Philadelphia Museum of Art to experiment with pay-what-you-wish tickets on Friday nights

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is reinstating a pay-what-you-wish admission policy for Friday nights from April 2026 through Labor Day. This initiative, funded by the William Penn Foundation and board chair Ellen Caplan, coincides with the museum's 150th anniversary and the launch of "Nation of Artists," a massive collaborative exhibition with the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts featuring over 1,000 works.

New York City provides long-term support to five local arts organisations

The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) has inducted five new members into its Cultural Institutions Group (CIG), an exclusive program that provides long-term operational subsidies to private arts organizations operating on public land. The new members—Bric (Brooklyn), Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater (Manhattan), the Bronx Children’s Museum, the Noble Maritime Collection (Staten Island), and the Louis Armstrong House Museum (Queens)—represent each of the city’s five boroughs. This is the largest expansion of the program, now totaling 39 members, since the 1970s. A celebratory event was held at Bric on September 30, featuring remarks from DCLA Commissioner Laurie Cumbo and Deputy Mayor Adolfo Carrión Jr., along with musical performances by each institution.

ARTISTIC EXPRESSION: Hancock County Arts has full lineup for 2026 - The Daily Reporter

Hancock County Arts has unveiled its comprehensive schedule for 2026, featuring a diverse array of monthly exhibitions and community events at the Twenty North Gallery in Greenfield. The upcoming season includes themed showcases such as the "Black & White" exhibit, the annual "Visions of Hancock County" photography show, and specialized displays focusing on local student work and regional heritage.

Sea-themed art exhibition to be shown at Manningtree gallery

The North House Gallery in Manningtree is set to host a solo exhibition featuring more than 40 works by artist Isabella Dyson. The show, titled "Isabella Dyson: Paintings," focuses on the transient nature of the sea and weather, utilizing a muted color palette and a mix of oil, acrylic, and pastel. The collaboration began serendipitously when the artist visited the gallery and showed her portfolio to the staff on her phone, leading to her immediate inclusion in a group show and this subsequent solo presentation.

Icons of American art arrive at the OSU Museum of Art

The OSU Museum of Art at Oklahoma State University has opened "Guild Hall: An Adventure in the Arts," an exhibition featuring works borrowed from the Guild Hall Museum in East Hampton, New York. The show includes iconic American artists such as Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, Chuck Close, Roy Lichtenstein, and Miriam Schapiro, spanning 126 years of artistic production across portraits, landscapes, photography, prints, sculpture, and abstract paintings. The exhibition runs from January 20 to May 16, 2026, with a reception on March 5.

The World's Most-Visited Museums – and Why Germany is Falling Behind

Die meistbesuchten Museen weltweit – und warum Deutschland hinterherhinkt

The Art Newspaper's 2025 ranking of the world's most-visited museums reveals a global landscape dominated by institutions in Paris, Seoul, London, and New York. The Louvre leads with just over nine million visitors, followed by the Vatican Museums and Seoul's National Museum of Korea, which doubled its attendance to 6.5 million. Notable trends include strong post-pandemic recoveries at New York's MoMA and the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, while London's Tate Modern and National Gallery still lag significantly behind their 2019 numbers.

Carleton Gallery hosting Spring Group Exhibition on May 30

Carleton Gallery is hosting a Spring Group Exhibition on May 30, as reported by the Watauga Democrat. The event will feature a curated selection of works by multiple artists, though specific participants and pieces have not been detailed in the brief announcement.

The largest U.S. showcase of ancient Italy's fascinating Etruscan culture debuts at Legion of Honor.

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco have opened "The Etruscans: From the Heart of Ancient Italy" at the Legion of Honor, the largest U.S. exhibition dedicated to the ancient Etruscan civilization. Curated by Renée Dreyfus, the show brings together approximately 150 objects borrowed from 28 institutions, including the Vatican, the British Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It explores Etruscan engineering, architecture, art, and social customs, including the elevated status of women, and features highlights such as a granulated gold drinking bowl and the bronze Liver of Piacenza.

Between here and home

Carrie Haddad Gallery in Hudson, NY, presents "Between here and home," a group exhibition running from May 22 through July 12, with an opening reception on May 23. The show features works by Fred Cohen, Frank DePietro, Deb Lawrence, Olan Quattro, and ransome, exploring the concept of home as an evolving construct shaped by memory, material, and experience. The exhibition draws on the Welsh idea of hiraeth—a longing for a lost or imagined home—and includes paintings, collages, and mixed media works that reflect each artist's personal engagement with place, interior space, and inherited histories.

Summer at the Pearl Fincher Museum: Fun for the whole family starts June 13

The Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts announces its 2026 summer programming, including Summer Art Camps for ages 5 to 13 running June 16 through July 31, with weekly themes such as "Color World" and "Kinetic Canvas." The museum will also open two exhibitions on June 13: "Chromatica: A World in Color" in the Main Gallery, organized like a color wheel with works from Texas and beyond, and "Fragments, Remnants, and Remains" by artist Curtis Gannon in the Cole Gallery. Additional activities include a Maker Space, Wild Art Wednesdays, and a free artist talk by children's author and illustrator Steven Weinberg on June 19.

Five-Minute Tours: Helmut Barnett at Wally Workman Gallery, Austin

Glasstire's Five-Minute Tours series features a video walk-through of Helmut Barnett's solo exhibition "Surfaces" at Wally Workman Gallery in Austin, Texas. The show runs from April 11 to May 3, 2026, and presents Barnett's paintings, collages, and drawings that blend geometric and organic forms, created over his 50-year career.

Gallery Conversation: Ideal Landscapes in Painting and Photography

The Art Institute of Chicago is hosting a gallery conversation on June 1 titled "Ideal Landscapes in Painting and Photography." The program, led by curators Yechen Zhao and Felice Graciela Robles, will examine idealized representations of nature in East Asian art, comparing painted landscapes from the Korean National Treasures exhibition with a 1938 photograph by Chinese artist Lang Jingshan. The discussion will explore the blurred boundaries between ideal and real, as well as between painting and photography.

Tiny art gallery attracts miniature art in downtown Hammond

A tiny art gallery in downtown Hammond is drawing attention by showcasing miniature artworks, attracting both local artists and visitors. The gallery, which operates on a small scale, has become a hub for tiny art pieces, including paintings, sculptures, and mixed-media works, all created to fit the compact space. The initiative aims to make art accessible and engaging in a unique, intimate setting.

Internationally renowned artist to headline new exhibition

Internationally renowned ceramic artist Jin Eui Kim will present his exhibition "Simplicity and Complexity" at The Base, Greenham, from June 26 to August 30. The show features sculptural works exploring illusion and reality, alongside a program of workshops and an evening talk with the artist. Kim, originally from South Korea and now based in Cardiff, holds an MA and PhD in ceramics from Cardiff School of Art & Design, and his work is held in major public collections including Manchester Art Gallery and the National Museum Wales.

The Met's Costume Exhibit Finally Made This Obvious Change To Mannequins And Its Exhibit After Years

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute has made a historic shift toward disability and body inclusivity in its annual exhibition, titled "Costume Art." For the first time, the exhibit includes a section called "The Disabled Body," featuring mannequins modeled on disabled bodies, such as those of activist Aimee Mullins, model Aariana Rose Philip, and accessibility consultant Sinéad Burke. Burke and her team at Tilting the Lens consulted on the exhibit for 18 months, suggesting disabled designers like Sugandha Gupta and Helen Cookman, and donated pieces to the permanent collection. The Met Gala also became accessible for the first time since 1948, with wheelchair user Aariana Rose Philip attending as the first ever.

No One Understood the 2026 Met Gala Theme Quite Like Bad Bunny

At the 2026 Met Gala, Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny arrived in a transformative look that made him nearly unrecognizable. He wore a black pussy-bow blouse, wrap blazer, and trousers, with prosthetics and makeup by Mike Marin turning him into an old man, accessorized with a cane. The gala's theme, inspired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art's 'Costume as Art' exhibition, had a dress code of 'Fashion is Art,' and Bad Bunny's choice specifically highlighted the aging body, aligning with the exhibition's focus on the body at all stages.

The Met’s much-anticipated spring 2026 exhibit puts fashion on a fine art level

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute will open its spring 2026 exhibition, "Costume Art," on May 10, 2026, running through January 10, 2027. The show features nearly 400 objects from the Met's collection, pairing couture garments with paintings, sculptures, and decorative works across centuries. Organized by "body types" such as "Classical Body" and "Mortal Body," the exhibition will be housed in the new 12,000-square-foot Condé Nast Galleries. The Met Gala, co-chaired by Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour, will kick off the exhibition with a dress code of "Fashion is Art."

Met Gala theme is Costume Art, celebrating fashion as fine art

The 2026 Met Gala, held on May 4, 2026, is co-chaired by Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour, with honorary chairs Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez. The theme, "Costume Art," celebrates fashion as an embodied art form, with guests interpreting the dress code "Fashion is Art" through sculptural, architectural silhouettes. The accompanying exhibition, also titled "Costume Art," opens at The Met Fifth Avenue on May 10, 2026, and runs through January 10, 2027, pairing garments with artworks from the museum's collection to highlight the connection between fashion and fine art.

Ahead of the Met Gala, “Costume Art” Connects Fashion and the Body

On May 4, 2026, the Metropolitan Museum of Art previewed the Costume Institute's new permanent galleries and its inaugural exhibition, "Costume Art," ahead of the Met Gala. The exhibition features over 400 objects from the Met's collections, organized around themes of the body such as "The Classical Body" and "The Disabled Body," with mannequins featuring mirrored faces to reflect viewers. Speakers at the press event included Anna Wintour, Venus Williams, and Lauren Sánchez Bezos, with the Met Gala raising over $42 million for the museum.

Here's when the 2026 Met Gala red carpet arrivals start and end

The 2026 Met Gala will take place on Monday, May 4, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, with red carpet arrivals officially beginning at 5:30 p.m. and continuing for several hours as celebrities trickle in. The event raises funds for the museum's Costume Institute and celebrates the new spring exhibition "Costume Art," with a dress code of "Fashion is Art." Co-chairs include Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour, with a host committee chaired by Anthony Vaccarello and Zoë Kravitz, and the event is made possible by Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos.

The Met Makes a Statement With 9 New Mannequin Bodies

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has introduced nine new mannequin bodies for its costume displays, replacing older models to better showcase fashion exhibitions. The new mannequins feature more diverse and realistic body shapes, including different skin tones and poses, aiming to modernize the museum's presentation of historical and contemporary garments.

Met Gala 2026: Stars Bring Art-Inspired Looks to the Met Stairs

The 2026 Met Gala took place on May 4 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, celebrating the opening of the "Costume Art" exhibition. A host of celebrities including Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Blue Ivy Carter, Serena Williams, Janelle Monáe, Venus Williams, Ciara, Anderson .Paak, Naomi Osaka, Yseult, Anok Yai, Jon Batiste, and Suleika Jaouad arrived at the museum's iconic stairs wearing art-inspired looks. The event was covered by photographers Evan Agostini and Charles Sykes for the Associated Press.

How This Palestinian-Canadian Artist is Bringing Her Voice to the Met Museum

Dubai-based Palestinian-Canadian artist Samar Hejazi has been commissioned to create mirrored sculptural mannequin heads for the Costume Institute's Spring 2026 exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, opening alongside the Met Gala. Hejazi's reflective works, designed for the exhibition "Costume Art," aim to collapse the distance between viewer and object, creating moments of surprise and questioning about identity, perception, and belonging.

Metropolitan Museum of Art: Ultimate 2026 Guide for Travelers

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is drawing record crowds in spring 2026 with its latest exhibitions, including newly restored ancient artifacts. The article, written by travel editor Elena Müller, positions The Met as a top cultural destination for American travelers, highlighting its location on Manhattan's Upper East Side, its Beaux-Arts architecture, and its proximity to Central Park. It also covers the museum's founding in 1870, its expansion into a neoclassical landmark on Museum Mile, and its role as a cornerstone of New York's cultural landscape.

'Hidden heritage' Metro art shown in exhibition

An exhibition at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead is showcasing "Blazing Trails," a project by local artist Sofia Barton originally commissioned for Tyne and Wear Metro trains. The artwork celebrates the hidden heritage of north-east England by depicting lesser-known community leaders, including suffragette Kathleen Brown and Chinatown founders Koon Kiu Cheng and Peter Cheng. The display runs until 27 September in the Baltic's pop-up shop.

Beyoncé, Bezos, baubles and bustiers: What to know about the 2026 Met Gala

The 2026 Met Gala, scheduled for May 4, will serve as the fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, with a theme inspired by the new exhibition "Costume Art." The event is co-chaired by Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour, with lead sponsorship from Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos, and will inaugurate the museum's new Conde M. Nast Galleries.

The Costume Institute Will Debut 25 Mannequins at the 2026 Met Gala in a Move to Embrace Body Positivity

The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art will debut 25 new mannequins for its 2026 Met Gala exhibition, "Costume Art." The mannequins are modeled on a diverse range of real body types, including individuals with disabilities, and are intended to challenge the fashion industry's historical reliance on standardized, thin display figures.

National museum partnership brings major American art exhibition to West Texas

The Ellen Noël Art Museum in Odessa, Texas, has announced a significant partnership with the Smithsonian American Art Museum to host a major traveling exhibition. This collaboration brings a curated selection of American masterpieces to the West Texas region, featuring works that span various eras and styles of the nation's artistic heritage.

Stella’s Art Gallery in Willoughby hosting a pair of shows

Stella’s Art Gallery in Willoughby, Ohio, is currently hosting two distinct exhibitions: "The Four Seasons," a juried show featuring local award winners like Anna Hsu and Tatiana Strelnikova, and "Unreal: 2 Visions," an abstract showcase in the Annex Gallery featuring artists Josh Chefitz and Gregory Johnson. Additionally, the gallery is preparing for its upcoming "Size Matters" small works exhibition in May, while the Willoughby Arts Collaborative has launched a call for artists to design local utility boxes.

Government gives East of England culture and arts venues £6.6m

The UK government has announced a £6.6 million investment in arts and culture venues across the East of England to support essential infrastructure upgrades and renovations. Key beneficiaries include Firstsite in Colchester and Snape Maltings in Suffolk, which are receiving significant grants for building repairs and environmental control systems. Other recipients range from the Natural History Museum in Colchester to the Wysing Arts Centre, with funds earmarked for everything from HVAC improvements to restoring Grade II listed structures.