The 16th edition of the Circulation(s) festival has launched at the Centquatre-Paris, showcasing the work of 26 emerging European photographers. Running from March 21 to May 17, 2026, the exhibition highlights contemporary projects that reflect the current intuitions, social commitments, and creative challenges facing the next generation of lens-based artists.
Osaka-based Kasashima Gallery has unveiled its comprehensive 2026 exhibition schedule, which features a strategic expansion across Europe and Asia. The program includes a January showcase in Rome, a rare collection exhibition in Osaka in April, a summer tour through Western Europe, and a year-end retrospective in Japan, collectively featuring over 110 artists.
Russia has announced its intention to return to the Venice Biennale in 2026, marking its first participation since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The proposed pavilion, titled "The Tree is Rooted in the Sky," plans to feature 38 participants from Russia and several Global South nations. The announcement has sparked intense backlash from the European Commission and culture ministers across 22 countries, who argue that Russia’s presence undermines democratic values and serves as a tool for "dark cultural diplomacy."
India has announced its artist lineup for the 61st Venice Biennale, featuring Alwar Balasubramaniam, Sumakshi Singh, Ranjani Shettar, Asim Waqif, and Skarma Sonam Tashi. The national pavilion, located in the Arsenale, will showcase a diverse range of installations that explore themes of architectural memory, environmental sustainability, and the physical processes of nature. From Tashi’s recreations of Ladakhi homes using recycled materials to Singh’s spectral thread-based architectural fragments, the works collectively examine the fragility of heritage and the shifting relationship between humans and their environments.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has announced the five recipients of its 2026 Arts + Tech Fellowships. Administered by United States Artists, the program awards $50,000 in unrestricted funds to artists LIZN’BOW, Miguel Novelo, Rhonda Holbertson, Taeyoon Choi, and Wesley Taylor. These creators, based in California, Detroit, and Miami, utilize diverse technologies including computer vision, game engines, and custom code to explore the intersection of digital systems and human experience.
A new biography, "Trudeau & Doonesbury: The Cartoonist Who Turned the News Into Art," chronicles the life and career of reclusive cartoonist Garry Trudeau. Journalist Joshua Kendall's work, based on archives and interviews, traces Trudeau's evolution from a Yale student creating the strip's precursor to the creator of a politically potent daily comic that ran for over four decades.
The Charles H. MacNider Art Museum in Mason City has opened a solo exhibition titled "Ray Colby: Nature Photographer" in its Kinney-Lindstrom Gallery. The show features digital photographs printed on canvas, focusing on three specific themes: backyard insects and arachnids of the Midwest, urban birds from Minneapolis, and migrating Sandhill Cranes in Wisconsin. The works on display will be sold via auction to benefit the museum's programming.
The Trenton City Museum has launched the call for entries for the 43rd Ellarslie Open, appointing Adam Welch as the juror for the 2026 edition. Welch, the Executive Director of the Arts Council of Princeton and a former lecturer at Princeton University, will oversee the selection process for the prestigious regional showcase. Artists from the New Jersey and Pennsylvania areas are invited to submit digital entries through May 6, with the final exhibition scheduled to open on June 6 at the historic Ellarslie Mansion.
The Mandeville Art Gallery at the University of California San Diego is hosting "Faith Ringgold: Full Circle—The Teachings and Her Legacy," a comprehensive exhibition honoring the late artist and former faculty member. Curated by Mashonda Tifrere, the show features works spanning from 1976 to 2023, including Ringgold’s iconic story quilts, soft sculptures, masks, and political posters. The collection highlights her multidisciplinary approach and her commitment to centering Black American life and feminist narratives through her unique fusion of fine art and traditional craft.
Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota has debuted her first Bay Area solo exhibition, "Two Home Countries," at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. The show features Shiota’s signature immersive installations of red thread, most notably the 88-foot-long work "Diary," which suspends handwritten journal pages from World War II soldiers and postwar civilians within a dense crimson web. The exhibition also includes sculptures, video, and performance-based works that explore themes of memory, displacement, and the psychological state of living between cultures.
Simchowitz Gallery is presenting "Two of Us," a dual exhibition featuring Ukrainian artists Andrey Samarin and Lera Derkach at Hill House in Pasadena. The show explores the creative dialogue between the two artists, who have lived and worked together in France for the past three years while maintaining distinct individual practices. Samarin’s work focuses on the physical gesture of painting, blending abstraction and figuration influenced by German Expressionism and medieval art, while Derkach’s canvases lean into dreamlike narratives, metamorphosis, and psychological tension.
The Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art has opened 'Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art,' an exhibition curated by Kevin D. Dumouchelle and Serubiri Moses. Developed through years of direct dialogue with LGBTQ+ artists across Africa and its diaspora, the show foregrounds self-representation and community, ensuring artists defined the terms of their inclusion. It features contemporary works alongside historical precedents, creating a continuum of queer presence in African art history.
The Amorepacific Museum of Art in Seoul has launched "APMA, CHAPTER FIVE – FROM THE APMA COLLECTION," a major exhibition featuring approximately 80 works from its permanent holdings. Running from April 1 to August 2, 2026, the showcase includes a diverse array of paintings, sculptures, and installations by over 40 influential Korean and international artists. High-profile participants include Kiki Smith, Rose Wylie, Carol Bove, and Gala Porras-Kim, alongside Korean masters such as Nam June Paik, Lee Bul, and Haegue Yang.
Thai artist and filmmaker Chantana Tiprachart has been awarded the 2026 Southeast Asian Video Art Production Grant by the Han Nefkens Foundation. The prize provides $15,000 for the production of a new moving-image work over a nine-month period, which will subsequently tour several international institutions including the Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai and Nottingham Contemporary. The jury selected Tiprachart for her ability to locate social and political narratives within quiet, everyday spaces, praising her commitment to reflection in an era of information overload.
Upstairs Artspace in Tryon is launching two concurrent exhibitions, "Fight or Flight" and "Birds of a Feather," opening April 19. The solo show by Asheville-based artist Erika Diamond features textile sculptures crafted from bulletproof Kevlar and mirrored vinyl, exploring themes of queer safety, resilience, and survival. The accompanying group show, curated by Diamond, brings together eight artists whose works in photography, glass, and painting examine identity and the human body's relationship to the natural world.
The Taft Museum of Art has named Cincinnati-based painter Ayana Ross as the 2026 Robert S. Duncanson Artist-in-Residence, marking the 40th anniversary of the prestigious program. Ross, known for her figurative realism and traditional oil painting techniques, will be featured in a solo exhibition titled "Beyond the Picturesque: The American Landscape as a Site of Memory, Identity and Continuity." The showcase includes seven paintings integrated into the Taft’s historic house and Sinton Gallery, with a specific installation placed alongside the museum's famous 19th-century murals by Robert S. Duncanson.
The Sanctus Artem club at Manhattan University recently hosted "The MET MU," a formal art exhibition held in Smith Auditorium. Designed to emulate the high-end atmosphere of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the event showcased a diverse array of student and alumni work, including 2D and 3D art, digital media, and fashion-related projects. The exhibition featured contributions from over a dozen artists and offered a professional gallery experience complete with formal attire and refreshments.
The Arizona State University Art Museum is set to open "Carmen Lomas Garza: Picturing the Familiar" this May, a retrospective dedicated to the 76-year-old Chicana artist and author. The exhibition highlights Garza’s career-long commitment to documenting South Texas and Mexican-American life through paintings, prints, and children's book illustrations. Her work focuses on intimate, everyday scenes—from domestic interiors to community celebrations—that were heavily influenced by her involvement in the Chicano movement.
Artist Sean Benton is currently showcasing a solo exhibition at the Truro Public Library in Nova Scotia, running through April 24. The collection features a diverse range of subjects, including portraits, landscapes, and architectural studies, all unified by Benton’s commitment to expressive realism and observational painting. The exhibition was organized following an open call from the Colchester-East Hants Public Library system, reflecting the artist's ongoing effort to engage with new audiences outside of traditional gallery spaces.
The Lexicon Art in New Delhi is set to host "Dvaita (द्वैत): Dualities," a group exhibition curated by architect and artist Ankon Mitra opening on April 18, 2026. Featuring the work of 11 contemporary artists, the show explores the philosophical concept of dualism through contrasting elements such as light and shadow, geometric and amorphous forms, and gold and silver. The exhibition design moves away from the traditional white cube format, instead utilizing the gallery space to create a physical "dance of dualities" that reflects India’s layered cultural realities.
The Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings, Montana, has launched two new ceramic-focused exhibitions: "Folktales and Fanfare" and "Embedded in the Overlap." A central highlight of the new programming is the work of Ukrainian ceramicist Janina Myronova, whose exhibition features whimsical stoneware figures and drawings that explore themes of home, hope, and human connection. Myronova’s work, including her 2023 piece "Two Heads Are Better Than One," blends traditional ceramic techniques with dreamlike narratives.
The Buffalo AKG Art Museum has announced a major upcoming exhibition titled "Let Us Gather in a Flourishing Way," featuring fifty-eight contemporary Latinx artists. Curated by Andrea Alvarez, the show examines how artists from the Latin American and Caribbean diaspora are redefining the traditions of painting while challenging political and disciplinary boundaries. After its debut in Buffalo in March 2026, the exhibition will embark on a national tour to Des Moines, Phoenix, and Seattle.
The Fall River Museum of Contemporary Art (FR MoCA) has launched "Citadel," a group exhibition featuring nine international artists including Lydia Ourahmane and Kambel Smith. Curated by Cory John Scozzari, the show utilizes diverse media—from sculpture and video to performance—to explore themes of urban movement, geopolitical complexity, and the mechanisms of surveillance and control. The exhibition is set to run through July 19, 2026, with an opening reception and curator-led walkthroughs scheduled for April.
The Art Museum of the University of Memphis (AMUM) has launched two concurrent exhibitions. One showcases recent acquisitions to the museum's permanent collection, while the other is a solo exhibition featuring the work of Memphis-based artist Maysey Craddock.
The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis has announced it is severing ties with its on-site restaurant, Cardamom, following the establishment's sudden decision to lay off its front-of-house staff. The restaurant, operated by chef Daniel del Prado, intended to replace 16 servers and hosts with a QR code ordering system to combat financial losses. Museum director Mary Ceruti stated that the move caught the institution by surprise and does not align with the museum's commitment to providing a welcoming, full-service environment for its visitors.
Labour peer Margaret Hodge has detailed her proposal to introduce admission fees for overseas tourists at England’s national museums, stipulating that such a move must be preceded by a universal digital ID system. Speaking to a parliamentary committee, Hodge argued that without digital verification, museum staff might resort to profiling visitors based on appearance, which would undermine community cohesion.
A major exhibition titled "Vivienne Westwood: Rebel – Storyteller – Visionary" has opened at the Bowes Museum in County Durham, England. The show features over 40 ensembles and numerous accessories drawn almost entirely from the private collection of Peter Smithson, a chemistry teacher and dedicated Westwood supercollector who has amassed these pieces over three decades.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has unveiled a massive $1.5 billion renovation plan titled "Rethinking, Reimagining and Reinstalling," which aims to transform approximately 25 percent of its galleries and public spaces. This ambitious capital project includes the complete overhaul of the Oscar L. and Annette de la Renta Wing for modern and contemporary art, the renovation of the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing for the arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, and significant updates to the European Paintings galleries.
The Amorepacific Museum of Art (APMA) in Seoul has established itself as a premier destination for contemporary art, featuring a diverse collection that bridges global masterpieces with traditional Korean aesthetics. The museum's current programming highlights its commitment to international dialogue, showcasing works by world-renowned artists alongside significant Korean historical artifacts and modern pieces.
The New Museum Los Gatos (NUMU) has launched ArtNow 2026, its largest juried high school exhibition to date, featuring 97 student artists from 36 schools across Santa Clara County. Selected from over 600 submissions, the featured works respond to the theme "Before / Between / Beyond," exploring concepts of identity, heritage, and the future. The exhibition process is designed to mirror professional standards, requiring students to submit artist statements and undergo a rigorous selection process by a panel of arts professionals.