Guest Artist Exhibition Opens at Center for the Visual Arts

The University of Toledo Department of Art will host a free public exhibition of photographs and installation works by guest artist Margaret LeJeune, opening August 25 at the Center for the Visual Arts. Titled "Drawn from Memory: Mapping Salt and Time," the exhibition examines ecological shifts in Dare County, North Carolina, including the transformation of coastal forests into ghost forests due to saltwater intrusion and rising sea levels, while also addressing histories of colonialism, enslaved Africans and their descendants, and Indigenous displacement. LeJeune will give an artist talk on September 24, and the show runs through October 10.

Artist Flees Thailand After China Exerts Influence on Museum Exhibition

A Myanmar artist, Sai, has fled to the U.K. and is seeking asylum after Chinese officials pressured the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre to censor an exhibition on authoritarianism. The show, titled "Constellation of Complicity: Visualizing the Global Machine of Authoritarian Solidarity," included works by Tibetan, Uyghur, and Hong Kong artists. Following demands from the Chinese embassy, transmitted through Thai authorities, the center removed sensitive artworks, obscured artists' names, and covered flags and references to Tibet, Hong Kong, and Xinjiang. Sai and his wife, who co-curated the exhibition, were allegedly told Thai police were looking for them, though police denied this.

Upcoming art shows and festivals

The article highlights a series of upcoming art exhibitions and festivals in Springfield, Illinois, running from late August through September 2025. Key events include the Springfield Art Association's 37th Annual Edwards Place Fine Art Fair, the solo watercolor exhibition “Perceptions of Nature” by Donald Landry at the Hoogland Center for the Arts, and the “NOIR V: Resilience” exhibition at the Illinois State Museum. Other featured shows include “Confluence” and “PLEIADES” at the SAA Collective, and the “Statewide: Illinois Artist Showcase” at the M. G. Nelson Gallery. The Fae Folk Art Collective also presents its fourth festival, Mythical Creatures, at Union Square Park.

New Public Gallery to Open in Calgary

The Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA) is opening a new public gallery called AFA's art house in the Edison gallery space in downtown Calgary. A grand opening is scheduled for September 10, 2025, featuring works by Alberta artists and pieces from the AFA Art Collection, which was established in 1972 to document the province's visual art history. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and AFA Chair Cynthia Moore are expected to attend. The Edison space previously hosted pop-up exhibitions from the Glenbow, which is currently closed for major renovations until 2026.

Two fabulous art exhibitions opening in Mayo this month

Custom House Studios + Gallery in Westport, County Mayo, is presenting two art exhibitions opening July 24, 2025: a solo show by artist Sarah Wren Wilson and a group exhibition titled 'InHouse25'. Wilson's exhibition features abstract paintings that explore psychological space, perception, and the interplay between inner and outer worlds, using motifs like nets and the color blue to create an immersive, liminal experience. The exhibitions are supported by The Arts Council, Mayo County Council, and Pobal, and will run through August 17.

metropolitan museum of art's new rockefeller wing to open this weekend with public party

The Metropolitan Museum of Art will reopen its Michael C. Rockefeller Wing on May 31, 2025, after a four-year renovation led by Kulapat Yantrasast and WHY Architecture. The redesigned wing houses the museum's collections of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Ancient Americas in distinct galleries with improved sight-lines, filtered daylight, and a more navigable layout. A day-long public festival featuring a ribbon-cutting, live performances, workshops, artist talks, and food will celebrate the opening.

Cayman Art Week returns with new events

Cayman Art Week returns for its fifth edition from 20-25 May 2025, featuring over 40 events including pop-up exhibitions, studio visits, and extended gallery hours across all three Cayman Islands. New additions this year include the CAW Little Cayman Bike Around and CAW East curated bus tours. The National Gallery is hosting three distinct exhibitions: 'TimeBack' with archival photographs, 'Evolutions: Continuity & Change in Caymanian Art', and 'From the Mind's Eye' exploring dreams and the subconscious. The event was founded in 2021 to stimulate the commercial art market and support artists post-COVID-19.

3rd Annual Envisioning A Just Pittsburgh Call for Art

The 3rd Annual Envisioning A Just Pittsburgh Call for Art has closed its 2025 submissions as of November 2. The theme asks artists to explore how libraries, archives, and storytelling can serve as conduits for education, activism, and a more equitable Pittsburgh. Categories include writing, visual art, performance, video/interdisciplinary work, and youth arts. Juried winners will be announced in December 2025, with exhibitions and performances held at venues such as Carnegie Museums, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh, 1Hood Media, and the August Wilson African American Cultural Center in February 2026. Monetary awards range from $50 to $2,000.

Fairfield University Art Museum Presents Famous & Family: Through the Lens of Trude Fleischmann, May 2 – July 26

Fairfield University Art Museum will present "Famous & Family: Through the Lens of Trude Fleischmann" from May 2 to July 26, 2025, marking the first solo museum exhibition of the Austrian-born photographer's work in the United States. The show features over 100 photographs spanning Fleischmann's career, including her early studio work in 1920s and 1930s Vienna capturing cultural figures, and her later portraits of luminaries such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Marian Anderson, and Albert Einstein after she emigrated to New York in 1940. The exhibition includes never-before-exhibited works from family collections and a documentary film, and is curated by museum executive director Carey Weber alongside Fleischmann's cousin Barbara Loss.

Roar materials: the ‘uncanny’ art of dinosaur puppetry – in pictures

The Australian puppetry company Erth is preparing for a new immersive dinosaur show at the Sydney Opera House. The article provides a behind-the-scenes look at their workshop in Marrickville, where a team of artists and designers hand-craft highly realistic, large-scale dinosaur puppets using animatronics, 3D printing, and traditional craftsmanship.

The Art of the Chosen Family

Die Kunst der Wahlfamilie

Mike D, co-founder of the Beastie Boys, has co-curated an exhibition titled "Mishpocha. The Art of Collaboration" at the Jewish Museum Frankfurt. The show explores the concept of family beyond biological ties, featuring works such as Ira Eduardovna's video installation "The Library Room," which depicts a family packing for emigration, and immersive audiovisual spaces evoking techno, hip-hop, punk, and Riot Grrrl subcultures. The exhibition includes contributions from artist Jan Ove Hennig, photographer Jan Zappner, design studio Atelier Markgraph, and hospitality group Ima Clique, with Mike D serving as artistic director and ambassador.

Colectivo Los Ingrávidos wins Schering Stiftung Award

The Colectivo Los Ingrávidos, an anonymous film collective based in Tehuacán, Mexico, has been named the winner of the 2026 Schering Stiftung Award for Artistic Research. The group will receive a €15,000 prize, a solo exhibition at Berlin's KW Institute of Contemporary Art featuring a newly produced work, and a publication.

At the Grand Palais, the Paris Book Festival Puts Comics in the Spotlight

Au Grand Palais, le Festival du livre de Paris met la bande dessinée à l’honneur

The Festival du livre de Paris returns to the Grand Palais from April 17 to 19, 2026, marking a continued transformation from a massive trade fair into a curated cultural event. This year’s edition features 450 publishers and places a significant emphasis on comic books (BD), highlighted by two thematic exhibitions on the Balcon d’Honneur and a dedicated youth village. The program also includes a culinary-themed nocturne and the "Cabaret Extra!" performance series produced in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou.

Exhibition | Man Ray, 'M for Dictionary' at Gio Marconi, Milan, Italy

Fondazione Marconi and Gió Marconi present 'Man Ray: M for Dictionary,' a comprehensive survey of Man Ray's work organized around his linguistic experiments. The exhibition, marking the fiftieth anniversary of the artist's death, is curated by Yuval Etgar and Deborah D’Ippolito and spans photography, painting, sculpture, and drawing. It includes a second display titled 'In Other Words' featuring contemporary artists Alex Da Corte, Simon Fujiwara, Wade Guyton, Allison Katz, and Tai Shani, whose work engages with language in visual art.

From DJing club nights to gallery walls, Scots artist returns home for major show

Francis Dosoo, a self-taught Scottish artist now based in Vienna, is mounting his first solo show at Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) titled "Portrait Of Dorothy Gale." Dosoo began his career in nightlife, running club nights and DJ sets that blended into performance and installation art. His practice spans sound, film, and visual art, with past collaborations including Joanne Dawson, Aniela Piasecka, and Alberta Whittle, and commissions from the Glasgow Film Festival and Edinburgh Art Festival. The DCA exhibition draws on the 1978 film *The Wiz*, reimagining *The Wizard of Oz* with an African-American cast, focusing on star Diana Ross's career and personal life at the time.

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.

In Stockholm, the Tech scene supports art

Stockholm's art fair, featuring 54 galleries and around 150 artists, offers a democratic layout with no sections, placing established and emerging galleries side by side. Prices range from €300 to €300,000, with most works under €50,000. Notable presentations include Olafur Eliasson's new works at i8 gallery, Benjamin Orlow's sculpture destined for the Venice Biennale's Nordic Pavilion, and emerging galleries like Coulisse Gallery showing Jonatan Pihlgren. The fair reflects a strong local collector base, though some galleries note a recent market contraction.

New Joyful Noise exhibition coming to Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury Cathedral will host a new art exhibition titled 'Joyful Noise' from May 16 to October 25, featuring works by international artists including Denzil Forrester, Christine Sun Kim, Yuri Suzuki, Sokari Douglas Camp, Phyllida Barlow, Caroline Walker, Tim Etchells, and Emeka Ogboh. The exhibition reimagines the biblical call to 'make a joyful noise unto the Lord' and spans painting, sculpture, video, text, and sound, with installations both inside and outside the cathedral. Highlights include Tim Etchells' neon piece 'Songs (2026)' in the North Porch, Phyllida Barlow's six-metre-high sculpture 'untitled: megaphone (2014)' on Choristers' Green, and Emeka Ogboh's outdoor choral sound installation 'Abide with me (2026)' featuring the Salisbury Cathedral Choir. Entry is included with cathedral admission and free for local residents in SP1 to SP5 postcode areas.

WORDS WORDS WORDS at Everard Read shows the power of words in contemporary art

The article reviews 'WORDS, WORDS, WORDS,' an exhibition at Everard Read Gallery's CIRCA space in South Africa, which explores the role of language in contemporary visual art. Curated with a focus on how words are bent, repeated, fragmented, and reassembled, the show features works by South African artists including Willem Boshoff and Luca Evans, who engage with conceptual art traditions from Dada to Barbara Kruger. Boshoff's braille-inset wooden piece 'Planet of Echinus' questions inclusion and exclusion in language, while Evans' work riffs on Joseph Kosuth's iconic text pieces using ancient wood-inlay techniques.

Metro Events Guide: From art exhibitions to house shows, we’ve got you covered this week in Metro Detroit

This week's Metro Detroit events guide highlights several art exhibitions and cultural happenings from April 23–30. The Elaine L. Jacob Gallery at Wayne State University presents 'Keith Haring: Subway Drawings' (April 17–August 15), featuring 25 drawings created by Haring between 1980 and 1985. Wayne State also hosts its 2026 Undergraduate Art Exhibition (April 24–May 8) showcasing student work in fine arts, art history, and design, with an opening reception on April 24. That same evening, the Wayne State University Graduate Artist Coalition holds an open studio and gallery event with live music and refreshments. Additional events include a 12-hour party at Marble Bar & Lincoln Factory, a house music event by Specter at an undisclosed location, an R&B night at Big Pink, and an Oakland University Film Showcase.

The Update | Emerging Artist Program Exhibits Selectee’s Works

The New Castle Public Library in Pennsylvania is hosting an exhibition of works by Madeline Zimmer, an 18-year-old emerging artist, through June 17. The show, titled "Arbitrary Existence," features digital characters and pastel drawings inspired by comics and graffiti art, and is part of the Hoyt's Emerging Artist Program, which provides selected artists with hands-on support including exhibition development, installation, and promotion.

Local artist work on exhibit in Tulsa

Living Arts of Tulsa is presenting “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides?”, an exhibition by Kenneth and Isabelle Watson Reams, with support from JustArts Gallery. Kenneth Reams, a former Arkansas death row inmate now serving a life sentence, created over 50 works including paintings, drawings, sculptures, and poetry alongside his wife Isabelle. The show opened April 3 and runs through April and May, exploring themes of incarceration, capital punishment, and social justice through the lens of Reams’ 31 years on death row.

Group of Seven, Van Gogh and Renoir works will be showcased at new downtown gallery

A new commercial gallery, Cowley Abbott Fine Art, is opening in downtown Calgary with a three-day public preview starting April 23, 2026. The gallery will showcase rare masterworks by artists including Vincent van Gogh, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Canadian icons like Emily Carr and Lawren Harris of the Group of Seven. Notably, an Emily Carr painting from the 1930s, last exhibited nearly a century ago, will be on view.

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.

Exhibition | Merlin James, 'See Through' at P420, Bologna, Italy

The gallery P420 in Bologna has opened "See Through," the second solo exhibition by Welsh artist Merlin James. The show features a non-linear curation that blends works from different decades, ranging from landscapes and interiors to erotic scenes and near-abstract compositions. James’s approach treats the exhibition as a "jam session," where visual and thematic repetitions provide a structure for diverse painterly explorations.

Exhibition | Bertrand Lavier, 'Brushstroke n.7' at MASSIMODECARLO Pièce Unique, Pièce Unique, Paris, France

French artist Bertrand Lavier is presenting a solo exhibition titled 'Brushstroke n.7' at MASSIMODECARLO Pièce Unique in Paris. The exhibition centers on a single, sinuous steel sculpture that translates the traditionally flat, expressive painterly gesture into a three-dimensional physical entity. This presentation marks Lavier's sixth solo show with the gallery and continues his decades-long exploration of the boundaries between painting, sculpture, and the readymade.

Ghost at La Lison Gallery: our photos from the exhibition Before the Ashes

Ghost at La Lison Gallery: our photos from the exhibition Before the Ashes

The La Lison Gallery in Paris is hosting "Avant les cendres" (Before the Ashes), a solo exhibition by the artist Fantôme running from April 9 to May 16, 2026. The showcase features a series of abstract works that utilize black ink, oils, fabric, and ash to explore texture and light, drawing comparisons to the monochromatic depth of Pierre Soulages. The exhibition serves as a prequel to the artist's upcoming show, "Cercles," in Nancy.

Exhibition | Yue Minjun, 'Crab' at Tang Contemporary Art, Hong Kong

Tang Contemporary Art in Hong Kong is hosting 'Crab', a comprehensive solo exhibition by the renowned Chinese contemporary artist Yue Minjun. The show traces three decades of his career, featuring his iconic 'Laughing Face' series alongside newer works like the 'Flower Series' and 'Stack Series' that utilize diverse mediums including oil, sculpture, and printmaking.

'Two of Us' at Simchowitz, Hill House, Los Angeles, United States on 15 Feb–11 Apr 2026

Simchowitz Gallery is presenting "Two of Us," a dual exhibition featuring Ukrainian artists Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach at Hill House in Pasadena. The show explores the creative dialogue between the two artists, who have lived and worked together in France for the past three years while maintaining distinct individual practices. Samarin’s work focuses on the physical gesture of painting, blending abstraction and figuration influenced by German Expressionism and medieval art, while Derkach’s canvases lean into dreamlike narratives, metamorphosis, and psychological tension.

French Pop-Street Artist Jisbar Launches Billboard Art Exhibit in Detroit

French pop-street artist Jisbar has launched a city-wide exhibition in Detroit, transforming 134 static and digital billboards into a public art gallery. Running from April through mid-June, the project is a collaboration with Farmington Hills-based iO Billboard and features numbered works that reimagine pop culture icons and classic art. The initiative encourages residents to interact with the urban landscape by "collecting" sightings of the various pieces scattered across four metro counties.