schomburg center new york public library centennial

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, part of the New York Public Library, is celebrating its centennial with the exhibition “100: A Century of Collections, Community, and Creativity,” on view through June 2026. The show features manuscript pages from Maya Angelou, writings by Malcolm X, photography by Gordon Parks, murals by Aaron Douglas, and the original 1925 visitor book signed by Langston Hughes, recreating the experience of visiting the institution at the height of the Harlem Renaissance.

Final book in trilogy asks: What is the future of the art world?

Cultural strategist András Szántó has published the third and final volume of his trilogy on the future of museums, titled *What Is the Future of the Art World?*. The book features dialogues with a wide range of art-world figures—including gallerists José Kuri and Atsuko Ninagawa, collectors Alain Servais and Sylvain Levy, artists William Kentridge and Holly Herndon & Mathew Dryhurst, curator Fatoş Üstek, network scientist Albert-László Barabási, former Art Basel director Marc Spiegler, and Sheikha Al-Mayassa Al Thani—who discuss topics such as the definition of the art world, its rules, and its future trajectory. Szántó notes that there is no consensus on whether the art world is still expanding or entering a phase of slowdown, with different regions moving on divergent paths.

Collector Julia Stoschek Closes Down Berlin Exhibition Venue After 10 Years In Favor of International Projects

Julia Stoschek, a leading art collector and ARTnews Top 200 figure, is closing her Berlin exhibition venue after a decade of operation. The 3,000-square-meter space in the former Czech Cultural Center, which opened in 2016, will shut at the end of October 2026, having hosted 22 exhibitions and attracted 450,000 visitors. The Stoschek Foundation will maintain its Düsseldorf venue, while Stoschek shifts focus to international projects, such as the recent Los Angeles exhibition “What a Wonderful World: An Audiovisual Poem,” curated by Udo Kittelmann.

Vancouver Biennale names senior curator for 2027-29 edition

The Vancouver Biennale has appointed Marcello Dantas as senior curator for its 2027-29 edition. Dantas, a Brazilian curator and art director, has worked on major projects including co-curating Desert X AlUla in Saudi Arabia, curating an Es Devlin exhibition in São Paulo, and serving as art director at Sfer Ik in Tulum. He previously contributed to the Vancouver Biennale's 2013-15 edition with a Vik Muniz project. Dantas emphasizes collaboration with local First Nations and community groups, and plans to explore themes of belonging, displacement, and public art that is ephemeral and participatory.

Mark Bradford and Carrie Mae Weems Among Latest Artists Commissioned for Obama Presidential Center

mark bradford carrie may weem latest artists commissioned obama presidential center 1234772423

The Obama Presidential Center in Chicago has announced its latest cohort of commissioned artists, featuring high-profile names such as Mark Bradford and Carrie Mae Weems alongside local Chicago talents like Tyanna J. Buie and the duo Sam Kirk + Dorian Sylvain. These site-specific installations will be integrated across the center's 19-acre campus, including a three-story atrium collage by Bradford and a jazz-inflected photo mural by Weems. The project, which has already engaged over two dozen artists including Maya Lin and Julie Mehretu, is overseen by art program leaders Louise Bernard and Virginia Shore with direct input from the Obamas.

theaster gates tapped for obama presidential center installation celebrating ebony and jet image archives 1234766967

The Obama Foundation has commissioned artist Theaster Gates to create an expansive frieze for the Pendleton Atrium of the Obama Presidential Center (OPC), set to open on Chicago’s South Side in 2026. The installation will draw from the Johnson Publishing Company image archive and the Howard Simmons photographic collections, celebrating the visual archives of Ebony and Jet magazines. Gates, who founded the Rebuild Foundation in 2009, will join nine other artists—including Kiki Smith, Nick Cave, Marie Watt, Jenny Holzer, and Idris Khan—whose works were announced in September for the OPC campus.

preservationists petition to save wilbur building the sistine chapel of new deal art 1234761320

Preservationists are petitioning to save Washington, D.C.'s Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building, known as the 'Sistine Chapel of New Deal Art' for its 20th-century murals by Philip Guston and Ben Shahn. The Trump administration has listed the building for sale under an 'accelerated disposal' program, raising fears it could be demolished. The nonprofit Living New Deal launched a petition demanding transparency and public participation, as the building is one of 45 federal properties slated for swift sale. The structure, completed in 1940, houses ten New Deal-era artworks including frescoes, relief sculptures, and murals, and has been home to Voice of America since 1954.

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The Obama Presidential Center in Chicago has announced nine new commissions by ten artists for its 19.3-acre campus, set to open next spring. The commissioned works include a text-based sculpture spelling 'HOPE' by Jack Pierson, a bronze sculpture by Kiki Smith, a digital mural by Jules Julien, a textile-and-sound installation by Nick Cave and Marie Watt, paintings by Jenny Holzer and Idris Khan, a sculpture by Nekisha Durrett, a mural by Aliza Nisenbaum, and an outdoor bronze by Alison Saar. These join five previously announced commissions, with plans for over 25 site-specific works total.

frank lloyd wright hollyhock house facing closure city cuts 2642128

Hollyhock House, Frank Lloyd Wright's Los Angeles masterpiece, faced potential closure after Mayor Karen Bass proposed a budget on April 21 that cut $283,000 in city funding and eliminated three of four staff positions, threatening its operations and UNESCO status. The Department of Cultural Affairs warned the cuts would make the property inoperable, but after advocacy from the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy and others, Bass fully restored funding, allowing the house to retain its two full-time staff and UNESCO designation.

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Art Basel is expanding to the Middle East with a new fair in Doha, Qatar, set to launch in February 2026. The inaugural edition will feature around 50 galleries from local and international scenes, held across two venues: M7 and the Doha Design District. The fair is a partnership between Art Basel, Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), and QC+, a cultural commerce collective under Qatar Museums. A new artistic director will be announced soon, and the fair aims to scale up over time, with additional art activations in outdoor spaces like Msheireb Museums and Barahat Msheireb square.

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Art in America, the sister publication of ARTnews, has released its Summer 2025 issue featuring profiles of 20 emerging artists selected as "New Talent." The list includes artists from around the world working in various mediums, such as Agnes Questionmark, Aislan Pankararu, Alejandro García Contreras, Alison Nguyen, and others. This marks a continuation of the magazine's long-running "New Talent" designation, which began in 1954 and ran regularly until 1966, was relaunched in summer 2021, and has continued since.

17 museums and galleries to explore in Berkeley

Berkeleyside has published a guide to 17 museums and galleries in Berkeley, California, highlighting free and affordable arts and culture destinations. The list includes major institutions like the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA), the Kala Art Institute, the Berkeley Art Center, the Magnes Collection of Jewish Life and Art, and the Lawrence Hall of Science, as well as smaller venues such as the Arts and Crafts Cooperative (ACCI), Shoh Gallery, 120710, and the Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles. Each entry includes hours, admission details, and notable features, with an emphasis on free access and local artists.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Announces the Opening of the Condé M. Nast Galleries, Designed by Peterson Rich Office

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced the opening of the Condé M. Nast Galleries, a 12,000-square-foot exhibition space designed by the New York-based architecture firm Peterson Rich Office (PRO). The galleries, located adjacent to the museum's Great Hall, will be inaugurated in May 2026 by The Costume Institute's spring exhibition titled "Costume Art," which explores the dressed body by juxtaposing garments from the Institute's holdings with treasures from the museum's broader collections. The project is part of a larger renovation that also includes a redesign of the Fifth Avenue and 83rd Street entrance to improve visitor flow.

Queer Arts Festival opens Portals for emerging artists and contrasting journeys

The Queer Arts Festival (QAF) in Vancouver opens its 16th annual edition from June 6 to 28, featuring a signature visual exhibition titled "Portals" at Centre A: Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art from June 21 to August 23. Curated by Mark Takeshi McGregor and Diane Hau Yu Wong, the exhibition showcases six emerging and local artists—Arkah, Evan Matchett-Wong, Sena Cleave, Miles Saraswat, Christian Yves Jones, and Naomi Maya Leung—whose works explore themes of queerness, migration, diaspora, and belonging through photography, sculpture, embroidery, film, and mixed media. The festival also includes concerts, media screenings, and community events, serving as a sanctuary for 2SLGBTQIA+ communities amid rising anti-trans and anti-queer rhetoric.

Maya Lin Connects Nature to a New Manhattan Skyscraper and Beyond

Maya Lin, the renowned artist and designer known for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, has created new works for a Manhattan skyscraper and a Chicago project, drawing on her deep connection to nature. The article highlights her latest installations that integrate environmental themes into urban architecture, reflecting her ongoing exploration of landscape and ecology.

Marcello Dantas Named Curator of 2027–29 Vancouver Biennale

The Vancouver Biennale has appointed Brazilian artist and documentary filmmaker Marcello Dantas as senior curator for its 2027–29 edition. Dantas, currently art director at the immersive museum Ster Ik in Tulum, Mexico, recently cocurated the 2024 iteration of Saudi Arabia's Desert X AlUla with Maya El Khalil. He has previously organized exhibitions for artists including Ai Weiwei, Anish Kapoor, Shirin Neshat, and Bill Viola, and curated a project by Vik Muniz for the 2013–15 Vancouver Biennale. Dantas plans to shape the event by addressing the city's corporate real estate development alongside its First Nations and colonial history, exploring themes of displacement and belonging.

Art Gallery / Museum Information – Recommended Exhibitions in April 2026

Major Japanese institutions have announced their flagship exhibition schedules for April 2026, featuring a mix of international retrospectives and deep dives into domestic art history. Highlights include the National Museum of Western Art’s presentation of Lithuanian visionary M. K. Čiurlionis alongside Hokusai, and a significant ten-year memorial retrospective for Nakanishi Natsuyuki at the National Museum of Art, Osaka. Other notable shows include a sensory-focused photography exhibition at TOP Museum and a folklore-centric study of Lafcadio Hearn in Osaka.

Indigenous Artists Infiltrate the Met With a Guerrilla A.R. Project

On Indigenous Peoples' Day, nonprofit media lab Amplifier launched an unsanctioned augmented reality exhibition titled “Encoded” at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. The project features 17 Native artists who have digitally altered 25 iconic American artworks from the Met's collection—such as Thomas Cole's *View on the Catskills – Early Autumn* and Emanuel Leutze's *Washington Crossing the Delaware*—overlaying Indigenous perspectives onto the museum's American Wing. Visitors can view the AR works on smartphones or iPads, and Amplifier representatives are on-site to distribute guides and offer tours through the end of the year.

art martin parr maya golyshkina

Photographer Martin Parr, 73, visited 24-year-old Moscow-born artist Maya Golyshkina at her London home for a collaborative shoot and interview published by Cultured. The two, who both began photography before age 16, discussed playfulness in their work, non-traditional materials like cardboard and household objects, and the role of social media in their careers. Golyshkina showed Parr her wearable cardboard creations, and the conversation ranged from Parr’s decades-long career documenting human banality to Golyshkina’s viral crying videos and her rise from posting self-portraits on Instagram to collaborating with luxury fashion houses.

Threshold Art Gallery and the Hermitage Museum Present Landmark Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Art

Threshold Art Gallery and the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, are presenting a landmark exhibition of contemporary Indian art titled "Sediments of Becoming: Fossilised Present, Summoned Pasts." Opening on 4 June 2026 and running until 4 October 2026, it is the first dedicated presentation of contemporary Indian art in the Hermitage's 260-year history. The exhibition features works by eleven Indian artists—including Afrah Shafiq, Anindita Bhattacharya, Debashish Mukherjee, Gargi Raina, Lakshmi Madhavan, Manjunath Kamath, Maya Krishna Rao, Pushpamala N., Ravinder Reddy, Sumakshi Singh, and V. Ramesh—several of whom created new commissions after a 2025 residency at the Hermitage. Curated by Marina Schulz and Tunty Chauhan, the show places contemporary works alongside historical objects from the museum's vast collections, fostering a dialogue across time and geography.

What does a painting sound like? The Clyfford Still Museum has lots of ideas.

The Clyfford Still Museum in Denver is opening a multisensory exhibition called "Still in Sound" on May 16, curated by Bailey Placzek and British artist Ben Coleman. The exhibition pairs the museum's vast collection of abstract expressionist works with sound-driven experiences. Additionally, the museum commissioned a world-premiere symphony, James Clarke's "Symphony No. 2," which will be performed by the Colorado Symphony at Boettcher Concert Hall on May 7. The program also includes music that inspired Still himself, such as works by Beethoven and Mahler, drawn from the artist's personal record collection.

Emily Carr University spotlights the first graduating class of its next century at The Show 2026, from May 13 to 27

Emily Carr University of Art + Design is presenting The Show 2026, an annual exhibition featuring final projects from more than 400 graduating students across Fine Arts, Media Arts, and Design. Running from May 13 to 27 at the ECU campus in Vancouver, the free public event showcases works in painting, sculpture, performance, interaction design, animation, film, and sound, marking the university's centennial year and the first graduating class of its second century.

Still in Sound Exhibition Opens on May 16 at the Clyfford Still Museum

The Clyfford Still Museum in Denver will open a multisensory exhibition titled "Still in Sound" on May 16, exploring how visitors can experience abstract visual language through sound. Co-curated by Bailey Placzek, the museum's curator of collections, and British multidisciplinary artist Ben Coleman, the exhibition features original sonic interpretations by contemporary artists Maria Chávez, Maya Dunietz, Kalyn Heffernan, Matana Roberts, and Michael Schumacher, each responding to a specific Clyfford Still artwork. The museum will also open a special-feature exhibition, "Celebrating 15 Years: 15 New Paintings in 15 Months," unveiling one previously unseen painting each month for 15 months. The exhibition runs through February 14, 2027.

Review: “Maya Blue” at the San Antonio Museum of Art

The San Antonio Museum of Art is presenting "Maya Blue: Ancient Color, New Visions," an exhibition curated by Kristopher Driggers that explores the ancient Maya pigment known as Maya blue. The show features eight earthenware artworks and one stucco piece dating from 550 to 1,500 years ago, alongside five modernist and contemporary works that highlight the enduring influence of Indigenous knowledge. Objects on view include figurines, a censer, and jade pieces, many bearing traces of the distinctive blue pigment, which was difficult to produce and held sacred significance in Maya culture.

untitled 2026 (a gathering of remarkable people)

The National Pavilion of Qatar has announced its presentation for the 61st Venice Biennale, titled "untitled 2026 (a gathering of remarkable people)." Commissioned by Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and co-curated by Tom Eccles and Ruba Katrib, the exhibition features a tent-like structure designed by Rirkrit Tiravanija. The space will host a collaborative program including a film by Sophia Al-Maria, performances by Tarek Atoui, a large-scale sculpture by Alia Farid, and a culinary program by chef Fadi Kattan.

Surrey Art Gallery spotlights Expo 86 with In the Shadow of the Pavilions, April 18 to June 7

The Surrey Art Gallery is launching "In the Shadow of the Pavilions: Expo 86 and Contemporary Art," a multidisciplinary exhibition running from April 18 to June 7. Curated by Jordan Strom, the show features archival works and documentation from over 40 artists created between 1984 and 1988. It brings together official commissions from the world’s fair alongside unofficial, parallel art initiatives that emerged during Vancouver’s Centennial celebrations, covering media ranging from kinetic sculpture to performance art.

The Big Review | The Woman Question 1550-2025 ★★★★½

The Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw has launched "The Woman Question 1550-2025," a massive survey featuring nearly 200 works by 140 women artists spanning five centuries. Curated by Alison M. Gingeras, the exhibition uses the medieval concept of "la querelle des femmes" to explore how women have asserted their status as "citizen artists" against patriarchal structures. The show juxtaposes historical masterpieces by figures like Artemisia Gentileschi and Sofonisba Anguissola with contemporary provocations by Miriam Cahn and Lubaina Himid, focusing heavily on figurative painting and sculpture.

Parrish Art Museum Opens 'Regeneration' Exhibition

The Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, New York, will open the exhibition 'Regeneration: Long Island’s History of Ecological Art and Care' on February 22, 2026. The show, part of the museum's yearlong 'PARRISH USA250' series, features works by eleven artists with ties to Long Island, including Sara Siestreem, Michelle Stuart, and Maya Lin, and will run through June 14.

David Beckham dutifully does the art rounds in Doha

David Beckham was a prominent attendee at Art Basel Qatar in Doha, visiting key art venues and installations. He was seen at Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija's interactive installation in MIA Park, viewing works by Chung Seoyoung at the Fire Station, and attending a performance by Haroon Mirza alongside major collector Sheikha al-Mayassa. Movie star Angelina Jolie was also spotted at a special project by the performance collective Sweat Variant.

Mexico City exhibition explores dynamic exchange between Americas and Southeast Asia

A major exhibition titled 'El Galeón Acapulco – Manila Somos Pacífico: El Mundo que emergió del Trópico' has opened at the Colegio de San Ildefonso in Mexico City. It features 300 works, including 80 from Singapore's national collections, exploring the centuries-old cultural and economic exchange between Asia and the Americas facilitated by the Manila Galleon trade route. The show was launched to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Mexico-Singapore diplomatic relations and a state visit by Singapore's president.