work draws inspiration from the historic sculptural tradition of Ife in Nigeria while directly addressing the ongoing trauma of the 2014 kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls, using portraiture to represent the missing.

the rubin names 2025 art prize research and art projects grants 1234756495

The Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, which closed its New York physical space in 2024 to become a "global museum," has announced the winner of its 2025 Himalayan Art Prize: Khadhok – Tibetan Artists’ Collective, a Dharamshala-based group founded in 2023. The prize includes a $30,000 purse, the largest of its kind for Himalayan artists. Additionally, the museum named 15 recipients of its 2025 Research and Art Projects grants, distributing $200,000 total among projects ranging from $3,000 to $25,000, selected from 132 applications.

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.

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.

Angela de la Cruz Breaks the Frame

The art world is witnessing a significant shift toward the 'one-work exhibition,' a format that rejects the traditional gallery model of high-volume displays in favor of singular, immersive encounters. By isolating a single masterpiece or installation, institutions are encouraging 'slow looking' and recasting the act of viewing as a deliberate spatial experience. This trend serves as a direct response to the digital age's relentless pace and the overwhelming 'glut' of contemporary visual culture.

Jamestown Arts Center opens solo exhibition by François Poisson this spring

The Jamestown Arts Center is set to host "In the Zeitgeist," a solo exhibition by Maine-based artist François Poisson running from April 10 through June 13. The showcase spans a decade of Poisson’s multidisciplinary work, featuring signature series such as his "Bunny Cars" sculptures and "Exhaust Sticks" that explore themes of national identity, political upheaval, and the American ethos. The exhibition will open alongside "NEXT," a group show dedicated to emerging local talent.

A Blueprint of Resonance: Building Detroit’s Artistic Future

A Blueprint of Resonance: Building Detroit’s Artistic Future is a multimedia exhibition presented by DETROIT SALON, running from October 18 to November 9, 2025. Curated by Juana Williams, the show highlights 18 Detroit-based artists who build on the city's legacy of collaboration and community care, drawing from historic institutions like Pewabic Pottery and the Scarab Club as well as artist-led movements such as the Cass Corridor and Gallery 7. The exhibition marks DETROIT SALON's official launch in Paris and the start of its global roadshows, ahead of its flagship event in Detroit in 2028.

‘I want to haunt people’: Palestinian artist's London exhibition interrogates myth, history and the erasure of heritage

Palestinian artist Dima Srouji's exhibition *A Cosmogram of Holy Views* opens at London's Ab Anbar Gallery, presenting a decade of research into the built heritage of Palestinian Christians. The show juxtaposes European Renaissance depictions of the Holy Land with the reality of life under Israeli occupation, using media such as tinted glass collages, blown glass, carved stone, and mother-of-pearl objects. Works like *Return to Nazareth* overlay biblical scenes with personal childhood memories, while *Phantom Votives* offers wax votive forms as a response to the destruction in Gaza.

Ukrainian installation at Burning Man destroyed by dust storm

Ukrainian artist Oleksiy Sai's installation *Black Cloud* (2025) was destroyed by a hurricane-force dust storm at the Burning Man festival in Nevada on 24 August, coinciding with Ukrainian Independence Day. The 100-foot-tall, eight-ton inflatable sculpture, funded by private donors from Ukraine and the US, featured strobe lights and a soundscape of missiles and sirens by war veteran DJ Tapolsky. The team behind the work is rebuilding it, and the installation had previously premiered in Kyiv with an edited soundscape to avoid traumatizing residents.

US billionaire Howard Buffett and Ukrainian Railways team up to create ‘art train’ exploring war-time resilience

Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) has partnered with the Howard G. Buffett Foundation to launch an 'art train' — three train cars converted into a traveling gallery — that is currently crossing Ukraine. The exhibition, titled *Courage of a Nation*, features photographs taken by billionaire Howard Buffett during his 19 trips to Ukraine between April 2022 and February 2025, documenting the country's resilience after Russia's full-scale invasion. Curated by Pulitzer Prize-winning National Geographic photographer Muhammed Muheisen, the show will make 63 stops over four months, starting in Odesa. Due to security risks, the exact timetable is not publicly announced. A book of the same name, with a foreword by Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska, has also been published.

The Distance Between Art and Survival in Rojava

The article is a first-person dispatch from Rojava, a Kurdish-majority region in northeastern Syria, where the author meets artists and fighters living and working on the front lines against jihadist groups. It focuses on artist Diyar Hesso, who has exchanged his camera for a rifle, and YPJ fighter Hevi, who articulates the necessity of armed self-defense for women facing a genocidal enemy. Their stories illustrate the impossible choice between artistic creation and survival in a war zone.

6 Exhibitions to See During EXPO Chicago 2026

The art world is witnessing a significant shift toward 'one-work exhibitions,' where entire gallery or museum spaces are dedicated to a single object. This curatorial trend, often referred to as 'slow looking,' prioritizes deep engagement and spatial experience over the traditional model of high-volume, rapid-fire viewing. By isolating a single masterpiece or installation, institutions are challenging the 'speed and glut' that defines modern digital and visual consumption.

The Invisible Pain: The Story of the Asylum in Alessandro Bencivenga's Latest Film

Il dolore che non si vede: il racconto del manicomio nell’ultimo film di Alessandro Bencivenga

Director Alessandro Bencivenga’s new film, L’invisibile filo rosso, debuted out of competition at the 82nd Venice Film Festival, offering a poignant look at the Pergine Valsugana psychiatric hospital in the 1950s. Based on extensive archival research, the narrative follows a young nurse from Ischia who witnesses the hidden horrors and human dignity within the asylum. The film features a notable cast including Massimo Bonetti, who portrays the real-life figure Giovanni Giulio Anesini, and Ornella Muti as Ida Dalser, the persecuted first wife of Benito Mussolini.

‘The Beginning’ Group Exhibition Features Live Painting at Art Bridge Gallery

The Art Bridge Gallery in Yangon is hosting a group exhibition titled 'The Beginning,' which showcases the work of multiple contemporary artists. A standout feature of the event is the inclusion of live painting sessions, allowing visitors to witness the creative process firsthand as artists develop new works within the gallery space.

NRW will Verbot für Handel mit Holocaust-Dokumenten

The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) is introducing a legislative bill to ban the commercial trade of personal Holocaust documents and artifacts, such as letters from concentration camps, Gestapo cards, and yellow stars. The initiative follows international outrage over a planned auction in Neuss in November 2025, which was halted at the last moment; around 460 objects from that auction were transferred to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation. The bill, to be presented at the Bundesrat session on May 8, aims to prohibit the sale of items directly linked to Nazi victims, while exempting museums, archives, and research institutions.

John Smith on Being John Smith

Artist-filmmaker John Smith discussed his latest autobiographical film, 'Being John Smith,' in an interview with Nataliia Serebriakova following a screening. The film explores his lifelong relationship with having one of the most common English names, a subject he was finally inspired to tackle after witnessing a Pulp concert where the crowd became a unified mass during the song "Common People." He describes the project as cathartic, addressing the daily jokes and challenges of individuality tied to his name.

The Space Between. Adam Patrick Grant by Michela Ceruti

Adam Patrick Grant’s artistic practice is rooted in a meticulous and devotional process of observation, transitioning from a background in film to a dedicated focus on oil painting over the last three years. Working from his London studio, Grant utilizes an extensive archive of personal sketches, photographs, and found imagery—such as anonymous postcards and family photos from markets—to capture fleeting moments of intimacy and the unspectacular everyday. His work is characterized by a rhythmic dialogue between the act of walking, the gathering of visual fragments, and the translation of these memories into tender, precise compositions.

Holding Us Together: Images of Care, Continuity, and Black Life

The exhibition 'Kinship & Community' has opened, drawing from the Texas African American Photography Archive to present a living archive of everyday gestures and images of Black life. The show positions photography as both a witness to and a participant in the formation of community memory, focusing on themes of care and continuity.