Artist Mashkoor Raza celebrated with posthumous exhibition at Karachi’s Mainframe Gallery

A posthumous retrospective of Pakistani modernist painter Mashkoor Raza (1948-2025) was held at Mainframe Gallery in Karachi, showcasing his prolific output from the 1970s and 1980s. The exhibition featured abstract and semi-abstract works, equestrian paintings, and a recreation of his studio, drawing from his family's collection. Raza, a graduate of the Karachi School of Art and later a teacher there, was known for decorative abstractions in oils dominated by whites, reds, and blues, as well as cubist-style horse and figure compositions. The show also included a display of press clippings and art books, highlighting his influence and the critical reception of his era.

Study highlights link between cultural engagement and workforce levels

A new study from the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (Creative PEC) reveals a strong correlation between the number of people working in arts, culture, and heritage occupations in English local authorities and the rates of public participation in cultural activities. Analyzing data from DCMS's Participation Survey 2023–24 and the Office of National Statistics Labour Force Survey, the report found the strongest link between cultural employment and art gallery attendance, followed by literary events and live dance. London boroughs dominated the top rankings, with Cambridge, Brighton and Hove, Oxford, Bristol, and Waverley also showing high correlations, though exceptions like Stoke-on-Trent and York highlighted local variations in specific art forms.

Li Yi-Fan: Poet of the Enshittosphere

Taiwanese artist Li Yi-Fan is preparing to present work at the Venice Biennale. His video works feature a digitally animated character, voiced and puppeteered by the artist himself, which delivers improvised, punkish lecture-performances critiquing technology, algorithmic control, and the loss of human agency.

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.

Archway Gallery Marks 50 Years of Artist-Led Vision

Archway Gallery, the longest-running artist-owned cooperative in Texas, is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a series of commemorative exhibitions. The festivities began with 'Homecoming' at the Jung Center—the site of the gallery's first show in 1976—and continue with 'Fifty Forward' at their main Houston space, featuring works and self-portraits by all 34 current members alongside contributions from founding artists.

Kyoto Art Center Exhibition Series 'FOCUS' Vol. 6: Hana Sawada Solo Exhibition 'Attentive Sideways Glances' @ Kyoto Art Center

京都芸術センター展覧会シリーズ「FOCUS」第6回 澤田華個展「まめによそ見する足」@ 京都芸術センター

The Kyoto Art Center has announced the sixth installment of its "FOCUS" exhibition series, featuring a solo exhibition by Kyoto-based artist Hana Sawada titled "Attentive Sideways Glances." Running from April to May 2026, the show highlights Sawada’s practice of deconstructing everyday actions through photography, video, and installation. Key works include a new entry in her "Floating Video" series, where she filmed the center’s grounds using only the light of a projector playing a zombie movie, and a new installation that translates visual observations into linguistic records.

Smells like teen spirit: inside the world’s first scent-lending library

Artist Donna Lipowitz has launched the Scent Lending Library, a multisensory project that allows visitors to check out fragrances like books. Debuting at Olfactory Art Keller in New York before moving to Fogue Gallery in Seattle, the collection features over 200 items ranging from luxury perfumes like Chanel No. 5 to conceptual odors such as "The Smell of Space" and "Green Cicada." Borrowers receive small amber bottles containing scented blotter paper along with traditional library check-out slips.

Global share of contemporary art auction revenue 2024

A Statista chart published in April 2025 shows the geographical distribution of post-war and contemporary art auction revenue worldwide in 2024. The United States dominated with 48% of the combined post-war and contemporary market, followed by China (17%), the United Kingdom (15%), France (6%), Germany (2%), and other countries (11%). When broken down, the U.S. held 50% of post-war and 45% of contemporary revenue, while China captured 13% of post-war and 25% of contemporary revenue, reflecting its stronger position in the contemporary segment.

This Spring, One Mega-Dealer Dominates N.Y.C. Museums

This spring, a single mega-dealer is exerting outsized influence over New York City's museum scene, with multiple exhibitions across major institutions featuring artists from their stable. The New York Times reports on how this dealer's dominance reflects the growing consolidation of power in the art world, where a handful of top galleries increasingly shape what museums show and collect.

The Story of Alexey Shor: From Mathematician to Contemporary Classical Composer. The Interview

La storia di Alexey Shor: da matematico a compositore classico contemporaneo. L’intervista

Alexey Shor, a 1970-born Ukrainian-American composer who originally earned a PhD in mathematics and worked in finance, has transitioned to a full-time career in contemporary classical music. From April 28 to 30, 2026, his neo-romantic compositions were performed at the Auditorium RAI "Arturo Toscanini" in Turin, Italy, by the RAI National Symphony Orchestra under Estonian conductor Anu Tali, alongside works by Rachmaninoff, Schubert, and Grieg. The concerts featured renowned musicians including Russian conductor Mikhail Pletnev, violinist Giuseppe Gibboni, violinist Daniel Lozakovich, and pianist Arsenii Moon. In an interview with Artribune, Shor discussed his dual career, his emotional connection to audiences, and his openness to having his music used in films.

Cultural heritage reform. The 'Italia in scena' law gives some answers but raises many questions

Riforma dei beni culturali. La legge “Italia in scena” dà alcune risposte ma produce tante domande

Italy's parliament approved the "Italia in scena" law in March 2026, a cultural heritage reform aligned with right-wing priorities: territorial valorization, local identity promotion, autonomy, and private-sector involvement. The law establishes a digital registry (Anagrafe), a roster of accredited operators, and a framework for private management of cultural assets, but allocates only €4.5 million annually—a symbolic sum compared to France's cultural mediation budgets. It also opens participation to the Third Sector (cooperatives, community foundations) but defers all critical details to implementing decrees with no strict deadlines or enforcement mechanisms.

In Milan Design Week, in a garden, emerging designers can exhibit for free. "We received almost 100 applications to the call"

Nella Milano della Design Week in un giardino i designer emergenti possono esporre gratis. “Abbiamo ricevuto quasi 100 richieste alla call”

During Milan Design Week, the venue enoteca/naturale launched the initiative "Entra pure," offering its garden and interior space for free to emerging designers under 35. The open call received nearly 100 applications, with eight selected projects being displayed and utilized within the space from April 21-26, providing an alternative platform during the city's major design event.

Exhibition in Barcelona explores an artist's journey into nature

The Vila Casas Foundation has launched a major retrospective of Esther Boix at the Espais Volart gallery in Barcelona, marking the centenary of the artist’s birth. Featuring 180 works, the exhibition traces Boix’s evolution from early figurative portraits and social realism to her later, more abstract explorations of nature and ecology. The show highlights her role in the anti-Franco movement, her involvement with the Postectura group, and her significant contributions to art education through the founding of the L’ARC school.

Vinyl Queens! Black Women in the DJ Scene Photo Art Exhibit

The 345 Art Gallery in Chicago’s East Garfield Park hosted "Vinyl Queens! Black Women in the DJ Scene," a photography exhibition by Yolanda Chioma Richards of Imagery By Chioma LLC. The exhibit features visual storytelling portraits that document the artistry and cultural impact of Black women DJs, coinciding with Women’s History Month. The event included a 30-minute panel discussion and live performances, highlighting the intersection of music culture and professional photography.

First Recipients of the 'NCAR x AWARE Female Artist Research Fellowship' Announced

「NCAR×AWARE 女性アーティストリサーチフェローシップ」の第1回採択者が決定

The National Center for Art Research (NCAR) and Archives of Women Artists, Research and Exhibitions (AWARE) have announced the first recipients of their joint research fellowship dedicated to women artists in Japan. Sculptor and critic Nodoka Odawara and Tokyo Photographic Art Museum curator Yuri Yamada were selected from 19 applicants to conduct specialized research on marginalized female figures in Japanese art history. Odawara will focus on pioneering female sculptors Kamono Ota and Toko Kuhara, while Yamada will investigate early female photographers from the Meiji to early Showa eras, including Ryu Shima and Yoshino Hanawa.