The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco has announced plans to sell its iconic Daniel Libeskind-designed building in the Yerba Buena Gardens neighborhood. The institution has been closed to the public since December 2024, drastically reduced its staff and budget, and aims to use the sale to stabilize its finances, reduce debt, and ensure its long-term survival.
Art Dubai has released a revised exhibitor list for its 2026 edition, which was rescheduled to May 15–17 following regional instability caused by the US-Israel war in Iran. The fair will feature 50 galleries at Madinat Jumeirah, down from its original roster after approximately 75 participants—including major Indian and Western galleries—withdrew due to scheduling conflicts and logistics. To support those remaining, the fair has introduced a flexible fee structure where galleries pay a percentage of sales capped at the original stand cost.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is set to open its new $724 million David Geffen Galleries, designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor. The building features a radical, non-linear layout that eschews traditional chronological and geographical hierarchies, allowing artworks from 15 different curatorial departments to be displayed in conversation with one of another. Despite years of controversy regarding its concrete design and a 10 percent reduction in exhibition space, the museum is positioning the new structure as a flexible "laboratory" for global art history.
Art Basel Hong Kong 2026 commenced against a backdrop of global economic uncertainty and geopolitical tension, yet the city's local scene demonstrated remarkable resilience. The week was characterized by a surge of grassroots activity, including the debut of three alternative art fairs and the opening of several new gallery outposts. Key highlights included the launch of GOLD, a cross-disciplinary salon in Wong Chuk Hang, and the expansion of Shanghai’s Antenna Space into the city, signaling a shift toward more flexible, community-oriented art spaces.
The Mexican art community is voicing alarm over the relocation of the prestigious Gelman Collection to Spain, where it is slated to become the centerpiece of the new Foro Santander cultural center. Managed by Santander Bank and previously acquired by the Zambrano family, the collection includes 160 works by modern masters such as Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros, including 18 rare paintings by Frida Kahlo. Critics and academics have signed an open letter demanding transparency from the Mexican government regarding the legality of this long-term export, given that many of these works are designated as national artistic monuments.
The Social Practice CUNY (SPCUNY) initiative, a major program fostering the intersection of art and social justice across the City University of New York’s 25 campuses, will officially sunset in February 2027. Co-directed by artists Chloë Bass and Greg Sholette, the program will conclude following its final 2025–26 fellowship cohort. The decision to end the project stems from the directors' personal transitions, including Sholette’s upcoming retirement and Bass’s shift away from full-time teaching to focus on her studio practice.
Jackson Fine Art in Atlanta is hosting a significant exhibition of Gordon Parks’ color photography, titled "The South in Colour." Curated by photographer Dawoud Bey, the show features over 30 works from Parks’ 1956 "Segregation Story" series, including previously unshown images and a new portfolio from The Gordon Parks Foundation. The collection documents the daily lives of the Thornton, Causey, and Tanner families in Alabama, capturing the quiet dignity of Black Americans living under the oppressive Jim Crow laws of the postwar era.
Jackson Fine Art in Atlanta is hosting "Gordon Parks: The South in Colour," a major exhibition curated by photographer Dawoud Bey. The show features over 30 works from Parks’ seminal 1956 "Segregation Story" series, including several previously unshown images of the Thornton, Causey, and Tanner families in Alabama. The exhibition coincides with the 70th anniversary of the series' original publication in Life magazine and the 20th anniversary of The Gordon Parks Foundation.
Artist Ida Ekblad has converted a 1960s Brutalist villa in Oslo into a dynamic, non-commercial studio and project space named 'Villa Ekblad.' The space serves as her primary studio but is also designed to host spontaneous collaborations, workshops, and experimental projects with other artists, functioning as a creative laboratory removed from market pressures.
A View From the Easel
Artist Lusmerlin, who works between studios in Maryland and Philadelphia, describes a creative process that begins with physical and mental alignment through activities like stretching and singing before painting. Their flexible studio spaces, which open onto a garden, directly influence ambitious projects, including a 28-foot painting titled "The Big Rip" that investigates the theoretical collapse of the universe.
Dealers Matteo Consonni and Dawid Radziszewski have merged their respective galleries, Madragoa in Lisbon and Galeria Dawid Radziszewski in Warsaw, to form a single entity: Consonni Radziszewski. The new gallery launched with a third physical space in Milan, timed to coincide with the city's art week and the Venice Biennale. This merger follows a three-year period of collaboration on art fair booths and joint artist representation, specifically for photographer Joanna Piotrowska.
Samantha McCoy, the grand-niece of Jackson Pollock, has launched Argo Fine Arts, a new gallery model operating between Paris and New York. Making its high-profile debut at the 28th edition of Art Paris in the Grand Palais, the gallery is garnering attention for its impressive inventory, which includes works by Jackson Pollock, Cy Twombly, and Charles Pollock. McCoy has opted for an "ephemeral" gallery model that prioritizes artists and clients over permanent real estate, reflecting a strategic response to the current economic pressures facing traditional brick-and-mortar galleries.
The Central Pavilion of the Venice Biennale has reopened after a €31 million renovation completed ahead of the 2026 edition. The 16-month project, funded by the Italian Ministry of Culture, streamlined the historic building's interior, concealed technical systems, added new skylights and motorized shades, and introduced outdoor structures to better connect the pavilion to the Giardini landscape.
Tang Contemporary Art in Beijing is launching a massive retrospective titled '1985–2025: Chinese Modern Ink Art,' curated by Zou Jianping. Featuring over 120 works by 68 artists across two gallery spaces, the exhibition traces the forty-year evolution of ink painting from the '85 New Wave movement to the present day. The show highlights key figures such as Gu Wenda, Wang Tiande, and Liu Qinghe, showcasing how the medium transitioned from traditional brushwork to experimental forms including installation and digital media.
The Chicago-based Joyce Foundation has announced the relaunch of its Joyce Awards after a year-long hiatus, introducing a significant shift in its funding model. Starting with the 2026 cycle, the program will move from project-based grants to providing four artists annually with $100,000 in unrestricted funds, alongside a $40,000 grant for a partner nonprofit. The awards will now operate on a biennial rotation between specific Great Lakes states and allow for self-nominations for the first time.
Externaliser l’accueil dans les musées, un modèle en plein essor
French museums are increasingly outsourcing front-of-house services, including ticketing, reception, and crowd management, to specialized private firms. This trend, which gained momentum with the opening of the Musée du quai Branly in 2006, allows public institutions to focus internal resources on core missions like conservation and curation while utilizing flexible, external labor for high-traffic operations. The market for these cultural services in France is projected to reach approximately €50 million by 2025.
Japanese artist Manabu Kosaka creates hyperrealistic, scale replicas of everyday and retro objects using only paper. His meticulously crafted sculptures—ranging from 35mm film cameras and vintage transistor radios to luxury wristwatches and fast food—feature functional internal components like gears, levers, and moving hatches that mimic the mechanics of the original items.
The article presents a curated selection of the best portable, rechargeable lamps, highlighting options across various price points. It focuses on products that combine aesthetic appeal with functional design.
Hangar – Centro de Investigação Artística in Lisbon has launched an open call for its Longitudes Residency programme. The call invites artists, writers, curators, researchers, and musicians from diverse disciplines to apply for stays of one to three months. The programme is process-based and non-prescriptive, encouraging participants to develop projects in response to Lisbon's environment or to pursue research within its cultural context.
The Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin–Madison is implementing a radical reinstallation of its permanent collection galleries. This new curatorial strategy centers each gallery around a single "focus object," which is then surrounded by a "constellation" of supporting artworks designed to highlight specific thematic, historical, or technical connections rather than following a traditional chronological or geographical layout.
Artnet News and the Association of Women in the Arts (AWITA) recently launched "Hardwiring Change," an inaugural survey investigating structural barriers for women in the art industry. The report, unveiled at Deutsche Bank’s London headquarters, reveals significant gender disparities in pay and leadership, particularly within larger organizations. Key industry figures, including gallerist Sadie Coles and Bonhams UK Managing Director India Phillips, discussed the data, which shows that over 93% of respondents feel family planning has impacted their professional decisions.
Art advisors and curators Allison Zatarain and Kevin Rubén Jacobs are launching a new gallery space in Dallas called Zatarain Jacobs. Located in the Dallas Design District, the gallery aims to move away from the traditional 'white cube' model by offering a flexible, playful environment that accommodates both curated exhibitions and private advisory services.
Massimiliano Gioni and Beatrice Trussardi have launched the Beatrice Trussardi Foundation, a nomadic art initiative that debuted with an installation by Polish artist Paweł Althamer in a remote 17th-century hut in Switzerland's Engadin Valley. The project, featuring a sculpture of St. Francis and a series of happenings, marks a new chapter for the duo who previously spent two decades staging ephemeral public art projects in Milan. The foundation aims to operate without a permanent home, bringing site-specific contemporary art to unexpected global locations.
The Jiadu Art Center in Yanjiao, Hebei Province, represents a strategic architectural intervention by MINOR lab to transform existing residential and commercial stock into a community-focused art network. The project reconfigures three distinct spaces—an ancillary structure, a commercial unit, and a residential apartment—into a cohesive system featuring a flexible exhibition hall, a café, and an adaptable artist studio. Utilizing movable walls, modular furniture, and a consistent material palette of strawboard and hot-rolled steel, the design prioritizes spatial fluidity and multi-functional use.
Stephen Friedman Gallery has announced it will close its New York location in Tribeca by the end of February 2026, less than 30 months after its high-profile opening. The gallery framed the decision as a "strategic evolution" intended to consolidate resources at its London headquarters while maintaining a presence at major international art fairs. Despite the closure, the gallery maintains that its artist roster remains unchanged and its influence in the U.S. will continue through institutional exhibitions.
ArtVerse Advisory, a London-based B2B firm, has launched a suite of services designed to help galleries and art advisors overcome capital constraints and inventory limitations. Founded by CEO Amit Mehra, the company provides professional intermediaries with access to a curated selection of primary and secondary market works—ranging from blue-chip artists like Andy Warhol to rising stars like Raghav Babbar—through flexible deal structures such as consignments and personalized payment plans.
Tobias Berger, a veteran curator who held senior roles at Hong Kong’s M+ and Tai Kwun, has transitioned from the public sector to lead two new private initiatives: Serakai Studio and the Tanoto Art Foundation. Ahead of Art Basel Hong Kong, Berger is launching "Gold," an experimental salon space in Wong Chuk Hang that merges contemporary art with design and fashion. These roles mark a shift toward agile, privately funded cultural models that prioritize regional focus and experimental programming over the bureaucratic structures of large public museums.
The Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, has announced a $65 million expansion project set to break ground in 2026. The 35,000-square-foot addition, designed by the Beck Group, will feature flexible gallery spaces for immersive digital art experiences, a dedicated K-12 learning center, and community-focused programming areas. The project, titled "Reveal," aims to modernize the institution's infrastructure while reinterpreting the architectural language of its existing 2011 building.
Newcastle Art Gallery has officially reopened following a A$47 million ($33 million) expansion that more than doubles its exhibition space. The redevelopment, designed by Clare Design and Smith and Tzannes Architects, transforms the venue into the largest public art institution in New South Wales outside of Sydney. The opening is celebrated with the exhibition "Iconic Loved Unexpected," featuring 500 works from a permanent collection of 7,000 pieces, including significant Japanese ceramics and works by artists such as Auguste Rodin and Emily Kam Kngwarray.