Urban Art Biennale: Rust, dust and decay revamps Germany's Völklingen ironworks

Dozens of urban artists from 17 countries have gathered at Germany's Völklinger Hütte (Völklingen Ironworks), a UNESCO World Heritage site, for the Urban Art Biennale 2026 opening this Saturday. The exhibition features 50 artists including Tomas Lacque, Boris Tellegen (Delta), Vortex-X, Ampparito, Remi Rough, and Anders Reventlov, who have created site-specific installations that engage with the industrial landmark's sprawling spaces, rust, dust, and sense of decay. Works range from a van covered in ash-like paint to a massive wooden sculpture and a rooftop text piece visible from 45 meters high.

CAM Perennial Artists Selected for 2026 Exhibition in San Antonio

Contemporary Art Month (CAM) has announced the eight artists selected for its flagship CAM Perennial exhibition in March 2026. The artists are Eva Gabriella Flynn (Las Cruces, NM), Brenda Melgoza Ciardiello (Fort Worth), Tina Linville (Waco), Adrienne Simmons (Houston), Jesselyn Gordon and Daniela Oliver de Portillo (San Antonio), and Yuliya Lanina and Matt Rebholz (Austin). In celebration of its 40th anniversary, CAM invited past Perennial curators to nominate artists from their regions. CAM board members Casie Lomeli and Leslie Moody Castro selected the finalists and will co-curate the exhibition across five San Antonio venues: Casa Pink, Outrider Gallery, Rojo Gallery, Sala Diaz, and Un Grito Gallery.

Florida’s Indigenous Artists Take Center Stage at Miami Art Week

Two Florida museums, HistoryMiami Museum and the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, have organized an exhibition titled "Yakne Seminoli" ("Seminole World") for Miami Art Week, featuring works by over 25 Seminole artists. The show spans traditional crafts like beadwork and basketry alongside contemporary media including painting, photography, and AI-generated art, aiming to highlight Seminole creativity and resilience. It includes pieces by the late Jimmy Osceola, Gordon O. Wareham, and Hali Garcia, among others.

Fibre Arts Australia touring exhibit highlights 39 artists

Fibre Arts Australia's third International Art Textile Biennale is now touring Australia, featuring 39 textile artists from 10 countries. The exhibition will visit nine galleries across the country through September 2026. At its debut at East Gippsland Art Gallery, three Australian artists received biennale awards: Sue Coppock won the Major Award (AU$2,000) for her embroidered fencing mask 'Are You Wearing a Mask Right Now?', Claudia Mazzotta won the Australian Excellence Award for 'Untouched Terrains', and Nicola Oliver won the Glenys Mann Award for 'Shadows Where Life Once Was'.

‘In Minor Keys’: discover the themes that define the 61st Venice Biennale exhibition

The 61st Venice Biennale's main exhibition, 'In Minor Keys', curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, has opened after her sudden passing in 2025. Kouoh had fully planned the exhibition before her death, and a team of seven realized her vision. The show features 110 artists, including Wangechi Mutu, Nick Cave, Alfredo Jaar, and emerging talents like Ranti Bam. It opens with a poem by Refaat Alareer and an installation by Khaled Sabsabi, setting a contemplative tone amid themes of mourning, grief, and healing. The exhibition also highlights minority perspectives, including Caribbean and Central American artists, and confronts colonial histories through works like Florence Lazar's film on a hurricane-exposed necropolis.

Guntersville Museum Welcomes ARTS Works

The Guntersville Museum hosted a recognition ceremony for the 18th annual ARTS Works All-County Student Art Exhibit, organized by the nonprofit Artists Responding to Students (ARTS). The exhibit featured around 100 artworks from K-12 students across Marshall County, including Boaz, Grant, Guntersville, and Albertville. For the second year, the show included special needs artists, with the Kamryn HeART Award presented in memory of a young artist. Additionally, the Lakeview Community Civic Organization displayed posters from its Black History Month contest. Winners were announced across multiple grade categories, judged by two National Board Certified Teachers from Decatur.

Venice Biennale Names 111 Artists for International Exhibition

The Venice Biennale has officially announced the 111 artists, duos, and collectives selected for the 61st International Art Exhibition, titled "In Minor Keys." The exhibition follows the vision of the late Cameroonian curator Koyo Kouoh, who passed away in May 2024 after conceptualizing the show and selecting the majority of its participants. The roster features a diverse global lineup including Wangechi Mutu, Kader Attia, Khaled Sabsabi, and Laurie Anderson, with a curatorial focus on quiet resistance, poetic improvisation, and the "lower frequencies" of social and psychic life.

Oliver Jeffers: Artist's first Belfast exhibition in more than 20 years

Artist and author Oliver Jeffers is holding his first exhibition in his hometown of Belfast in over 20 years. The show, titled "Disasters and Interventions," is on view at the Naughton Gallery at Queen's University and features a series of works where Jeffers inserts calamitous scenes—such as an oil tanker spill or an airship crash—into tranquil vintage landscapes, transforming calm into catastrophe. The project began when he found a discarded print in New York's Chinatown and began painting into it, eventually building a collection over 14 years that balances tragedy with a wry, thoughtful humor.

Inside Overtown’s 'Everyday People,' the Soul Basel exhibit celebrating Black art and community

The 'Everyday People' exhibition, part of Miami's Soul Basel celebration, has opened in Overtown across three venues: the City of Miami Black Police Precinct Courthouse and Museum, the Overtown Performing Arts Center, and The OVRTWN Corner. Featuring over 80 artworks by Black artists from around the world, the exhibit is curated by Terrance Cribbs-Lorrant, executive director of the Black Police Precinct Museum, and Elijah Rashaed, a curator from the Dayton, Ohio NAACP. The show includes historic works from the Miami Black Art Workshop, a pioneering 1970s collective that helped ignite South Florida's Black visual arts movement, and will run through March 2026.

The Big Review | 36th Bienal de São Paulo ★★★★

The 36th Bienal de São Paulo has opened with a site-specific installation by Nigerian-American artist Precious Okoyomon, titled "Sun of Consciousness. God Blow Thru Me – Love Break Me" (2025), which features a spiraling path of moss-covered earth and waterfalls evoking Brazil's deforested Cerrado region. The biennial, curated by Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung with an international team, includes 125 artists—97 international and 28 Brazilian—with more than half of the works commissioned for the exhibition. Notable presentations include a career-spanning display of over 20 paintings by British artist Frank Bowling, alongside works by Brazilian artist Gervane de Paula, who has the largest presence in the show.

UL’s Hilliard Art Museum showcases permanent collection

The Hilliard Art Museum at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette is showcasing its permanent collection for the first time in over a decade through the exhibition "Tides, Times and Terrain: Floyd Sonnier and the Evolving Cultural Landscape." The show features more than 41 artists from southwest Louisiana, including the prominently displayed 1844 painting "Woman In Tignon," which was once misidentified as Marie Laveau. Executive Director Molly Rowe and Curator-at-Large Aaron Levi Garvey are rotating pieces from the museum's 2,000-work collection throughout its 11,000 square feet of gallery space, emphasizing the importance of placing historical works in contemporary context.

Failed auction of $70M bronze bust stuns Sotheby’s bidders into silence

Sotheby's high-stakes Modern evening sale on Tuesday night ended in shock when Alberto Giacometti's bronze bust "Grand tête mince (Grand tête de Diego)," estimated at $70 million, failed to sell. Bidding stalled at $64.25 million, well below the reserve, and auctioneer Oliver Barker withdrew the lot. The consignment came from the Soloviev Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the late real estate mogul Sheldon Solow, who had declined an auction guarantee. The sale ultimately brought in only $152 million, far short of the $240 million low estimate, with the Giacometti representing nearly 30% of that target.

What Category Was the Most Lucrative at Auction in 2024?

The Artnet Intelligence Report's analysis of 2024 auction data reveals that Postwar and Contemporary art remained the most lucrative market category for the second consecutive year, generating nearly $4 billion. However, this represented a 20.5% decline from 2023, and every major category saw a drop in total sales. Ultra-contemporary art suffered the steepest decline at 37.9% year-over-year, as collectors avoided riskier newer artists amid economic uncertainty. Impressionist and Modern sales fell 19.3% to $3.6 billion, with only one top-five lot—Claude Monet's *Nymphéas* (1914) at $65.5 million—coming from that category. Old Masters shrank 27.8%, with growth only in the under-$10,000 bracket.

Photographer Walter Pfeiffer: ‘Everyone else my age is already in an asylum’

Swiss photographer and artist Walter Pfeiffer, now in his late 70s, is the subject of a profile in which he discusses his daily life, his love for Marlene Dietrich, his disdain for rude people, and his habit of wearing the same clothes every day. The article offers an intimate glimpse into his personality and creative philosophy.

Alliance for the Arts to open All Florida Exhibition, new gallery showcases in March

The Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers will open its 40th Annual All Florida Exhibition on March 6, running through March 28. The juried show features 43 works by 39 artists selected from over 450 submissions, representing a wide range of styles and media from across the state. Concurrently, the venue will host 'Selected Works by Ralph Bigletti' in the Theater Gallery and 'Marilyn Hedlund’s Fine Art Acrylics Students’ Showcase' in the Member Gallery, with a free public opening reception on March 6.

Raheleh Filsoofi’s Deep Listening and Raheleh Filsoofi and Reza Filsoofi’s Listening: The Fourth String at the Ismaili Center, Houston, TX

Raheleh Filsoofi and Reza Filsoofi presented a collaborative sound performance titled *Listening: The Fourth String* at the Ismaili Center in Houston on April 11, 2026, alongside a participatory installation of the *ShahTár* (شهتار), a large Persian rug fitted with two four-string instruments. The performance featured Houston musicians Will Adams, Tom Carter, Parham Daighighi, Laura Dykes, Ruthie Langston, Gabriel Martinez, and Firuz Shukrikhudoev, blending improvisational music, poetry, and vocals. Audience members were invited to touch their own bodies and eventually join the stage, fostering an immersive, embodied experience.

Harris County Juried Exhibition

State Secretary Dismissed in Dispute Over Funding

Staatssekretär im Streit um Fördermittel entlassen

Berlin's culture administration has dismissed State Secretary Oliver Friederici, who was responsible for distributing funds for projects combating antisemitism. The move follows a prolonged controversy over the allocation of millions of euros in grants, with allegations of unclear criteria and potential political influence from the CDU party.

Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley Expands THE DELUSION Beyond the Gallery with New Interactive Online Game

Serpentine has launched "I DIDNT REALISE YOU THOUGHT LIKE THAT," a new online game and critical thinking tool by artist and game designer Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley. Available from May 21, 2026, on web and mobile platforms, the project extends the world of Brathwaite-Shirley's acclaimed "THE DELUSION" and explores polarization, identity, and social connection beyond the gallery. Developed with nonprofit Beyond Code Collective and supported by Glass Castle Foundation, the game places players in a post-apocalyptic universe where they encounter fictional characters and make decisions that shape narratives and determine multiple endings, drawing on real-world materials from news cycles, social media, and community testimonies.

Proof of life — Curator’s Choice celebrates Nelson Mandela Bay’s creative pulse

The Curator’s Choice exhibition at Art on Target in Nelson Mandela Bay showcases 10 selected artists, ranging from emerging talents to established practitioners, including an octogenarian and recent graduates. The show, now in its third year, is an offshoot of the annual Same Size-Same Price-No Signature exhibition and was curated by Art on Target director Bretten-Anne Moolman. Artists were chosen by a diverse panel of over 20 local professionals, educators, and art lovers, and were given eight months to prepare new works for the exhibition, which opened on 13 May.

Cumberland Valley Artists Exhibition Closes Following Strong Community Participation

The Cumberland Valley Artists Exhibition at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts has concluded after an extended run from November 8, 2025 to April 26, 2026. The exhibition invited artists to respond to four themes tied to America's semiquincentennial: Unfinished Revolutions, Power of Place, Tell Everyone's Story, and American Experiment. Eighty-five artists submitted 198 works, with 62 selected for display. Over 13,500 visitors attended, and more than 3,000 participated in the popular vote. The first-place winner was James Roberts for his work "Fabric," a mixed-media piece critiquing gun violence.

New exhibit shows how Hermès designer inspires Waco art

A new exhibition titled "From Hermès to Home" at the Waco Welcome Center showcases the work of internationally acclaimed artist Kermit Oliver alongside local artists Cade Kegerreis and Vincent Thomas, who were mentored by Oliver. Oliver is the only American artist to have designed scarves for Hermès, and the show features his iconic scarf designs alongside paintings and self-portraits by all three artists, marking the first time their work has been exhibited together. The exhibition coincides with a limited-edition re-release of Oliver's scarf design "Faune et Flore du Texas" and the upcoming publication of a book about him by Texas A&M University Press.

Art Center Sarasota's 'Rooted in Community' headlines 28 exhibitions at local art centers in March

Art Center Sarasota is launching a major suite of exhibitions this March, headlined by 'Rooted in Community,' a group show celebrating the artistic contributions of Sarasota’s historically Black neighborhoods, Newtown and Overtown. The center will also host solo presentations by Herion Park, whose fiber sculptures explore familial grief and resilience, and Kendra Frorup, a Fulbright Scholar whose work investigates cultural memory and the concept of home.

Maxwell’s Southport Gates painting named overall winner of National Day art exhibition

Thomas Oliver Maxwell won the Ministry of Culture Award and the overall prize of £1,500 in Gibraltar's 'Our Gibraltar' art competition for his painting of Southport Gates. The annual National Day Art Exhibition, featuring 64 entries from 42 local artists across painting, sculpture, and photography categories, opened at the Fine Arts Gallery in Casemates with Deputy Mayor Nicky Guerrero and Governor Lieutenant General Sir Ben Bathurst in attendance. Nataly Zelak-Victor won first prize in painting for 'Parson’s Lodge Battery,' while Prem Mahtani took first prize in photography for a photograph of Parson’s Lodge. Judges Douglas Morello, Gabriella Martinez, and Stefano Blanca Sciacaluga evaluated the works, noting the variety of media and locally themed subjects.

alt_ Chicago - A new arts hub for Austin

Alt Space Chicago (alt_ Chicago), an artist-led nonprofit, celebrated the grand opening of its new arts hub in the historic Austin Bank building at 5645 W. Corcoran Pl. on Chicago's West Side. Over 500 people attended the event, which featured an open house, art exhibition, sustainability panel, artist market, and Sunday worship. The space will house mixed-use areas for events, exhibitions, retail, teaching, workshops, and a cafe. The building was purchased with grant money and nonprofit funds. The House Collective, a group of five nonprofits and 10 artists-in-residence, will share resources to offer classes, workshops, and exhibitions, with 10% of its income going back into the community to support elders and single-parent households.

‘Layers of Us’ show examines culture through art

Mothership Studios is hosting the opening reception and a brunch for the "Layers of Us" exhibition, featuring nine artists from Texas State University. The show explores the concept of culture through individual representation and community, using diverse media like video, painting, photography, and sculpture.

‘Layers of Us’ show examines culture through art

Mothership Studios is hosting 'Layers of Us,' an art exhibition featuring nine artists from Texas State University: Mia Acosta, Maleah Bradford, Adrianna Garcia, Danny Ibarra Jr., Karli Jackson, Lucas Kraft, Elizabeth Olivera, Lori Rodriguez, and Hannah South. The show opens with a reception on April 30 from 7-10 p.m., followed by a brunch reception on May 1 from 9-11 a.m. The artists explore the theme of 'culture' through video, painting, photography, sculpture, and multimedia, encouraging viewers to reflect on their own perceptions and the communities around them.

Studio art capstone exhibition running through May 8

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s School of Art, Art History and Design is presenting the Spring 2026 Studio Art Capstone Exhibition, featuring work from 21 graduating studio art and graphic design students. The exhibition runs through May 8 in the Eisentrager-Howard Gallery, with a closing reception on May 8 from 5-7 p.m. Students such as Anna Dirrim, Braylon Schroeder, Hannah Nigh, and Coralea Montague are showcasing pieces in mediums including painting, drawing, ceramics, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and interdisciplinary art.

Youth Art Exhibition award winners announced

The 33rd Annual Creative Youth Art League exhibition opened at the LaGrange Art Museum on April 26, 2026, with award winners announced for student-created artworks. Jackson Rakestraw, a 9th grader from Heard County High, won the Morrill Hutchinson Award for Best of Show, while Taylor Norred, an 11th grader from Troup High, received the Wates Keller Award for Best of Show in Troup County. The exhibition features over 384 students from 30 schools and homeschool groups across four Georgia counties, with categories spanning drawing, painting, mixed media, sculpture, ceramics, and photography.

‘It’s Amazing!’: Regional artists shine at Westman Juried Art Show

The 47th Westman Juried Art Show was held at the Killarney United Church CE Center in Manitoba, featuring 120 flat art pieces by non-professional local artists. The event, organized by the Killarney-Turtle Mountain Arts Council (KTMAC) in partnership with the Arts West Council, included juried critiques from Leona Brown and Lucie Lederhendler, who selected 20 pieces for a travelling gallery across 19 communities and 10 pieces to compete in the Northern and Regional Manitoba Art Show in Winnipeg.