A plein air art contest is being held in Alton, Illinois, from May 1–31, 2026. Artists over 16 are invited to create works on-site at up to eight Rivers Project recreation areas. For a $25 submission fee, they can enter their work for prizes, and all submissions will be exhibited at the National Great Rivers Museum through August.
The third annual Affordable Art Fair Austin will take place from May 14 to 17 at the Palmer Events Center, featuring 28 Texas galleries and a total of 55 galleries from locations as far as Sydney, Australia. Artworks are priced between $100 and $12,000, and the fair includes live painting, an interactive mural, family programming, and a raffle benefiting Dell Children’s Medical Center. Over 30% of participating galleries are Austin-based, with local names such as Art From the Streets, Davis Gallery & Framing, and Wally Workman among them.
The 2026 Student Art Exhibition opened at 2Create Gallery in Ramona on May 1, featuring works by local high school students. Aspen Gribbon, a 15-year-old Ramona High sophomore, displayed two sculptures titled “Log” and “Tiger in Pond,” inspired by nature and her favorite animal. Other student artists included Sydney Culton, who showed ceramic pieces and plans to pursue ultrasound technology, Simon Fogarty with his surreal painting “Breaking Out,” and Mckenzie Beaty, who painted a shrimp in acrylics. The reception brought together aspiring, amateur, and professional artists.
The Bathurst Regional Art Gallery has launched "Acts of Inheritance," a major exhibition featuring 17 disabled artists from the Western Sydney collective We Are Studios. Curated by Jordan Valageorgiou, the show presents a diverse array of mediums—including music videos, installations, and interactive paper dolls—to explore themes of identity, wrestling culture, and the nuances of living with invisible illnesses.
Emporia State University seniors Sydney Hickman and Michael Kidwell debuted their collaborative Bachelor of Fine Arts senior exhibition, "All That Remains," at the Eppink Art Gallery. The show features a dialogue between Hickman’s quilt-inspired ceramics and mosaics, which explore domesticity and femininity, and Kidwell’s nature-oriented paintings and wood displays that reflect on his Kansas upbringing and identity.
Singaporean artist Suzann Victor has unveiled a major installation at Art Basel Hong Kong, showcasing her signature blend of large-scale spectacle and deep conceptual inquiry. The Sydney-based artist, recognized as a pioneer of contemporary art in Southeast Asia, utilizes her multidisciplinary practice to challenge viewers to confront the enduring psychological and cultural impacts of postcolonialism.
A new multi-use artist-run gallery called Revolve Gallery has opened in Redfern, Sydney. Founded by Daryl Lo, the space combines a coffee shop, art supply store, workshop, and studio hire with an exhibition area, aiming to provide a dynamic, experimental environment for young and emerging artists to develop and present their work.
Emilia Galatis Projects, a Perth-based gallery focusing on Western Australian First Nations artists, will present the first Melbourne solo exhibition by Corban Clause Williams at Melbourne Art Fair 2026, running February 19-22. The show will debut 15 new paintings and design works extending Williams' Manyjilyjarra Country and culture into sculptural and textile forms, accompanied by a Martu Wangka artist talk with Anya Judith Samson. Williams, born in 1994 and based in Parnngurr Community, has gained rapid acclaim for canvases weaving ancestral knowledge with contemporary visual language, and was named an inaugural Creative WA Fellowship recipient in late 2025.
Howard University third-year architecture students traveled to New York City to see their work displayed in an exhibition at Leroy Street Studio in Chinatown. The exhibit features sun shading devices for window frames, designed in an environmental systems class led by Assistant Professor Nea Maloo and Associate Professor Danny Sagan of Norwich University, integrating biophilic design principles. Students also participated in a sketching exercise led by architect Danai Metoyer and networked with professionals like Natalka Khodarchenko.
Sydney-based artist Vicki Lee is opening a new gallery at 16-18 Bayswater Road in Potts Point on September 20, following a previous space in Surry Hills. The 260-square-metre venue spans two levels and features a multi-sensory exhibition titled *Inner Peace, Dinner Please*, which includes a sound-healing listening space with yoga mats, a confessional booth with a shredder for discarding written sins, a light installation, and inhalers scented with frankincense. Lee’s husband, photographer Ted O’Donnell, also exhibits collaborative floral works, and DJ/producer Stu Turner will perform live sets on Saturdays.
A Nashville art exhibition at Gallery 64 in the Nashville Arcade is showcasing works by artists who are currently or have previously experienced homelessness. Organized by Daybreak Arts, the show features artists including Chris Bandy, Edwin Lockridge, and Sydney Sparkle, whose pieces explore how public greenspaces can represent exclusion for unhoused individuals. The exhibition runs through August 16.
Throughline Collective in Houston has announced the 15 artists selected for "Future Forward," a group exhibition featuring graduate and undergraduate art students from across Texas. Guest curated by Madi Murphy, Associate Curator of FotoFest, the show opens with a public reception on August 8, 2025, at Throughline Gallery and runs through August 30. Selected artists include students from universities in Denton, Houston, Lubbock, and San Antonio, working in painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, and textile-based art.
That Art Place, a local art school run by Andronika Christodoulou, officially opened its new studio and gallery space in Carlton, Sydney, on July 12 with an exhibition titled 'First Light.' The event showcased works by over 65 young artists from the St George area, ranging from children as young as six to adult learners, featuring paintings, charcoal sketches, and mixed media. Highlights included a People's Choice Award won by 14-year-old Celeste Damayanwong for her charcoal lion portrait 'Majesty,' with second and third places awarded to Zoe Sigrimis and Alessia Chiotis. The opening featured mocktails, canapés, live music by The Magnificals Orchestra, and a Monet-inspired cake, marking the school's expansion from a small Bexley studio after six years of operation.
The Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn, New York, is hosting a group exhibition titled 'Made in NY,' featuring works by artists from across the state who draw on personal experiences, including themes of identity, family history, and regional landscapes. The show includes a range of media such as painting, sculpture, and mixed media, highlighting the diverse creative voices emerging from New York State.
Taiyo to Ame no Melody (Melody of Sun and Rain) at PALAS
The group exhibition *Taiyo to Ame no Melody (Melody of Sun and Rain)* opened at PALAS in Sydney, featuring new and recent works by artists Maureen Gallace, Trevor Shimizu, and Kazuyuki Takezaki. Curated by the Tokyo-based gallery Misako & Rosen, the show presents a contemplative dialogue between the three artists' distinct approaches to landscape and domestic scenes, running from February 7 through March 28, 2026.
Lynden Christian High School held its second end-of-year art exhibition on May 6, showcasing work from roughly 160 students. The event in the student lounge featured live art demonstrations, student musical performances, short films from the filmmaking class, snacks, and an awards ceremony. Trophy winners were announced across categories including Outstanding Artist Awards for various levels, Outstanding Filmmaker Awards, Work Ethic Awards, Attitude Awards, and the LCHS Distinguished Artist Award, with Josie Hendricks winning both the Distinguished Artist Award and Best In Show for her piece "Valentine."
A student-led exhibition titled 'Unsung Artists' is being organized in New Paltz, New York, to provide a platform for young and emerging local artists who struggle to find opportunities to showcase their work. The show, a collaboration between SUNY New Paltz student Izzy Kerr and the Unframed Artists Gallery, aims to be inclusive of various artistic mediums and offers a professional, off-campus venue for artists who might not otherwise have a thesis show or gallery access.
A new art studio and exhibition space has opened in the Columbia neighborhood, offering local artists a place to create and display their work. The venue aims to foster community engagement through hands-on art-making and regular exhibitions, providing a creative hub for residents and visitors alike.
Seven senior artists from Moapa Valley High School presented their work in 'Seven Visions: Advanced Studies in Art,' an exhibition held in the school library on April 22. Led by art instructor Donna Swanson, the showcase featured drawing and ceramics by students Taylee Bunch, Mattingly Bradford, Emme Bowler, Erick Alfaro-Gonzalez, Jesse Evans, Sydney Dorsey, and Mitchell Stoker, each exploring personal themes developed over four years in the invitation-only program.
Sydney-based contemporary art gallery Chalk Horse has announced the opening of a new exhibition space in Bangkok, Thailand. This expansion marks a significant move for the gallery as it seeks to establish a permanent physical presence in the Southeast Asian art hub, building on its history of representing Australian and international contemporary artists.
Emerging multidisciplinary artist Isabella Kennedy has unveiled her installation 'Ballast' at Firstdraft in Sydney, a site-specific work that blends paper sculpture, video projection, and sound. The exhibition draws on the unfinished research of her late father, journalist Les Kennedy, regarding the 1941 disappearance of the HMAS Sydney II. Through delicate stitched paper forms and immersive blue light, Kennedy explores themes of familial grief, maritime history, and the meditative acts of remembrance that bridge personal and national narratives.
Australia's biggest annual art sales weekend, centered on the Sydney Contemporary fair held September 11 and 14, 2025, attracted a record 26,440 ticket buyers across its 12 editions. However, total booth sales fell for the third consecutive year to $16 million, down from a peak of $23 million in 2022. Gallerists report that market activity has shifted from works over $100,000 to those around the $50,000 mark, indicating a cooling in the high end of the market.
Sydney Contemporary, Australia's largest art fair, saw record attendance and stronger sales in its 2025 edition, recovering from a dip the previous year. The fair, now 12 years old, may surpass its 2022 record of $23 million in sales, though final figures won't be known until mid-week.
Sydney art dealer Justin Miller is offering a crayon drawing of a sailing boat by a nine-year-old King Charles III at the Sydney Contemporary art fair at Carriageworks, with a price tag of $48,000. The artwork, created by the future monarch during his childhood, is being presented as a rare collectible tied to royal history.
The 2025 Communication Arts Student Art Exhibition is on display through June 6 at the Schulman Gallery on the campus of Luzerne County Community College (LCCC). The opening night on May 9 drew a large crowd to celebrate student talent, highlighted by the President’s Choice Awards presented by LCCC President John Yudichak and Schulman Gallery Curator Robert Husty. Awards were given in categories including Mixed Media, Sculpture/3-Dimensional Art, Illustration, Photography, Painting, Music Recording Technology, Best Portfolio, and Best of Show, with winners such as Karla Richiez, Jenna Tutorow, Antonio Solis Jr., Amber Jones, Sydney Ogle, Evan Wenner, and Ashley Duran. The awards were sponsored by Marquis Art & Frame.