Art dealers are weighing the strategic decision of whether to present solo artist booths or group shows at art fairs. Solo booths allow visitors to focus deeply on a single artist's work, avoiding the sensory overload of multiple artists, while group booths offer variety and broader market appeal. The choice often varies depending on the fair and the dealer's goals.
The Somali Museum of Minnesota has emerged as a vital cultural sanctuary and community hub for Somali immigrants in Minneapolis. By preserving traditional nomadic artifacts, textiles, and contemporary artworks, the museum provides a space for the diaspora to reconnect with their heritage and find solace amidst social and political challenges.
Cultural institutions across the United States are launching a series of exhibitions and preservation projects to commemorate the centennial of Route 66. From the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History to local galleries along the 2,448-mile corridor, these programs examine the highway's evolution from a vital migration artery to a kitschy symbol of Americana. The initiatives aim to provide a nuanced look at the road’s history, including the experiences of marginalized travelers who relied on the Green Book to navigate segregated landscapes.
The Thailand Biennale has opened in Phuket, featuring contemporary artists from Thailand and other countries. The exhibition aims to engage with and honor the island's deep history of applied arts, including traditional crafts and local artistic heritage.
Artist Harry Nuriev has designed a new chandelier for the luxury crystal house Baccarat. The piece, titled "Everyday Chandelier," replaces a portion of the traditional, ornate crystal components with mass-produced, utilitarian objects like plastic cups, water bottles, and light bulbs.
ArtReview's feature 'The Museum in Crisis' presents a critical diagnosis of contemporary museums, questioning their foundational authority, purpose, and relevance. The article compiles perspectives from professionals, highlighting challenges like restitution claims, alienated audiences, and the need to dismantle colonial hierarchies embedded in language and display practices. It argues that museums must move beyond being mere preservers to become active producers of public knowledge.
The article profiles artist Davide Hjort Di Fabio, whose work explores the experience of chronic illness and the sick body through sculpture and installation. He uses materials like silicone, resin, and medical paraphernalia to create visceral forms that challenge conventional representations of health and the human form.
The Today Art Museum in Beijing hosted an exhibition titled "Dialogue through Art," featuring works by Azerbaijani artists. Organized by the Embassy of Azerbaijan in China in collaboration with the Innovation Art and Travel Center and the AYDANI Art Gallery, the show included paintings, sculptures, digital art, and animation by both established and emerging Azerbaijani artists.
Il linguaggio oltre l’umano nel sorprendente Padiglione Polonia alla Biennale di Venezia 2026. L’intervista
The Polish Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale presents "Liquid Tongues," a project by artists Bogna Burska and Daniel Kotowski, curated by Ewa Chomicka and Jolanta Woszczenko with the collective Choir in Motion. The installation eschews spectacle for a subtle, immersive exploration of language beyond the human voice, incorporating sign language, underwater immersion, choreography, and whale songs to destabilize conventional communication.
The IPER Festival delle periferie returns to Rome's Quadraro neighborhood for its fifth edition, titled "Super Lieux (Super luoghi) Periferie. Storie e geografie." Running until May 31, the festival features conferences, roundtables, study days, talks, exhibitions, and performances. A highlight is "Überlagerungen," a diffuse art review curated by Spazio Y that animates the Quadraro Vecchio district on May 16 with actions, installations, and shows from 4 PM to 11 PM. Participating venues include Spazio Kina, vineria Moggio, and osteria Grandma, with works by artists such as Lucia Bricco, Giulio Cassanelli, Felice Levini, and many others.
A Roma è nato un nuovo spazio culturale che lavora sulla memoria della città (anche attraverso le cartoline)
A new cultural space called URBS has opened in Rome's Testaccio district, founded by architect Andrea D'Antrassi in collaboration with Giovanni Colombara. The space debuted in 2024 as "The Smallest Museum by URBS," a 20-square-meter venue housing over 1,600 historical postcards of the city, creating a visual archive spanning different eras. The museum also hosts temporary exhibitions, such as the current show "Not Mine, Not Yours" by Iranian artist Mehrdad Shadrooh, curated by Barbara Blasi, which draws from a family video-photo archive covering over eighty years of history. A commercial space has also been opened in Trastevere.
In Romagna da oltre un secolo c’è un Carnevale “serio” di primavera. La storia dei carri di gesso e di pensiero
A small town in Romagna, Casola Valsenio, has been hosting a unique spring festival for 125 years, featuring massive allegorical floats made of plaster and wood. Unlike traditional carnivals, this event—called the "serious carnival"—takes place in late April/early May and focuses on social and political themes. The floats, up to seven meters long and nine meters high, are built by local youth and paraded twice (day and night) with performers frozen in tableau vivant poses. A jury, this year chaired by Roberto Cantagalli, director of the MAR museum in Ravenna, awards a winner.
Oltre le armi. La forza sociale come vera difesa nel Golfo Persico
Journalist and observer perspectives highlight that Iran’s geopolitical resilience against international military pressure stems from its vibrant middle class and deep-rooted historical identity rather than just its arsenal. Observations from travels across Iranian cities like Tehran, Shiraz, and Isfahan reveal a society deeply engaged with its own culture, frequenting museums, cafes, and archaeological sites despite political isolation and a lack of foreign tourism.
Collezionista di design e moto ha aperto un museo dedicato alla Vespa Piaggio a Milano: esemplari unici di 80 anni fa
Former Ikea executive Stefano Biffi has transformed a 700-square-meter former tire workshop in Milan into "My Vintage," a private museum and event space housing one of the world's most significant collections of Piaggio Vespa scooters. The venue features rare specimens from the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, including original 1946 models displayed without kickstands to reflect the muddy road conditions of post-war Italy. The space is designed to be a sustainable cultural hub, offering guided tours alongside rentals for events, film shoots, and ceremonies.
The Southern Utah Art Guild is hosting a series of free public events in St. George this May, including gallery openings at Arrowhead Gallery and Red Cliff Gallery. Arrowhead Gallery will hold an open house on May 6 featuring a live demonstration by landscape painter Marilyn Rose, a 10% discount on artwork, and opportunity drawings. Red Cliff Gallery launches its “Explosion of Color” exhibit on May 8, showcasing vibrant works from contemporary Guild artists through June 18. Additional community events include CONNECT, a critique session sponsored by the Utah Arts Alliance on May 28, and MEET + MINGLE, a networking gathering on May 12.
Salon 94 founder Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn is pursuing an expansion of a historic building on Museum Mile at 3 East 89th Street in Manhattan. The project aims to enlarge the gallery's footprint on the Upper East Side, a move reported by Crain's New York Business.
The implementation of new EU regulations on the import of cultural goods over 250 years old is causing significant disruption at TEFAF Maastricht. Dealers and collectors are facing administrative hurdles, including difficulties obtaining mandatory EORI numbers and inconsistent enforcement by customs officials. These rules, which require extensive documentation for items originating outside the EU, have led to seized shipments and a general crisis of confidence among international exhibitors.
Guernsey artist Tiffany Anna, who began painting during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, is hosting her first solo exhibition at the JARO Gallery in St Helier, Jersey, running until 25 May 2025. Anna, who previously worked as a photographer, started with a simple bee painting and now has over 200,000 Instagram followers, using her vibrant, positivity-themed works to inspire others to take up art.
Bel Ami gallery in Los Angeles has opened a new exhibition titled "Everything looks dark now," which takes its name and conceptual framework from Anton Chekhov's play *The Seagull*. The show features a diverse group of artists whose works collectively explore themes of melancholy, reflection, and existential uncertainty, mirroring the atmospheric and introspective mood of Chekhov's text.
Annonce de chercheur : Les poteries « genre Palissy » au XIXe siècle en France
A doctoral candidate in art history, Mariette Boudgourd, has announced a public call for information to aid her research on 19th-century French ceramics in the 'genre Palissy' style. Her thesis aims to define the corpus of these works, analyzing their production techniques, market diffusion, and the construction of the myth surrounding the Renaissance potter Bernard Palissy.
The major retrospective ‘Out of Place’ at ART AFRICA showcases over 200 images by South African photographer Jo Ractliff, spanning four decades of her career. The exhibition traces Ractliff’s evolution from her early 1980s street photography to her mature, atmospheric landscapes that examine the scars of colonialism, apartheid, and regional conflicts in Southern Africa. By focusing on the 'afterlife' of violence rather than the events themselves, the collection highlights her unique ability to capture how history sediments within the physical terrain.
Art advisor Ralph DeLuca returns to his Street Smarts column to dissect the 2026 Art Basel & UBS Art Market Report. He notes that global art sales reached approximately $59.6 billion in 2025, a 4% increase after two down years, but cautions that the recovery is uneven—sales of artworks above $10 million rose 30%, while the middle market stagnates. The U.S. remains the dominant market, accounting for 44% of global sales, though tariff threats and political volatility continue to disrupt the trade.
This May, Chiang Mai's art scene offers a diverse lineup of exhibitions across galleries, museums, and independent spaces. Highlights include a group show on regional identity at Chiang Mai Art Museum, a calligraphy-focused solo exhibition by Jin Li at Makok Art Space, and 'Class 2 Canvas' at Fãr Studios featuring artist-educators. Mid-month brings two openings: Chitti Kasemkitvatana's 'Epilogue: A Diffraction Grating' at Gallery Seescape, exploring time and light, and Kailash Mani's solo show of outsider art at Head High Second Floor.
Artists nationwide are invited to submit original works to a juried exhibition titled "Allegories of a Better World," which will be held at the Minneapolis Institute of Art on June 28, 2026. The submission deadline is May 15, 2026. The exhibition is organized in conjunction with the premiere of the documentary film "The Making of America," directed by Monique Linder and produced by OMG Studios in partnership with the Minnesota Humanities Center. Submissions should explore themes such as virtue, moral courage, truth, justice, liberation, reconstruction, memory, history, and cultural healing. Selected works may also be featured in the film.
The Everhart Museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania, is launching a major two-year immersive exhibition dedicated to the hit sitcom *The Office*. Opening on October 31, 2025, the four-room installation explores the show's evolution from a mockumentary into a global cultural phenomenon, featuring interactive displays, behind-the-scenes narratives, and fan tributes.
The Art Institute of Chicago will present 'Korean National Treasures: 2,000 Years of Art,' the museum's largest Korean art exhibition in forty years, from March 7 to July 5, 2026. The show will feature 140 works, including 22 officially designated National Treasures or Treasures, spanning from the 6th century to the late 20th century.
The Louvre museum in Paris will increase ticket prices by 45% for visitors from outside the European Union, effective January 14, 2026. The cost for non-EU visitors from countries such as the UK, US, and China will rise from €22 to €32, generating an estimated €17.5 million in additional annual revenue. The decision comes as the museum faces significant budget cuts, including a 7% reduction in public subsidies, and seeks funding for a €1.1 billion renovation project. Staff unions have criticized the move as undermining the museum's universal mission since its founding in 1793.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is opening "Art and Life in Imperial Rome: Trajan and His Times," an exhibition exploring the artistic and cultural legacy of Emperor Trajan (AD 98–117). The show features loans from major Italian institutions including the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli and the Vatican Museums, with standout works such as a 2-meter marble statue of Trajan and a colossal portrait of his wife Plotina. The exhibition, conceived in 2021 with Italian consultancy StArt, will travel to the Saint Louis Museum of Art in March 2026, with each venue offering a different focus—Houston emphasizing large-scale objects like a recreation of Trajan's Column, and St. Louis delving into the port city of Ostia.
The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) will hold its official opening ceremony on November 1, more than 30 years after its initial proposal. The centerpiece of the inauguration is the Tutankhamun Gallery, featuring the famous gold funerary mask under bulletproof glass and a full-scale reproduction of the king's tomb. Designed by German studio Atelier Brückner, the gallery offers two narrative paths: one tracing Tutankhamun's life and reign, the other following Howard Carter's 1922 discovery. The museum, located near the Giza pyramids, has already been partially open to visitors, with conservation labs operating since 2010 and contemporary programming running for two years.
A Christian group, Stichting Civitas Christiana and TFP Student Action Europe, is protesting the Rijksmuseum's display of a 1830s condom made from a sheep's appendix, featuring an erotic etching of a nun and three clergymen. The condom, acquired at auction, is part of a small exhibition on 19th-century prostitution and riffs on the judgment of Paris myth. The group has distributed flyers and launched a petition calling the display a sacrilege, while the museum defends it as historically significant and humorous.