Photographer Who Scales Buildings to Get the Perfect Shot Arrested at Opening Night of His First Solo Exhibition

Photographer Isaac Wright, known as Drift, was arrested at the opening night of his first solo exhibition, “Coming Home,” at the Robert Mann Gallery in New York City on May 15, 2025. A plainclothes officer tapped him on the shoulder while he was speaking with the crowd, and uniformed officers then led him out in handcuffs. The arrest stems from a misdemeanor criminal trespassing charge linked to a photograph in the show, which Wright took after climbing the spire of the Empire State Building in 2024. Wright, a former Army soldier who began climbing buildings to cope with PTSD, has faced previous legal trouble for rooftop trespassing, including a 2020 arrest in Arizona.

For the 61st Venice Biennale, a quest for beauty despite a troubled world

Pour la 61e Biennale de Venise, une quête de beauté malgré un monde troublé

Koyo Kouoh, the Swiss-Cameroonian curator who was set to become the first African woman to direct the Venice Biennale, died suddenly on May 10, 2025, at age 57, just weeks before the opening of the 61st edition she had conceived. Titled "In Minor Keys," the exhibition at the Giardini and Arsenale will proceed posthumously based on her detailed directives, featuring 111 artists including Laurie Anderson, Wangechi Mutu, and Kader Attia, with a focus on beauty, resilience, and radical emotional connection amid global turmoil.

Santiago Yahuarcani: The Beginning of Knowledge

SANTIAGO YAHUARCANI: EL PRINCIPIO DEL CONOCIMIENTO

The Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP) is hosting "El principio del conocimiento," the first solo exhibition in Brazil for Peruvian artist Santiago Yahuarcani. Curated by Amanda Carneiro, the show features approximately 35 paintings on llanchama (tree bark) that explore the Uitoto worldview. The exhibition is organized into five thematic sections that navigate the sensory experience of the Amazon, the spiritual significance of sacred plants like coca and tobacco, and the brutal historical memory of colonial extraction.

internet personality mackenzie thomas performance review 1234769494

Internet personality MacKenzie Thomas staged a four-hour durational performance titled "I Said What I Said" in New York, where she read aloud every post she made on X over the past year, interspersed with personal essays. The performance, which sold out both New York showings, will travel to Los Angeles at Heavy Manners. Thomas recounted intimate details of her life, including a breakup, her dog's death, health struggles, and family dynamics, while notably omitting her success as an influencer with half a million followers.

syracuse university pauses admission for 20 undergraduate majors 1234754624

Syracuse University has paused admission for 20 undergraduate majors, including fine arts and digital humanities, in its College of Arts and Sciences as of late August 2025. The decision, announced at the first senate meeting of the 2025–26 academic year, has sparked faculty concern over a lack of input and perceived targeting of humanities programs. Vice Chancellor and Provost Lois Agnew instructed deans to conduct an academic portfolio review using nine-year enrollment data and financial metrics, leading to preliminary recommendations. The pause, expected to last one year, affects majors with 10 or fewer students, though classes will still be offered and graduate programs remain unaffected.

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Nick Merriman has stepped down as chief executive of English Heritage, the British conservation charity, after just over a year in the role. He resigned for personal reasons related to family health, effective immediately. Merriman’s tenure was marked by a controversial restructuring plan that proposed cutting 7 percent of the workforce (189 jobs), reducing opening hours by 10 percent across its 400 sites, and closing 21 sites over winter. The charity had begun consulting staff and unions on the proposals, which were not finalized before his departure. Interim chief executive Geoff Parkin has been appointed to replace him.

In this L’Aquila High School, there is a Contemporary Art Collection Created by Students and Artists

In questo liceo dell’Aquila c’è una collezione d’arte contemporanea realizzata dagli studenti con gli artisti

The Liceo Bafile in L’Aquila has established a permanent collection of contemporary art featuring over 60 site-specific works created through collaborations between professional artists and students. Initiated by artist and professor Licia Galizia following the devastating 2009 earthquake, the project integrates art into the educational environment as a tool for cultural rebirth. In 2026, the collection will expand further with seven new installations created by artists including Elena Bellantoni and Marco Nereo Rotelli in partnership with the Academy of Fine Arts of L’Aquila.

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted a painting by the late artist Thomas Kinkade titled *Morning Pledge* on social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, and X, with the caption “Protect the Homeland.” The painting depicts an idealized American small town with midcentury cars, a schoolhouse, and an American flag. Kinkade, known for mass-producing sentimental, conservative scenes and dubbed the “painter of light,” was widely dismissed by the mainstream art world as kitschy. The DHS post coincided with the opening of a new ICE detention center in the Florida Everglades, nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” built to imprison immigrant detainees, and with the passage of a controversial bill expanding ICE funding while cutting healthcare and food benefits.

Where to see art in Houston now: 9 intriguing new exhibits opening in June

Houston's art scene is bustling in June 2025 with nine new exhibitions opening across the city. Highlights include Lawndale Art Center's annual "Big Show," juried by Dr. Phillip A. Townsend, featuring 88 works by 77 local artists; Sawyer Yards' "Be the Art: The Silos Selfie Experience," an immersive, social-media-friendly display; and three new shows at the Blaffer Art Museum, including "a way to mend" focusing on Gulf Coast artists and healing, "¡Cuidado!" by X Arriaga Cuellar and Adán Vallecillo about migrant healthcare workers, and Saif Azzuz's debut museum exhibition "Keet Hegehlpa’ (the water is rising)" addressing land and water privatization. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston also celebrates new acquisitions spanning luxurious historical works and AI-driven futures.

Unbound Narratives: Embodied Language at Atlanta Contemporary, Atlanta

The Atlanta Contemporary is presenting the group exhibition 'Unbound Narratives: Embodied Language,' curated by Karen Comer Lowe. It features works by artists February James, Bethany Collins, Gabi Madrid, and a’driane nieves across film, painting, and mixed media, focusing on how each translates personal and embodied experience into visual and linguistic forms. Key pieces include nieves's monumental painting on grief and rage, Collins's text-based interrogation of racial identity, James's debut stop-motion film exploring stillness, and Madrid's inscribed headboards addressing healing and cultural memory.

Arts Listings: Week of April 9, 2026

The Ventura County arts community is launching a series of local exhibitions and theater productions for the week of April 9, 2026. Highlights include the opening of the political comedy "The Outsider" at the Santa Paula Theater Center and the "Rediscovering" exhibition at Fox Fine Jewelry featuring Lisa Sachs and Thomas Hoerber. Additionally, the Camarillo Art Center is hosting a themed exhibition titled "I dream my paintings, then I paint my dream," alongside various technical workshops in watercolor and gourd art.

An Artist Asks: Without Darkness, Who Are We?

Artist Jan Tichy has created a new exhibition that explores the consequences of light pollution and the disappearance of natural darkness. The project, titled "Without Darkness, Who Are We?", involved extensive research and collaboration with scientists including entomologists and neurobiologists to understand the ecological and psychological impacts of artificial light.

Mikala Tai to curate 2027 TarraWarra Biennial

Mikala Tai has been appointed curator of the tenth TarraWarra Biennial, scheduled to run from July 31 to November 14, 2027, at the TarraWarra Museum of Art in Healesville, Australia. Tai is a Sydney-based curator, writer, and academic specializing in contemporary Australian and Asian art.

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The article reports that Charli XCX plays a sculptural harp by artist Amanda Camenisch in the film *100 Nights Of Hero*, which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival. The instrument, titled *Elemental Harp: Fire* (or "Fire Harp"), was commissioned by the London Brent Biennial in 2022 and is part of a series of five sound sculptures representing elemental forces. Camenisch, a London-based photographer, filmmaker, and performer, creates hand-forged sonic sculptures designed for participatory rituals and vibrational healing.

More than 30 exhibitions on display in May at art centers from Marco Island to Sarasota

More than 30 exhibitions are on display in May at art centers across Southwest Florida, from Marco Island to Sarasota. Venues like Art Center Sarasota host shows featuring member, regional, and nationally renowned artists, including the "North Sarasota County Schools Spring Art Show" with over 1,500 student artists, solo exhibitions by Anja Palombo and Cat Tesla, and the "Architects Who Art" show co-curated by Morris Hylton III.

Art exhibitions explore Appalachian identity and newcomer experiences

The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine is launching a dual exhibition featuring "From These Hills" and "Making it in America," opening April 14 in Roanoke. "From These Hills," on loan from the William King Museum of Art and curated by Kathy Foley, showcases contemporary Appalachian art across various media that explore regional identity and memory. Complementing this, photojournalist Heather Rousseau’s "Making it in America" documents the lived experiences of immigrants and refugees in Southwest Virginia, capturing the resilience of Afghan, Ukrainian, and Latino newcomers through five years of visual storytelling.

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.

Exhibition featuring 24 Otoe-Missouria artists to open Sept. 5

The Great Plains Art Museum at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln will open “Reflections of Our People, Our Ways, Our Land” on September 5, the first-ever exhibition centered on Otoe-Missouria artists. Featuring 24 artists from the tribe, the show spans traditional to contemporary mediums and runs through December 20. The exhibition is part of the Walking in the Footsteps of our Ancestors project, funded by the Mellon Foundation, which aims to promote healing and reconciliation by reconnecting the tribe to its Nebraska homelands.

Charlottesville's Confederate statues are centerstage in West Coast art exhibition rooted in tragedy and trauma

The remains of Charlottesville's melted Confederate statue of General Robert E. Lee are now on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles as part of the 'Monuments' exhibition. The statue, originally standing in Market Street Park, was acquired by the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center (JSAAHC) in 2021, melted down at a secret location, and shipped to Los Angeles. The exhibition, presented in partnership with The Brick, also features artist Kara Walker's reconstruction of the Thomas Jackson statue. The bronze ingots and slag from the melting process are displayed alongside other works that reimagine Confederate monuments.

Twelve Exhibitions, One Looming Question: Bard Student Curators Take on the Meaning of Now at Hessel Museum

The Hessel Museum at Bard College has launched its annual spring exhibition season, featuring twelve distinct curatorial projects titled "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today." Organized by graduating students from the Center for Curatorial Studies (CCS), the showcase serves as a professional debut for an emerging cohort of curators. The projects range from solo retrospectives of under-recognized artists like Brazilian painter Maria Auxiliadora Silva to explorations of feminist art history through the work of A.I.R. Gallery co-founder Anne Healy.

Chrome, Canvas, Cultura: Art On Main’s Chicano Exhibition Redefines East Dallas Experience

Art on Main in East Dallas is hosting "Chicano," a massive group exhibition featuring 79 works by 58 artists from the Dallas-Fort Worth area and beyond. Curated by Junanne Peck and Ariel Esquivel, the show spans painting, photography, metal sculpture, and printmaking to explore themes of identity, resilience, and the lived experiences of the Mexican-American community. Highlights include Rodrigo Paredes’ tribute to street vendors and Lisa Batchelder’s surrealist explorations of her Oak Cliff upbringing.

Why western Sicily is Italy’s emerging arts hub | Sicily holidays

Western Sicily is emerging as an unexpected arts hub, driven by grassroots cultural initiatives that are repurposing abandoned historic buildings. The article highlights several key projects: the Museum of World Cities in Palermo, opening in a former convent; Farm Cultural Park in Favara, which transformed a depopulated mining town into a vibrant arts destination; Fondazione RIV in a deconsecrated church; and the artist-built town of Gibellina, which was reconstructed after a 1968 earthquake with art woven into its urban fabric. These efforts are led by local figures including Andrea Bartoli and Florinda Saievi, who have rehabilitated multiple sites across the region.

The Big Review | Manet & Morisot at Legion of Honor, San Francisco ★★★½

The article reviews the exhibition "Manet & Morisot" at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, which pairs works by Édouard Manet and Berthe Morisot to explore their artistic dialogue. It highlights how, contrary to the common assumption that Morisot was influenced by Manet, the show argues that Manet increasingly adopted Morisot's lighter palette, looser brushwork, and intimate subject matter in his later years, especially as his health declined. Key pairings include Manet's "Before the Mirror" (1877) and Morisot's "Woman at her Toilette" (around 1875-80), as well as their respective series of seasonal allegories, shown together for the first time.

Experience the wonders of Pippin Frisbie-Calder’s art inspired by LSU Vet Med residency

Pippin Frisbie-Calder, LSU School of Veterinary Medicine's 2025 artist-in-residence, will present a public exhibition and talk on November 10, 2025, at the LSU Vet Med Library. During her August residency, she engaged with clinicians, researchers, and the hospital environment to create original artworks inspired by veterinary science, using printmaking, woodcutting, and large-scale installations that explore climate change, species extinction, and environmental stewardship.

Home Away from Home — Finding Connection Through Utah Lake | UVU

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.

Ser Serpas: ‘I’m hoping I can add a bit of what I think is a healthy dose of unease’

Ser Serpas, an American artist and activist, presents her multifaceted practice in the exhibition 'Of my life' at Kunsthalle Basel. Known for assemblages from found and discarded materials, she now emphasizes painting, creating large-scale works that double as props and backdrops for a collaboration with the Margo Korableva Performance Theatre from Tbilisi, Georgia. Serpas discusses her sourcing process in Basel, her partnership with director David Chikhladze, and the evolution of her work from sculptures to paintings that record studio activities.

How Gretchen Andrew’s AI art is revealing the societal scars of ‘facetuning’

Gretchen Andrew, a former Silicon Valley software engineer turned artist, has created a series titled "Facetune Portraits: Universal Beauty" that critiques unattainable beauty standards perpetuated by social media and AI. Using images of Miss World contestants, she employs the apps Facetune and Body Tune to digitally alter the photos, then works with creative robotics company Matr Labs to produce oil paintings. An oil paint printer creates the original image, and an XY-axis drawing robot adds brushstrokes based on discrepancies between the original and AI-modified versions, resulting in unsettling portraits that highlight the 'scars' of digital manipulation. The series won the Acquisition Award at Untitled Art Miami Beach and has been shown at Hope 93 gallery in London and Heft Gallery in New York, with a major institutional acquisition pending.

Dizzy, Nauseous Columbus Art Museum Workers Issue Complaints About Chemical Fumes

Workers at the Columbus Museum of Art have filed a complaint with OSHA, reporting symptoms like headaches, nausea, and dizziness believed to be caused by fumes from a chemical floor sealant used during renovations. The sealant, GT 275, is intended for outdoor or well-ventilated use and carries warnings about inhalation risks, with a former employee expressing concern over potential long-term health effects from exposure.

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The Dorset Museum & Art Gallery in England has launched a fundraising campaign to acquire a rare 15th-century Netherlandish altarpiece, known as *The Master of the Sherborne Almshouse Triptych*, valued at up to £3.5 million ($4.6 million). The work is set to be auctioned by Sotheby’s in an Old Master evening sale next month, and the museum aims to prevent it from entering a private collection or being exported. The triptych, which depicts five healings of Jesus Christ, was hidden during periods of iconoclastic destruction and rediscovered in St. John’s Almshouse in Sherborne in the 19th century; it has only left the site twice, for exhibitions at the Royal Academy in 1923 and the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2003.

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A national survey commissioned by the Mellon Foundation and conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago has produced a 102-page report on the livelihoods of 2,618 US artists across five disciplines—performing arts, visual arts, writing, craft arts, and other arts—broken into 37 subdisciplines. Key findings reveal that 34% of artists are fully self-employed, 50% are self-employed in their primary job, and 11% hold three or more jobs. More than 57% of artists report being worried about financial vulnerabilities, including food (22%), housing, medical costs (32%), or utilities, while 28% provide unpaid care for a loved one and 8% have served in the military.