The Opened “White Box” Art Museum, OCAT-B10 / MENG YAN | URBANUS

ArchDaily published a project profile of the OCAT-B10 art museum in Shenzhen, China, designed by Meng Yan of URBANUS. Completed in 2022, the 6,109-square-meter museum is conceived as an "opened white box," featuring a flexible, minimalist gallery space. The project team includes principle architect Meng Yan, project architect Rao Enchen, and numerous collaborators across architecture and landscape design. The client is Shenzhen OCT Properties Co., Ltd.

4 women artists open Scottsdale gallery

Four women artists have opened a new gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona, marking a collaborative venture aimed at showcasing their work and supporting fellow female artists. The gallery, located in the city's arts district, features a rotating exhibition schedule and aims to foster a community-oriented space for contemporary art.

Moon Gallery debuts at Heights Church, showcasing local HCU artists

Howard D. Moon, a longtime benefactor of the Heights community, partnered with Houston Christian University (HCU) and Heights Church to establish the Moon Gallery, a new exhibition space dedicated to showcasing local artists. The gallery was officially dedicated on December 4 with an opening ceremony inside Heights Church (formerly Baptist Temple), honoring Moon's late wife Jeanette, a passionate arts supporter. The inaugural exhibition featured works by HCU faculty and MFA students, including artist Julia Marcucci Wood and assistant professor Hillaree Hamblin, who spoke about the gallery's mission to foster community engagement and inclusivity.

The Brooklyn Bridge Up Close

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has opened "The Brooklyn Bridge Up Close," a special installation featuring seven original drawings of the Brooklyn Bridge from the New York City Municipal Archives, many unseen for forty years. The drawings, created by engineer John A. Roebling and his successors, were examined through The Met’s Scientific Research Partnerships program, a grant-funded initiative providing free scientific support to art institutions nationwide. The installation highlights the multiyear collaboration between The Met and the Municipal Archives.

Art Gallery explores home and identity in ‘Mi Casa es su Casa’ exhibition

The El Camino College Art Gallery is hosting 'Mi Casa es su Casa,' an exhibition featuring ceramic works by artist Yvette Trujillo and curated by Dulce Stein. The show, which opened October 30 and runs through December 1, transforms common Mexican household cleaning products like Fabuloso and Zote into saint-like ceramic sculptures, alongside clay shrines and an ofrenda celebrating Dia de los Muertos. The exhibition includes sugar skull face painting, dancing, and works by Hispanic artists.

Penang strengthens cultural landscape with opening of Lin Xiang Xiong Art Gallery

The Lin Xiang Xiong Art Gallery officially opened at The Light Waterfront in Penang, Malaysia, with Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow hailing it as a milestone for the state's creative development. The launch ceremony, attended by Penang's Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Datuk Seri Utama Ramli Ngah Talib, former chief ministers, and other dignitaries, featured remarks from founder Prof Lin Xiang Xiong, who framed the gallery as a commitment to dialogue and peace through art.

Lin Xiang Xiong Art Gallery set to elevate Penang's global cultural presence

The Lin Xiang Xiong Art Gallery at The Light Waterfront in Gelugor, Penang, is set to officially open in December. The eight-storey, 8,076-square-metre gallery, valued at RM100 million, will feature a collection titled "The Vicissitudes of Life" comprising 99 artworks by founder Professor Lin Xiang Xiong, addressing global issues such as war, pollution, and poverty. The launch ceremony was officiated by Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow and the Yang di-Pertua Negeri, Tun Ramli Ngah Talib.

‘Crossing Lines’ exhibition in Design District brings South African art to North Texas

A new exhibition titled 'Crossing Lines: Contemporary Voices from Zimbabwe & South Africa' has opened in the Dallas Design District, showcasing work by three artists—Lloyd Maluleke, Nothando Chiwanga, and Pardon Mapondera. The show is a collaboration between DHV Artworks and the Indibano Art Residency, a Dallas-based program founded by Zimbabwean-born arts advocate Bukekile Dube. The artists explore themes of identity, movement, cultural boundaries, and ecology through mediums including painting, printmaking, photography, mixed media, and recycled materials.

Hundreds at London’s British Library go on strike, as Tate workers consider action

Around 300 workers at the British Library in London have gone on strike from 27 October to 9 November over a pay dispute, organized by the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS). The strike threatens to disrupt the opening of the major exhibition "Secret Maps" (until 18 January 2026). Meanwhile, more than 100 PCS members across Tate's four sites are being balloted for possible strike action, with a postal ballot closing on 11 November. The unions demand inflation-proof pay rises, citing low wages that force employees to take second jobs and loans, while management offers increases of 2.4% at the British Library and 3% at Tate.

Emory student art featured in High Museum education center exhibit | Emory University | Atlanta GA

Emory University undergraduate students are exhibiting their artwork at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta through November 2, in the museum's Greene Family Education Center. The exhibition, the first of a planned annual show, features 18 pieces by six students, three of whom curated the show after being selected by a panel of judges from Emory Libraries and the Michael C. Carlos Museum. Students worked with faculty sponsors and High Museum staff to install the work, gaining hands-on experience in exhibition planning, artist statements, and professional presentation.

Grand opening set for new art gallery in historic Porter Produce warehouse

The historic Porter Produce warehouse in Fayetteville, Arkansas, built in 1906, has been transformed into a public art gallery called the Alexander Gallery at the Porter Art Warehouse. A grand opening celebration is set for October 29, featuring a ribbon cutting, the inaugural exhibition "Our Art, Our Region, Our Time," live music, and screen printing. The project was a collaboration between the city, Walton Arts Center, and the University of Arkansas, with a $1 million exterior restoration and a $950,000 interior renovation by Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects and Sargent Contracting. The gallery is named for Bob and Becky Alexander, whose foundation supported the project.

Zoo, science centre and art gallery open for students during teachers’ strike

During Alberta’s province-wide teachers’ strike, the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo, TELUS Spark science centre, and Contemporary Calgary are offering special programs for students. TELUS Spark is providing first-come, first-served camps for grades 1-6, with registration opening weekly, while the zoo highlights new animal additions. Contemporary Calgary is offering a $20-per-child art field trip on color theory and painting for students aged 5-13, with a maximum of 30 children per session.

How the National Gallery of Art is Using AI to Unlock New Insights into Art and Pain Managment

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., is leveraging its extensive digitization program to apply artificial intelligence to new fields, including pain management. Through partnerships like the PHAROS consortium and a collaboration with McGill University researcher Hannah Derue, the museum's open-access collection of over 61,000 high-resolution images is being used to train AI models for PAin+, a software platform that helps chronic pain patients articulate and track their experiences using art-based mindfulness and machine learning.

ASU, Phoenix Art Museum shed new light on influential Chicano arts organization

Arizona State University's Barrett, The Honors College is partnering with Phoenix Art Museum to host a one-day symposium titled "MARS: Revisited" on September 20, 2025, at the museum. The event revisits the legacy of El Movimiento Artístico del Río Salado (MARS), a Chicano arts collective founded in the late 1970s that provided a platform for Mexican American artists excluded from major Arizona museums and galleries. MARS operated for over two decades, helping launch the First Fridays on Roosevelt Row arts event and shaping Phoenix's cultural identity before closing in the early 2000s. The symposium, co-organized by professor Mathew Sandoval and curator Christian Ramírez, will feature archival research and oral histories conducted by Barrett students, with a major MARS exhibition and scholarly monograph planned for 2028.

Racine Art Museum exhibition brings children’s jewelry designs to life

The Racine Art Museum (RAM) opens a new exhibition, 'Designed by Me: Imagined Jewelry Realized,' on September 10, 2025, featuring jewelry pieces designed by local children ages 5 to 18 and crafted by Rasmussen Diamonds, a Racine-based jeweler celebrating its 125th anniversary. Winning designers Leo Philipp, Cali Jacobs, and Savannah Yanakowicz had their drawings transformed into fine jewelry by goldsmiths Laura Istvanek and Lizzie Spankowski, with the original drawings displayed alongside the finished pieces. The exhibition runs through October 4, after which the three winning pieces will be auctioned to benefit charities chosen by the young designers: Kindred Kitties, Wisconsin Humane Society, and Rescue Outreach.

Power to the people: London’s National Gallery seeks public panel to help shape its future

London's National Gallery is launching NG Citizens, a citizens' assembly that will advise the museum on its future policy and direction. Starting next month, 15,000 households across the UK will receive invitations, from which 50 participants will be selected via a civic lottery, eventually narrowing to 20 individuals who will serve on the panel for five years. The gallery states the initiative places audiences at the heart of decision-making, aiming to shape programs around the needs of diverse UK communities, though the assembly will not directly choose exhibitions or acquisitions but will produce recommendations on purpose, priorities, and public value.

Arts on the Move exhibit celebrates student artists with disabilities at Bowers Museum

The Bowers Museum in Santa Ana is hosting the 'Arts on the Move' traveling exhibit through July 18, showcasing artwork by student artists with disabilities from across Orange County. The free display, open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the museum’s Lee Court, features pieces originally shown at the 49th annual Orange County Arts and Disability Festival, including works from local school districts and the Orange County Department of Education’s Connections program. A special reception was held on July 13 to celebrate the artists, their families, and teachers.

OMA, Surf Museum Host Dual Exhibition to Drive Local Tourism

The Oceanside Museum of Art (OMA) and the California Surf Museum (CSM) are partnering for the first time to host a dual-venue exhibition titled “Surf Art: Exploring California’s Coastal Culture.” OMA’s exhibit opens August 23 and CSM’s on September 13, featuring works including Kevin Short’s 2004 oil painting “Crosstown Traffic.” The collaboration aims to merge OMA’s art expertise with CSM’s deep surf history, with OMA investing about $25,000 and CSM about $10,000. The project has been in development for a year and includes a themed popup in OMA’s gift store.

Why the new EU law aimed at stopping antiquities trafficking may hamper museum loans

A new EU regulation (2019/880) taking effect on 28 June aims to prevent trafficking of looted antiquities by requiring importers to provide extensive provenance records and export permits for cultural goods over 200 years old or worth more than €18,000. While the law includes an exemption for temporary exhibitions, implementing rules limit this exemption to loans from museums outside the EU, excluding private collectors. Museum directors and art fair officials warn that the administrative burden may discourage private lenders from participating in temporary exhibitions, potentially reducing the diversity of cultural offerings in the EU.

Mindy N. Besaw appointed new director for Eskenazi Museum of Art at IU Bloomington

Indiana University Bloomington has appointed Mindy N. Besaw as the next Wilma E. Kelley Director of the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, effective August 15. Besaw, who brings over two decades of curatorial and museum leadership experience, currently serves as director of fellowships, research and university partnerships and curator of American art at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. She succeeds interim director Mariah Keller and will oversee all facets of the museum's strategy, operations, and engagement, including exhibitions, collections, teaching partnerships, and public programming.

British Museum faces internal criticism over private Israel independence day event

The British Museum (BM) in London hosted a private event on 16 May marking the anniversary of the founding of Israel, organized by the Israeli embassy. Speakers included Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely and UK minister Maria Eagle, with attendees such as comedian Jimmy Carr and politicians Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage. The event has sparked anger among museum staff and external critics, who argue it is insensitive given the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which has led to widespread famine and civilian deaths. Staff have organized a petition demanding the museum cease relations with Israeli cultural institutions, gathering 250 signatures.

New videos of African cultural sites add contemporary context to Rockefeller Wing’s historical artefacts at the Met

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s newly reopened Michael C. Rockefeller Wing features a series of short documentaries by Ethiopian American filmmaker Sosena Solomon, commissioned to add contemporary context to the wing’s historical artifacts from Africa, Oceania, and the ancient Americas. Solomon spent two years traveling to 12 sites across sub-Saharan Africa, creating videos that highlight royal burial grounds in Uganda, ancient rock paintings in Botswana, bronze casters in Benin City, and the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela and Tigray in Ethiopia. Three of the videos are displayed on screens in the wing, while others are accessible via QR codes and online.

UC Davis Graduate Exhibition Showcases Next Generation of Artists, Thinkers

The University of California, Davis, will host the Arts & Humanities 2025 Graduate Exhibition from June 5–22 at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art. The multidisciplinary showcase features 31 graduate students from art studio, art history, design, comparative literature, English, environmental science and policy, music, and performance studies. Works include photography, painting, sculpture, video, performance, and textiles, with live performances and awards on opening night. Participants explore themes such as human-technology relationships, environmental resilience, African diaspora, and emotional healing.

Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art repatriates ancient silk manuscript to China

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art (NMAA) in Washington, DC, has repatriated fragments of the ancient Zidanku Silk Manuscripts to China. The artifacts, dating from the fourth to third century BCE, were looted from a tomb near Changsha, Hunan Province, and smuggled into the US in 1946. The NMAA deaccessioned Volumes II and III of the manuscripts, which were given to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery by an anonymous donor in 1992. The transfer was formalized in a ceremony at the Chinese embassy following an agreement signed earlier this month, with the fragments handed over to the National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) of China.

Video Observer: Free Fullerton College Art Gallery Showcases Student Work

Fullerton College Art Gallery is currently hosting its 2025 Student Art Exhibition, showcasing 210 selected works from 316 submissions. The free exhibition, open until May 21, features student work across drawing, painting, illustration, printmaking, graphic design, 3D modeling, sculpture, and ceramics. Gallery Technician Seija Rohkea and Adjunct Professor Jasmine McNeal collaborated with student artists and gallery assistants to install and curate the show, highlighting the college's Museum Studies program—one of few at the community college level in California.

Machine love. Video game, AI and contemporary art

The Mori Art Museum in Tokyo presents 'Machine Love: Video Game, AI and Contemporary Art,' an exhibition featuring around 50 works that employ game engines, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality. The show includes pieces using generative AI to explore new aesthetics, digital identities, and hyperrealistic landscapes, while addressing themes such as life, death, ethics, environmental crisis, and diversity.

Older women artists go it alone as new report reveals how the traditional art world is failing them

A new report commissioned by the grant-giving body Anonymous Was A Woman and authored by journalists Charlotte Burns and Julia Halperin reveals that museums and galleries are failing women artists, particularly those over 65. Based on a survey of 1,263 female artists (91% based in the US), the report finds that 63% cite a lack of museum backing and 59% cite a lack of gallery support as hindering their careers. As a result, 55% of all respondents are selling work independently, with women over 65 leading the way—59% have sold directly to collectors in the past five years. The report also highlights that female artists work 49 hours per week but spend only 38% of that time making art, with the rest consumed by administrative tasks and other paid work, and that art sales provide only 16-18% of household income.

Student Art Exhibition, Earth Day Family Day, and Star Wars LEGO® event at The Pearl Fincher Museum

The Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts in Texas is hosting a series of spring events, including a student art exhibition titled "Fresh Perspectives: Visionaries of the Next Generation" running from April 2 to May 10, 2025, which features winners of the museum's Student Art Contest, works from the Youth Art Council's "Chronicles: Art in the Spirit of Storytelling," and pieces from Lone Star College students. Additionally, the museum will hold an Earth Day-themed Family Day on April 26 with art activities, a petting zoo, and an Art Market, and a Star Wars LEGO® pop-up event on May 3 in collaboration with the Houston Brick Club. The Cole Gallery is also showcasing "HEARD" by Houston artist Tramaine Townsend, focusing on Black cowboy history, through May 10.

We were at the Turin concert where Marlene Kuntz celebrated the 30th anniversary of their unforgettable album "Il vile"

Siamo stati al concerto di Torino dove i Marlene Kuntz festeggiavano i 30 anni del loro indimenticabile disco “Il vile”

Italian alternative rock band Marlene Kuntz recently performed two sold-out shows at the Hiroshima Mon Amour venue in Turin to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their seminal album, *Il vile*. The concert featured a near-complete performance of the 1996 record, which is widely regarded as a cornerstone of Italian noise rock. The anniversary celebration also includes a nationwide tour and a special vinyl reissue featuring new artwork by renowned illustrator Alessandro Baronciani.

MASP Contested Narratives Between Replica and Weaving

MASP CONTESTED NARRATIVES BETWEEN REPLICA AND WEAVING

The Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP) has opened two simultaneous exhibitions that critically examine how narratives in Latin American art are formed. 'Réplica (Replica)' is a retrospective of Peruvian artist Sandra Gamarra Heshiki, featuring over 70 works that appropriate and alter historical pieces to expose the exclusionary mechanisms of museums. 'Vivir, tejer (Living, Weaving)' presents the collaborative textile work of Claudia Alarcón and the Silät collective, a group of over one hundred Wichí women weavers, foregrounding ancestral knowledge and collective creation.