700 Years of Tenochtitlan (again): Mexico honours its pre-Hispanic capital

Mexico is commemorating the 700th anniversary of the founding of México-Tenochtitlan with a series of public events including art installations, urban routes, performances, and dances organized by federal and local authorities. The festivities, centered on the Zócalo near the Templo Mayor site, feature large-scale reproductions of Mexica artifacts such as the Aztec Calendar Stone and the Coatlicue statue, along with a video-mapping projection titled "Memoria Luminosa" that narrates the city's history. The celebration follows a similar event in 2021 led by then-president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, which drew criticism for historical inaccuracies and political manipulation.

Art Basel Miami Beach to welcome 41 new exhibitors

Art Basel Miami Beach (ABMB) will return from December 5 to 7, 2025, with 285 galleries, including 41 first-time exhibitors—a significant increase from previous years. The fair will emphasize Latinx, Indigenous, and diasporic artistic currents, and will feature galleries from 44 countries, with over two-thirds operating in the Americas. New participants include New York galleries such as David Peter Francis, Candice Madey, and Margot Samel, as well as Erin Cluley Gallery from Dallas, Miami’s Nina Johnson, and Voloshyn Gallery, the first Ukrainian exhibitor at the fair. Returning mega-galleries include Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, David Zwirner, Pace Gallery, and White Cube. The fair will also debut the Art Basel Awards, with gold medalists announced on December 4.

Newly designed gallery for Applied Arts of Europe opening at Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute of Chicago will open the newly designed Eloise W. Martin Galleries for the Applied Arts of Europe on July 11, 2025. The 4,500-square-foot space will display over 300 objects from the museum's collections of furniture, silver, ceramics, and glass dating from 1600 to 1900, with 40% more objects on view than previously. Highlights include a carved chair made by Indian artisans for a European merchant, rare Chinese porcelain vases mounted in gilded bronze, and a neo-Gothic sideboard by William Burges. The galleries, designed by Barcelona-based architects Barozzi Veiga, follow a chronological narrative exploring design, craftsmanship, and commerce amid geopolitical shifts and colonialism.

Painting of St. Rose of Lima is part of Walters Art Museum exhibition

The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore has unveiled a new permanent installation of Latin American art, featuring a rare 18th-century painting titled "The Allegory of St. Rosa of Peru" by an anonymous artist from the Cuzco School. The oil-on-canvas depicts St. Rose of Lima, the first canonized saint from the New World, emerging from a giant rose alongside an allegorical female figure representing the Americas and a stylized Inca ruler. The artwork, dated between 1730 and 1760, is a rare survivor of colonial-era paintings that were often destroyed after the Tupac Amaru uprising.

Louvre forced to close after staff walk out protesting overcrowding

Staff at the Musée du Louvre, the world's most visited museum, walked off the job on Monday morning, forcing an unscheduled closure. Thousands of visitors with pre-booked tickets were left waiting outside I. M. Pei’s glass pyramid in 27°C heat as gallery attendants, ticket agents, and security personnel gathered in the auditorium to protest overcrowded galleries and worsening visiting conditions. The walkout lasted a few hours; management representatives met with staff, and the museum reopened around 2:30pm. It was the second walkout this year.

Lou Billinghurst's first solo exhibition to open at Timaru art gallery

Ceramicist Lou Billinghurst opened her first solo exhibition at Timaru’s York Street Gallery of Fine Arts on Friday. The show features a range of ceramic works including wall art and three totem poles, which Billinghurst describes as bringing out whimsical elements and offering light relief from the world. She rekindled her pottery practice about 10 years ago after moving to Timaru to care for her late mother, and has since taught hand-building with the South Canterbury Pottery Group.

Lake Charles artist presents African American art exhibit at Historic City Hall

Lake Charles artist Ryann Sterling presents a new African American art exhibit at the Black Heritage Gallery inside Historic City Hall in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The show features 15 mixed-media collages, sculptures, and photography pieces that explore themes of southern culture, femininity, and spirituality rooted in deep South Louisiana. Sterling, who has been an artist for 14 years, is debuting her first solo exhibit; her work has previously been displayed at the New Orleans African American Museum and the New Orleans Museum of Art.

CAM Raleigh to pause exhibitions amid financial and cultural challenges for small, local museums

The Contemporary Art Museum (CAM) in Raleigh, North Carolina, announced it will temporarily pause exhibitions and in-house programming starting June 15, 2025, as part of a strategic effort to reassess its role and operations. The museum cited rising operational costs, shifting donor trends, and increasingly competitive funding as challenges facing small museums nationwide. While the main galleries close, CAM will continue offsite programming and host the annual Raleigh Fine Arts Society’s NC Artists Exhibition in September. Two current exhibitions—'Look to the West' and 'Skin of the City' featuring works by Rigoberto Mena—remain on view through June 15.

metropolitan museum of art's new rockefeller wing to open this weekend with public party

The Metropolitan Museum of Art will reopen its Michael C. Rockefeller Wing on May 31, 2025, after a four-year renovation led by Kulapat Yantrasast and WHY Architecture. The redesigned wing houses the museum's collections of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Ancient Americas in distinct galleries with improved sight-lines, filtered daylight, and a more navigable layout. A day-long public festival featuring a ribbon-cutting, live performances, workshops, artist talks, and food will celebrate the opening.

9 must-see Seattle art exhibits for the next month

This article highlights nine visual art exhibitions in Seattle for June, curated as staff picks to embrace themes of change, regeneration, and healing. Featured shows include "Taking Care: Embrace with Tenderness" at Seattle University's Hedreen Gallery, which closes next year when the building is razed for a new museum; "Jill Kyong: Between Spaces" at SlipStitch Studio; "Mel Carter: bitter, the mourning" at Gallery 4Culture; "Gina Ariko: Ikebana and the Art of Resilience" at Gallery 110; "Healing Our Roots" at The Fishbowl gallery; and "Third Eye" at Base Camp Studios, among others. The exhibitions span photography, glass art, floral arrangements, and group shows, all free and open to the public.

This art collector went from running his own marketing firm to opening galleries in Hong Kong and London

Calvin Hui, a Hong Kong native who began collecting art as a student with a print by Joan Miró, has turned his passion into a career. After buying his first 'serious' work—Jar with Horizontal Colour Bars (2005) by Farhad Moshiri—he expanded his collection and eventually opened 3812 Gallery in Hong Kong in 2011, specializing in Chinese contemporary art and ink works. In 2018, he and a co-founder opened a second gallery in London’s Mayfair, which is set to relocate to The Whiteley London. Hui previously ran his own public relations, events, and marketing firm before transitioning to the art world.

Cayman Art Week returns with new events

Cayman Art Week returns for its fifth edition from 20-25 May 2025, featuring over 40 events including pop-up exhibitions, studio visits, and extended gallery hours across all three Cayman Islands. New additions this year include the CAW Little Cayman Bike Around and CAW East curated bus tours. The National Gallery is hosting three distinct exhibitions: 'TimeBack' with archival photographs, 'Evolutions: Continuity & Change in Caymanian Art', and 'From the Mind's Eye' exploring dreams and the subconscious. The event was founded in 2021 to stimulate the commercial art market and support artists post-COVID-19.

The Berlin art legend who found his calling in sneaking into other artists’ shows

Patrick Jambon, a 58-year-old French performance artist living in Berlin, has spent the past 25 years attending gallery openings as a continuous performance piece he calls his 'gallery project.' Dressed in a bright red T-shirt, cartoonish metal-framed glasses, and carrying a yellow bike helmet, he visits dozens of galleries daily, compiling opening lists from websites and social media. His project has become so embedded in the city's art scene that his handwritten lists are now exhibited in spaces like Berlin-Weekly, and artists such as Ae Hee Lee note that 'you aren't a real Berlin artist if you don't know him.'

Artspace111 Opens Call for Annual Juried Exhibition; Names Texas Artist Jon Flaming as Guest Juror

Artspace111 in Fort Worth, Texas, has opened the call for entries for its 12th annual Texas Juried Exhibition, inviting Texas artists aged 18 and over to apply by June 2. This year's guest juror is acclaimed North Texas artist Jon Flaming, known for his cubist-inflected works and cowboy identity. The exhibition will run from July 26 to August 23, with $15,000 in prizes awarded, including a $10,000 top prize named the Edmund Craig Memorial Award, which also offers a solo or group exhibition opportunity at the gallery during its 2025-2026 season.

Trude Fleischmann Photography Exhibition: Famous & Family , Opens May 2

The Fairfield University Art Museum's Bellarmine Hall Galleries will host 'Famous & Family: Through the Lens of Trude Fleischmann' from May 2 through July 26, 2025. This is the first American solo museum exhibition dedicated to the Austrian-born photographer Trude Fleischmann (1895-1990), featuring over 100 photographs that span her groundbreaking career in 1920s-30s Vienna and her influential work in the United States after fleeing Nazi persecution in 1938. The show includes portraits of cultural figures such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Marian Anderson, and Albert Einstein, alongside never-before-exhibited works from family collections and a documentary film.

Detroit Art Institutions Resist Political Challenges to Diversity

Detroit art institutions, including the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, are actively resisting political pressures and legislative challenges aimed at rolling back diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The article details how these organizations are reaffirming their commitments to diverse programming, hiring practices, and community engagement despite a broader political climate that has targeted DEI efforts in the arts and education sectors.

Gallery sharing event Constellations Warsaw brings international flavour to a quickly developing art scene

Eleven Warsaw galleries opened their doors to eleven international counterparts for the second edition of Constellations, a gallery-sharing event running until May 10. Organized by Piktogram, Dawid Radziszewski, Stereo, and Wschód, the initiative pairs galleries from Basel, Berlin, Bucharest, Frankfurt, London, Naples, Paris, Shanghai, Stockholm, and Vienna with Polish art spaces like Foksal, Raster, and experimental newcomer Turnus. Highlights included Iris Touliatou's installation "untitled (still not over you)" at Import Export, which won the Friends’ Art Prize, funding an acquisition for the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw (MSN).

Interview with Pietro Vallone, new president of the Association of Modern and Contemporary Art Galleries in Italy

Intervista a Pietro Vallone nuovo presidente dell’Associazione delle gallerie d’arte moderna e contemporanea in Italia

Pietro Vallone, partner and financial director of Massimo De Carlo, has been elected the new president of ANGAMC (Associazione Nazionale Gallerie d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea) for the 2026-2030 term. The election took place during the association's ordinary assembly at Triennale di Milano on May 25, 2026, where a new board of directors, including vice presidents Giovanni Bonelli and Claudia Ciaccio, was also appointed. In an interview following his election, Vallone addressed the challenges facing Italian galleries, including a structural slowdown in the global art market due to geopolitical instability, economic shifts, and changing patterns of cultural consumption and collecting.

Lancaster gallery hosts exhibition of paintings and drawings from self-taught artist

King Street Arts in Lancaster is hosting an exhibition titled 'Not all Rainbows and Sunshine' featuring paintings and drawings by self-taught artist Thom Draven. The show runs from May 27 to June 6 and includes works like 'Disconnection,' created as part of Draven's ongoing mental health journey.

New walking tour sees concrete walls turn into open-air galleries

A new walking tour in Auckland, New Zealand, celebrates 40 iconic street art murals created over the past 40 years in the city center. Supported by Auckland Council and the city centre targeted rate, the tour transforms concrete walls into open-air galleries, featuring works by artists including Sung Hwan ‘Bobby’ Park, Anzac Tasker, and Otis Frizzell. New murals were recently unveiled, including three light-based works in Cross Street and the Tiaki Promise 2026 mural near the New Zealand International Convention Centre, which explores Māori culture, Pacific migration, queer identity, and community values.

major exhibition of rare paintings and archives honors zaha hadid ten years after her passing

A major exhibition titled 'I Think There Should Be No End to Experimentation' has opened at LUMA Arles, marking the sixth chapter of the Hans Ulrich Obrist Archives. Curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Arthur Fouray, the show honors the late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid on the tenth anniversary of her passing. It features rarely exhibited paintings, early calligraphic drawings, personal notebooks, and previously unseen video interviews from 2001 to 2013, alongside tribute posters by peers such as Sir Peter Cook, Stefano Boeri, Sumayya Vally, Iwan Baan, and Lina Ghotmeh. The exhibition is presented in the Tower building designed by Frank Gehry and unfolds across the Cherry Tree Gallery and Archives Gallery, with exhibition furniture conceived by Kazuyo Sejima.

Art fair showcases Beijing’s evolution as cultural destination - China Daily

The Beijing Dangdai Art Fair opened on Thursday at the National Agricultural Exhibition Center, running through Sunday. It features a wide range of works from late artist Zao Wou-ki’s tiny sketch drafts to large-scale installation art and robot pieces co-developed by artists and tech companies. Galleries from Beijing’s 798 art zone, other Chinese cities, and international institutions are participating. The fair also marks the launch of the 2026 Beijing Art Season, which includes Beijing Design Week and Gallery Weekend Beijing, and offers an off-site exhibition at WONDER · China World Mall through May 31.

Chuck Connelly Masterpiece “Coliseum” Comes Out of Storage for First Time in 21 Years

Chuck Connelly's monumental 1994 painting "Coliseum" has been unveiled at One Art Space in Tribeca, New York, after spending 21 years in storage. The 90-by-108-inch oil on canvas, a signature work of the late American artist known for his fiercely expressive style, is now on public view for the first time since 2005. The May 2, 2026 unveiling was attended by family members including Adrienne Connelly, as well as notable figures such as MaryAnn Giella McCulloh, Mei Fung, and others.

Man Can’t Tell if Friend’s Art Show Surrealist or Bad

Local man Brian Jacobs attends a friend's high-profile surrealist art show in New York but cannot determine whether the works are genuinely surrealist or simply poorly executed. He describes a painting of a five-eyed fisherman holding a melting bowling ball as looking like it was painted by a first grader. The artist, Gavin McCloud, interprets Jacobs's bewildered reactions as impressed awe and plans to gift him the melting bowling ball painting. Gallery owner Christine Morgan admits she sometimes hosts derivative work from donors' children in exchange for large checks, and advises artists to claim ambiguity as the real art if questioned.

Five Scottish museum collections awarded national significance status

Five museum collections in Scotland have been awarded national significance status on International Museum Day, bringing the total number of recognized collections in Scotland to 56. The newly designated collections are the Linoleum Collection (managed by OnFife), the Photographic Collection (University of St Andrews), the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design Collection (University of Dundee Museums), the Oakbank Collection (Scottish Crannog Centre), and the Art Collection (University of Stirling). The Recognition Scheme, managed by Museums Galleries Scotland, highlights collections beyond those held in national museums and galleries, spanning from Shetland to Dumfries and Galloway.

Exhibition at La Jolla’s Tim Bessell gallery to showcase surf-inspired art

An upcoming exhibition at Tim Bessell's surfboard shop and gallery in La Jolla will showcase surf-inspired works by a group of artists connected by their shared love of surfing and the ocean. The show, expected to open in the first week of June, features painter, sculptor, photographer, and mixed-media artists, including Joel Pessoa, Tim Bessell, Robin Bessell, Shaun Donovan, and Steve Sherman. Pessoa will display wood carvings from Portugal and paintings from his time in La Jolla, while Bessell—an internationally known surfboard maker and artist—will also exhibit his own works, alongside his wife Robin's floral mixed-media pieces and informal contributions from his daughter Natalie.

Student artists bring diverse visions to IVC’s annual gallery exhibit

The 2026 IVC Student Art Exhibit opened at Imperial Valley College's Juanita Lowe Art Gallery on May 6, featuring a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a diverse range of student works including sculptures, videos, paintings, mixed media, and photography. Notable pieces include Catalina Gonsalez's acrylic series "Fire-Fuego," "Wind-Viento," "Water-Agua," and "Earth-Tierra," Stephanie Carrillo's watercolor of Salvador Dali, Kimberly Rodriguez's "Fragile Dancer," and Alejandro Mendez's "Self Portrait." Artist Daniel Barrera Jr. showcased Renaissance-inspired drawings, and author Cuauhtemoc (Chucky) Cortez presented his children's book "Joaquiner Stinker" with illustrations by Jesus Felix.

Untitled, 1982 by Anni Albers, Ink and gouache on paper, 15.9 x 22.9 cm (5)

Ocula, an online platform for contemporary art, has published a promotional piece highlighting its services: partnering with leading galleries to showcase artists and artworks, offering vetted gallery membership by application and invitation, and providing art advisory with access to influential galleries, collectors, and auction houses. The article also mentions Ocula's editorial content that celebrates people and ideas shaping contemporary art.

From galleries to guest rooms: The best art-inspired stays in Europe

A number of European hotels are integrating art collections and museum-quality experiences into their accommodations, offering travelers the chance to stay within or adjacent to art spaces. Notable examples include MACAM in Lisbon, Portugal, which combines a contemporary art museum with a hotel featuring the private collection of founder Armando Martins, including works by Marina Abramović and Paula Rego; the Byblos Art Hotel Villa Amistà in Verona, Italy, blending Renaissance architecture with avant-garde art; and the Elizabeth Arthotel in Ischgl, Austria, which has showcased art and sculpture since 1976 and recently added a rooftop commission by the artist duo NONOS.

Art News: A Preview Of The Lucas Museum Of Narrative Art and A Roberta Flack Auction at Julien’s

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, a 300,000-square-foot institution designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec, will open in Los Angeles' Exposition Park on September 22. The 11-acre campus includes a park by Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA and will feature over 1,200 objects across 30 galleries, showcasing narrative art from ancient sculptures to modern cinema, drawn from the museum's founding collection. Separately, Julien's Auctions will host "Roberta Flack: Style, Art & Music," a no-reserve auction celebrating the singer's life and cultural impact, including her Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand Piano.