The Art Institute of Chicago is hosting a gallery conversation titled "Life and Death Lessons from Ancient Egypt" on July 20, exploring ancient Egyptian objects and their reflections on mortality and living fully. The event is led by Ashley Arico, associate curator of ancient Egyptian art, and Sam Ramos, director of Gallery Activation, and will take place in Gallery 50 with folding stools provided.
The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA) announced a lecture by linguist Dr. Salikoko S. Mufwene, exploring the evolution of language and symbols, alongside an exhibition of Gelsy Verna's artwork "Mother, Father, Please Help Me" (May 7–September 27, 2026). Verna, a Haitian-born Canadian artist and former University of Wisconsin–Madison professor, created the piece as a palimpsest over several years in collaboration with David Dunlap; the reverse side has been reproduced for display. MMoCA has added the work to its permanent collection.
DePaul University senior Christa Baclia-an has created a micro-art gallery inside a rented commuter locker (No. 121) in the Schmitt Academic Center, called “Locker Room.” The project rotates exhibitions every two weeks and is open to students and passersby. It was launched in response to the planned closure of the DePaul Art Museum (DPAM) due to budget cuts, and features work from both DePaul students and international artists, such as London-based Lee Tzur. The initiative is part of a growing DIY art scene on campus, with students curating shows and fostering community engagement in unconventional spaces.
UC Santa Cruz Humanities and the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH) have deepened their decade-long partnership, marked by the MAH's 30th anniversary in April 2025. The collaboration includes co-sponsored exhibitions like "This is Thirty" and the ongoing "Night at the Museum" public event series, which brings scholars, artists, and community members together for free panel discussions and exhibits. Notable past projects include the 2016 Kinsey African American Art & History Collection exhibition and the 2023 California premiere of "Resettlement: Chicago Story."
Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul is presenting "Inside Other Spaces: Environments by Women Artists, 1956–1976," an exhibition that reconstructs immersive environmental artworks by 11 pioneering women artists. Originally curated in 2023 at Haus der Kunst Munich and later shown at MAXXI in Rome and M+ in Hong Kong, the show features restored pieces including Judy Chicago's "Feather Room" (filled with 136 kg of white goose feathers), Jung Kangja's "Muchejeon" (restored after 56 years), Lygia Clark's "House Is Body: Penetration, Ovulation, Germination, Expulsion," and Marian Zazila, La Monte Young, and Jung Hee Choi's "Dream House: Environment of Sound and Light" (shown in Asia for the first time).
British-Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor, best known for Chicago's 'Cloud Gate' sculpture (commonly called 'The Bean'), publicly criticized American politics in a recent interview, denouncing what he described as a 'politics of hate' and 'warmongering.' Kapoor, whose monumental public artworks have become global icons, did not specify particular events but spoke broadly about the current political climate in the United States.
Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul is presenting "Into Other Spaces: Synesthetic Environments by Women Artists 1956-1976," a major exhibition opening May 5 that reconstructs immersive environmental artworks by 11 women artists from Asia, the Americas, and Europe. The show features full-scale recreations of works that were often dismantled or lost, including Jeong Gangja's "Muchejeon" (1970), which was shut down by authorities after just days. Curators Andrea Lissoni and Marina Pugliese used archival materials, photographs, and direct consultations with artists or their estates to piece together these ephemeral pieces.
The article reviews "Dancing the Revolution," a multi-genre collective exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago that explores the music of dancehall and reggaetón, their roots, history, and evolution, and their inextricable link to colonial oppression. The show is inspired by the massive 2019 protests in Puerto Rico against then-Governor Ricardo Rosselló, where music and dance were used as forms of resistance, drawing on centuries of Black Atlantic protest in the Caribbean.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago has opened "Dancing the Revolution: From Dancehall to Reggaetón," an ambitious exhibition exploring the historical evolution of dancehall and reggaetón as cultural movements and their influence on contemporary art. Curated by Carla Acevedo-Yates, the show features over 40 international artists including Isaac Julien, Edra Soto, Alberta Whittle, Carolina Caycedo, supakid, and Lee "Scratch" Perry, tracing the genres' roots from Afro-Caribbean traditions through their emergence in Jamaica, Panama, and Puerto Rico to global mainstream dominance by figures like Daddy Yankee and Bad Bunny.
A new art exhibition titled “Occupy Thirdspace III: The Park” opens at San Diego’s Central Library, focusing on International Friendship Park, a state park at the western end of the U.S.-Mexico border. Co-curated by Sara Solaimani and Natalia Ventura, the show features three artist collectives—Las Comadres, Art Made Between Opposite Sides (AMBOS), and Friends of International Friendship Park—to visually tell the park’s story. The park opened in 1971 as a meeting place for families divided by the border but has been closed on the U.S. side since 2020, while remaining open on the Mexico side. The exhibition is the third installment in Solaimani’s series exploring Henri Lefebvre’s concept of “third spaces” as symbolic sites that challenge systems of power.
This article offers ten practical tips for enhancing museum visits, emphasizing preparation, physical comfort, and mindful engagement. It advises planning around specific artworks using online databases, addressing bodily needs like food and hydration, and timing visits to avoid crowds. The piece also recommends slowing down to spend ten minutes per work, using techniques like slow looking to deepen appreciation.
The Korean artist Park Daesung, now nearly 81 years old, is experiencing a surge of international attention. His works have recently been featured in exhibitions across major cities including Chicago, London, Washington, and Los Angeles, and are now set to be shown at TEFAF New York.
Barack and Michelle Obama commissioned 30 artists to create site-specific works for the Obama Presidential Center on Chicago's South Side, which begins visitor previews next week. The commissioned artworks span multiple media and will be integrated throughout the campus, reflecting the Obamas' commitment to public art and community engagement.
CUATRO VOCES LATINOAMERICANAS EN TORNO AL INTENSIVO CURATORIAL DE MONTEVIDEO
Independent Curators International (ICI) held the Montevideo Curatorial Intensive in March 2026, in partnership with the ESTE ARTE fair and the Faculty of Arts at the University of the Republic (Udelar). This was the first time the program took place in Uruguay, bringing together twelve emerging curators from Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, and the United States for eight days of seminars, debates, and mentorship. Led by independent curator Marina Reyes Franco, the intensive included visits to local cultural spaces such as CasaMario, SUBTE, and the Espacio de Arte Contemporáneo, as well as a trip to Punta del Este to tour galleries and artist studios. The program featured presentations by international faculty including Ionit Behar, Victoria Noorthoorn, Maya Juracán, and Keyna Eleison, and concluded with a public symposium at the Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales (MNAV).
Southern Illinois University Carbondale's Sharp Museum is organizing a national juried exhibition titled "Spooks or Spoofs," centered on cryptid-themed art. The exhibition runs from August 11 to December 21, 2026, and welcomes all media except AI-generated images. Artists may submit up to three works, with a requested donation of $5–$10 per entry. The submission deadline is July 1, with jury results announced by July 14. The juror is Jeremy Efroymson, an artist, collector, and amateur cryptozoologist. The museum's curator of exhibits, T. Lance, highlighted local Illinois legends such as Bigfoot, the Big Muddy Monster, and the Enfield horror as inspiration.
Grove Gallery in Evanston, Illinois, will host a group exhibition titled 'In the Absence of Space' from May 30 to June 28, with an opening reception on June 6. The show features artists who explore how minoritized and underrepresented communities respond to exclusion and invisibility by creating their own spaces of presence, connection, and community. The exhibition is presented by Evanston ASPA in partnership with Evanston Latinos, Aloha Center Chicago, Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum, Shorefront Legacy Center, and Evanston Made.
The 'Evanston Woods II' exhibition at Space 900 Gallery in Evanston, Illinois, showcased wood in various forms through works by six local designers and makers over three days. Organized by Chicago woodworker Paul Segedin, the show featured visual wood sculptures, practical furniture, and mixed-media pieces, including Madeline Usher's sculpture 'I Wish You Could Join Me Up Here' and a coffee table by architect Len Koroski made from a downed tree. The event aimed to connect the public with handmade furniture and woodcraft, highlighting the challenges of finding such work in Chicago.
Chicago artist [Artist Name] is showcasing recycled book art at the Springfield Museum, as reported by WWLP. The exhibition features works created from repurposed books, transforming discarded materials into visual art pieces.
Marquette University held its fourth annual Student Art Exhibition on April 23, 2026, at the Lemonis Center for Student Success, featuring ten student artists each awarded a $500 stipend to create works around themes such as “Culture & Career,” “Defining Success,” “Belonging at Marquette,” and “Expanding Horizons.” The event, organized by Career Center director Courtney Hanson, included pieces by Jessica Wrobel and Salo Aristizabal, among others, and was sponsored by the Career Center, the Division of Belonging and Student Affairs, the Lemonis Center, Raynor Library, and Enterprise Mobility.
Art conservator Julian Baumgartner, who runs Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration in Chicago, received an anonymous portrait that arrived severely damaged—folded inside a mangled parcel with substantial creases, tears, and worn-away paint. Using reversible, archival materials and meticulous attention to detail, Baumgartner painstakingly restored the neglected painting, giving it a second chance at life.
The article describes an artist's exhibition that celebrates the colors of springtime. The show is presented as a seasonal event, likely featuring vibrant, spring-themed artworks. The specific artist, venue, and location are not identifiable from the provided text due to a security verification wall that blocks access to the full article content.
The Daura Museum of Art at the University of Lynchburg is exhibiting works by local artists Laura Reed Howell and the late Georgia Weston Morgan through July 17. Morgan, a pioneering female painter from Lynchburg who studied in Paris and had her portrait accepted into the Paris Salon, is honored in Gallery I with a curated exhibition by museum assistant Thomas Canard. Howell’s award-winning plein air paintings are displayed in Gallery II, and she will give an artist talk on May 22.
The Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis will open a new exhibition, “Consejo Grafico Nacional: Latino Printmakers in the United States,” on May 30. The show features two printmaking portfolios created by Latin American artists from Chicago, California, New York, Texas, and Puerto Rico: “La Huella Magistral,” which pays homage to master printmakers, and “Los Americanos: Same Equals Different,” which explores cultural exchanges across the U.S.-Mexico border. The opening includes a free tour led by Sandra Fernandez, director of the Consejo Grafico Nacional, and a printmaking demonstration by artist Andy Arana Gomez.
The Field Museum in Chicago has opened 'Amerika Samoa,' an exhibition curated by Samoan artists to provide an authentic introduction to Samoan art and culture. The show highlights traditional practices such as tattooing and siapo (painted barkcloth), and features a collaborative barkcloth created during workshops with Chicago's Samoan community, museum staff, and master artists from American Samoa. The exhibition is located in the Halls of the Pacific and will run for two years.