How Delilah Montoya’s art confronts ICE detention abuses

The Albuquerque Museum is hosting a retrospective of Chicana artist Delilah Montoya, titled "Delilah Montoya: Activating Chicana Resistance." The exhibition's centerpiece is "Detention Nation," an immersive installation created in collaboration with the Sin Huellas Artist Collective that simulates the conditions of ICE detention centers. The work features cyanotype images of detainees on prison cots, chain-link fencing, and displays of meager government-issued personal items alongside the official National Detainee Handbook.

Inside de Young Museum’s New Indigenous American Art Galleries

The de Young Museum in San Francisco has unveiled its completely reimagined Arts of Indigenous America galleries, featuring nearly 2,000 objects from across North, Central, and South America. Developed in close collaboration with Indigenous scholars and community advisors, the new installation moves away from traditional chronological or ethnographic displays. Instead, it integrates historical artifacts with contemporary works to emphasize the continuity and living nature of Indigenous artistic traditions across four regional sections.

LETTER | Wires crossed on art museum crisis

A local resident has criticized the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality and local media for their delayed response to the deteriorating state of the historic NMB Metropolitan Art Museum. The critique highlights significant factual errors in recent reporting regarding the museum's history, specifically correcting the timeline of its construction phases which date back to 1927, rather than the 70-year history recently cited by officials.

Canada returns 11 artefacts to Turkey in the first repatriation between the countries

Canada has returned 11 Ottoman-era artefacts to Turkey, marking the first official repatriation of cultural property between the two nations. The items, which include manuscript pages and calligraphy works from the 17th to 19th centuries, were handed over in a ceremony at the Canadian Conservation Institute in Ottawa following a federal court ruling.

Pixels and paintings: video games return to the V&A

The Victoria & Albert Museum hosted a special Friday Late event in collaboration with the London Games Festival, transforming its historic galleries into a playground for interactive and independent video games. Visitors could play titles like the Bafta-winning 'Thank Goodness You’re Here!' and the comedic 'Sex With Friends' amidst the museum's permanent collection, while live-coding music performances and participatory art projects like 'Robot Karaoke' and 'The Line is the Game' emphasized communal, performative experiences.

Recalling When Lower Manhattan Was New Amsterdam

The New-York Historical Society has launched a major exhibition exploring the 17th-century origins of New York City during its era as the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam. The show utilizes a diverse array of artifacts, maps, and historical documents to trace the colony's development from a fur-trading outpost to a diverse maritime hub, highlighting the complex interactions between Dutch settlers, Indigenous populations, and enslaved Africans.

Saginaw Art Museum announces ‘Warhol and the Image Machine’ exhibition

The Saginaw Art Museum & Gardens has announced the upcoming exhibition "Warhol and the Image Machine," set to open on May 20. The show explores Andy Warhol’s fascination with the manufacturing of icons through repetition and mass production, featuring celebrity portraits and appropriated imagery. The exhibition aims to demonstrate how Warhol’s work predicted a modern era where digital images and recognition serve as a primary form of cultural currency.

Dive into Contemporary Art in Seoul, South Korea: Amorepacific Museum of Art Showcases Global and Korean Masters

The Amorepacific Museum of Art (APMA) in Seoul has established itself as a premier destination for contemporary art, featuring a diverse collection that bridges global masterpieces with traditional Korean aesthetics. The museum's current programming highlights its commitment to international dialogue, showcasing works by world-renowned artists alongside significant Korean historical artifacts and modern pieces.

Yoshitomo Nara Painting Fetches 15 Billion Won, Sets Record for Korean Auction

Yoshitomo Nara’s painting "Nothing about it" has set a new record for the highest price ever achieved at a Korean art auction, selling for 15 billion won ($11 million) at Seoul Auction’s Gangnam Center. The sale significantly surpassed the previous record of 9.4 billion won held by Marc Chagall’s "Bouquet de Fleurs." The auction also saw a major result for Yayoi Kusama, whose "Pumpkin" painting fetched 10.45 billion won, marking the second-highest price in Korean auction history.

Painted Up: This vibrant exhibition challenges colonial perceptions of Aboriginal art

Artist and cultural practitioner Dean Biŋkin Tyson presents "CREATE EXCHANGE: Painted Up," a dual-venue exhibition at Redland Art Gallery that showcases his multidisciplinary approach to Quandamooka and Gurang traditions. Moving beyond stereotypical "dot art," Tyson utilizes canvas, animal skins, and carved artifacts to translate his background as a dancer and songman into visual form. The exhibition features large-scale murals, traditional tools like boomerangs, and "shadow boxes"—a unique craft form developed in Aboriginal missions during the 1970s.

The MEGA Fair-Exhibition Opens in a Former Milanese Factory: Photos and 5 Must-See Booths

In ex fabbrica di Milano ha aperto la mostra-fiera MEGA. Tutte le foto e 5 stand da non mancare

The third edition of MEGA Art Fair has opened in Milan, relocating to SPAZIO PROFUMO, a former perfume factory in the Barona district. Running from April 15 to 25, 2026, the event strategically bridges Milan Art Week and Design Week, featuring over 30 international exhibitors from Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Eschewing traditional booth structures, the fair utilizes a cohesive curatorial layout that integrates industrial archaeology with contemporary practices, including a dedicated video program and a section titled 'City of Glass.'

Art world news selected by Artbox on Sky Arte

Le novità del mondo dell’arte selezionate da Artbox su Sky Arte

The new episode of Artbox, a weekly program on Sky Arte airing April 28, surveys current exhibitions across Italy. It features Isaac Julien's show "Museum Dreams" at gres art 671 in Bergamo, running until October 4, where the British artist presents five multi-screen video installations from the late 1990s to today. The episode also covers the exhibition "Etruschi e Veneti. Acque, culti e santuari" at Palazzo Ducale in Venice, exploring water cults through ancient artifacts including recent finds from San Casciano dei Bagni; the show "Giovanni Antonio Bazzi detto il Sodoma. Alla conquista del Rinascimento" at Museo Accorsi-Ometto in Turin; and a profile of Spanish artist Almudena Romero, who uses photosynthesis to create images on leaves. Regular segments include a feature on Symbolism by Maria Vittoria Baravelli and an arts news roundup.

The legendary film "Novecento" by Bertolucci in his Parma becomes a major exhibition

Il mitico film “Novecento” di Bertolucci nella sua Parma diventa una grande mostra

A major exhibition titled "Bernardo Bertolucci. Il Novecento" has opened at the Palazzo del Governatore in Parma, Italy, marking the 50th anniversary of Bertolucci's epic film "Novecento" (1976). The show is structured as a visual experience across 25 rooms and four sections, exploring the film's dialectic between collective history and intimate gaze. It features video, drawings, photographs, production materials, and artworks by artists such as Franco Angeli, Renato Guttuso, Taner Ceylan, and Mario Schifano, all drawn from private collections. The exhibition's first room sets the tone with a video juxtaposing the film's opening credits over Pellizza da Volpedo's painting "Il Quarto Stato" and a close-up of the young Olmo holding a frog, encapsulating the tension between political epic and sensory detail.

Sands and Rituals from the Antipodes: To Be Discovered in a Former Church in Venice

Sabbie e riti dagli antipodi. Da scoprire in una ex chiesa di Venezia

The Church of San Lorenzo in Venice, home to Ocean Space, is hosting "Tide of Returns," an exhibition by the Repatriates Collective. The installation transforms the historic nave with sand dunes populated by thousands of decorated shells known as Dadikwakwa-kwa, or shell dolls, from the Anindilyakwa people of Australia. The show also features a tripartite installation of video, textiles, and braids by German-Bolivian artist Verena Melgarejo Weinandt, exploring themes of ancestral connection and the universal significance of water.

Ladji Diaby “Who’s Gonna Save the World?” at Lafayette Anticipations, Paris

Ladji Diaby’s solo exhibition at Lafayette Anticipations, titled “Who’s Gonna Save the World?”, features furniture repurposed as vitrines for discarded objects. By collecting and displaying artifacts that have lost their original utility, Diaby creates a symbolic dialogue between himself and the anonymous former owners of these items, elevating mundane debris into the realm of high art.

This beloved pop culture art gallery in L.A. is closing after 20 years — is AI to blame?

Gallery 1988, a pioneering Los Angeles institution that branded itself as the world's first pop culture-focused art gallery, will cease operations at the end of April after 20 years. Founded in 2004, the gallery became a cult favorite for its tribute exhibitions dedicated to films, video games, and television, often drawing massive crowds for shows like "Crazy 4 Cult." Owner Katie Sutton cited a historically weak art market and the loss of a physical storefront as primary factors in the decision to close.

One of Napoleon’s Sweaty Hats Was Just Rediscovered After a Century in Storage

A distinctive bicorne hat belonging to Napoleon Bonaparte, worn during his final exile on Saint Helena, has been rediscovered after more than a century in storage at the Condé Museum. Curators found the beaver pelt hat, made by his official hat-maker Poupard, while preparing for an upcoming exhibition, and its provenance has been confirmed through extensive study.

Winter Solstice: Seeds of Nothingness. Edo Costantini in collaboration with Delfina Braun & Delfina Muniz Barreto

WINTER SOLSTICE: SEEDS OF NOTHINGNESS. EDO COSTANTINI EN COLABORACIÓN CON DELFINA BRAUN & DELFINA MUNIZ BARRETO

Praxis Gallery in New York is hosting "Winter Solstice: Seeds of Nothingness," a multidisciplinary exhibition by Argentine artist Edo Costantini in collaboration with Delfina Braun and Delfina Muniz Barreto. The show features photography, sound, moving images, and bronze sculptures that explore the quiet, latent biological processes occurring during the winter season. Based on Costantini’s decade-long observation of the landscapes in Katonah, New York, the works focus on the concept of stillness as an active state of reorganization and persistence.

Arts Groups Speak Out Against US Trade Representative’s Potential New Tariffs

The U.S. Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, has launched a Section 301 investigation into 60 countries to determine if forced labor practices create unfair trade advantages. This move follows President Trump’s continued push for sweeping tariffs after previous attempts were struck down by the Supreme Court. Major art organizations, including the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) and Heritage Auctions, are formally petitioning for works of art and antiquities to be exempt from any resulting duties.

france national assembly vote bill looted artifacts 1234781166

The French National Assembly has unanimously passed a landmark bill designed to streamline the restitution of cultural artifacts looted during the colonial era between 1815 and 1972. This legislative framework aims to replace the previous requirement for individual laws for every return, fulfilling a long-standing pledge by President Emmanuel Macron to restore African heritage. While the vote was unanimous, the debate was contentious, with critics arguing over the omission of the word "colonialism" to avoid far-right backlash regarding national "repentance."

Archaeologists Uncover a 2,000-Year-Old Hillfort in Estonia

Archaeologists from the University of Tartu have discovered a 2,000-year-old Iron Age hillfort at Köstrimägi in Tartu County, Estonia. Using high-resolution terrain mapping, the team identified a 16,000-square-foot fortification featuring an unusual stepped rampart system that dates back to between 41 BCE and 9 CE. Despite its size, the site yielded few artifacts beyond pottery fragments and charcoal, suggesting a very brief period of occupation before it was destroyed by fire.

Bronze Age State Metal-Working Center Unearthed Near China’s Yangtse River

Archaeologists at the Shenduntou site near the Yangtze River have unearthed a significant Bronze Age metal-working center dating back to the Zhou dynasty. The excavation, led by Nanjing Normal University, revealed approximately 1,000 artifacts including clay molds, arrowheads, and knives, alongside evidence of furnaces and protective earthen walls. These findings confirm the existence of a high-level workshop dedicated to large-scale bronze production within the ancient Wu kingdom.

A Bodybuilder’s 3,300-Year-Old Egyptian Stele Heads to TEFAF

A 3,300-year-old Egyptian stele once owned by bodybuilding pioneer Ben Weider is set to be a highlight at TEFAF New York this May. The limestone carving, which depicts Pharaoh Thutmose IV, was gifted to Weider in 1964 and recently surfaced at a Montreal auction before being acquired by the London-based gallery David Aaron. Alongside the stele, the gallery will present a 2,500-year-old greywacke bust of a goddess, which was recently authenticated after being dismissed as a fake due to its pristine condition and 18th-century restorations.

‘Yellowstone’ Creator Taylor Sheridan to Direct 4D Film for New Alamo Museum

Taylor Sheridan, the creator of the hit television series Yellowstone, has been tapped to direct a 4D film for the upcoming Alamo Visitor Center and Museum in San Antonio. The film will serve as the centerpiece of a $185 million museum revamp, which includes a state-of-the-art theater designed to be the most technologically advanced of its kind. Sheridan, a Texas native, will chronicle the 1836 siege and battle that remains a foundational event in Texan history.

Colosseum Facelift Restores Ancient Southern Entrance to Its Former Glory

Rome’s Colosseum has unveiled a major four-year restoration of its southern entrance, a project led by Stefano Boeri Interiors in collaboration with the Colosseum Archaeological Park. The renovation lowered the surrounding piazza to its original Roman-era height, reintroduced travertine flooring sourced from ancient quarries, and installed seating blocks that mark the locations of long-lost marble columns. During the excavation process, archaeologists recovered a wealth of historical artifacts, including ancient coins, statues, and gold jewelry, while leaving a specific section untouched to showcase the arena's complex hydraulic foundations.

Native Americans created dice more than 12,000 years ago, study finds

Archaeological research from Colorado State University has identified the world's oldest known dice, created by Native American hunter-gatherers on the western Great Plains over 12,000 years ago. These two-sided "binary lots," found at Folsom-period sites in Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, predate the earliest known Old World dice by more than 6,000 years. The study reclassifies artifacts previously overlooked or misidentified, highlighting that these objects were the only decorated, non-utilitarian items found at these late-Pleistocene sites.

Native Americans created dice more than 12,000 years ago, study finds

Archaeologist Robert J. Madden of Colorado State University has identified the world's oldest known dice, created by Native American hunter-gatherers on the western Great Plains over 12,000 years ago. By re-examining artifacts from Late Pleistocene Folsom-period sites in Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, Madden discovered that these "binary lots" predate the earliest known Old World dice by more than 6,000 years. These objects are often the only decorated, non-utilitarian items found at these ancient sites, featuring artistic markings that distinguish them from everyday tools.

Mexico to Divert Train Route After Cave Art Discovery

Archaeologists in Mexico discovered 16 pre-Hispanic paintings and petroglyphs along the planned route of a high-speed passenger train connecting Mexico City to Querétaro. The discovery, made in the state of Hidalgo, includes rock art dating from 4,000 years ago to the Postclassic period (900-1521 CE), with imagery linked to Aztec deities and the Toltec city of Tula. In response, President Claudia Sheinbaum announced the $8 billion train project will be rerouted to preserve the ancient site.

Dutch Museum Discovers 8-Inch Ancient Roman Phallus

Archaeologists at the Valkhof Museum in Nijmegen discovered a rare, eight-inch Ancient Roman phallus carved from bone while cataloging a massive backlog of 16,000 archaeological boxes. The artifact was found alongside high-quality Roman tableware during an €8 million government-funded inventory project aimed at processing collections from defunct storage depots in the province of Gelderland.

Agosto Machado Is Dead; Artist Memorialized New York’s Avant-Garde

Agosto Machado, an experimental theater veteran and artist known for his deep connection to New York's avant-garde scene, has died. He was a dedicated archivist who collected ephemera from his friends and colleagues in the downtown arts community.