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British portrait artist Jonathan Yeo is bringing his augmented reality exhibition, "Spectacular," to South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin following its debut at the Centre Pompidou. Developed in collaboration with Snap Inc., the showcase utilizes AR glasses to animate Yeo’s traditional oil paintings, including his famous portrait of King Charles III and a depiction of Cara Delevingne. The experience allows viewers to interact with the works, such as having a digital butterfly from the King's portrait land on their hand, while exploring the intersection of static portraiture and immersive technology.

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An unsanctioned augmented reality exhibition titled “Encoded” has taken over the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, featuring works by 17 North American Indigenous artists. The exhibition, organized by the nonprofit media lab Amplifier and co-curated by Tracy Rector, overlays digital artworks onto iconic paintings and sculptures, including a piece by Josué Riva that replaces Thomas Sully’s portrait of Queen Victoria with a moving image of Acosia Red Elk (Umatilla, Cayuse & Nez Perce) delivering the message “Be a Good Ancestor.” The intervention launched on Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Columbus Day, October 13, 2025, and runs through December 13, without the Met’s permission.

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The chairman of Abu Dhabi's department of cultural tourism, Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, revealed at a recent briefing that the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, designed by Frank Gehry and set to open in 2026 on Saadiyat Island, will feature Western masters like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Andy Warhol alongside lesser-known contemporary artists from Asia, Africa, and the Arab world. The museum, originally announced two decades ago and delayed multiple times, will also incorporate augmented reality and artificial intelligence to enhance visitor engagement, and will include music, food, and dance as part of its civic space concept.

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A wave of exhibitions and projects is celebrating the 90th anniversary of the births of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, the late husband-and-wife duo known for monumental environmental installations. Their nephew Vladimir Yavachev, who directs their foundation, is overseeing the realization of their final permanent work, *The Mastaba* in Abu Dhabi, while temporary works like *The Gates* in Central Park are being revived through augmented reality. The anniversary also marks 30 years since *Wrapped Reichstag* and 20 years since *The Gates*.

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French artist JR will wrap Paris's oldest bridge, the Pont Neuf, in images of the limestone rock formations from which it was originally built in the 16th century. The project, titled "La Caverne du Pont Neuf," is scheduled for June 2026 and marks the 41st anniversary of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's iconic wrapping of the same bridge in 1985. JR's installation was delayed by a year due to logistical and technical complications, echoing the famously tardy nature of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's large-scale works. The project was offered to JR by Vladimir Yavachev, director of the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation, who wanted an interpretation rather than a reinstallation.

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Artist duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude developed 'The Gates' for New York City's Central Park in 1979, but the project faced over two decades of bureaucratic hurdles before finally being installed in 2005 under Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The work consisted of 7,503 steel gates with orange nylon fabric along 23 miles of pathways, using 5,390 tons of steel. Now, on its 20th anniversary, a comprehensive survey titled 'Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Gates and Unrealized Projects for New York City' is being held at the Shed, accompanied by an augmented reality experience via the Bloomberg Connects app.

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An augmented reality (AR) experience is reviving Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s iconic 2005 installation *The Gates* in New York’s Central Park. Starting in February 2025, visitors can use the Bloomberg Connects app to view virtual saffron-colored fabric panels suspended over 23 miles of park pathways, recreating the original work that featured 7,503 panels on metal arches. The project is a collaboration between the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation, the New York City Parks Department, the Central Park Conservancy, and Bloomberg Philanthropies, with support from former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The Shed is concurrently hosting an exhibition documenting the project’s history, including original arches and a scale-model diorama.

Indigenous Artists Infiltrate the Met With a Guerrilla A.R. Project

On Indigenous Peoples' Day, nonprofit media lab Amplifier launched an unsanctioned augmented reality exhibition titled “Encoded” at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. The project features 17 Native artists who have digitally altered 25 iconic American artworks from the Met's collection—such as Thomas Cole's *View on the Catskills – Early Autumn* and Emanuel Leutze's *Washington Crossing the Delaware*—overlaying Indigenous perspectives onto the museum's American Wing. Visitors can view the AR works on smartphones or iPads, and Amplifier representatives are on-site to distribute guides and offer tours through the end of the year.

Spectacular: The Art of Jonathan Yeo in Augmented Reality Makes Its U.S. Debut at SXSW

British contemporary painter Jonathan Yeo is bringing his augmented reality exhibition, "Spectacular," to the United States for its debut at SXSW in March 2026. Utilizing Snap’s fifth-generation Spectacles, the installation transforms Yeo’s traditional portraiture into interactive, living digital experiences that respond to the viewer's movements in real time. The project, which premiered at the Centre Pompidou, represents a collaboration between the artist and Snap AR Studio’s Artist Residency Program.

Indigenous artists transform works at Metropolitan Museum in unsanctioned augmented reality project

On Indigenous Peoples’ Day (13 October), 17 Native artists staged an unsanctioned augmented reality intervention inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s American Wing. The project, titled ENCODED: Change the Story, Change the Future (through 31 December), digitally overlays cosmological figures, pow-wow dancers, and ivy onto 19th-century paintings and sculptures, challenging the museum’s narratives. Co-curated by filmmaker Tracy Renée Rector and an anonymous Indigenous co-curator in collaboration with the non-profit Amplifier, the intervention coincides with the American Wing’s centenary.

Victoria Miro gallery launches sophisticated digital platform to put past and present exhibitions online

Victoria Miro gallery has launched a new digital platform called Live / Archive, which uses 3D modeling, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) to present past and current exhibitions online. The platform, powered by the Vortic software developed by Oliver Miro, initially features 72 archived shows dating back to 2019, including Grayson Perry's "Super Rich Interior Decoration." The launch coincides with the gallery's 40th anniversary, and the platform allows artists like Chantal Joffe to revisit and plan exhibitions virtually.

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DEMO2025, the annual festival from NEW INC (the New Museum's incubator for cutting-edge culture), is hosting a public event at Water Street Projects in Lower Manhattan featuring on-site augmented reality experiments and new models of collective storytelling. To mark the festival, CULTURED asked several NEW INC alumni—including Idris Brewster, Mindy Seu, Stephanie Dinkins, LaJuné McMillian, and the MSCHF Collective—to share which technological developments they find most concerning as artists and which offer the most potential. Their responses address surveillance, attention economies, extractive systems, and the promise of radical alternatives rooted in collectivity and world-building.

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Minne Atairu's augmented reality work "Deshrined Ancestors" (2024) was featured in the group exhibition "All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace" at REDCAT in Los Angeles. The piece is a speculative 3D rendering of a Benin bronze, created using AI trained on archives and oral histories, designed to fill the gap left by looted artifacts. Atairu, born in Benin, Nigeria, uses tools like Midjourney and Blender to generate artworks that address colonial violence and erasure, including her 2023 installation "To the Hand" at The Shed. The exhibition explores humanity's evolving relationship with AI, and Atairu's work includes an empty podium representing a Benin bronze returned to Nigeria from RISD.

Wonders of Nature: New nature-themed art exhibition featuring Japanese artists like Go Yayanagi and more

New Art Museum Singapore has launched 'Wonders of Nature', its first immersive exhibition designed for children and families. Curated by local creative Warren Wee, the show features works from eight international and local artists including Go Yayanagi, Go Ogawa, Yuji Kanamaru, Masato Inagaki, Osamu Watanabe, Jackson Tan, and Jesse Franklin. The exhibition includes interactive zones such as the Animal Kingdom with candy-colored sculptures, a Canyon of Cuddles playground with inflatable cacti and a ball pit, a digital ocean with life-sized projected fish, and a Garden of Senses with augmented reality games. A pop-up by Waga Waga Labs offers matcha drinks inspired by the exhibition's colors and themes. The exhibition runs until October 5, 2025, at the museum's Tanjong Pagar Distripark location.

See What’s on View in NOLA This March

New Orleans is set to host several major art exhibitions this March, highlighting the city's diverse cultural landscape. Key openings include Alexis McGrigg’s "In the Beloved" at the Ogden Museum, which explores Blackness and spirituality through fluid abstraction, and an augmented reality exhibition on the American Revolution at The Historic New Orleans Collection. Additionally, the New Orleans Museum of Art will debut a significant collection of 18th-century French Sèvres porcelain.

The Pont Neuf Cave: work on JR's giant installation begins in Paris

Starting May 11, 2026, French artist JR has begun assembling "La Caverne du Pont Neuf" (The Cave at Pont Neuf), a monumental temporary installation that will transform Paris's oldest bridge into an immersive open-air cave. The project, open to the public from June 6 to 28, 2026, features inflatable structures, optical illusions, light shows, and augmented reality technology developed by Snap's AR Studio Paris. It includes a mineral soundscape by Thomas Bangalter (formerly of Daft Punk) and is funded entirely through private means, including support from L'Amicale des Ponts de Paris and sales of JR's works.

Augmented reality enjoys growing appeal as a tool for the art trade

Augmented reality (AR) headsets like the Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest II are gaining traction as tools for the art trade, according to experts interviewed in this article. Gallerists Will Shott and Hal Bromm see potential for virtual tours, studio visits, and previewing artworks in situ, while adviser India Price notes that seeing works at scale in one's own space could boost buyer confidence. However, Martin Murphy of Ringling College of Art and Design argues that practical barriers—such as device personalization and generational divides—may limit adoption among traditional collectors.

The delirious teaser by the creators of 'Panique au village' for the reopening of the Musée de la Figurine in Compiègne

Le teaser délirant des créateurs de « Panique au village » pour la réouverture du musée de la Figurine à Compiègne

The Musée de la Figurine in Compiègne, France, is set to reopen on May 23, 2026, after a major renovation. To promote the reopening, the museum commissioned Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar, the creators of the cult stop-motion series "Panique au village" (known for its absurd plastic figurines), to produce a teaser video. The museum, which holds a rare collection of nearly 155,000 figurines spanning from prehistory to the present, has been redesigned with a 1,000-square-meter space, six thematic areas, interactive displays, and a monumental diorama of the Battle of Waterloo featuring 12,000 figurines, now enhanced with augmented reality. Admission will be free for all from May 23 to August 16, 2026.

ARTS at King Street Station 2026 Exhibition Calendar

The ARTS at King Street Station in Seattle has announced its 2026 exhibition calendar, featuring a diverse lineup of 13 shows from November 2025 through February 2027. Highlights include "Welcome to Paradise: ¡Viva Puerto Rico Libre!" by Jo Cosme, which critiques colonial narratives of Puerto Rico; "Living and Loving Under the Carceral State" by Alison Bremner; a South Indian kolam exhibition by Anuradha Samrat; and "Tết In Diaspora" by Nhi Vo celebrating Vietnamese New Year. Other exhibitions explore Afrofuturism, Black figuration, animation, augmented reality, the legacy of Black Arts West Theater, and themes of mothering and gender-based violence.

Christie’s Quietly Deletes Digital Art Department

Christie’s has quietly dissolved its dedicated digital art department, laying off two staff members including vice president Nicole Sales Giles, as part of a strategic shift to fold digital art sales into its broader 20th and 21st Century Art category. The move follows a two-year contraction in the art market and a dramatic decline in NFT trading volume from $2.97 billion in 2021 to $197 million in 2024, mirroring similar downsizing at Sotheby’s and the shuttering of platforms like Async Art and KnownOrigin.

‘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.

Clint Art Gallery to be opened in Kochi soon: Location, facilities and features

A new gallery dedicated to the memory of child prodigy Edmund Thomas Clint, who created over 25,000 paintings before his death at age seven, will soon open in Kochi, India. Located in a 3,500-square-foot space on the first floor of the Gandhinagar Shopping Complex, the Clint Art Gallery will initially display 100 of Clint's best works, selected by artist Boney Thomas. The gallery features modern acoustic facilities, virtual and augmented reality experiences, space for art camps and classes, and a library. Construction took six months and cost ₹58 lakh, with plans to open before the Onam festival.

Visit the Art of Science Gallery

Florida Atlantic University is opening its 7th Annual Art of Science gallery exhibition, featuring visual art created by university researchers from their scientific work. The images were selected from a university-wide contest and will be on display at the Ritter Art Gallery on the Boca Raton campus from March 31 to April 20.

5 Apps That Will Make You Love Art Galleries

The New York Times has published an article titled "5 Apps That Will Make You Love Art Galleries," which highlights five mobile applications designed to enhance the experience of visiting art galleries. These apps likely offer features such as augmented reality, audio guides, or curated recommendations to help users engage more deeply with artworks and exhibitions.