A comprehensive guide lists numerous art galleries and exhibition spaces across Virginia, primarily in the Richmond area, with some in Ashland, Hanover, and Charles City. It provides details on their locations, contact information, and artistic focuses, ranging from contemporary fine art and nonprofit spaces to specialized collections like 20th-century Russian realism.
Glasgow-based painter Michael Fullerton is presenting a two-part exhibition that critically examines the politics of portraiture. The first section features 11 oil portraits of male asylum seekers he lived alongside while working as live-in staff at the Hilltop Hotel in Carlisle. These works, painted in a traditional style, depict the men with care against ambiguous landscapes, deliberately restricting personal information to names and origins, highlighting their status within systems of power.
Katie Ruiz, a textile artist and programs associate at Space 4 Art, curated the exhibition "Non-Objective Lessons" at Art Produce Gallery in San Diego, running through Feb. 12. The show features minimalist, non-objective abstract art by artists including Tom Demello and Melissa Walter, aiming to help viewers who struggle to appreciate abstract work. It is the first of seven exhibitions supported by a $200,000 Arts Ecosystem Grant from the Prebys Foundation, which funds a year of programming at Space 4 Art.
Savannah artists are creating new exhibition spaces in small, unconventional venues to counter the city's lack of affordable studio and gallery space. Following the closure of several local galleries, nonprofit Arts Southeast has been fostering resilience, with new spaces like Cute Tomatoes Gallery, Pocket Space (hosted by Norwood Gallery), and Camaleon opening in 2025. These artist-run initiatives feature rotating shows, including a group exhibition of 19 female artists at Norwood Gallery and a multidisciplinary venue at Camaleon directed by SCAD graduate Alex Mendi.
The DEK Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) has used artificial intelligence to recreate the voice of Surrealist artist René Magritte for its exhibition "Magritte. La ligne de vie." The AI voice reads a 1938 lecture Magritte gave at the museum—the only known text of him discussing his work—which was never recorded but survived as slides and a transcript transcribed by fellow Surrealist Marcel Mariën. The exhibition, on view until February 2026, features over 100 works and is structured around key themes from that lecture, culminating in a room where visitors hear Magritte's reconstructed voice in French with English and Dutch subtitles.
The Ukrainian government has enacted a new resolution to streamline the evacuation of over three million cultural objects from conflict zones as the Russian invasion nears its fourth year. The policy establishes a mandatory evacuation zone for museum items within 50 kilometers of the frontline and requires storage at least 75 kilometers away. Crucially, the resolution empowers museum directors to act independently during crises and introduces a three-stage evacuation system based on the cultural value of the property.
The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis will close on Friday, January 23, to participate in the Day of Truth and Freedom protest, a statewide general strike organized by local labor unions and community groups in response to increased ICE presence in Minnesota. The museum is the largest institution to join over 300 small businesses, cultural organizations, and nonprofits in shuttering for the day, citing its institutional values of community care and staff support. The closure follows ICE's Operation Metro Surge, which intensified enforcement in the Twin Cities, and the January 7 killing of U.S. citizen Renée Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, which sparked nationwide protests and lawsuits against the Department of Homeland Security.
GoFundMe created approximately 1.6 million donation pages for US nonprofits, including dozens of major art museums, without informing or obtaining consent from the institutions. Museums such as the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art discovered these pages only when contacted by ARTnews. The pages were optimized for web searches and charged transaction fees, potentially diverting donations from the museums' own fundraising channels. After media coverage, GoFundMe apologized, switched to an opt-in model, and removed unclaimed pages.
French museums are alarmed that the Trump administration may eliminate a key tax deduction mechanism known as the “equivalency determination,” which allows foreign organizations to receive tax-deductible donations from American patrons. This status is critical for museum-affiliated “American Friends” groups, such as the American Friends of the Musée d’Orsay and the American Friends of the Louvre, which raised $10 million for the Louvre last year alone. The concern follows reports that the administration is considering the move as part of a broader crackdown on tax-exempt nonprofits. Lionel Sauvage, president of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris, noted that about one-third of his museum’s annual donations—over $2 million—come from American donors, though he believes emotional attachment to French culture will sustain giving.
French museums are alarmed that the Trump administration may eliminate a key tax deduction mechanism known as the “equivalency determination,” which allows foreign organizations to receive tax-deductible donations from American patrons. The status is critical for museum-affiliated “American Friends” groups, such as the American Friends of the Musée d’Orsay and the American Friends of the Louvre, the latter of which raised $10 million last year. Lionel Sauvage, president of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris, noted that about one-third of his museum’s annual donations—over $2 million—come from American donors. While no concrete action has been taken, Bloomberg reported in April that the administration was considering the move as part of a broader crackdown on tax-exempt nonprofits. Jewish philanthropic organizations have also expressed concern, with the Jewish Funders Network advising compliance amid uncertainty.
The Asheville Art Museum in North Carolina will present "In a New Light: American Impressionism 1870–1940 | Works from the Bank of America Collection," an exhibition featuring over 120 works that trace the development of American Impressionism and its break with academic tradition. The show runs from February 7 through June 29, 2026, and is made possible through the Bank of America Art in our Communities program, which loans exhibitions at no cost to nonprofit community museums.
The Art Institute of Chicago will present "Korean National Treasures: 2,000 Years of Art" from March 7 to July 5, 2026, featuring 140 artworks spanning from 6th-century Buddhist sculpture to contemporary paintings. The exhibition includes 22 objects officially recognized as National Treasures or Treasures by the Korean government, all drawn from a landmark 2021 donation of over 23,000 works by the family of late Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-Hee. Highlights include Joseon dynasty ceramics, Buddhist paintings, and works by modern artists such as Kim Whanki and Park Rehyun.
A book produced by Bowdoin College faculty, highlighting artistic portrayals of ecological change on Maine's Monhegan Island, has won a 2025 Historic New England Book Prize as one of two Honor Books. The interdisciplinary project, led by Frank Goodyear (codirector of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art), plant scientist Barry Logan, and Jennifer Pye (director of the Monhegan Museum of Art & History), accompanied an exhibition that ran at the Monhegan Museum after its Bowdoin showing. The book and exhibition examine ecological shifts on the island—such as pastureland formation, forest recovery, and land conservation—through visual art, historical documents, and artifacts.
Archaeologists have unearthed the Roman Empire's second-largest olive oil processing complex in the Kasserine region of Tunisia, near the Algerian border. Co-directed by Ca' Foscari University of Venice, the excavation at the 33-hectare site called Henchir el Begar revealed a monumental torcularium with twelve beam presses, a second eight-press facility, oil mills, cisterns, and a water collection basin. The team also found artifacts including a copper-and-brass bracelet, a limestone projectile, and architectural elements dating from the modern to Byzantine periods. A Latin inscription confirms senatorial approval for a bimonthly market on the land in 138 AD, indicating the site was a hub for social, political, and religious life.
Julien's Auctions has announced a 'STREET ART & CULTURE' auction featuring 70 lots that blend skate culture, street art, and music memorabilia. Highlights include Tony Hawk's personal T-shirt and signed poster from his historic 1999 X Games '900' trick (estimate $6,000-$8,000), a Banksy signed limited-edition 'Sale Ends' screenprint (estimate $20,000-$30,000), and boards from Powell-Peralta such as Steve Caballero's 'Half Cab Dragon'. The sale also includes works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jamie Reid, Shepard Fairey, and memorabilia from Gorillaz, Beastie Boys, and Wu-Tang Clan. The online auction is scheduled for February 4, 2026.
The University of California, Irvine has finalized its acquisition of the Orange County Museum of Art, creating a new unified institution named the UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art. The merger combines OCMA's 53,000-square-foot, $98 million facility in Costa Mesa with UC Irvine's academic resources, bringing together over 9,000 works of art. The museum will also showcase UC Irvine's Gerald Buck Collection and Irvine Museum Collection, while the Jack and Shanaz Langson Institute and Museum of California Art continues operating on campus. OCMA staff have joined UC Irvine, and a national search for an executive director is underway.
The Vilcek Foundation is accepting applications for its 2026 grant cycle, offering up to $20,000 per grant to nonprofit organizations that highlight immigrant contributions in the arts, sciences, and culture. The total funding pool is $200,000, with a deadline of April 30, 2026. This initiative marks the second year of this specific grant program, expanding the foundation's long-standing mission as it celebrates its 25th anniversary.
Artnet has implemented sweeping layoffs following its consolidation with Artsy under a single leadership team led by CEO Jeffrey Yin. The cuts have severely impacted Artnet News, resulting in the departure of veteran senior reporters Sarah Cascone and Eileen Kinsella, while Andrew Russeth has been named interim editor. Additionally, Artnet’s German entity is being wound down, affecting the Berlin-based team responsible for the platform's online sales operations.
The Chicago-based Joyce Foundation has announced the relaunch of its Joyce Awards after a year-long hiatus, introducing a significant shift in its funding model. Starting with the 2026 cycle, the program will move from project-based grants to providing four artists annually with $100,000 in unrestricted funds, alongside a $40,000 grant for a partner nonprofit. The awards will now operate on a biennial rotation between specific Great Lakes states and allow for self-nominations for the first time.
Archaeologists in Spain have published new research on a remarkably preserved 3,450-year-old wooden loom, discovered in 2008 at the Cabezo Redondo site. The loom survived because a fire destroyed the surrounding Bronze Age village and a roof collapsed on it, charring and protecting the wood from decay. This rare find includes over 200 lightweight loom weights, suggesting the community was engaged in intensive production of delicate wool textiles.
Artist Judy Baca and the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) are facing allegations of financial misconduct from ten former employees. The whistleblowers claim that Baca improperly used a $5 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to fund her private business operations and personal commissions. Specific concerns include a significant salary increase for Baca following the grant award and the blurring of lines between the nonprofit's staff duties and Baca's private studio work.
Six national nonprofit organizations have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging the illegal censorship and removal of educational signage across U.S. national parks. The legal challenge, filed in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, targets the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service for stripping displays related to climate change, slavery, and the history of marginalized groups. The plaintiffs argue these actions violate federal mandates requiring parks to reflect diverse cultural backgrounds and current scientific research.
Import tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on October 14 are causing unintended harm to the international trade of antiques and decorative arts. The executive order, signed on September 29, placed 25 percent tariffs on wood imports and products like upholstered furniture and kitchen cabinets, with further increases scheduled for January 1, 2026. While painting, sculpture, and fine art are exempt under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, collectibles such as antique furniture, watches, wine, and classic cars are not protected. Dealers like Millicent Ford Creech and Michael Pashby report that the costs are unpredictable and largely absorbed by businesses, with shippers struggling to quote rates amid constant fluctuations.
A new study published in the journal Antiquity reveals that Egypt’s Karnak Temple was originally built on a small island, or “fluvial terrace,” surrounded by river channels. The research, led by Ben Pennington of the University of Southampton, is the first comprehensive geoarchaeological survey of the site, analyzing 61 sediment cores and thousands of ceramic fragments. It dates the earliest occupation of Karnak to around 2520 BCE, with ceramics from 2305–1980 BCE, and shows that ancient Egyptians geo-engineered the landscape by dumping desert sand into channels to create new building land.
The Paris Internationale art fair has announced the 34 galleries and nonprofits participating in its inaugural Milan edition, set for April 18-21 at the Palazzo Galbani. The event, known for its intimate, gallery-led model, will feature each participant showing only one or two artists.
One month after Hurricane Melissa devastated the Caribbean, causing an estimated $48bn-$52bn in damage and over 100 deaths, artists and art organizations are leading fundraising efforts. The National Gallery of Jamaica launched a donation drive through its western branch, while New York-based nonprofit Forgotten Lands, artist Ania Freer, the Lemon Seed Project, and the Prints for Jamaica initiative have raised thousands of dollars for relief, medical aid, and heritage preservation.
Belgian fashion designer Dries Van Noten and his partner, chef Patrick Vangheluwe, have acquired the historic 15th-century Palazzo Pisani Moretta on Venice’s Grand Canal to establish the Fondazione Dries Van Noten. The nonprofit foundation, set to open in April 2026 just before the 61st Venice Biennale, will host exhibitions, residencies, and events dedicated to the art of craftsmanship, blending traditional techniques with modern forms like AI and 3D printing. The 43,000-square-foot palazzo, known for its Carnival masquerade balls and film appearances, contains artworks by Tiepolo and was sold only to a buyer with a strong stewardship plan.
The article recounts the rediscovery and ongoing excavation of the ancient Sanxingdui civilization in Sichuan, China, beginning with a peasant's accidental find of jade relics in 1929. After decades of political disruption, large-scale digs resumed in the 1980s, uncovering over 50,000 artifacts—including distinctive bronze masks with gold foil—that offer the only clues to this Bronze Age city's culture, trade networks, and mysterious collapse around the 11th century B.C.E.
A new report by Museum Hue reveals that over a third of surveyed museums and cultural centers founded and led by people of color in the Northeastern United States operate without any full-time staff. The study, which examined 38 institutions, found that 67% of smaller-budget organizations (with budgets under $500,000) lack full-time employees, with some operating on less than $100,000 annually and relying heavily on volunteers.
Franco Bellucci's exhibition "Works (c. 2010–2018)" is on view at a. SQUIRE gallery in London. The show features his sculptures, which are composed of knotted, humble, and mass-produced materials like socks, bandages, cables, and plastic bags, reflecting a direct engagement with his immediate surroundings.