The Great Festival of Contemporary Creativity in Parma Celebrates Its First 10 Years: The Events to See

Il grande festival di Parma sulla creatività contemporanea festeggia i suoi primi 10 anni: gli eventi da vedere

The Parma 360 Festival, a major contemporary creativity festival in Parma, Italy, celebrates its tenth edition with the theme "Lux. Visioni sulla Luce" (Lux: Visions of Light). Curated by Chiara Canali and Camilla Mineo, the festival features five exhibitions across special city locations, transforming Parma into a diffuse museum. Highlights include Antonio Barrese's "Morphology Light. Viaggio nella forma della luce" at Galleria San Ludovico, exploring light as plastic matter, and Michael Kenna's photographic exhibition "Il fiume Po. Scritture di luce" at Palazzo Pigorini, capturing the Po River through contemplative black-and-white imagery. Over its nine previous editions (2016–2025), the festival has presented more than 70 official exhibitions and involved over 200 artists.

The Death of the Art School

In a faculty meeting at Purchase College in New York, an administrator referred to students as "consumers," prompting the author to reflect on the pervasive corporatization and "administrification" of American higher education. The article argues that this language reflects a broader restructuring of universities as businesses, where students are customers, knowledge is a product, and faculty are service providers. It cites data showing that between 1976 and 2011, non-faculty professional positions grew by 369% while tenure-track faculty grew by only 23%, and at Purchase College, administrator salaries rose over 45% from 2016 to 2024 while assistant professor salaries rose just 14%, with inflation at 31%.

“Conspiracies” Aby Warburg Institute / London by Frank Wasser

The exhibition “Conspiracies” at the Warburg Institute in London, curated by Larne Abse Gogarty, brings together works by Hannah Black, Caspar Heinemann, Sam Keogh, and Shenece Oretha alongside panels from Aby Warburg’s Bilderatlas Mnemosyne. Through sculpture, drawing, collage, installation, and sound, the show resists the idea that conspiracy can be solved by exposure or critique, instead constructing unstable relations between historical images, speculative narratives, and material processes. Key works include Heinemann’s drawings reimagining Ted Kaczynski as “Theodora” and Keogh’s large-scale collage referencing medieval tapestries and surveillance systems.

Apenas meus cabelos são brancos... [Only my hair is white...]

Galerie Lelong in New York is presenting "Lucia Laguna: Apenas meus cabelos são brancos... [Only my hair is white...]," the Brazilian artist's first solo exhibition in the United States, organized in collaboration with Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel. The show features new paintings from her ongoing series "Pequenos formatos" and "Paisagem," which explore the interplay between architecture and nature through vibrant color blocking and geometric forms. Laguna's work reflects her recent move from a suburban home with a garden to an apartment in Rio de Janeiro's Laranjeiras neighborhood, a shift that has prompted compositional changes as her studio space became more condensed and her views of the urban landscape changed.

Laura K. Sayers’ Vibrant Postage Stamps Celebrate the Beauty of Everyday Moments

Laura K. Sayers creates intricate miniature postage stamps using cut paper, depicting everyday scenes from her home in Scotland and places she visits. Her solo exhibition "The Wee Small Hours" at N. atelier in Glasgow showcases these tiny tableaux, which also include works inspired by her residency at the Fiskars Artist-in-Residence program in Finland. The exhibition runs through this weekend.

New Currents: Jungeun Park

Jungeun Park, an artist based between New York and Seoul, creates sculptures that blend glass, ceramics, and textiles to evoke raw biological forms and alien organic matter. Her 2025 graduate presentation at the Rhode Island School of Design featured works like *Skin Mite (demodex)* (2024), sewn from old pillowcases, and *Period Chalice* (2024), made from resin, metal chain, metal ring, water, and strawberry syrup, which transform the repulsive into something tender and strange.

A Document in Motion: ArtWorld Passports head to the Venice Biennale.

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.

Echoes of Memory and Quiet Revolutions

The Henrike Grohs Art Award concludes its final edition, naming Tanzanian artist Rehema Chachage as the 2026 laureate. Chachage, who works across performance, video, text, scent, and installation, creates a "performative archive" in collaboration with her mother and grandmother, transforming personal and ancestral memory into shared sensory experiences. The two finalists are Younès Ben Slimane, a Tunisian filmmaker and visual artist whose silent, disorienting works challenge cinematic narrative structures, and Egyptian artist Rania Atef, whose participatory practice turns domestic spaces into stages for revealing power dynamics. The award received over 600 applications from more than 30 African countries.

Leslie Powell Gallery to open multiple art exhibitions in May

The Leslie Powell Gallery in Lawton, Oklahoma, will open two art exhibitions in May 2026. "Beauteous Maximus" features paintings by New Zealand-born Polynesian artist Tania Landers, whose work explores memory, identity, and generational storytelling through vibrant colors and collage. "Between the Front Door and the Kitchen Sink" showcases artwork by Texas artist Abigail Rainey, focusing on themes of home, inheritance, and the sacred within the mundane. Both exhibitions open with a reception on May 16 and run through June 26.

‘Rightstarter’ art exhibit at Antioch revisits hip-hop’s golden era

The Herndon Gallery at Antioch College is opening a group exhibition titled 'Rightstarter: Resistance, Rap and the Golden Era,' curated by artist Joshua Whitaker. The show, launching with a reception on May 9, explores the rap counterculture of the late 1980s and early 1990s, featuring works by artists from Dayton and beyond. It includes drawings, paintings, sculpture, installations, video, and performance, with a live jazz performance by G. Scott Jones and the Freedom Ensemble. The exhibition highlights how hip-hop served as a platform for social commentary against the backdrop of Reaganomics, the crack epidemic, the war on drugs, and the AIDS crisis.

‘In Mali, When Animals Dance’ – Inside the Pulse of Sogo Bò

Yoann Cormier curates 'In Mali, When Animals Dance' at the Musée des Confluences, an exhibition dedicated to sogo bò, a Malian performance tradition blending theater, dance, music, and community. Rejecting static displays, Cormier uses immersive scenography—light, sound, film footage from the early 2000s by Sonia and Albert Loeb, and reconstructed masks made with the Lyon Opera costume workshop—to evoke the festive atmosphere of sogo bò, moving visitors through a simulated Malian day from afternoon to night.

‘The Little Flowers Are Me, Unbloomed:’ Georgia Foster Teens Find Their Voices Through Art Exhibit

Georgia foster teens have created a traveling art exhibit called the See Me project, sponsored by the nonprofit Georgia Appleseed, which has collected roughly 50 paintings, poems, and sculptures since 2023. The young artists, many first-time participants, explore themes of healing, hope, family, and belonging, often signing their works anonymously. The exhibit has been displayed at the Georgia Capitol, universities, community centers, and law firms, with artists paid $250 for their contributions.

Renowned Victoria artist hosts exhibition with proceeds going to 10 local charities

Renowned Victoria artist and philanthropist Tanya Bub is presenting a new exhibition titled "Wild Art for the Big of Heart" at the Gage Gallery in Victoria’s Bastion Square from May 12th to 31st. The show features dozens of sculptural works made from driftwood, wire, and paper, with prices ranging from $30 to $8,000. Twenty-five percent of all sales will go to the charity of the buyer’s choice, with 10 local charities benefiting, including Broken Promises Rescue, Elder Carl Olsen — Goldstream / SELE₭TEȽ Watershed, CNIB Victoria, Georgia Strait Alliance, Mustard Seed, Rainbow Haven, Soap for Hope, The Thinking Garden, Victoria Therapeutic Riding Association, and Voices in Motion. The exhibition also includes three weeks of talks, performances, and interactive events in partnership with the charities.

New photo exhibit at Godfrey Dean Art Gallery focuses on storytelling

The Godfrey Dean Art Gallery in Yorkton is hosting a new photography exhibition titled 'Storied Telling: Performative & Narrative in Photography,' organized by the Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils (OSAC) through its Arts on the Move program. Running until May 15, the show features six Canadian artists—Catherine Blackburn, Lori Blondeau, Xiao Han, Marium Magsi, Meryl McMaster, and Laura St. Pierre—whose work uses the camera to create layered, story-driven images exploring themes of identity, cultural heritage, diaspora, and history.

Senior artists explore censorship, AI and transformation in the capstone exhibition

Shippensburg University senior art students presented their capstone exhibition at the Huber Art Center, featuring works in printmaking, digital art, ceramics, and charcoal drawings. Artists Luke Lindvall, Gerald Pratt, Kaylee Will, Alayna Mandich, and Lily Bramucci explored themes including censorship, artificial intelligence, horror, and personal transformation. Lindvall pushed printmaking onto unconventional surfaces like skateboards and furniture, Pratt addressed over-censorship in politics, Will warned against over-reliance on technology and AI in raising children, Mandich used horror imagery to examine beauty, and Bramucci connected pit-fired ceramics to life choices and hardship.

Silent Stories Solo Exhibition by Shanaka Kulathunga to Debut in India at Bikaner House

Gallery Silver Scapes will present 'Silent Stories', a solo exhibition by Sri Lankan artist Shanaka Kulathunga, at the CCA Building, Bikaner House in New Delhi from May 21 to 28, 2026. This marks the artist's first solo presentation in India, featuring acrylic and oil paintings that explore memory, everyday life, and rural Sri Lankan landscapes through figuration and narrative depth. Curated by Archana Khare-Ghose, the exhibition includes a publication launch and aims to foster cross-cultural dialogue between India and Sri Lanka.

Suman Dey’s new solo in Kolkata gives form to the abstract notions around us

Artist Suman Dey presents his second solo exhibition, titled *Chance, Remains of Another Time*, at Emami Art in Kolkata. The show features large-scale works on wood and other materials that explore abstract notions of memory, time, and nature through fragmented forms, textures, and narrative. Key pieces include a series of frames capturing everyday surface textures and a work titled *Journey* that uses boat shapes to depict transformation. The exhibition runs until May 9.

Ripple Effect Art Festival to Spread Across County

The inaugural Ripple Effect Arts Festival will take place April 16–26 across Santa Cruz County, featuring 11 days of performances, exhibitions, workshops, and interactive events spanning visual art, music, dance, theater, film, fashion, and spoken word. The festival includes two concurrent exhibitions at M.K. Contemporary Art in downtown Santa Cruz: 'The Anatomy of Wonder: Photo Sculptures' by Michael Garlington and 'Rochambeau' featuring eight local and Bay Area artists. Major hubs include Santa Cruz and Watsonville, with a grand finale near the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk featuring musician Helado Negro.

Marie Antoinette Fashion at Museum Exhibitions [PHOTOS]

A photo essay showcases fashion and decorative arts associated with Marie Antoinette, drawn from multiple museum exhibitions in France. Images include an English-style dress and skirt (circa 1780-1790) from the Palais Galliera-Paris Musées, a shoe from 1895 at the Musée des Beaux Arts de Caen, a pug on a cushion from the Berlin Manufactory (circa 1760) courtesy of Les Arts Décoratifs, and a painting titled "The Bad News" by Jean-Baptiste-Marie Pierre. The collection also features a French-style dress (circa 1755-1765), a formal corset attributed to Queen Marie Antoinette (circa 1770-1780), and a view of the exhibition "Fashion in the 18th Century: A Fantasized Legacy" at the Palais Galliera fashion museum in Paris.

At the Baths of Diocletian in Rome, a show by a Chinese artist is a hit. The curator explains why

Alle Terme di Diocleziano di Roma spopola la mostra di un’artista cinese. Il curatore spiega perché

Chinese artist Wu Jian'an (born 1980, Beijing) is the subject of a major solo exhibition at the Baths of Diocletian in Rome, part of the Museo Nazionale Romano. Titled "Metamorphoses. L'arte che trasforma," the show explores connections between Chinese and Italian cultures, as well as broader Eastern and European traditions. Curated by Umberto Croppi, president of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma, the exhibition features works such as the monumental leather installation "The Heaven of Nine Levels" (2008–2009) and the series "The Eternal Cycle – Running Through the Seasons" (2024–2025), which combines intricate paper cutouts, silk, wax, and cotton thread. The artist, who represented China at the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017, was inspired by the ancient Roman spaces, creating a dialogue between his contemporary pieces and the site's classical mosaics and architecture.

UK’s Brighton & Hove Museums to return 45 artefacts to Botswana

Brighton & Hove Museums in southern England will return 45 artefacts to Botswana. The objects, including clothing, accessories and hunting implements, were acquired by English reverend William Charles Willoughby in the 1890s and will be housed at the Khama III Memorial Museum in Serowe, where they will form part of a permanent exhibition opening on 27 May. A team from Brighton & Hove Museums is working with Botswanan curators on the return, which is scheduled for April.

What Brakes Through: “Teresa Tyszkiewicz. Stories That Tell Themselves” at Profile Foundation.

Teresa Tyszkiewicz's exhibition "Stories That Tell Themselves" at Profile Foundation in Warsaw showcases the Polish artist's process-driven practice spanning video, performance, and relief-like paintings made with pins, nails, metal plates, ropes, and fabrics. Curated by Bożena Czubak, the show highlights Tyszkiewicz's use of the body as a medium—often naked and immersed in organic materials—to explore emotions, intuition, and unconscious desires, as seen in works like the 1980 film "Grain." The artist, who began her career in the late 1970s alongside Polish neo-avantgarde filmmakers but rejected their conceptual tendencies, developed a tactile, laborious approach that invites sensory engagement.

Mark Seidenfeld Sets Sail Into 'Uncharted Waters' With New Art Exhibition

Mark Seidenfeld, a Hamptons-based abstract painter, will present a solo exhibition titled "Uncharted Waters" at the newly renovated Corwith Homestead Tractor Barn, part of The Bridgehampton Museum in New York. The show runs from June 4 to June 21, 2026, and features paintings that transition from representational work into fully realized abstraction, exploring themes of depth, gesture, and discovery through layered and revised compositions.

Bridges of Belonging: Cinco de Mayo Art Reception

A free reception for the exhibition “Bridges of Belonging: Cinco de Mayo, Bi-National Identity, and the Spirit of Chignahuapan” will be held on May 1 at the Clark County Government Center Rotunda Gallery in Las Vegas. The event, themed “Puentes de Pertenencia,” features live music, cultural performances, visual arts, and food, with the exhibit on display through May 28.

Old School Studios: New Meanwhile Arts Space opens for Artists Open Houses 2026

Old School Studios, a new meanwhile arts space, opens this May as part of Artists Open Houses 2026 in Brighton. Developed by Artcore Brighton, the project transforms the former Brighton Waldorf school into working studios and an exhibition site, featuring over 50 artists working across sculpture, painting, photography, printmaking, textiles, ceramics, jewellery, and moving image. Co-founded with Mutoid Waste Company and Glastonbury Art Director Alex Wright (aka Wreckage), the space includes pop-up performances, workshops, and food from Lost Pier and La Cantina.

Night of the Museums will be held in Tampere on Saturday, May 16 [City of Tampere]

The Night of the Museums will take place in Tampere, Finland, on Saturday, May 16, featuring over 40 exhibitions across multiple venues including the Tampere Art Museum, Sara Hildén Art Museum, Museum Centre Vapriikki, Moomin Museum, Finnish Labour Museum Werstas, and others. The event offers special guided tours, children's activities with clowns and circus performances, art workshops led by visual artists, live music and poetry, dance lessons, and themed tours covering topics from football history to men's fashion.

Birthday-Celebrating Sculpture Exhibitions

Richard MacDonald, the internationally acclaimed figurative sculptor known for his bronze works of dancers, athletes, and performers, is celebrating his 80th birthday with a two-day event on June 5 and 6, 2026, in Monterey, California. The celebration takes place at his studio and foundry, featuring a private invitation-only evening on June 5 for close friends, family, and leading collectors, followed by a public cocktail event on June 6. Activities include live performances, guided studio and foundry tours, a live bronze pour demonstration, and the unveiling of new sculptures, including a commissioned piece for the Weaver of Change Foundation in Singapore.

The new TAILOR newsletter is coming out: luxury crisis, new creative generations, and mental health (subscribe!)

Sta per uscire la nuova newsletter TAILOR tra crisi del lusso, nuove generazioni creative e salute mentale (abbonatevi!)

Artribune has launched a new edition of its newsletter TAILOR, which examines the transformation of the global fashion system amid a luxury crisis, the rise of new creative generations, and the growing structural importance of mental health in the industry. The newsletter features a focus on five emerging designers shifting fashion from product to narrative, an exclusive interview with influential stylist Tom Eerebout, and the debut in Italy of the project "One Person. One Voice" as part of the Mental Health in Fashion campaign, created by Florian Müller with artist Claudia Malecka.

Creating Variety in Contemporary Rome: The Story of the Conventicola degli Ultramoderni on Sky Arte

Fare varietà nella Roma contemporanea: la storia della Conventicola degli Ultramoderni su Sky Arte

On Sunday, May 3, Sky Arte will premiere the documentary "Ultramoderni," which chronicles the rise of the Conventicola degli Ultramoderni, a unique artistic collective in Rome. Founded by Sior Mirkaccio and Madame de Freitas, who met in 2011, the group operates from a small hidden venue in the San Lorenzo district, blending music, cabaret, burlesque, and contemporary variety shows with a retro-futuristic aesthetic. The documentary, filmed in their Roman space, features interviews with the duo and excerpts from their performances, tracing how they built a diverse community of enthusiasts around their reinvention of past traditions.

Art can officially be a form of therapy. Interview with Undersecretary of Culture Lucia Borgonzoni, godmother of the project

L’arte può essere ufficialmente una forma di cura. Intervista al Sottosegretario alla Cultura Lucia Borgonzoni madrina del progetto

The Italian Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Health have signed a formal protocol recognizing art as a form of therapy and care. The agreement, championed by Undersecretary of State for Culture Lucia Borgonzoni, mandates that museums, libraries, archives, and cultural institutions play a central role in developing therapeutic pathways using art to improve individual and community well-being. Borgonzoni, who has advocated for this initiative for nearly a decade, traces its origin to a 2018 study at the Sanctuary of Vicoforte that measured cortisol levels in visitors before and after viewing frescoes, showing significant stress reduction.