Saudi artist Lulwah Al Hamoud debuted new work at The Digital Art Mile during Art Basel in Switzerland, presented by the Sigg Art Foundation. Her pieces, part of the ongoing 'Language of Existence' series, explore Arabic geometry and coded language, incorporating AI and biotechnology to blend tradition with cutting-edge technology.
Shirin Abedinirad, an Iranian land artist and faculty member at Utah Valley University School of the Arts, has created works for the exhibition "Healing Waters: Restoring Our Relationship with Utah Lake" at the UVU Museum of Art. After immigrating to the United States four years ago and studying at Michigan State University, she felt disconnected from Michigan's humid landscape. A trip to Utah, where the desert environment reminded her of Iran's Urmia Lake and the Great Salt Lake, inspired her to create land art again. Her pieces in the show include videos of performance art filmed on Utah Lake's shores and a striking installation of red felt roots symbolizing the connection between all living things.
Boston has launched its first-ever citywide public art exhibition, the Boston Public Art Triennial, titled "The Exchange." The exhibition features 21 large-scale installations by local and international artists placed across neighborhoods including Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan, Downtown Crossing, and the Charlestown Navy Yard. Works address themes such as indigeneity, sustainability, shared humanity, affordable housing, and Black motherhood. The triennial also includes an accelerator program that funds and supports local artists with professional development. The exhibition runs through October 31, 2025, with over 100 associated events citywide.
Alison Byrne, who began as an intern at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in 2000, has been named the museum's executive director as of late September 2024. Over 25 years, she rose through roles including curator of education and deputy director, and was named Museum Art Educator of the Year by the Virginia Art Education Association in 2020. Byrne will lead the museum's relocation in 2026 to a new 35,000-square-foot facility at Virginia Wesleyan University, featuring a 21% increase in gallery space. The inaugural exhibition will showcase works by contemporary artist Nina Chanel Abney.
Sebastião Salgado, the legendary Brazilian photographer known for his monumental documentary projects capturing collective humanity and environmental activism, has died. Born in 1944 in Aimorés, Brazil, Salgado studied economics at the University of São Paulo and was exiled to France for political activism before turning to photography in the 1970s. He joined Magnum Photos in 1979 and went on to create epic, multi-year projects such as "Workers" (1986-93), "Migrations" (1993-99), "Genesis" (2005-13), and "Amazônia" (2011-19), which redefined documentary practice through total immersion and scale. His work earned him the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador role, and numerous awards including the W. Eugene Smith Grant and the Royal Photographic Society’s Centenary Medal.
The Cleve Carney Museum of Art at the College of DuPage has opened "Hokusai & Ukiyo-e: The Floating World," an immersive exhibition exploring Japanese ukiyo-e art from the Edo period. The show features woodblock prints and scrolls, including Hokusai's iconic "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa," drawn from the collection of 19th-century Italian engraver Edoardo Chiossone. Many prints are on view in the U.S. for the first time. The exhibition extends beyond traditional display with an outdoor garden, manga and anime rooms, and a recreated Edo village built by the college's theater department.
The Elmhurst Art Museum is presenting "Legacies: Selections from the Elmhurst Art Museum Permanent Collection," an exhibition running through August 17 that highlights works from its permanent collection. Founded in 1981 by teachers, artists, and art lovers, the museum has grown to hold around 1,000 works focused on 20th-century art and design by Midwestern artists. The show explores how collections are built, featuring donations from over 200 donors and including pieces such as a Barcelona Chair attributed to Mies van der Rohe but designed by Lily Wright, a large painting by Michelle Grabner, and Joseph Burlini's sculpture "Circus Wagon." The museum also acquired the Mies van der Rohe-designed McCormick House in 1992, which set its path integrating art, architecture, and education.
Seattle's Henry Art Gallery, located on the University of Washington campus, has permanently waived its admission fee, making entry free for all visitors at any time. Previously, tickets cost between $6 and $10, with free admission limited to the first Thursday of each month and certain groups such as students, children, and military personnel. The museum, which opened in 1927 as Washington state's first public art museum, now spans 40,000 square feet and includes galleries, a cafe, a 154-seat auditorium, and the James Turrell Skyspace installation.
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.
Chinese art curator and critic Feng Boyi has been appointed chief curator of Art Macao: Macao International Art Biennale 2025, as announced by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC). The biennale opens on 19 July and runs for three months, featuring six sections including the Main Exhibition, Public Art Exhibition, and City Pavilion. Participating artists include Xu Bing, Ann Hamilton, Gregor Schneider, Bart Hess, and Kasia Molga, with the theme “Hey, what brings you here?”
The article announces the 'Godzilla the Art 70th Anniversary Exhibition,' a special exhibition celebrating seven decades of the iconic monster franchise. The show brings together contemporary artists and original film production materials to explore Godzilla's visual legacy across art and pop culture.
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles will open to the public on September 22, 2026, with about 20 inaugural exhibitions curated by George Lucas himself across more than 30 galleries. The $1-billion, 300,000-square-foot museum in Exposition Park, designed by Ma Yansong of Mad Architects, will display over 1,200 objects from Lucas's collection of more than 40,000 works, including manga, comics, children's illustrations, and narrative art by artists such as Norman Rockwell, Beatrix Potter, and Dorothea Lange, with only one exhibition focused on "Star Wars" memorabilia.
Following the recent electoral defeat of Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz-KDNP coalition by the opposition party Tisza, the Hungarian art world faces a monumental task of institutional restoration. For 16 years, the regime’s 'System of National Cooperation' (NER) systematically co-opted cultural institutions, installing loyalists in leadership roles at major venues like the Kunsthalle and Ludwig Museum to promote an ethno-nationalist agenda. This period was marked by the exodus of independent curators, the occupation of museums by activists, and a fractured ecosystem where state funding was tied to political compliance.
Gallery, a free contemporary art event in Buenos Aires, returns for its first 2026 edition on Saturday, May 16th, connecting over 40 galleries, museums, art spaces, and foundations across the Recoleta, Retiro, and Microcentro neighborhoods. Organized by Arte al Día and Pinta, the event features guided tours led by specialists, live music performances, and special activities at each meeting point. Participating venues include Rolf Art, Vasari, Fundación Klemm, ARTHAUS CENTRAL, Isla Flotante, and others, with support from the Buenos Aires City Ministry of Culture.
MARIA LUCIA ALEMAN CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS ARE UNITING THE REGION MORE
A panel discussion titled "Building Institutional Narratives" was held as part of the FORO initiative during Pinta Panama Art Week. It featured museum directors María Lucía Alemán (MAC Panama), Manuel Segade Lodeiro (Museo Reina Sofía, Spain), and Rafael Tamayo Franco (MAMM, Colombia), moderated by Elena González. The conversation focused on how museums construct their institutional stories and programming to better represent and connect with their local and regional contexts.
Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sánchez Bezos served as honorary co-chairs and sponsors of this year's Met Gala, sparking widespread protests and calls for boycotts. Guerrilla activist group Everyone Hates Elon plastered New York with anti-Bezos signage, and activists placed 300 bottles filled with fake urine inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art to highlight Amazon workers' bathroom break complaints. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani declined his invitation, and the absence of celebrities like Meryl Streep and Zendaya fueled speculation about a boycott, though representatives denied any coordinated protest. Despite the controversy, the gala proceeded with many attendees and is expected to raise more than last year's $31 million for the Costume Institute.
Holocaust Museum LA, the first survivor-founded and oldest Holocaust museum in the United States, will reopen after a 10-month closure as part of the new $70-million Goldrich Cultural Center in Pan Pacific Park. The 70,000-square-foot campus, debuting June 14, doubles the museum's original footprint and includes three pavilions, a 200-seat theater, exhibition galleries, a rooftop garden, and a Holocaust-era boxcar. The center is named after the late Jona Goldrich, a Holocaust survivor and co-founder of the museum, and was designed by architect Hagy Belzberg.
Art galleries and museums across the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Qatar have shuttered their physical spaces following a series of Iranian missile strikes targeting the Arabian Gulf. Major institutions including the Jameel Arts Centre and commercial galleries like Lawrie Shabibi and The Third Line have moved operations online or closed entirely as the UAE government advises residents to remain at home. The regional instability follows a cycle of retaliatory strikes between Iran and US-Israeli forces, resulting in casualties within the UAE.
The Haggin Museum in Stockton is hosting its 95th annual Robert T. McKee Student Art Exhibition, featuring approximately 1,700 works—paintings, drawings, photographs, and sculptures—submitted by K-12 students from across the county. The exhibition opens on January 29, with an artist reception on February 7, and runs through March 15. Works by younger students (kindergarten through 4th grade) are displayed in the West Gallery, while those by older students (5th through 12th grade) are shown upstairs in the Tuleberg Gallery.
Art Fervour announces the inaugural Kolkata Art Weekender, a three-day city-wide arts festival scheduled from November 21 to 23, 2025. The event transforms Kolkata into an open-access cultural hub featuring studio visits with artists Suhasini Kejriwal and Rathin Barman, exhibitions at venues like Experimenter, DAG Museums, Kolkata Centre for Creativity, and TRI Art & Culture, plus workshops, heritage walks, film screenings, and riverfront activities such as block-printing at Alipore Museum and zine-making on a Hooghly barge.
Stella Artois, the Belgian beer brand, has launched a campaign called "The Artois Probability" that uses an algorithm to analyze historical paintings and calculate the likelihood that the beer depicted in them is actually Stella Artois. Developed in 2023 by the agency GUT in collaboration with the Museo de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires, the campaign examines variables such as the painting's year, geographic location, glass type, and liquid color, cross-referencing them with the brand's archives. The campaign includes works by artists like Manet, Brueghel, and Brouwer, and aims to make viewers think of Stella Artois whenever they see a beer in a painting.
Architetture, progetti e visioni. La storia del Santa Maria della Scala va in mostra a Siena
The Fondazione Antico Ospedale Santa Maria della Scala in Siena has launched a new regeneration project for the historic complex, 40 years after it ceased functioning as a hospital. The foundation, led by president Cristiano Leone and director Chiara Valdambrini, commissioned Luca Molinari Studio to analyze the original design by Guido Canali and coordinate a collaborative masterplan involving three international architecture firms: LAN Architecture, Odile Decq with Pangalos Feldmann Architectes, and Hannes Peer Architecture. An exhibition titled "Santa Maria della Scala. Architetture, progetti e visioni" will open on May 30, 2026, curated by Luca Molinari, showcasing the architectural plans and visions for the site.
An exhibition at the Morgan Library & Museum, titled "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Treasures from the Mozarteum Foundation of Salzburg," presents a curated journey through the composer's life and career. The show features well-preserved ephemera, including Mozart's childhood violin, original sketches for the opera "The Magic Flute," and personal letters that reveal his scatological humor, alongside portraits of his patrons.
Alla Biennale Arte 2026 la Spagna trasforma il suo Padiglione in museo dell’accumulo con l’artista Oriol Vilanova
Spain has announced its participation in the 61st Venice Biennale Arte 2026, selecting Catalan artist Oriol Vilanova to represent the country in its newly renovated national pavilion. The project, titled "Los restos," transforms the pavilion into a pseudo-museum of accumulation, featuring Vilanova's vast personal archive of postcards collected over twenty years from flea markets and secondhand circuits. The installation presents these ephemeral fragments as an infinite, non-narrative mural, exploring themes of accumulation and loss. Curated by Carles Guerra, the project also includes a performative intervention titled "Il fantasma della libertà" (2026), which will unfold across the Giardini and Arsenale during the Biennale.
Newcastle Art Gallery in Australia has unveiled two groundbreaking accessibility commissions: a digital guide named Nancy and architectural-scale sculptures by artist Fayen d'Evie. The digital guide offers a 24-stop tour with audio, Auslan-interpreted video, and written descriptions, developed through a 'by community, for community' model involving d/Deaf consultants, Auslan interpreters, and First Nations consultants. The sculptural solution addresses the gallery's original floating staircases, providing safe navigation for visitors who are blind or have low vision. A panel talk and Auslan-interpreted tour on Saturday will highlight these initiatives.
The Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) has opened “Ancient Splendor: Roman Art in the Time of Trajan,” a major traveling exhibition featuring a seven-foot-tall marble statue of Emperor Trajan and a vast array of artifacts from his reign. Organized in collaboration with the Italian organization StArt and curated by Roman expert Lucrezia Ungaro alongside SLAM’s Hannah Segrave, the show is structured into three thematic sections: the imperial household, the domestic lives of everyday Romans, and the public sphere. To enhance immersion, the museum has integrated sensory elements including scent stations that replicate ancient fragrances and a commissioned soundscape.
The Wereldmuseum Amsterdam has announced it will no longer publicly exhibit any human remains from its colonial-era collection, which includes around 4,000 body parts such as skulls and a preserved Surinamese newborn. At the opening of the exhibition "Unfinished past: return, keep, or…?", director of content Wayne Modest suggested the museum may create a dedicated space for "ritual practices" where descendants can respectfully engage with ancestral remains until a permanent repatriation solution is found. The exhibition features contemporary artworks, including Pansee Atta's "To Make One Particle," which reproduces each body part as a small wooden token, and draws on a four-year research program called Pressing Matter.
The Brea Gallery in Brea, California, is currently hosting its 41st annual "Made in California" exhibition, featuring nearly 100 artists from across the state. The juried show, which runs through June 28, 2026, includes works in multiple media created within the last three years, with submissions reaching 5,000 this year. The gallery, a 6,500-square-foot space opened in 1980, focuses on contemporary art by living artists and mounts four exhibitions annually. Upcoming shows include "America 350" (opening July 31) and "What Fearful Shadows" (opening October 10), which reimagines early American horror themes.
On May 11, the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul opened its entire museum on a Monday—its regular closing day—to host approximately 200 members of multicultural families. The event, organized in partnership with family centers and related organizations across Seoul, included exhibition tours of the permanent antique art collection, the special exhibition "Into Another Space: Synesthetic Environments by Women Artists 1956-1976," and the outdoor Orozco Garden. A curator provided explanations, and a magic show was held in celebration of Family Month. Participating organizations included the Yongsan-gu Family Center, Itaewon and Ichon Global Village Centers, the Mari Shelter for Migrant Women and Mari Community, and the Dongdaemun and Seocho Family Centers.
The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho in Rexburg will open a new exhibition titled "Sacred Spaces: Visions of the West from the Prosaic to the Sublime" this Friday. The show features works by six contemporary artists from Idaho and Utah—David Dibble, Bryan Mark Taylor, Josh Clare, Allie Zeyer, Louisa Lorenz, and Carson Thompson—primarily in oil paintings, alongside historic farm photographs from the Museum of Idaho and private collection photos from executive director Alexa Stanger. Free public events include an Art Walk on Thursday, an opening reception on Friday with an audio tour featuring artists' voices, and art demos with a Q&A on Saturday.