The Montclair Art Museum hosted its annual "An Artful Lunch" event, celebrating community, creativity, and spring elegance. The gathering honored the African American Cultural Committee (AACC) and the Garden Club, recognizing their contributions to the museum and local community.
David Hills Gallery in Orleans, Massachusetts, is celebrating its first anniversary with a public event on May 16 at 4 p.m. at its Route 6A location. The celebration includes a talk by local food expert and author Elspeth Hay, a spring refresh of the gallery, and a renewed seasonal presentation of David Hills’ photography, which focuses on commercial fishing and Cape Cod’s waters.
Graduating students at Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) showcased their artwork in a final exhibition held on May 1, 2026, at Crisp Museum. The show featured a wide range of media including 3D works, prints, paper mache, paintings, cloth, video, quilts, and sculptures. Among the participants were painting BFA major Zachary Ross Mayfield, who presented symbolist works centered on nature and a large self-portrait that took over 200 hours to complete, and senior studio art BFA major Kaylee Shelby, whose sculptures question the ethics and aesthetics of taxidermy and human manipulation of animals.
The Festival of Cats, a community arts festival celebrating feline-themed art, is returning to Margate, Kent, from May 1-4. Featuring exhibitions, events, and workshops across fine art, poetry, film, performance, and craft, the festival showcases work from 100 local artists. Originally launched in 2018 as a satellite event for Turner Contemporary's "Journeys with The Waste Land" exhibition, it was inspired by T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats and has since grown into a Thanet-wide event attracting thousands of visitors.
The article highlights two spring-themed art events in the region. In Fitchburg, the 2026 Hidden Treasures Festival of Nature, Culture & History offers free public events throughout May, including a Henry David Thoreau reading, a community vigil, and a drumming workshop at the Fitchburg Art Museum. In Lowell, the Loading Dock Gallery presents "Full Bloom 8," a members' exhibition celebrating flowers, birds, insects, and gardens, running through May 31 with a reception on May 2.
A new study by University College London, published in the journal *Innovation in Aging*, finds that engaging with art—both creating and observing it—can slow the biological aging process. The research, published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Gero, is the first to provide evidence that art engagement offers anti-aging benefits comparable to those of physical activity.
Zimbabwean artist Richard Mudariki has created 'ArtWorld Passport,' a participatory artwork debuting at the Venice Biennale 2026. The piece functions as a social sculpture and performance, where passport holders collect stamps, signatures, and drawings from artists, exhibitions, and pavilions across the Biennale, transforming the bureaucratic tool of travel into a speculative exploration of access and authorship.
CUATRO VOCES LATINOAMERICANAS EN TORNO AL INTENSIVO CURATORIAL DE MONTEVIDEO
Independent Curators International (ICI) held the Montevideo Curatorial Intensive in March 2026, in partnership with the ESTE ARTE fair and the Faculty of Arts at the University of the Republic (Udelar). This was the first time the program took place in Uruguay, bringing together twelve emerging curators from Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, and the United States for eight days of seminars, debates, and mentorship. Led by independent curator Marina Reyes Franco, the intensive included visits to local cultural spaces such as CasaMario, SUBTE, and the Espacio de Arte Contemporáneo, as well as a trip to Punta del Este to tour galleries and artist studios. The program featured presentations by international faculty including Ionit Behar, Victoria Noorthoorn, Maya Juracán, and Keyna Eleison, and concluded with a public symposium at the Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales (MNAV).
Two Selves Gallery in Troy, New York, opened a new exhibition titled "Coming Out of Darkness: Landscapes of Presence" by artist Patricia Wood during the April Troy Night Out event. The show, on display through May, is divided into three sections: a series of acrylic paintings on black velvet depicting forest scenes from the Adirondacks, a middle section featuring reference photos, miniatures, encaustic works, and mental health resources, and a front section with oil paintings of Winnie the Pooh characters and Wood's jewelry. Wood describes the exhibition as a personal journey through depression, using light and dark to convey her struggle and recovery.
Puke Ariki museum in New Plymouth, New Zealand, is hosting TUKU: Open Studio | Emerging Māori Artists, a collaborative project where senior artist Wharehoka Smith mentors early-career artists Jodie Tipa and Dwayne Duthie in creating eight manaia (spiritual guardian figures) in a public studio setting. Running from today through 12 July, the open studio prepares the museum's Temporary Gallery for the upcoming Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award exhibition, which opens on 25 July and features 40 tūpuna portraits. Visitors can watch the artists at work, engage with their creative process, and participate in free public events including workshops and talks.
The McNay Art Museum in San Antonio is hosting a free Family Day event on June 7, 2026, titled "Elements in Action." The afternoon features hands-on art activities, live performances, and family-friendly fun across the museum's grounds and galleries, coinciding with the spring banner exhibition "untitled: 20 Years of Collecting Contemporary Art." Admission to the museum and the exhibition is free for all attendees.
The article highlights Memorial Day weekend art offerings in the Concord and Fitchburg, Massachusetts area, focusing on museums and galleries as cool retreats from the summer heat. It notes International Museum Day's theme "Museums Uniting a Divided World" and promotes special membership deals at Fitchburg Art Museum, an exhibit at the Arts League of Lowell Greenwald Gallery, and the Concord Museum's upcoming Garden Tour fundraiser.
The article provides information on how to secure tickets to an exhibition featuring BTS leader RM at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). The exhibition appears to be a notable event drawing significant public interest, likely due to RM's global fame as a K-pop star and his engagement with visual art.
The Art Shopping fair returns to the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris for its autumn edition, running from October 23 to 25, 2026. The 38th edition features over 300 artists and galleries from around the world, showcasing painting, sculpture, digital art, printmaking, street art, and photography. The fair attracts more than 10,000 visitors annually and offers a free admission weekend, with Friday reserved for invitation-only entry.
Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings in Worcestershire, UK, won the Permanent Exhibition of the Year category at the 2026 Museums + Heritage Awards for its exhibition 'Revealing the Hidden Stories of the Showmen Community'. The show centers on a 1910 showman's grand living wagon owned by Tom Clarke, and includes 38 historic fairground signs, swing boats, an oral history section with 25 showmen, and hand-painted signage by commercial fairground artist Amy Goodwin. The exhibition was developed by collections manager Steven Hearn, who discovered the wagon in 2022 and collaborated with the National Fairground and Circus Archive and the Fairground Heritage Trust.
The National Museum of Oman has opened an exhibition titled "Pioneers of Omani Art" at the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, Russia. Running until 16 August, the show features 23 works by 17 Omani artists, highlighting how they draw inspiration from their culture, heritage, history, and environment. The exhibition traces the journey of fine art in Oman, from prehistoric rock art to the modern art movement, shaped by historical commercial and cultural exchanges with European artists.
Retired businessman and South Norfolk councillor Brendon Bernard and his wife, painter Barbara Bernard, are opening a new art gallery on Broad Street in Bungay, England. Their debut exhibition, titled "A Flying Start," will run from June 8 to June 27, featuring six artists working in painting, original prints, and sculpture, including Jackie Bell, formerly of the now-closed Bell Gallery. The building, over a century old, was once used for storage by American forces during WWII and later as a carpentry workshop; East Suffolk Council approved its conversion into a gallery in March.
A new exhibition at the Cahoon Museum of American Art in Cotuit, Massachusetts, titled "From Borough to Bay: A Legacy Illuminated," highlights the stories of seven Black families from Brooklyn who spent their summers in Osterville on Cape Cod during the 1960s and 1970s. Created by Cape Cod artist Dawn McKenzie, the show is on view through June 14, 2026.
The 9th edition of Printemps Asiatique (Asian Spring) will take place from June 3 to 12, 2026, across Parisian galleries, museums, and auction houses. Modeled on New York’s Asia Week and London’s Asian Art, the festival features a shared calendar of exhibitions, tours, talks, and auctions, with nearly thirty galleries, ten museums and art venues, and thirteen auction houses participating. This year, Korea is the spotlight country, with dedicated exhibitions and artistic itineraries. Key venues include the Musée National des Arts Asiatiques - Guimet, Musée Cernuschi, Musée des Arts Décoratifs de Paris, and Musée du Louvre, alongside auction houses such as Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, and others.
The Arlington Museum of Art is hosting a World Cup-themed exhibition, as reported by FOX's Shannon Murray on May 12, 2026. The exhibition is part of a series of cultural events tied to the World Cup host cities, offering visitors an experience beyond the matches themselves.
The Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art in St. Joseph, Missouri, will host a retrospective exhibition titled "The Shape of the Prairie" for American landscape painter Keith Jacobshagen, opening May 16 and running through August 16. The show spans 50 years of Jacobshagen's career, featuring rarely exhibited sketchbook pages alongside finished oil and watercolor paintings that capture the skies and plains of his Nebraska home.
Shelburne Museum will host a free community day on May 9, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., celebrating its 2026 season. The event features three new exhibitions: "Varied and Alive - New and Rarely Seen Treasures from the Collection" (19th to mid-20th century folk art, circus posters, textiles, and more), "On Point - Needlework from the Garthwaite Family Collection" (Vermont schoolgirl needlework and women's education), and "Big River - Ogden Pleissner in Wyoming" (sketches and paintings of the American West). Activities include curator-led tours, artmaking sessions, live music by Marie Hamilton, Owen Leavey, and Deja Nous, a seed swap, and garden talks. The day is organized in collaboration with the Vermont Community Foundation.
The Claremont Lewis Museum of Art is presenting the 15th annual "ARTstART: StART It Up!" exhibition from May 8-10, featuring artwork created by elementary school students from all seven Claremont elementary schools. The show, curated by high school participants in the museum's Project ARTstART program, includes collages, sculptures, paintings, and works on paper, and will be held at the Ginger Elliott Exhibition Center in Memorial Park. The exhibition also includes hands-on art-making activities for visitors.
The National Centre for Contemporary Arts (NCCA) in Minsk, Belarus, has announced that its venue on Niakrasava Street will cease exhibition activities from June 22, 2026. The institution is set to be liquidated, with its premises and collections transferred to the National Art Museum, while the Niakrasava Street space will be taken over by the Belarusian State Academy of Arts. The closure is linked to the newly appointed chairman of the Union of Artists, Andrei Vasileuski, and reportedly supported by the Culture Ministry.
The New York Times examines whether the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art can sustain its operations and influence without the Met Gala, its annual fundraising gala that generates millions of dollars and global media attention. The article explores the financial and cultural dependency of the institute on the star-studded event, which has become a major pop culture phenomenon, and considers alternative funding models and programming strategies that could ensure its future.
The 81st May Show has opened at the Mansfield Art Center in Ohio, featuring over 100 works selected from nearly 600 submissions by guest juror Wendy Earle, curator of the Akron Art Museum. The exhibition, which runs through the end of May, showcases a diverse range of mediums from Ohio artists aged 16 to their late 80s. Awards include the Fred "Fritz" Culler Award for Best of Show to Bradley Wallace for "Venus 1K Views," the Mechanics Bank Award of Excellence to Barbara Morejon and Luanne Bole-Becker, and the Jeff McBride & Maura Teynor Emerging Artist Award to high school senior Katerina Prykodko.
Amsterdam is tackling overtourism by embedding art, culture, and history directly into its public spaces, streets, and transit systems, transforming the city into an open-air museum. Led by amsterdam&partners, the initiative uses digital screens, art installations, and interactive urban furniture to guide visitors toward hidden cultural gems, encouraging spontaneous engagement with local heritage. Major institutions like the Rijksmuseum, Stedelijk Museum, and Eye Filmmuseum, along with smaller venues such as Foam Museum and STRAAT Museum, are part of a network designed to distribute cultural attention more evenly across the city.
The five-member international jury of the 61st Venice Biennale, led by Brazilian curator Solange Farkas, has resigned effective April 30, 2026. The jury—comprising Solange Oliveira Farkas, Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi—announced their resignation in a written statement, referencing a prior Statement of Intention issued on April 22. In response, La Biennale di Venezia postponed the Awards Ceremony from May 9 to November 22, the final public day, and introduced two new "Visitors' Lions" awards—one for the Best Participant in the main exhibition "In Minor Keys" by Koyo Kouoh, and one for the Best National Participation—to be decided by ticket-holder vote.
South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced a monthlong celebration called "2026 Museum Week," running from late April to May 31, 2026, to coincide with International Museum Day on May 18. A total of 310 museums will participate under the theme "Museums uniting a divided world," with programs divided into three sections: Museum X Encounter (highlighting stories behind artifacts), Museum X Enjoy (special exhibitions and performances), and Museum X Stroll (expanding cultural access beyond Seoul). The event is hosted by the ministry and ICOM Korea, organized by the Korean Museum Association.
More than 300 museums and art institutions across South Korea will participate in the 2026 Museum and Gallery Week, a nationwide cultural festival organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, running from May 1 to May 31. The event adopts the theme "Museums Uniting a Divided World" from the International Council of Museums, and features three main programs: "Museum × Meet" highlighting 50 signature objects, "Museum × Enjoy" with exhibitions and performances at 18 institutions, and "Museum × Wander" offering guided tours connecting galleries with historic sites.