"Dispossessions in the Americas" Confronts the Colonialism That Invades All Territory

The article reviews "Dispossessions in the Americas," a group exhibition at Wrightwood 659 in Chicago curated by Jonathan D. Katz and Eduardo Carrera. Featuring works from 1960 to 2025, the show examines colonial legacies in the Americas, focusing on the forced dispossession of land, culture, and language from indigenous, Afro-descendant, queer, and trans communities. The review critically questions how a polished, architecturally prestigious venue can coherently display art about socially voiceless communities without falling into voyeurism or fetishization of pain.

Artist's calming painting session during hurricane prep prompts art exhibition

A Florida artist, while preparing for an approaching hurricane, decided to paint a calming scene of a sailboat on a peaceful bay as a form of stress relief. This spontaneous act, captured in a video that went viral, has now led to a full-fledged solo exhibition of her work at a local gallery.

JFK's Last Lover Was a Painter. The Story of Mary Pinchot Meyer

L’ultima amante di JFK era una pittrice. La storia di Mary Pinchot Meyer

Mary Pinchot Meyer, an American abstract painter active in the 1960s, is being rediscovered for her artistic contributions, which have long been overshadowed by her personal life. She was the last lover of President John F. Kennedy and was murdered under mysterious circumstances in 1964, a year after his assassination. Her killer was acquitted, leaving the case unsolved.

Studio Sessions: Raili Jänese

Artist Raili Jänese, an Estonian-born painter now based in Kirkland, Washington, creates colorful acrylic works that capture everyday human and animal behaviors with humor and tenderness. Her practice, which began after a corporate career, focuses on observation of mundane moments—people eating, drinking coffee, riding transit, and animals in urban settings. Her upcoming solo exhibition, "E.L.U," will be on view at Ryan James Fine Arts from May 1–31, 2025, with a Gallery Night on May 22. Jänese has shown work regionally at venues including Happy Time Studio Gallery, Oxbow Montlake, and the Seattle Art Fair, and has completed public art projects in Bellevue, Kent, Kirkland, and Seattle.

BOX 13 ArtSpace in Houston Announces Open Call for Exhibition Proposals

BOX 13 ArtSpace, an artist-run studio and gallery venue in Houston’s East End neighborhood, has announced an open call for exhibition proposals for its 2026 season. The call invites self-directed artists to submit proposals for four gallery spaces within the building: the Front Gallery, Back Gallery, Window BOX Gallery, and Upstairs Gallery. Applicants must be prepared to install their own work or arrange for local assistance, as the space has no staff or budget for shipping, travel, or equipment. The deadline for proposals is September 30, 2025, with notifications by October 28, 2025. Virtual and in-person information sessions are scheduled for September 17 and 20, respectively.

At a height of over 120 meters, the ruins of the former NSA listening station are home to around 2,400 m² of street art – Europe’s largest open-air gallery with over 400 works

An unfinished mountain in Berlin's Grunewald forest, built from the rubble of 400,000 buildings and once used as a Cold War listening station by the US NSA, has been transformed into Europe's largest open-air street art gallery. Since opening to the public in 2011, Teufelsberg now hosts over 400 works across 2,400 square meters, featuring artists such as El Bocho, Nina Valkhoff, Hera, and Dan Kitchener. The site operates as a curated exhibition space with admission fees, guided tours, and regular new commissions, and has been a listed building since November 2018.

The Exhibition Before The Exhibition: Art In The Making

Puke Ariki museum in New Plymouth, New Zealand, is hosting TUKU: Open Studio | Emerging Māori Artists, a collaborative project where senior artist Wharehoka Smith mentors early-career artists Jodie Tipa and Dwayne Duthie in creating eight manaia (spiritual guardian figures) in a public studio setting. Running from today through 12 July, the open studio prepares the museum's Temporary Gallery for the upcoming Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award exhibition, which opens on 25 July and features 40 tūpuna portraits. Visitors can watch the artists at work, engage with their creative process, and participate in free public events including workshops and talks.

Unesco grants enhanced protection to 39 Lebanese heritage sites as war escalates

UNESCO has granted enhanced protection to 39 cultural heritage sites in Lebanon during an extraordinary session of its Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property. This designation, which prohibits targeting or military use of the sites, also unlocks over $100,000 in emergency funding for on-the-ground operations. The protected sites include the ancient Bekka Temple, the Lebanese National Library, and Barsbay Tower.

Manitowoc Rahr-West offers monthly summer gallery tours with experts

The Rahr-West Art Museum in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, is offering free, monthly drop-in gallery tours throughout summer 2026, led by museum staff and guest experts. Tours include sessions on the art of David Roberts, recent acquisitions, salon-style installations, and a local artists exhibition, with no registration required. Additionally, docent-led tours of the historic Vilas-Rahr Mansion will be available on Thursdays from June through September.

New Loveland gallery celebrates motherhood with inaugural show

Sparrow Art Center, an art education company, has opened a new gallery and teaching facility in Loveland, Colorado, and is hosting its inaugural art show with a Mother's Day theme. The exhibition features work from over a dozen artists, including owner Cody Winiecki, who contributed a painting of a horse and foal. The show includes a free public reception on Saturday evening, as well as painting sessions for mothers and children. All proceeds from sales go directly to the artists, and the show will run until early June.

Local Notes: Art Exhibition, Line Dancing Classes, Set Dancing Classes

The group exhibition ‘Bándearg’ (Pink) is set to open at Books At One in Louisburgh, County Mayo, featuring the work of five female artists based in Ireland. The show explores the color pink as both a physical medium and a complex cultural symbol, showcasing a diverse range of artistic approaches including the bold, hard-edge op art of Elphin-based artist Nickie Harrington.

TV art show finalist opens new solo exhibition at Christchurch venue

Dorset-based artist Tom Winter, a finalist on Sky Arts’ Landscape Artist of the Year, has launched a solo exhibition titled "Lightscapes" at the Coda Music and Arts Trust in Christchurch. The showcase features works spanning several years, including pieces created during his time on the television competition, all centered on the transformative power of light on everyday subjects.

Skin deep: Museum exhibit showcases body art

The Chippewa Valley Museum in Eau Claire is concluding its run of “Tattoo: Identity Through Ink,” a traveling exhibition exploring the historical and cultural evolution of body art. To bring the history to life, the museum hosted live tattooing sessions where local artists, including Ed Erdmann of Wintership Tattoo, demonstrated their craft. In a notable moment of institutional engagement, the museum’s executive director, Carrie Ronnander, received her first-ever tattoo during the event to highlight the personal significance of the medium.

Let’s Talk: Oles curate art exhibition for conversation

St. Olaf College students have curated the exhibition 'Let's Talk: Collection Conversations' at the Flaten Art Museum, featuring over a dozen works from the museum's collection. The show, open from February 13 to April 12, is the result of a two-semester, student-led curatorial model where a fall class selected the artworks and a spring class will activate the gallery with dialogue sessions to gather community feedback.

Gamers to perform live alongside musicians about technology in Ilford

Spanish artist Robert Cervera presents 'Hiddenware,' an exhibition at SPACE Ilford on January 31 that blends gaming, sound, and visual art. Three local gamers will perform live video game sessions accompanied by musicians playing a custom instrument made from PC liquid cooling tubes, creating real-time soundtracks based on the gameplay. The event runs from 4pm to 7pm, with a live stream on Twitch, and the exhibition remains open until April.

Robert Smith & José Bayro C.’s “Parallel Origins” Exhibition to Open at Barton Art Galleries

Barton Art Galleries in Wilson, North Carolina, will open "Parallel Origins: From Distant Roots to Shared Worlds" on February 5, 2026, featuring works by Robert Smith and José Bayro C. The exhibition runs through March 13 and pairs two artists who share a studio in Puebla, Mexico, but present distinct bodies of work exploring memory, material, and personal history. It marks Barton College's first dual-artist residency, during which Smith and Bayro will collaborate with students in the "Studio Concepts" course, lead community workshops, and engage in open studio sessions and interdisciplinary conversations.

Check out a multi-sensory experience at Hong Kong’s first large-scale art dome

Hong Kong's first large-scale art dome, FutureScope, has opened at Kai Tak Sports Park, running from December 19, 2025 to January 4, 2026. The dome features 'Perpetual Records', an immersive exhibition co-created by local media art studio XCEPT and Japanese artist Daito Manabe. Visitors can interact with 360-degree projections using facial recognition technology that translates their expressions into geometric patterns and alters an adaptive soundscape. Ticketed performances from January 2 to 4 offer deeper engagement with the artwork through live audio-visual sessions guided by XCEPT's artistic director Chris Cheung (h0nh1m).

Jodhpur turns into an open air art gallery this week

Jodhpur Arts Week, inaugurated on 1 October 2025, transforms the historic city of Jodhpur into an open-air art gallery for the first time. Founded by Sana Rezwan and curated by the Public Arts Trust of India (PATI), the week-long festival features exhibitions, installations, panel discussions, and workshops across iconic sites such as Toorji Ka Jhalra, Ghanta Ghar, Mandore Gardens, and heritage hotels like Daspan House and Khaas Bagh. Highlights include a video projection by Raqs Media Collective, a neon installation by Chila Kumari Singh Burman, and works by artists Gaspard Combes, Richa Arya, Jenjum Gadi, Awdhesh Tamrakar, and others, blending contemporary art with Rajasthan's traditional crafts.

Rhea Anastas

Rhea Anastas, an art historian, critic, and curator, publishes a critical essay challenging the dominance of market-driven values in contemporary visual art. She argues that the art world's focus on auction prices, luxury investment, and professional categorization has obscured the true purpose of artistic practice, which she sees as rooted in experimental culture, Black culture, performance, and film. Anastas condemns the past two decades as marked by dishonesty, particularly regarding how art history and criticism have been built on white-on-Black dispossession and violence. She calls for an end to the commodification of artists' lives and works, advocating instead for attention to non-visible practices, critique, and embodiment.

Newly opened Photography Museum of Seoul plans to become a ‘cultural anchor’ for the region

The Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) has opened the Photography Museum of Seoul (Photo-SeMA) in Dobong-gu district, marking South Korea's first public museum dedicated to photography. Spanning 7,048 square meters, the new venue draws from SeMA's collection of over 20,000 photographs and archival materials from the 1920s to the 1990s. It launches with two exhibitions themed around 'light obsession'—'Storage Story,' featuring commissioned works by six contemporary artists, and 'The Radiance: Beginnings of Korean Art Photography,' showcasing five pioneering Korean art photographers. The museum will eventually become part of an eight-branch network run by SeMA.

‘Exhausted’ life models at Florence art academy threaten nude protest

Life models at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze (Florence Academy of Fine Arts) are threatening legal action and a nude protest in the academy's courtyard over poor working conditions. They describe their work as “exhausting,” involving eight-hour sessions with minimal breaks, and say their renewable annual contracts—offering 500 hours over 11 months—lack insurance, paid leave, sick days, or a digital timecard. The dispute centers on Italy’s ministry of universities and research rules introduced last year, which the academy interprets as excluding models hired more than three years ago under simplified procedures from permanent contracts. Union president Giancarlo Iacomini has met with academy director Gaia Bindi to seek a resolution, while the academy says it will publish a new public recruitment notice that counts previous contracts as qualifications.

Why Is Everyone Obsessed With Bogs?

The New York Times Art section published an explainer titled "Why Is Everyone Obsessed With Bogs?" examining the cultural fascination with wetlands, particularly bogs, across fashion and art. The article explores how bogs have become a recurring motif in contemporary visual culture, from runway collections to gallery installations, reflecting a broader societal interest in these unique ecosystems.

‘Jimmy & the Demons’ Review

A new documentary film by Cindy Meehl, titled 'Jimmy & the Demons,' profiles the life and work of artist James Grashow. The film explores his whimsical yet profound sculptural practice and delves into the dynamics of his long-lasting marriage, offering an intimate portrait of the artist's personal and creative world.

The Age-Old Obsession With Living Forever

A new exhibition in London explores the human desire for immortality, using contemporary biohacking figures like Bryan Johnson as a starting point to examine the cultural and philosophical implications of extreme life extension.

Exhibition and meet-the-artist session: Nuit Blanche 2026 at the Polish Institute in Paris

The Polish Institute in Paris is participating in the 25th edition of Nuit Blanche on June 6-7, 2026, with a program featuring photographer and war correspondent Agata Grzybowska, who will give an artist talk titled "Everyone deserves their own story," followed by a guided tour of an exhibition by Anglo-Polish photojournalist Chris Niedenthal. The event runs from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., offering free access to the public as part of the citywide contemporary art festival.

Art of the Vineyard Tasting Gallery Opens in Downtown Paso Robles

Art of the Vineyard Tasting Gallery has opened in downtown Paso Robles, California, at 840 13th Street. The 1,500-square-foot venue combines estate wine tasting from Carmody McKnight Wines with curated fine art exhibitions, live music, open mic nights, and hands-on creative activities like sip-and-paint sessions and artist-led workshops. The gallery features works by local, national, and international artists, including original pieces by Gary Conway, and offers a Collectors Club with wine shipments and limited-edition prints.

29th Art Film Festival @ Aichi Arts Center 12th Floor Art Space A

第29回アートフィルム・フェスティバル @ 愛知芸術文化センター12階アートスペースA

The 29th Art Film Festival will take place on June 15, 2025, at the Aichi Arts Center's Art Space A in Nagoya, Japan. Organized by the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, the festival features a special screening program centered on the film collective Kūzoku. Highlights include the premiere of Katsuya Tomita's 'Senkō Issenri ILHA FORMOSA' (2025), the 33rd original video work commissioned by the Aichi Arts Center, alongside earlier works by Tomita and Toranosuke Aizawa, such as 'The Daughter of Chiang Rai' (2012) and 'Flower Tale Babylon' (1997). The event also includes a talk session with Tomita and Aizawa after the screenings.

The Rothschilds and Sèvres Porcelain: A Collector's Passion at the Heart of an Exhibition in Paris

Les Rothschild et la porcelaine de Sèvres : une passion de collectionneurs au cœur d’une exposition à Paris

An exhibition at the Galerie des Gobelins du Mobilier national in Paris explores the Rothschild family's centuries-long passion for Sèvres porcelain. Titled "Sèvres, une passion Rothschild. De la Villa Ephrussi à Paris," it traces how the banking dynasty collected, traded, and bequeathed these delicate objects from the Ancien Régime, with a centerpiece table setting featuring pieces lent by family members from Vienna, England, and beyond. The show also highlights Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild, who amassed thousands of pieces and left them to the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, and includes a section on the Nazi looting of Rothschild collections in 1940, during which 22 Sèvres pieces were acquired by the Musée de Sèvres.

MAFOLOFOLO: Sonic Cartographies of Return

The South African artist collective MADEYOULOOK has unveiled 'Mafolofolo' at Hangar – Centro de Investigação Artística in Lisbon. Curated by Margarida Mendes, the installation utilizes sound, oral histories, and liberation songs to map the complex relationships between land, memory, and dispossession in northern South Africa. The work, which originally debuted at documenta fifteen, has been reconfigured for this specific research-driven setting to explore themes of extraction and survival.

See what's new for the Shelburne Museum's free community day

Shelburne Museum will host a free community day on May 9, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., celebrating its 2026 season. The event features three new exhibitions: "Varied and Alive - New and Rarely Seen Treasures from the Collection" (19th to mid-20th century folk art, circus posters, textiles, and more), "On Point - Needlework from the Garthwaite Family Collection" (Vermont schoolgirl needlework and women's education), and "Big River - Ogden Pleissner in Wyoming" (sketches and paintings of the American West). Activities include curator-led tours, artmaking sessions, live music by Marie Hamilton, Owen Leavey, and Deja Nous, a seed swap, and garden talks. The day is organized in collaboration with the Vermont Community Foundation.