A short list of community art spaces is being promoted for people to visit during a shutdown period. The article highlights local venues where art can still be experienced, encouraging public engagement with grassroots creative hubs despite broader closures.
The Heilongjiang Provincial Artists Association held its 2026 annual work meeting and the 7th 9th Presidium (Expanded) Meeting on April 29, 2026, via a hybrid online-offline format. Over 100 participants attended, including presidium members, council members, heads of municipal and industry artists associations, and committee members. The meeting conveyed directives from the China Artists Association's study and implementation of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, as well as the provincial文联's work arrangements. It summarized 2025 work and outlined key tasks for 2026, emphasizing ideological guidance through Xi Jinping's cultural thought, people-centered creative direction focusing on local themes like black soil culture and borderland heritage, and strengthening of traditional art forms such as Heilongjiang printmaking and watercolor. The meeting also approved new council member additions, first-batch 2026 membership applications, and committee adjustments.
La cinquième édition de Paris Print Fair
The fifth edition of the Paris Print Fair has opened, solidifying its status as a key event during Drawing Week. The fair, held in the Gothic refectory of the Couvent des Cordeliers, features 25 international exhibitors with a strong focus on old masters and works predating the 1930s, continuing a trend where specialists in older prints take precedence over modern and contemporary galleries. New participants this year include the Swiss dealer August Laube and the Brussels gallery Le Tout-Venant.
The Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria will host 'Between Here and Elsewhere,' an exhibition featuring the Top 10 artists from the 2025/26 Tlhagella Incubation Programme. Curated by Puleng Plessie, the show opens on 1 May 2026 and presents works that explore themes of presence, memory, and belonging through a polyphonic, multi-perspectival approach.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago has opened 'Dancing the Revolution: From Dancehall to Reggaetón,' a major exhibition exploring dance as a political language. It features over forty artists working across installation, video, sculpture, and sound, tracing the cultural trajectories of dancehall and reggaetón from the Caribbean diaspora to global contexts.
Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch have compiled an archival collection of photographs documenting the studios and homes of artists in the East End, spanning nearly two centuries. The project highlights the enduring appeal of the region as a creative haven for generations of artists.
Art e Fekts Gallery in Downtown Pittston will host "This is Me – The Pottery of Paul DeLuca," the second exhibit of 2026, opening on Friday, May 8 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Dr. Joseph Lombardo Gallery. The exhibit coincides with the first 2nd Friday Art Walk of the year and will run until June 5, featuring the unique ceramic work of regional artist Paul DeLuca, who owns and operates Bank Street Pottery.
James Cope Gallery has unveiled a new exhibition where the primary focus shifts from individual subjects to the evocative power of atmosphere. The presentation prioritizes mood, lighting, and spatial resonance, inviting viewers to engage with the sensory qualities of the environment rather than traditional narrative structures.
Artist Garnet Goldman discusses her intricate, hand-cut paper works in an interview, detailing her shift from painting to paper cutting after a creative hiatus. She describes her intuitive process, where pieces begin with a single shape and evolve into complex compositions of flora, hair, and symbolic figures that blend folk tradition and personal mythology.
Western’s Student Art Exhibition has opened to the public at the school’s Art Gallery, featuring works in painting, printmaking, ceramics, photography, drawing, sculpture, and mixed media. The exhibition runs until August 28, with a public reception and awards ceremony scheduled for May 14, where community members can meet the student artists and purchase their work.
Hannah Powell, a University of Pittsburgh alumna, has been appointed as the first official coordinator of the University Art Gallery (UAG) at Pitt. After earning a degree in anthropology and a minor in museum studies from Pitt in 2016, she pursued a master's in museum studies from the University of Glasgow, then worked at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and later at Pittsburgh institutions like the Heinz History Center and Carnegie Science Center. Since starting her role at the UAG in 2024, Powell coordinates exhibitions, plans educational programming, and improves accessibility to a collection of over 3,000 pieces, working alongside one other full-time employee.
北京美术家协会召开第七届理事会第三次会议、艺委会工作会议
The Beijing Artists Association convened its Seventh Council Third Session and Art Committee Work Conference at the Beijing Conference Center. The meeting was chaired by Fan Di'an, President of both the China Artists Association and the Beijing Artists Association, with Ma Xinming, Party Secretary and Executive Vice Chairman of the Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles, also delivering a speech. Key agenda items included reviewing the council's work report, discussing a draft five-year high-quality development action plan for the city's art sector, and announcing the membership list for a new working committee focused on new artistic groups. The afternoon featured group discussions where participants proposed recommendations on thematic creation, technology integration, talent cultivation, and rural revitalization.
2025年重庆市美术家协会“送欢乐、下基层”文艺惠民活动暨中国画艺委会“子庄精神——书画名家进校园”走进永川子庄小学
The Chongqing Artists Association, in collaboration with local government and cultural bodies, organized a cultural outreach event at Yongchuan Zizhuang Primary School. The event, part of the "Bringing Joy to the Grassroots" initiative, featured a calligraphy and painting exchange where artists from the city and district levels created works alongside teachers and students, culminating in a collaborative Chinese ink painting titled "Spring Garden." The program also included the donation of 100 art books to the school and the appointment of a prominent artist as an external art education counselor.
After a decade-long hiatus, Wichita State alumni and spouses John and Connie Ernatt reopened their art gallery, The Diver Studio, at 424 S Commerce St. in Wichita with a new exhibition on October 24, 2025. The opening drew a large crowd of family, friends, and local art lovers, featuring individual and collaborative works priced from $500 to $12,500, including a piece titled “Cold Sand” with price available upon request. The couple had closed the gallery during the COVID-19 pandemic to renovate the space, and this show marked their first public display in 10 years.
Porsche Studio Portland in the Pearl District is hosting a summer-long immersive art exhibition titled 'Shifting Realities,' running from June 4 to August 31. Created by Kelly Max and Aleks Davidovich of Portland's OWOW Inc., the exhibition features interactive rooms where visitors can paint a Porsche 911 with gestures, visualize engine sounds, and race in a simulator, with a robot arm serving Porsche-themed macarons at a flavor bar. The experience takes about 100 minutes and is open to all ages.
The Art Adventure Gallery in Madras, Oregon, is celebrating its 40th anniversary on May 7th with a special event from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The gallery opened in 1986 after a Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce art show revealed strong community interest but no permanent exhibition space. The anniversary event will showcase work from local artists, including the Tananáwit artist community of Warm Springs, and the first 40 attendees will receive free ice cream in hand-made ceramic bowls.
A student-led exhibition titled 'Unsung Artists' is being organized in New Paltz, New York, to provide a platform for young and emerging local artists who struggle to find opportunities to showcase their work. The show, a collaboration between SUNY New Paltz student Izzy Kerr and the Unframed Artists Gallery, aims to be inclusive of various artistic mediums and offers a professional, off-campus venue for artists who might not otherwise have a thesis show or gallery access.
L Studio Gallery has officially opened its doors on Craghead Street in Danville, Virginia, marking a new addition to the city's River District. Founded by local artist Louise Bendall, the multiuse space functions as both a retail gallery for local artwork and a hands-on pottery studio where community members can engage with the craft.
The Vacaville Art Gallery is preparing to host its annual "Set the Table" event, a fundraiser and exhibition where artists create and display unique table settings. The event serves as a key financial driver for the non-profit gallery, supporting its year-round operations and community programming. Meanwhile, MI Art Studios in Fairfield is opening a new exhibition titled "Beyond Time," featuring works by local artists that explore themes of temporality and memory.
Romanian artist Flaviu Cacoveanu has opened a solo exhibition titled 'Conceptual Play' at Parliament Gallery. The show features works where the artist transforms ordinary, everyday objects and materials into conceptual art pieces, inviting viewers to find new meanings in the familiar.
The China Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia has been announced under the title "Dream Stream." The pavilion will be part of the prestigious Venice Biennale, one of the world's most important contemporary art exhibitions, and is organized by the Chinese government or cultural authorities. The announcement was made via a press release distributed by PR Newswire, highlighting China's continued participation in this global art event.
The Watauga Arts Council (WAC) will present "The Art of Jazz" in its Main Gallery from May 5 through June 30, an exhibition that translates the cultural and personal influence of jazz into visual art. Featuring works by local and regional artists in 2D mediums, the show explores how sound can be expressed through color, movement, and form. A special reception will be held at the Appalachian Theatre in Boone on June 11, where pieces will be transported for the event, offering attendees a chance to meet the artists.
Norwich Arts Center will open its May exhibition with a reception on May 1 as part of the town's First Friday activities, featuring works by regional artists. The exhibition culminates in an "Art Heist" fundraiser on May 16, where participants pay $75 for a ticket and, through a drawing, select any available artwork from the gallery wall, guaranteeing each ticket holder a piece valued at over $75, with many worth several hundred dollars.
A conceptual art installation featuring a display of sausages was reportedly consumed by visitors at an art gallery. The incident occurred during an exhibition where the edible components of the artwork were mistaken for refreshments or intentionally consumed as an act of defiance or misunderstanding of the work's boundaries.
Tara Anne Dalbow explores the emerging trend of 'one-work exhibitions,' where galleries and museums dedicate an entire show to a single masterpiece. This format encourages 'slow looking,' a meditative practice that prioritizes deep engagement and spatial experience over the rapid-fire consumption of images typical of the digital age.
A new art exhibition is being organized in Shropshire, England, with the specific aim of raising funds for local cancer services. The event will feature works from artists across the county, and proceeds from sales will be donated to support healthcare provision for cancer patients in the region.
Artspace Gallery in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, has opened a new exhibition titled “Dissonance,” featuring works by member artist Jermaine Johnson. The show is dedicated to Johnson’s late mother, Tanya, who passed away in 2023. A public reception will be held on Saturday, May 30, from 4-6 p.m. at the gallery, located at 221 Center St., where the artist will be present to discuss his work. Johnson, an oil painter, wire weaver, and fiber artist educated at the Art Institute of Philadelphia, explores themes of media, spirituality, race, history, and popular culture through mixed-media pieces that incorporate water-mixable oils, paper, natural and synthetic fibers, semi-precious stones, and copper wire.
The article, published by DW, examines the ongoing debate about the relationship between art and politics, using the Venice Biennale as a case study. It highlights how the 2024 edition of the Biennale has become a platform for political statements, particularly regarding Russia's exclusion from the event following its invasion of Ukraine, and the broader question of whether cultural institutions can remain neutral in times of geopolitical conflict.
Laura Lit, an Austin-based artist, has opened her first solo museum exhibition, "Impossible Beings," at Laguna Gloria. The show features four abstract sculptures that are the outdoor debut of The Contemporary's HOST series, running from April 23, 2025, through January 17, 2027. Lit, who began her artistic reinvention after becoming a mother in 2020, creates dream-like figures inspired by meditation, using industrial materials like expanded polystyrene and Pal Tiya. The exhibition also includes a companion show at The Jones Center opening in September.
Fei Tian College in Middletown, New York, opened its 2026 Fine Arts Exhibition on May 11, showcasing oil paintings and graphic design works by undergraduate and graduate students. The week-long show serves as the MFA in Oil Painting graduation showcase, featuring works that blend traditional techniques with personal themes such as innocence, spirituality, courage, compassion, and humanity. Faculty members curated the layout, but each graduate artist developed their own vision over a year-long creative process, with many spending at least a year on a single painting from concept to completion.