Cash-Strapped Hong Kong Arts Hub Saved—Plus a Rundown of the Latest in Asia’s Art World
Hong Kong's financially struggling West Kowloon Cultural District, a major arts hub, has been rescued from its cash crisis. This development was part of a broader Asia art world update that also included leadership changes at Japan's Art Collaboration Kyoto and the announcement of a new art fair in Shenzhen.
The second edition of the Atlanta Art Fair took place at Pullman Yards, a historic 27-acre former rail works in the Kirkwood district. The fair, directed by Kelly Freeman, featured around 80 dealers and attracted a diverse crowd, including many high school and college students, with a casual atmosphere far removed from typical art fair elitism. Freeman emphasized teaching the city how to use an art fair, prioritizing accessibility and long-term engagement over immediate sales.
Hong Kong is hosting a vibrant array of must-see art exhibitions in December 2025, as highlighted in a curated guide. Key shows include 'Zao Wou-Ki: Master Printmaker' at M+, focusing on the artist's lithograph prints; 'Violet Veil' by Laura Zhang at The Extension, featuring meditative violet-hued works; 'Guan Yu vs. Wilson Shieh' at JPS Gallery, blending traditional gongbi painting with AI technology; and 'The Villepin House' at Villepin, celebrating the gallery's fifth anniversary with works by Zao Wou-Ki and Myo.
The Lin Xiang Xiong Art Gallery officially opened in George Town, Penang, on December 14, with a ceremony officiated by Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow and attended by former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. Founded by 80-year-old artist and professor Lin Xiang Xiong, the eight-story, RM100 million gallery houses over 1,000 artworks and features a special inaugural exhibition titled "Picasso and Lin Xiang Xiong: A Dialogue Across Time." The gallery also hosted the Art for Peace International High-Level Art Forum, gathering leaders from UNESCO, France, Brazil, Japan, China, and Malaysia.
Fulton Leroy Washington, the self-taught painter known as Mr. Wash, has unveiled plans for a $15-million community arts hub in Compton, California. Designed by the renowned firm Morphosis Architects, the proposed Art by Wash Studio & Community Center will provide housing, studio space, and a small-business incubator specifically for formerly incarcerated artists. The project was launched alongside Washington’s latest exhibition, “The City of Compton: Then & Now,” which serves as a fundraiser for the construction.
Foster/White Gallery is celebrating its 60th anniversary as a cornerstone of Seattle’s Pioneer Square, a neighborhood it helped transform from a derelict district into a thriving arts hub. Founded by Richard White in 1966, the gallery became a pioneer in the area, representing legendary Northwest School artists like Morris Graves and Mark Tobey. Despite the recent closure of other long-standing neighborhood staples like Davidson and Linda Hodges galleries, Foster/White remains a symbol of continuity and resilience.
The City of Santa Monica is launching its first municipal art gallery, the Santa Monica City Gallery, located within the Bergamot Station Arts Center. The space will debut on April 10 with an inaugural exhibition titled “Case Study: Adapt,” which features architectural models developed by USC Architecture students in collaboration with professional firms. The opening event will include remarks from California for the Arts Executive Director Julie Baker and a commendation for State Senator Ben Allen.
Western Sicily is emerging as an unexpected arts hub, driven by grassroots cultural initiatives that are repurposing abandoned historic buildings. The article highlights several key projects: the Museum of World Cities in Palermo, opening in a former convent; Farm Cultural Park in Favara, which transformed a depopulated mining town into a vibrant arts destination; Fondazione RIV in a deconsecrated church; and the artist-built town of Gibellina, which was reconstructed after a 1968 earthquake with art woven into its urban fabric. These efforts are led by local figures including Andrea Bartoli and Florinda Saievi, who have rehabilitated multiple sites across the region.
The V&A has opened a new outpost in east London's Lower Lea Valley, a former industrial area transformed into a cultural quarter after the 2012 Olympics. The museum, described as looking like a 'reconstructed Toblerone', is the latest addition to the 'Olympicopolis' vision, which aimed to create a cultural legacy akin to west London's Albertopolis. The article, written by Catherine Slessor in The Guardian, offers a mixed review: praising the beauty and craftsmanship of the galleries while criticizing overuse of trendy phrases like 'lived experience' and 'transcultural identities'.
Designer Alexander Wang and his mother Ying Wang have acquired the historic 58 Bowery building in New York's Chinatown for $9.5 million, marking its first Chinese American ownership. They are transforming the former bank into a cultural venue named Wang Contemporary, which will host exhibitions, performances, and festivals focused on Asian and Asian American creatives, with its inaugural exhibition curated by the art collective MSCHF.
Art Fervour announces the inaugural Kolkata Art Weekender, a three-day city-wide arts festival scheduled from November 21 to 23, 2025. The event transforms Kolkata into an open-access cultural hub featuring studio visits with artists Suhasini Kejriwal and Rathin Barman, exhibitions at venues like Experimenter, DAG Museums, Kolkata Centre for Creativity, and TRI Art & Culture, plus workshops, heritage walks, film screenings, and riverfront activities such as block-printing at Alipore Museum and zine-making on a Hooghly barge.
Gowanus Open Studios returns on October 18-19, inviting the public into the studios of hundreds of local artists across dozens of locations in Brooklyn. The event, organized by Arts Gowanus, features individual studio visits, group shows, and two featured exhibitions: "Add/Subtract" curated by Tegan Brozyna, and a retrospective of the late Samuel Heller. Highlights include the first affordable artist studios secured through the 2021 Gowanus rezoning, with about 22 new subsidized spaces opening at The Shop BK and Society Brooklyn, where artists like Mayowa Nwadike now work after winning a lottery for affordable space.
Stained glass artists Kurt and Lorraine Wendling have officially opened The Gallery on Gambier in downtown Mount Vernon, Ohio. The new creative hub serves as the permanent home for their business, Wendling Glass Creations, while also showcasing the work of approximately 20 other artists specializing in mediums ranging from photography to oil painting. The space is designed as a multi-functional venue, incorporating a retail gallery, a custom framing center, and a dedicated classroom for art instruction.
Two exhibitions in Sarasota trace the origins of the Sarasota Artist Colony, which flourished between 1945 and 1965. One is at Ringling College of Art and Design, titled “Origins: Sarasota Artist Colony, 1945-1965,” co-curated by Tim Jaeger and Bill Hartman. The other is at the downtown offices of Michael Saunders & Co. The Ringling College show features 36 works by colony artists, including Jon Corbino, Ben Stahl, Syd Solomon, and Craig Rubadoux, and places them in the context of post-World War II America, when the GI Bill and cheap rents attracted hundreds of artists to the small beach community.
An exhibition celebrating the centenary of British artist and television personality Tony Hart has opened at Creative Maidstone Community Arts Hub in Maidstone, Kent. Curated by his daughter Carolyn Ross, the retrospective features original sketches, watercolours, television pieces, and portraits—including a study of Carolyn painted when she was eight. Hart, who was born in Maidstone on 15 October 1925, is best known for BBC programmes such as 'Take Hart', designing the original 'Blue Peter' badge, and creating the character Morph. The free exhibition runs until 8 November 2025.
West Park Presbyterian Church on Manhattan's Upper West Side, a designated landmark, is seeking permission from the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission to demolish its building, citing financial hardship due to an estimated $26.6 million in repair costs. The church's sole tenant, the arts nonprofit The Center at West Park, was evicted last year and is now leading a fierce opposition campaign, arguing the building is financially viable through leasing and air rights sales.
Tenants at Glasgow's Trongate 103 cultural hub are protesting what they call "unsustainable" rent and service charge increases imposed by City Property, an arm's-length organization managing buildings for Glasgow City Council. Organizations like Transmission Gallery, Street Level Photography, and Glasgow Print Studio face potential displacement after receiving notices to quit or demands for significant cost hikes, with one group citing a £700,000 annual increase.
Award-winning painter Harvey Bodach is set to present a solo exhibition at the Stonebridge Arts Hub in Wasaga Beach, running from April 16 to June 13. The showcase features Bodach’s signature realism style, focusing on wildlife and landscapes inspired by the natural world. A former educator who turned to full-time artistry in 2019, Bodach has since garnered 14 national and international awards for his meticulously composed works.
The Vancouver Island Visual Arts Society (VIVAS) is launching its inaugural Art Crawl on April 18, 2026, opening over 100 artist studios and five galleries to the public. The event spans two major creative hubs in Victoria: the established arts center at 780 Blanshard Street and the newly opened Hourglass location on Yates Street. Visitors can access exhibitions at venues including Rockslide Gallery and The Vault Gallery, alongside live music and performance art.
Wildlife painter Aga Elliott is presenting an exhibition of her work at OASIS Fine Art and Craft in downtown Harrisonburg, Virginia, through the end of June. The exhibition features life-like paintings of animals ranging from chipmunks to tigers, aiming to illustrate the interconnectedness of ecosystems. Elliott creates her works using photographs from her encounters with animals, often from her time near Yellowstone National Park and wildlife sanctuaries.
The New Haven City Plan Commission has unanimously approved the conversion of the historic John Slade Ely House into 10 studio apartments. The Elizabethan mansion, which served as a prominent local arts hub since 1961, was most recently home to the Ely Center of Contemporary Art before the organization vacated the property in December 2025. The redevelopment plan by G.L. Capasso includes preserving the building's exterior while creating small residential units, including one designated affordable housing unit.
SPARC Gallery in South Pasadena is opening two concurrent exhibitions: "The Best of Times," a solo show by painter Clifford Bailey, and "Emerging Artists 2026," featuring three up-and-coming sports photographers. Bailey, a School of Visual Arts graduate now based in Los Angeles, presents his imaginative and highly individualized paintings from January 31 to February 28, with an opening reception on January 31. The sports photography exhibition runs through February 20 and is free to the public, with both shows participating in the South Pasadena Arts Crawl on February 7.
Four new free art exhibits have opened at the Morean Arts Center in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. The shows include Rebecca Sexton Larson's solo exhibition "Where Leaves Remember," featuring soft paintings and hand-colored photographs; "Day Dreams," a collaboration with SARTQ Artist Collective exploring dream imagery; "A Journey Through My Imagination," a juried exhibition by the National Association of Women Artists; and the Morean Center for Clay's Artist in Residence program show. The first three exhibits run through March 26, while the clay residency show closes February 16.
An exhibition celebrating the centenary of British artist and television personality Tony Hart has opened at Creative Maidstone Community Arts Hub in Maidstone, Kent. Curated by his daughter Carolyn Ross, the retrospective features original sketches, watercolours, television pieces, and portraits—including a study of Carolyn painted when she was eight. The free show opened on what would have been Hart's 100th birthday, 15 October 2025, and runs until 8 November 2025.
Superchief Gallery, a longtime hub for LA’s underground art and photography scene, is fighting to stay open amid mounting financial challenges. Founder Bill Dunleavy is exploring alternative revenue models like crowdfunding to save the space, which has operated since 2014 in downtown LA and later moved to a 10,000-square-foot warehouse in South LA. The gallery has faced setbacks including a fire in 2020 and declining art sales and corporate sponsorships, despite its popularity for anti-elitist, community-focused programming.
Artists in Haddington, Scotland, are organizing an open studios weekend on September 6 and 7, showcasing their work across seven venues including homes, a garage, a gallery, an arts hub, and an arts centre. Organizer Alistair McIntyre, who previously ran a similar event in Musselburgh, has signed up 15 artists for the event, with participants including Jacqui Wilkie, Fiona Lambert, Sheena Phillips, and others working in media such as painting, needle felting, printmaking, and sculpture.
The di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art has opened a new satellite museum, di Rosa San Francisco, at the Minnesota Street Project. The debut exhibition, 'Far Out: Northern California Art from the di Rosa Collection,' features works by artists including Michele Pred, Enrique Chagoya, Paul Kos, Roy De Forest, Ester Hernandez, and Joan Brown. The show is organized into three sections—Material Worlds; Piracy and Protest; and Tricksters, Scavengers, and Scamps—highlighting how Northern California artists experiment and push against mainstream conventions. The exhibition runs through October 4th.