Graduates’ artwork showcased at Tarble during studio art exhibition

The Tarble Arts Center hosted the opening reception for the 2026 Master of Arts in Studio Art Exhibition, featuring thesis projects from 11 graduate students. The exhibition showcased a diverse range of mediums, including an immersive installation by Vitória Kazanovski that recreated her grandmother’s Brazilian kitchen using audio and textured cookbooks, and a ceramic series by Wendy Peters that highlighted the technical mistakes and evolution of her craft.

Butler Art exhibit empowers disabled artist community

The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio, recently hosted the opening reception for the 31st annual Accessible Expressions Ohio (AEO) exhibition. Featuring over 50 works by artists with disabilities from across the state, the event included live music from The Feral Cats and workshops for the Remember Love Recovery Project. The exhibition, which runs through June 7, showcases winners across various categories including youth, professional, and emerging artists.

Philadelphia Museums Launch Landmark American Art Exhibition

The Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) have announced a major collaborative exhibition titled "A Nation of Artists," set to open in April 2026. Featuring over 1,000 works spanning three centuries, the show will integrate paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts, including more than 120 pieces from the prestigious Middleton Family Collection. The exhibition is designed to coincide with the United States' 250th anniversary and the reopening of PAFA’s Historic Landmark Building.

When the Pergamon Altar can be seen again

Wann man den Pergamonaltar wieder sehen kann

The Pergamon Museum in Berlin is set to partially reopen in the spring of 2027 following extensive renovations, allowing public access to the hall containing the world-famous Pergamon Altar. However, the reopening will be staggered and subject to further interruptions; the altar hall is scheduled to close again for five months in 2034 to facilitate connections to the museum island's archaeological promenade. Full completion of the museum's renovation, including the South Wing housing the Ishtar Gate, is not expected until 2037.

Cover | DIA Welcomes Jewish Museum Treasures in ‘Guests of Honor' Exhibit

The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) has launched a long-term exhibition titled 'Guests of Honor,' featuring significant loans of Jewish ceremonial objects from the Jewish Museum in New York. Running through January 2027, the display includes intricate items such as Torah crowns, pointers, menorahs, and spice boxes sourced from Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. The objects are integrated into various galleries, including the Arts of the Islamic World section, to highlight shared aesthetic motifs and historical connections between different cultures.

Ellen Noël Art Museum hosting free Community Art Day

The Ellen Noël Art Museum in Odessa, Texas, is hosting its annual Community Art Day, a free public event designed to engage the local population through hands-on creativity. The program features a variety of art-making stations, live demonstrations, and guided tours of current exhibitions, aiming to make the museum's resources accessible to families and individuals of all ages.

The Hands That Feed: New Art Exhibit at Museum Highlights Farm Workers - The Source Weekly

The High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon, has unveiled a new solo exhibition titled "Miguel Almeida: Las Manos que dan de Comer" (The Hands That Feed). Featuring large-scale murals, hand-painted animations, and a ten-foot-tall cutout figure surrounded by actual soil, the installation explores the daily lives and human stories of farm workers in the American West. Almeida, a first-generation Mexican American artist based in Boise, draws from his own family history of agricultural labor to create vibrant, contemporary works influenced by skateboarding culture and Mexican folk traditions.

In the Curator’s Words: At Japanese Friendship Garden & Museum, a fusion of tradition and innovation

The Japanese Friendship Garden & Museum in San Diego has opened a new exhibition that blends traditional Japanese aesthetics with contemporary artistic innovation. The show, curated by a museum professional, features works that reinterpret classic forms and concepts through modern materials and perspectives.

The World's Most-Visited Museums – and Why Germany is Falling Behind

Die meistbesuchten Museen weltweit – und warum Deutschland hinterherhinkt

The Art Newspaper's 2025 ranking of the world's most-visited museums reveals a global landscape dominated by institutions in Paris, Seoul, London, and New York. The Louvre leads with just over nine million visitors, followed by the Vatican Museums and Seoul's National Museum of Korea, which doubled its attendance to 6.5 million. Notable trends include strong post-pandemic recoveries at New York's MoMA and the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, while London's Tate Modern and National Gallery still lag significantly behind their 2019 numbers.

Sculpture of John Rhoden opens at Memorial Art Gallery

The Memorial Art Gallery has officially opened a major exhibition dedicated to the work of the late American sculptor John Rhoden. The opening reception, held on March 28, 2026, welcomed patrons and community members to explore a collection that highlights Rhoden’s unique ability to blend modernist sculpture with rhythmic, global influences.

Never Spoken Again Exhibition at the Weisman Challenges Museum Norms

The Weisman Art Museum is hosting "Never Spoken Again: Rogue Stories of Science and Collections," a traveling exhibition produced by Independent Curators International (ICI). Curated by David Ayala-Alfonso, the show features works by over a dozen artists that challenge traditional museum practices, such as the use of pre-Hispanic ceramics as speaker stands to give them a literal voice. The exhibition uses diverse media—from cinefoil sculptures to tapestries from Las Vegas casinos—to critique how institutions collect, classify, and display artifacts.

Mummies and other human remains held in UK museums raise serious ethical questions, warn scholars

A major investigation has revealed that UK museums, universities, and local authorities hold more than 263,000 human remains, including mummies, skeletons, and skulls. Of these, approximately 37,000 originate from overseas, largely from former British colonies, often acquired without consent. The findings have sparked intense criticism from scholars and curators who argue that the sheer scale of these collections reflects a distressing colonial legacy and necessitates a systemic shift toward repatriation and more ethical storage practices.

San Francisco's Fine Arts Museums Will Be Transformed With Over 100 Floral Designs — And It's Only Happening For One Week

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco are launching the 42nd edition of "Bouquets to Art," a week-long exhibition featuring over 100 floral arrangements across the de Young and the Legion of Honor. These living sculptures, created by more than 120 floral designers, are specifically designed to interpret and complement the permanent collection's artworks and the museums' architecture. The event includes an impressionist-inspired garden and a series of lectures on the intersection of culture, photography, and floral design.

Turkey’s heritage power grab: new law threatens Istanbul’s opposition-run cultural sites

The Turkish government has enacted a new law allowing the central state to seize historic properties from local municipalities, specifically targeting sites originally endowed to Ottoman-era foundations. This legislation directly impacts Istanbul, where Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s administration has spent years restoring nearly 1,000 heritage sites and converting neglected spaces into vibrant museums, libraries, and contemporary art venues. Critics argue that the state-run General Directorate of Foundations lacks the expertise to manage these cultural hubs and may instead lease them out or close them entirely.

Opening Gala for DIVA

The Denver Art Museum is hosting the opening gala for "DIVA," a touring exhibition originally created by the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London. The event is supported by premier sponsors Joy and Chris Dinsdale, with additional funding from several prominent donors and organizations including U.S. Bank and the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD).

Asheville Art Museum exhibit spotlights American Impressionism

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.

Persistent low attendance and funding cuts are forcing US museums to think local

A federal judge ruled on December 3 that all grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) must be reinstated, offering relief to museum directors like Scott Stulen of the Seattle Art Museum, which lost $300,000–$400,000 in annual federal funding in 2025. The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) survey of 511 directors found that over half reported fewer visitors than in 2019, with 29% citing declines tied to weakened travel and economic uncertainty. However, some museums like the Toledo Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago have seen local attendance rise, offsetting losses in international tourism.

Louvre closes again due to staff strikes

Staff at the Louvre museum in Paris staged another strike on Monday, January 19, the ninth such action in a month, forcing the museum to close completely for the third time since mid-December. The strike, voted unanimously by 350 employees, concerns pay, working conditions, and infrastructure, with unions demanding salary alignment with other national museums and monuments, and calling for the €666m new entrance project to be dropped in favor of basic maintenance. The closure costs the museum about €400,000 per day, and negotiations with France's culture ministry are scheduled for January 29.

Meet the Curator Who’s Bringing Fashion Into the Fold at the Cleveland Museum of Art

Darnell-Jamal Lisby, the Cleveland Museum of Art's first fashion curator since 2021, has organized the exhibition "Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses," on view through February 1. The show connects Renaissance artworks from the museum's collection with modern garments by major Italian brands like Armani, Versace, and Capucci, including pieces worn by celebrities such as Blake Lively, Zendaya, and Judy Garland. Lisby, who previously worked at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, the Costume Institute of the Met, and the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, has also curated exhibitions like The New Black Vanguard, Egyptomania, and Korean Couture. The exhibition features a generative AI video created by Francesco Carrozzini and Henry Hargreaves to show the garments in motion.

Flowers laid after Bondi terror attack will form new work of art at Sydney Jewish Museum

Floral tributes left at Bondi Beach after a deadly terrorist attack on a Hanukkah celebration in December 2024 have been collected and will be transformed into an art installation at the Sydney Jewish Museum. Jewish Australian artist Nina Sanadze, born in Georgia and based in Melbourne, is working with volunteers to dry and process the flowers in a Sydney warehouse, experimenting with resin, bronze casting, and composted materials to create a work that may depict beachgoers fleeing the attack. The museum, currently closed for redevelopment, plans to feature the installation in a special exhibition when it reopens in 2027.

‘Unrealistic’ €600m Louvre redevelopment plans must be scrapped, say striking workers

Staff at the Musée du Louvre staged another walkout on Monday, forcing the Paris museum to close temporarily before partially reopening at noon. The striking workers, representing 350 staff members including curators, unanimously voted for the action, citing concerns over working conditions and infrastructure. They are demanding that director Laurence des Cars scrap her "unrealistic" €666m plan for a new entrance, subterranean complex around the Mona Lisa, and an exhibition hall, arguing that funds should instead be directed toward urgent technical maintenance to preserve the collections. The strike follows a three-day walkout before Christmas and an October theft of crown jewels, which have not been recovered despite arrests.

Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art returns three sculptures to Cambodia

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art (NMAA) in Washington, DC, has voluntarily returned three sculptures to the Cambodian government after an internal provenance investigation determined the objects were likely removed from Cambodia during the country’s civil war (1967-75). The returned artifacts include a tenth-century sandstone head of Harihara, a tenth-century sandstone sculpture of the goddess Uma, and a bronze statue of Prajnaparamita from around 1200. The museum’s director, Chase F. Robinson, stated that strong evidence linked the pieces to problematic dealers and a context of war and violence, and that no documentation supported their lawful export. The objects were donated to the NMAA by Arthur M. Sackler and Gilbert and Ann Kinney without proper provenance papers.

Louvre staff vote to strike, citing failures of management and building maintenance

Staff at the Louvre Museum in Paris voted unanimously to strike, with rolling walkouts set to begin on December 15. The unions, representing around 200 employees, filed a strike notice with the French culture ministry, citing insufficient staff, technical failures, and the building's aging condition. They also criticized the museum's director, Laurence des Cars, for a top-down management system that ignores staff alerts. The strike follows a series of incidents, including the theft of the French crown jewels in October, a forced closure of the Campana Gallery due to structural issues, and a water leak that damaged hundreds of books in the Egyptian antiquities library.

Art Basel Miami Beach, Louvre crisis deepens, Helene Schjerfbeck—podcast

This episode of The Art Newspaper's 'The Week in Art' podcast covers three major stories. Ben Sutton and Kabir Jhala report from Art Basel Miami Beach, discussing top sales and the overall mood at the fair. Ben Luke speaks with Paris correspondent Vincent Noce about the deepening crisis at the Musée du Louvre following a staff strike and a recent robbery, as the museum plans to raise ticket prices for non-EU visitors by 45%. The episode also features a 'Work of the Week' segment on Helene Schjerfbeck's painting 'The Tapestry' (1914-16), with curator Dita Amory discussing the work ahead of a new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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.

Florida’s rich Seminole history comes alive in new art exhibit

The HistoryMiami Museum has opened a new exhibit titled “Yakne Seminoli” (Seminole World), showcasing the work of over 25 Seminole artists. The show features a range of art forms including sweetgrass basketry, wood carvings, textiles, and paintings, with pieces from artists such as Hali Garcia, Jimmy John Osceola, Erica Deitz, Elgin Jumper, and Wilson Bowers. Garcia, a Seminole sweetgrass basket weaver, incorporates contemporary influences like video games and anime into her traditional craft, including a basket inspired by Sonic the Hedgehog. The museum partnered with the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum in the Big Cypress Reservation to present the exhibition, which includes items originally sold in tourist camps as a means of survival.

Philadelphia Art Museum Announces Daniel H. Weiss as Director and CEO

The Philadelphia Art Museum has appointed Daniel H. Weiss as its George D. Widener Director and CEO, effective December 1, 2025. Weiss, former President and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2015–2023), brings decades of leadership experience from major cultural and educational institutions, including presidencies at Haverford College and Lafayette College, and a recent role as Homewood Professor of the Humanities at Johns Hopkins University. The Board of Trustees, led by Chair Ellen Caplan, selected Weiss to guide the museum through at least 2028, providing stability during a transitional period.

Louvre closes gallery ‘until further notice’ citing structural problems

The Musée du Louvre in Paris has closed its Campana Gallery, which houses nine rooms of ancient Greek ceramics, after a technical report revealed structural weaknesses in beams supporting the second floor of the Sully Wing. The gallery will remain closed 'until further notice' as a precaution, and 65 staff members will be relocated, though the artworks will not be moved. The closure comes amid the Louvre's ambitious New Renaissance renovation project, announced by French President Emmanuel Macron, which includes a new visitor entrance under the Perrault Colonnade by 2031 and is now valued at €1.15bn.

California nonprofits keep losing funding in what new study calls ‘the shadow of the pandemic cliff’

A new Otis College Report on the Creative Economy, titled "In the Shadow of the Pandemic Cliff," was presented at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. The report, prepared by Westwood Economics and Planning Associates, analyzes financial data from 2011 to 2023 for nonprofit cultural organizations in Los Angeles County, including museums, art schools, and performing-arts groups. It reveals that while revenues for these nonprofits surged by 47% during the early pandemic years due to special relief funding, that support has since faded. By 2023, 60% of surveyed organizations reported less public funding and 51% saw declines in private donations, a trend the report calls the "Covid cliff."

Louvre’s €666m plans for new entrance ‘financially unsound’—and security should come first—auditor says

A report from the Cour des comptes, France's state auditing body, has deemed the Louvre's €666 million plan for a new entrance and subterranean complex around the Mona Lisa as "financially unsound." The report, released on November 6 by chairman Pierre Moscovici, criticizes the museum's management under director Laurence des Cars, highlighting severe delays in security upgrades—only 4% of an €83 million infrastructure budget has been spent since 2018. The audit follows an audacious heist of French crown jewels on October 19, which the report says was enabled by inadequate security. It urges the Louvre to prioritize a €450 million infrastructure plan over the grand renovation project, which has already seen a 45% cost overrun from its initial €450 million estimate.