Art exhibition puts Eastbourne in the frame

The Historical Society of Eastbourne is presenting an exhibition of unseen artworks and photographs at the Hutt Art Centre in May 2025. Spanning 1847 to 2025, the show includes portraits, landscapes, seascapes, and historical scenes from the eastern harbour and Eastbourne communities, featuring works by artists such as Alan G Collins, Gordon Brown, Gregory Chaston, and Charles Cheesman. Highlights include a set of photographic negatives discovered in the cupboards of Hutt Art Centre member Iris Caulfield, believed to have been found at a garage sale in the late 1980s, and a 1932 image of then-Eastbourne mayor Sam Fisher speaking at a civic ceremony.

Le dimore storiche sono il più vasto e straordinario museo diffuso d’Italia. Una giornata per celebrarle

On Sunday, May 24, 2026, Italian historic homes will open their doors free to the public as part of the 16th National Day promoted by ADSI – Associazione Dimore Storiche Italiane. The 2025 edition involved over 500 properties and more than 250,000 visitors, highlighting the widespread cultural heritage across Italy. The article argues that this event is not merely cultural or tourist-oriented but raises broader questions about the future of Italy's fragile territories and the need for a cohesive national strategy for territorial rebalancing.

Cultural Observatories: Dinosaurs or Subjects Capable of Interpreting the Present?

Osservatori culturali. Dinosauri o soggetti in grado di interpretare il presente?

The Cultural Observatory of Canton Ticino has published a study on cultural observatories worldwide, including a map and list of surveyed organizations. The analysis reveals that cultural observatories are not a global phenomenon but are concentrated mainly in Europe and South America, with occasional presence in North America (especially Canada and Hispanic-oriented organizations in the US). Africa, Asia, and Oceania are almost entirely absent from the map. The study also highlights a high rate of inactive observatories: among the top 10 countries by active observatories, only Germany shows an effective activity ratio. Spain has 26 active observatories out of about 45 total, while Italy has 11 active out of over 20 inactive. The research defines observatories as non-profit organizations that combine cultural and statistical expertise to deepen and transfer knowledge about the cultural sector, and classifies as inactive those with no recent activity on web or social channels.

Cultural heritage reform. The 'Italia in scena' law gives some answers but raises many questions

Riforma dei beni culturali. La legge “Italia in scena” dà alcune risposte ma produce tante domande

Italy's parliament approved the "Italia in scena" law in March 2026, a cultural heritage reform aligned with right-wing priorities: territorial valorization, local identity promotion, autonomy, and private-sector involvement. The law establishes a digital registry (Anagrafe), a roster of accredited operators, and a framework for private management of cultural assets, but allocates only €4.5 million annually—a symbolic sum compared to France's cultural mediation budgets. It also opens participation to the Third Sector (cooperatives, community foundations) but defers all critical details to implementing decrees with no strict deadlines or enforcement mechanisms.

Captured in Escalante: Art Festival Invites Artists and Visitors This September

The Escalante Canyons Art Festival returns September 18–27, 2026, in Southern Utah, inviting artists and visitors to engage with the landscape through plein air painting, studio submissions, and special categories like nocturne and miniature works. The festival offers over $10,000 in prizes, including a Best of Show purchase award of $1,500, and features a dedicated junior division with no entry fee. Highlights include the Escalante 150th Anniversary Paint-Out, workshops, live music, judges’ talks, historic walking tours, and a play by local playwright Raymond Shurtz, all set near the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument.

Former Farmers building 'leading candidate' for art gallery

A feasibility study commissioned by the Invercargill City Council has identified the former Farmers department store building on Dee Street as the leading candidate for a new public art gallery in Invercargill, New Zealand. The study, prepared by Rebecca McElrea of McElrea Consulting, assessed multiple location options—including the H&J Smith building, an extension of the Te Unua Museum site, and incorporation into the new Te Unua museum—but concluded that the Farmers building offers the best alignment with investment objectives due to its size, configuration, central city location, and preliminary cost certainty. The council will consider proceeding with a detailed business case for this option at a committee meeting on Tuesday.

Downtown Janesville art gallery, maker space Raven's Wish plans to move

Raven's Wish, a downtown Janesville art gallery and maker space, is relocating from its current 4,000-square-foot location at 101 W. Milwaukee St. to a smaller downtown space. Owner Kegane Rynes, who bought the business from former owner Alicia Reed two years ago, says the move is driven by a need for a layout that better suits the shop's evolving focus on art classes and creative workspace. The business, which includes a pottery studio called Pottery By Five run by partner Heather Hansen, has seen growing demand for classes and aims to separate retail, framing, and workshop areas more intentionally.

黑龙江省美协召开2026年度工作会议暨七届九次主席团（扩大）会议

The Heilongjiang Provincial Artists Association held its 2026 annual work meeting and the 7th 9th Presidium (Expanded) Meeting on April 29, 2026, via a hybrid online-offline format. Over 100 participants attended, including presidium members, council members, heads of municipal and industry artists associations, and committee members. The meeting conveyed directives from the China Artists Association's study and implementation of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, as well as the provincial文联's work arrangements. It summarized 2025 work and outlined key tasks for 2026, emphasizing ideological guidance through Xi Jinping's cultural thought, people-centered creative direction focusing on local themes like black soil culture and borderland heritage, and strengthening of traditional art forms such as Heilongjiang printmaking and watercolor. The meeting also approved new council member additions, first-batch 2026 membership applications, and committee adjustments.

fashion buccellati shanghai retrospective milanese jewelry

Buccellati, the Milanese jewelry house founded in 1919 and now owned by Richemont, held a major retrospective titled “The Prince of Goldsmiths” in Shanghai. The exhibition traced the family-run enterprise’s 100-plus-year history, showcasing signature pieces such as four butterfly brooches representing successive generations of the Buccellati family—from founder Mario to great-granddaughter Lucrezia—alongside sumptuous jewelry and lesser-known home decor, including animal-inspired silverware and chrome lobster sculptures.

Sign Language to Bring Art Exhibitions Closer... Ministry Invites Applications for Sign Language Video Production Institutions

South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is accepting applications from ten institutions—including museums and art galleries—for its "2026 Exhibition Information Sign Language Video Production Support Project." Applications run from May 21 to June 12, with priority given to institutions offering permanent or long-term exhibitions. The ministry will evaluate regional balance, facility accessibility, video utilization potential, and exhibition suitability, and will survey the deaf community's viewing needs. The final list of selected institutions will be announced on June 22.

Talented art exhibition showcases Ouachita Parish student work

The Ouachita Parish School District is hosting a talented art exhibition at the Student Support Services Building in West Monroe, Louisiana, featuring 270 pieces across 33 categories by middle and high school students. The show includes one winner per category, with the high school division's overall winner being a self-portrait titled "Spilling the Tea" by a graduating senior. The exhibition is open through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The art of seeing differently

An exhibition titled ArtAbility in Mumbai showcases the work of neurodivergent artists, challenging conventional perceptions of art and artistry. The show features artists with autism, ADHD, Down syndrome, and dyslexia, presenting their work in a sophisticated gallery setting that emphasizes their unique perspectives and visual clarity.

Miranda Lee and the Ethics of Attention

Curator Miranda Lee is redefining the presentation of digital and physical art by prioritizing "spatial practice" and the ethics of attention over the art world's typical demand for speed and novelty. Through major projects like RECRAFTED and the MULT Island virtual platform, Lee designs exhibition layouts and digital environments that incorporate "pause points," encouraging viewers to linger and reflect rather than succumb to frictionless scrolling. Her work spans physical galleries in Shanghai and London, as well as immersive virtual spaces, consistently focusing on how identity is staged across different environments.

The Forward Frame: East End Arts Holds Last Hurrah Before Gallery Relocation

East End Arts hosted a final exhibition titled "The Forward Frame" at its historic East Main Street gallery in Riverhead before the building undergoes a massive structural renovation. As part of the Riverhead Town Square redevelopment project, the 1840s-era building will be raised seven feet to escape the Peconic River floodplain and reconfigured alongside a new five-story Hilton hotel. During the farewell event, community members were invited to create ephemeral art directly on the gallery walls, marking a transition period where the organization will operate out of temporary spaces at 11 and 48 West Main Street.

Exhibition in Barcelona explores an artist's journey into nature

The Vila Casas Foundation has launched a major retrospective of Esther Boix at the Espais Volart gallery in Barcelona, marking the centenary of the artist’s birth. Featuring 180 works, the exhibition traces Boix’s evolution from early figurative portraits and social realism to her later, more abstract explorations of nature and ecology. The show highlights her role in the anti-Franco movement, her involvement with the Postectura group, and her significant contributions to art education through the founding of the L’ARC school.

CACHE to host solo neo-expressionist art exhibition

The Center for Art, Culture, and History—Exeter (CACHE) is set to present "California Landscapes," a solo exhibition featuring the work of neo-expressionist painter Betty Berk. Running from April 4 to June 28, the showcase highlights Berk’s texture-heavy, color-driven paintings, which are often inspired by her background in classical piano.

“Lord Shiva in Abstract Form” Exhibition to Open at DWIJA Art Gallery, Bengaluru

Artists Saikat Sarkar and Urmila Barman are set to debut a collaborative exhibition titled “Lord Shiva in Abstract Form” at the DWIJA Art Gallery in Bengaluru on April 4 and 5, 2026. The showcase features ten acrylic-on-canvas works that eschew traditional religious iconography in favor of contemporary abstraction, using color, texture, and gestural movement to interpret philosophical themes like cosmic balance and transformation.

Is your local dairy in this exhibition?

Artist Harriet Millar is launching a site-specific exhibition featuring a series of paintings dedicated to Christchurch’s local dairies. In a creative turn, Millar has leased the abandoned Cranford St Dairy, which has been closed since 2021, to serve as both the gallery space and her future art studio. The collection includes oil and acrylic works depicting various neighborhood convenience stores, such as the Springfield Discounter and Clyde Road Dairy, captured with bold brushstrokes and geometric focus.

'Real and abstract calm amongst chaos' art exhibition attracts Andover attention

Fine artist Serena Read recently presented her solo exhibition, "The Alignment of Peace and Chaos," at Unity Art Studio in Andover. The showcase featured works that blend realism and abstraction, utilizing materials like sparkle to explore themes of trauma, recovery, and the balance between internal tranquility and external turmoil. The exhibition included a 'Meet the Artist' event attended by local community figures, highlighting Read's transition from cross-cultural communications to a therapeutic art practice.

A first home, a first gallery, and a life built around art

Peggy Robinson, a graduate of the Elam School of Fine Arts and a former staffer at Page Galleries, has launched her own contemporary art space, PEG Gallery, in Wellington's Newtown district. The gallery debuted in November with a focus on national artists, including the estate of the late Selwyn Muru, fulfilling a long-held professional ambition for Robinson after years of working in the commercial art sector.

Canadian Museum for Human Rights’ planned exhibition on displacement of Palestinians sparks outpouring of support and criticism

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg announced plans for an exhibition titled 'Palestine Uprooted: Nakba, Past and Present,' scheduled to open in June 2026. The show will document the lived experience of the Nakba—the mass displacement of Palestinians beginning with the 1948 Arab-Israeli war—through video testimonials, objects, art, text, and photography, focusing on personal stories of Palestinian Canadians. The announcement has drawn both strong support and criticism, with museum CEO Isha Khan emphasizing the exhibition is not a historical retrospective or commentary on current Israel-Palestine relations.

The Shift launches its annual art exhibition

The Shift, a Maltese investigative journalism platform, has launched its eighth annual art exhibition featuring works donated by over 20 Maltese artists, both established and emerging. The artworks are displayed at Mixa’s Gallery in St Paul’s Bay and online, with prices set by the artists themselves. Proceeds are split 30% to the artists and 70% to fund The Shift’s investigative journalism and press freedom advocacy.

Anti-racist flag cancelled due to concerns over offence

Brighton & Hove City Council has cancelled an anti-racist art exhibition featuring a reimagined Union Jack flag, created by artist Gil Mualem-Doron, over concerns it could offend minority communities. The artwork, which incorporates designs from diverse groups, had been displayed at public venues for over a decade. Council leader Bella Sankey stated that libraries must remain neutral and safe spaces for all customers, citing the city's status as a 'Libraries of Sanctuary.'

Marae to host Pātaka Ora auction

Dunedin’s Araiteuru Marae will host the inaugural Pātaka Ora Summer Art Exhibition & Auction on November 24, 2025, from 5pm to 9pm at the Shetland Street marae. The event features works from rangatahi (youth) to tohunga toi (experienced artists), including paintings, ceramics, and photography, alongside music, conversation, and food. Organized by the volunteer Pātaka Ora committee, the auction aims to raise funds for the marae’s community wellbeing kitchen, which has provided 18 meal services so far this year.

‘Mona Lisa of illuminated manuscripts’ goes on show in Rome

A lavishly illuminated Renaissance Bible, hailed as the 'Mona Lisa of illuminated manuscripts,' has been placed on public display in Rome. The Borso d'Este Bible, created between 1455 and 1461 for the first Duke of Ferrara, features over 1,000 gold-adorned miniature paintings by artists including Taddeo Crivelli and Franco dei Russi. Normally kept in a secure safe at the Gallerie Estensi in Modena, the two-volume manuscript was transported under heavy security to the Italian Senate, where it is exhibited in a humidity-controlled case as part of the Vatican's Holy Year celebrations through January 2026. Visitors can explore high-resolution digital reproductions via touch screens.

Mainframe Studio exhibition features artists from Grinnell, Iowa

Mainframe Studio in Des Moines, Iowa, partnered with the Grinnell Area Arts Council to host a special exhibition in October featuring works by 16 artists from Grinnell, a rural Iowa community. The show, displayed on the studio's third floor, included diverse mediums such as book art, sculpture, and painting, with contributors including Professor Mirzam Cristina Pérez, Professor Erik Simpson, and Professor Pascal Lafontant. Opening night on October 3 drew around 1,600 visitors, highlighting the studio's role in bridging rural and urban art scenes.

How nature is helping a rural French arts centre to reduce its carbon footprint

The Centre International d’Art et du Paysage—Île de Vassivière (CIAPV), a rural French arts centre on a forested island in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, is tackling its carbon footprint after a government-mandated analysis revealed that 95% of its emissions come from visitors driving to the remote site. Executive director Alexandra McIntosh is drawing on the island's manmade landscape—shaped by hydroelectric damming, agriculture, and logging—to implement ecological initiatives, including rewilding open fields, creating a self-managing test forest with botanist Francis Hallé, and planting pollinating flowers to boost biodiversity.

Ida Valley winter art show to help Oturehua hall

The Ida Valley winter art show is being organized to raise funds for the Oturehua Hall, a historic community venue in New Zealand. The event will feature local artists and artwork, with proceeds going toward the maintenance and preservation of the hall.

What can a ‘poorly-made’ Stalin sculpture tell us about Putin's Russia?

A full-length sculptural relief of Joseph Stalin was reinstalled in Moscow's Taganskaya metro station as part of efforts to restore original designs. The work, a 3D-printed copy of a 1950 original, has been criticized by art historian Elizaveta Likhacheva as poorly made and crudely painted. Visitors have laid flowers at the site, while critics note that over 95 Stalin monuments have been installed under Vladimir Putin's rule, including in occupied Ukrainian territories.

Local creatives impress judges

The Arrowtown Photography Competition, part of the Arrowtown Autumn Festival, awarded first place to Hazel Alviola for her black-and-white image 'Needhams Cottage'. Alviola, who only began photography last year, expressed disbelief at her win. Judges Todd Weeks and Leigh Jeffery also introduced a 'highly commended' award for Martin Barwood's wildlife photo 'White Faced Heron'. In the concurrent Bayleys Arrowtown Autumn Fest Art Exhibition, Jane Burdon won the $3,500 premier painting award, while Jade Barclay took the $750 best local painting award. Other winners included Lynne Fellows, Lynn Brochere Millar, Olivia Pickney, and Diana Turnbull Anderson, with merit awards given to Angus Milne, Jenny Hill, Tracey Morrow, and Jos Browning.