Creativity as Curation

Yalin Hu, a Creative Director, has led several international exhibition projects over the past year, including "Infinite Weave" during New York Design Week (NYCxDESIGN Festival), the online exhibition "Unraveling" during London Design Festival, and "Touching the Void" at The Blanc Gallery in New York. In May 2026, she will lead "Becoming" at Artech Space in New York. Hu approaches each project as a complete creative system, focusing on theme development, spatial structure, audience journey, and cross-media integration, blending art, design, digital technology, and public experience.

As the South African Pavilion Sits Empty, Gabrielle Goliath Continues a ‘Life-Work of Mourning’

South African artist Gabrielle Goliath inaugurated an off-site Venice exhibition with a public poetry reading after her official presentation at the South African Pavilion was canceled. The performance, part of her ongoing series *Elegy* (2015), features seven singers sustaining a single tone for an hour as a mourning ritual. The work addresses femicide, rape culture, and the killing of Palestinian civilians, and includes new video and sound installations lamenting specific victims: South African teenager Ipeleng Christine Moholane, Nama women killed during Germany’s colonization of Namibia, and Palestinian poet Hiba Abu Nada. The South African Department of Sport, Arts and Culture rescinded Goliath’s invitation in January, deeming the work “related to an ongoing international conflict that is widely polarising.” Goliath unsuccessfully challenged the decision in South Africa’s high court, and the exhibition now runs throughout the Venice Biennale outside the official program before traveling to London in October.

National Geographic announces extended tour of The Greatest Wildlife Photographs

The National Geographic Society has announced an extended tour of its exhibition "The Greatest Wildlife Photographs," following its run at The Momentary in Arkansas, USA. The show features a curated selection of iconic wildlife images from National Geographic magazine, chosen by picture editor Kathy Moran, and includes works by renowned photographers such as Michael “Nick” Nichols, Steve Winter, Paul Nicklen, Beverly Joubert, and David Doubilet. The exhibition will be available for booking in the US and globally as a digital delivery, and is currently on view at The Momentary from November 22, 2025, to June 7, 2026.

A circle of Cuban art at Westchester Regional Library

The Westchester Regional Library in Miami is hosting "Circular Reflections," an exhibition featuring over 80 contemporary Cuban artists, each working within a 21-inch circular format. Organized in collaboration with the Miami-Dade Public Library System, the show opened on April 3 and runs through June 25. Curated by Miami-based artist and independent curator Miguel Rodez, the project began nearly a decade ago and has evolved into a traveling, ongoing documentation of Cuban visual culture. Artists like Ismael Gómez Peralta discuss how the circular constraint challenged traditional rectangular composition, pushing them to rethink spatial organization while maintaining their individual visual languages.

Philippine art goes on tour this May

Manila Calling, a traveling art exhibition organized by Manila Collective Inc., launches this May, connecting Manila, Barcelona, Madrid, and Tokyo. The project transforms traditional exhibition spaces into a hybrid of gallery, curated gift shop, and street-level art party, featuring 70 creatives from the Philippines, Spain, France, Italy, and Japan. Participating artists submitted original artworks translated into a unified silk textile installation, alongside limited-edition prints, zines, apparel, and collectible objects. The tour includes stops in Barcelona (May 15-16), Madrid (May 19-20), a month-long exhibit at Centro de Turismo Intramuros in Manila (June 6-27), and a Tokyo stop with a closing celebration in Barcelona in July. A pop-up gift shop in Comuna, Makati precedes the tour on May 8-10.

Art exhibit is about ‘Completing the Journey.’ It offers window into hospice through patients’ eyes

Masonicare Hospice & Palliative Care has launched "Completing the Journey: The Art of Hospice Care," an art exhibit featuring works created by patients in hospice care across its senior living communities in Connecticut. The exhibit, the first of its kind from Masonicare in over 15 years, includes small artworks on self-standing screens, accompanied by portraits of the artists and brief statements about their creative process. It opened at the Hartog Activities Center in Wallingford on April 28 and will travel to other Masonicare facilities, including Rocky Hill, after previous stops in Chester and Mystic. The project was funded by the Masonic Charity Foundation of Connecticut.

‘The Little Flowers Are Me, Unbloomed:’ Georgia Foster Teens Find Their Voices Through Art Exhibit

Georgia foster teens have created a traveling art exhibit called the See Me project, sponsored by the nonprofit Georgia Appleseed, which has collected roughly 50 paintings, poems, and sculptures since 2023. The young artists, many first-time participants, explore themes of healing, hope, family, and belonging, often signing their works anonymously. The exhibit has been displayed at the Georgia Capitol, universities, community centers, and law firms, with artists paid $250 for their contributions.

This free exhibition celebrates the Monogram’s 130th anniversary with a selection of exceptional trunks in Paris.

To mark the 130th anniversary of Louis Vuitton's Monogram canvas, the Parisian auction house Gros & Delettrez is hosting a free exhibition of rare travel trunks and accessories from May 18 to 20, 2026. The display features iconic pieces including two expedition bed trunks (one from 1911 with the initials 'B.B.'), a library trunk, a desk trunk, and other travel innovations designed between 1880 and 1930, all before they go up for auction on May 21.

Mark Seidenfeld Sets Sail Into 'Uncharted Waters' With New Art Exhibition

Mark Seidenfeld, a Hamptons-based abstract painter, will present a solo exhibition titled "Uncharted Waters" at the newly renovated Corwith Homestead Tractor Barn, part of The Bridgehampton Museum in New York. The show runs from June 4 to June 21, 2026, and features paintings that transition from representational work into fully realized abstraction, exploring themes of depth, gesture, and discovery through layered and revised compositions.

Brussels Airlines launches traveling art exhibition between Africa and Europe

Brussels Airlines has announced a major traveling exhibition called AfriConnections, dedicated to contemporary African art, set to launch in 2026. The exhibition will tour museums and cultural venues in Kinshasa, Abidjan, Yaoundé, and Dakar before arriving in Brussels, featuring fifteen artists from across Africa whose works are drawn from the Ifitry artist residency collection. Admission will be free to maximize public access.

Rare documents from National Archives’ Freedom Plane tour draw history buffs and more to USC Fisher Museum

The USC Fisher Museum of Art is hosting the "Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation," a traveling exhibition of rare founding-era documents from the U.S. National Archives. The show, which runs through May 3, includes items such as a rare engraved copy of the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Paris (1783), and a Senate markup of the Bill of Rights (1789). USC is the only university stop on the eight-city national tour, and the documents arrived in Los Angeles on a special Boeing 737. The exhibition has drawn history students, faculty, and the public, with USC Distinguished Professor Peter C. Mancall bringing his class to study the documents up close.

Retrospective exhibition traces Li Xiaoke's artistic journey

A retrospective exhibition titled "Distant Horizons · Traveler: The Footsteps of Li Xiaoke" opened at the Fangzhuang Culture and Art Center in Beijing, showcasing the work of the late artist Li Xiaoke. The exhibition, organized by the Li Keran Art Foundation, features his ink paintings, prints, and photography, all centered on his 34 journeys to the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau.

19 early-career artists, curators and students to benefit from professional development opportunity at Wales in Venice

The Arts Council of Wales has announced a 19-strong team of early-career artists, curators, and students who will travel to Venice this summer to support Wales' presence at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, running from May 9 to November 22, 2026. As part of the Invigilator+ programme, participants will spend at least one month in Venice acting as ambassadors for the Wales in Venice exhibition, an official collateral event. The exhibition, titled Sownd, is led by artists Manon Awst and Dylan Huw, jointly organized by Oriel Myrddin in Carmarthen and Oriel Davies in Newtown, with Steffan Jones-Hughes as Curator and Catherine Spring as Exhibition Project Director. The invigilators include Lily Tonkin Wells, Robert Oros, Ophelia dos Santos, Grace Springer, Cerian Wilshire Davies, Megan Evans, Howl Hubbard, Temeka Davies, Llyr Evans, Chloe Goodwin, Abby Pouslon, and Niamh O'Dobhain, while student team members come from Cardiff Metropolitan University, University of Wales Trinity St David, Wrexham University, and Aberystwyth University.

The first of May starts a new issue of Pax. Previews of the newsletter on cultural tourism (subscribe)

Il primo maggio parte una nuova uscita di Pax. Le anticipazioni della newsletter sul turismo culturale (abbonatevi)

The article previews the upcoming May 1st issue of Pax, a newsletter by Artribune focused on cultural tourism. It highlights a feature on Italy's colorful villages, explaining how bright colors historically aided sailors and fishermen, and how white facades served hygienic purposes. The issue also covers off-the-beaten-path destinations like Bolsena, which recently opened a contemporary art space in Palazzo Cozza Caposavi, and explores slow tourism practices such as barefooting, discussed with its founder Andrea Bianchi. Additional content includes a roundup of cultural initiatives from Berlin to Naples, Budapest's Citadella reopening, and the Sussex forest's Winnie-the-Pooh centenary.

Artist explores shifting perspective on family story

Artist Avi Amesbury has opened her new exhibition, 'Shifting Perspectives: The Self Reconciliation Project', at Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery in Australia. The show combines ceramics, mixed media, and sound to explore her personal family history as a descendant of white settler colonists in Western Australia. Over three years, Amesbury traveled across the country for residencies at Fremantle Arts Centre and Central Craft in Alice Springs, collecting wild clays and collaborating with composer MJ from Those Who Ride With Giants to incorporate poems, writings, and landscape sounds into the installation.

‘A masterclass in authentic, emotionally resonant storytelling’: The best museum exhibition in Britain to visit in 2026

Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings in Worcestershire, UK, won the Permanent Exhibition of the Year category at the 2026 Museums + Heritage Awards for its exhibition 'Revealing the Hidden Stories of the Showmen Community'. The show centers on a 1910 showman's grand living wagon owned by Tom Clarke, and includes 38 historic fairground signs, swing boats, an oral history section with 25 showmen, and hand-painted signage by commercial fairground artist Amy Goodwin. The exhibition was developed by collections manager Steven Hearn, who discovered the wagon in 2022 and collaborated with the National Fairground and Circus Archive and the Fairground Heritage Trust.

Museum of Islamic Art Hosts Empire of Light Exhibit Through May 2026

The Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar, is hosting the 'Empire of Light: Visions and Voices of Afghanistan' exhibition, running through May 30, 2026. The show features rare Afghan artifacts, illuminated manuscripts, and contemporary works, curated by Nicoletta Fazio, and is partnered with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. The museum, designed by I.M. Pei and opened in 2008, also offers weekend bazaars at MIA Park, enhancing the visitor experience with local crafts and jewelry.

Nelson-Aktins 1975 Chinese art exhibit still resonates in Kansas City today | Opinion

In spring 1975, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City hosted the second American stop of "The Exhibition of Archaeological Finds of the People's Republic of China," a landmark traveling show of ancient Chinese artifacts including jade, silk, and bronze sculptures. The author, then a University of Missouri-Kansas City economics student, worked behind the scenes at the museum, describing an unusual interview conducted while gardening and his task of touch-painting gallery walls with a dry brush to cover visitor smudges before opening.

You told us want you want to see in our arts coverage. We heard you

During the Milwaukee Art Museum’s annual Art in Bloom event, the Journal Sentinel gathered feedback from hundreds of attendees and digital survey respondents about what they want from arts coverage. The new arts and culture reporter, who wrote the article, outlines the key requests: more advance event coverage (especially free, family-friendly, and hands-on activities), support for smaller and underground art scenes, profiles of local artists including youth, coverage of overlooked art forms like graffiti and fabric arts, and diverse representation of Latino, women, LGBTQ+, and immigrant artists.

New exhibits open during First Friday reception at Ocean City Center for the Arts

The Art League of Ocean City will host its May First Friday reception on May 1, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Ocean City Center for the Arts. Highlights include Patrick Leib's participatory "Little Free Art Gallery" installation, a new utility box mural by Brandon Bell, and several gallery exhibitions: "Saltwater Taffy" (fiber arts) at the Thaler Gallery, "Flora and Fauna" (juried photography) at the Sisson Gallery, "Celebrating the Year of the Horse" by Joanne Guilfoil and Lynn Yockelson at Studio E, and mosaic works by William Camelio at the Spotlight Gallery. Satellite exhibits are also on view at The Princess Royale and The Coffee Beanery.

Exhibition highlights education as a quiet, steadfast art - China Daily

The fourth edition of the Young Teachers Support Program, founded by 92-year-old oil painter Jin Shangyi in 2017, culminates in the exhibition "Asking Tao and Forging Realms" at the Art Museum of the Chinese Academy of Oil Painting in Beijing. The program provides financial support for selected young art teachers from Chinese colleges to travel to Europe for classical study in museums, followed by field trips to China's border regions, resulting in new works displayed in a group show featuring nine artists.

The Fox Clark Gallery celebrates Bill Double and his 50-year artistic career in new exhibition

The Fox Clark Gallery is hosting a new exhibition celebrating Bill Double and his 50-year artistic career. The show highlights Double's evolution as an artist over five decades, featuring a range of works that trace his creative journey and contributions to the visual arts.

Cannabis Art Exhibition Comes to Fort Collins

A traveling art exhibition called Hear/Say, part of the Tea on THC campaign, will open May 27 at the Center for Creativity in Fort Collins, Colorado, and run through May 31. The exhibition combines scientific research with visual art—including painting, sculpture, photography, mixed media, and installation—to spark public conversations about the health impacts of high-potency cannabis. It is organized by the Colorado School of Public Health and Initium Health following Colorado House Bill 1317, which mandated research and public outreach on high-potency THC products. A free opening reception is scheduled for May 29, with additional events planned in Colorado Springs in June.

"For me, art is less about the finished piece and more about the journey"

Rotherham-born, Sheffield-based textile artist Jodie Cooper, who specializes in free-motion embroidery, discusses her journey from completing a degree in Fine and Applied Arts at University Centre Rotherham to becoming a full-time artist. She was commissioned by ArtWorks Together International and East Midlands Railway to create a tactile tapestry installation at Sheffield Train Station, running until 15 June, which explores themes of travel anxiety, neurodiversity, and accessibility. Cooper also shares her work through ArtWorks Together International Festival at Millennium Gallery and local art markets.

Exploring Shekhawati: Rajasthan’s open-air art gallery of frescoed havelis

The article explores the Shekhawati region of northern Rajasthan, India, known as the world's largest open-air art gallery. It focuses on the 18th–20th century merchant havelis (mansions) hand-painted with intricate frescoes, many of which are now being restored as heritage hotels. The author recounts a personal stay at Malji Ka Kamra, a restored haveli in Mandawa, describing its blend of Italianate and Rajput architecture and the overwhelming frescoes covering every surface, depicting portraits, floral motifs, and scenes of daily life.

‘It’s Amazing!’: Regional artists shine at Westman Juried Art Show

The 47th Westman Juried Art Show was held at the Killarney United Church CE Center in Manitoba, featuring 120 flat art pieces by non-professional local artists. The event, organized by the Killarney-Turtle Mountain Arts Council (KTMAC) in partnership with the Arts West Council, included juried critiques from Leona Brown and Lucie Lederhendler, who selected 20 pieces for a travelling gallery across 19 communities and 10 pieces to compete in the Northern and Regional Manitoba Art Show in Winnipeg.

Charlotte professor brings voice to African artists, reshaping the mold of contemporary art

Lisa Homann, an Associate Art & Art History Professor at UNC Charlotte, will participate in the 2024 Venice Biennale (May 9–Nov. 22) alongside West African Masquerade artist David Sanou. Homann co-curated the traveling exhibition "New African Masquerades: Artistic Innovations and Collaborations," which opened in New Orleans and will conclude at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art. She was invited by Kevin Dumouchelle, the museum's main curator, to join the African Art in Venice Forum, a critical dialogue aimed at giving voice to contemporary African artists often excluded from mainstream contemporary art narratives. Homann's work with the Sanou family spans nearly two decades, beginning with David's father, Andre Sanou, in 2008.

Albert Yuk Shuttered Light Exhibit Opens in Reed Gallery

On April 12, the Reed Gallery opened 'Shuttered Light,' an exhibition of photographs by Deerfield Academy student Albert Yuk (class of 2026). The show juxtaposes staged war scenes from a Beijing film set with real wartime documentation from Israel and Iran, aiming to highlight media bias and the blurring of authenticity in news imagery. Yuk, who has traveled to conflict zones including Israel, Iran, Kazakhstan, and Afghanistan, began his photography career working for Pulitzer Prize-winning Chinese photojournalist Liu Heung Shing. The exhibition includes personal favorites like 'Intersection of Tradition and Modernity' and 'Warrior’s Respite,' reflecting themes of freedom, liberty, and gender roles.

‘Prolific V: The Lost Gallery’ Brings Immersive Art, Music, and Tech to St. Thomas

On Saturday, the Virgin Islands Council on the Arts on St. Thomas will host “Prolific V: The Lost Gallery,” an immersive exhibition blending visual art, music, and interactive technology presented by Eliana B. Artistry. Curated by St. Croix native and Air Force veteran Eliana L. Schuster-Brown, the event features augmented reality elements, an original animation co-produced with Kirk Rojas, and soundscapes by AJ Ventura. Artists include Lucien Downes, Elwin Joseph, Indira Lovely, Chunikwa George, Amy Gibbs, and Kanda Burges. The exhibition runs for two weeks afterward, with all artwork for sale and tickets available on Eventbrite.

Where to go in Venice?

Wohin in Venedig?

Nicoletta Fiorucci, a collector and philanthropist, shares her personal recommendations for experiencing Venice beyond the tourist crowds. She suggests quiet gardens, romantic detours, hidden islands, and the best addresses for authentic local cuisine, offering insider tips for navigating the city's bustling atmosphere.