The exhibition helping one nail tech realise she was an artist all along

Hull-based nail tech Lucy Allman, who never considered herself an artist, was recruited by curator Lucy Brooke to participate in an art exhibition titled "Mother," organized by The Feminine Urge Collective. Allman created a series of unique nail art pieces using mixed media, including her children's hair and 3D clay, exploring themes of childhood, teenage years, and motherhood. The exhibition runs from 1-17 May 2026 at a pop-up space on Pier Street in Hull.

From Mother Mary to Foo Fighters: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead

This article is a weekly entertainment guide from The Guardian, covering cinema, gigs, art, stage, streaming, games, albums, and brain food. In the art section, it highlights two exhibitions: "Handpicked: Painting Flowers from 1900 to Today" at Kettle's Yard in Cambridge, featuring artists like Henri Rousseau and Lubaina Himid; and a show of South African photographer George Hallett's work at the John Lennon School of Art and Design in Liverpool, documenting black resistance in 1970s Britain. It also mentions an open house for Lonnie Holley's new works at Edel Assanti gallery in London.

SACHA INGBER: TWO

Brazilian artist Sacha Ingber presents 'Two,' a solo exhibition at Uffner & Liu in New York, featuring works in pigmented resin, ceramics, and functional objects that explore themes of pairing, connection, and codependence. The show includes paired notebooks, ceramic figures sharing handles, and a backgammon board designed for two players, all emphasizing the relational space between objects and bodies.

Colleen Barry Wants You to Believe in Pictures Again

Artist Colleen Barry presents her exhibition “Iconophilia” at Half Gallery in the East Village, featuring 14 recent paintings that explore motherhood, tenderness, and the complexity of image-making. The works include mythological references like the Capitoline Wolf and juxtapositions of ancient and modern imagery, such as a portrait of Grace Jones combined with the Roman god Janus. Barry, who grew up working class in New York and learned painting from her father, aims to counter contemporary distrust of images—especially among her children—by offering a reverent, iconophilic approach to visual culture.

A View From the Easel

New Jersey-based artist Hadieh Afshani is featured in the 334th installment of Hyperallergic's 'A View From the Easel' series, which profiles artists in their workspaces. Afshani describes her studio practice at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City, where she balances her art with caring for her baby, working around his feeding and sleeping rhythms. She emphasizes the importance of natural light, a sink for fluid processes, and the supportive community of fellow artists and mothers.

'Two Voices, One Road' show opens at C-Art Gallery

Springfield artists and married couple Randy Bacon and Heidi Herrman are opening a new collaborative exhibition titled "Two Voices, One Road" at their C-Art Gallery on Historic Commercial Street, running from April 29 to July 4. The show was inspired by a restorative road trip along Route 66 they took in 2021 after Herrman's mother died and as the world emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic. Bacon contributes landscape photographs taken as far back as 1992, while Herrman presents new mixed-media works combining her own photographs with vintage handkerchiefs inherited from her mother, printed on mulberry paper and fused with encaustic materials.

Required Reading

This week's Required Reading from Hyperallergic features a photo by Saber Nuraldin, a finalist for the World Press Photo of the Year, depicting Palestinians climbing an aid truck in Gaza during famine caused by Israel's blockade. The article also includes Elena Megalos's essay on the American Museum of Natural History as a site of motherhood, and reports on Meenu Batra, a legal interpreter arrested by ICE, and the New York Times blocking the Internet Archive from crawling its site.

Azerbaijan Destroys Armenian Holy Mother of God Church in Artsakh

Satellite imagery obtained by Caucasus Heritage Watch (CHW) confirms that the Azerbaijani regime has demolished the Holy Mother of God Church in Stepanakert, the former capital of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). The church, consecrated in 2019 after 12 years of construction, was destroyed within the last eight weeks, as evidenced by Sentinel-2 satellite images from March 3 and April 2. The Artsakh Tourism and Cultural Development Agency announced the destruction on April 21, three days before the 111th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. This demolition follows a pattern of damage to Armenian religious and cultural sites since the forced displacement of over 130,000 Armenians in September 2023.

'There's Always a Beef': A New Exhibition Turns Identity Politics Between Arabic Speakers Into Art

A new exhibition titled 'Mother Tongue' has opened at the Haifa Museum of Art, exploring the hierarchy of Arabic dialects and the politics of language among Arabic speakers. The show turns identity politics into art, examining how language can be a battlefield in a region where one language holds power over another and political expression can lead to legal consequences.

Manet and Morisot: Game On | Susan Tallman

The article recounts an incident in 1870 when Berthe Morisot, a young painter, sought advice from Édouard Manet on a double portrait of her mother and sister for the Paris Salon. Manet, a friend and fellow artist, visited her studio and, after deeming the work "very good" except for the dress, took up brushes and extensively retouched the figure of Morisot's mother from hem to head, leaving Morisot mortified. This moment, described as "mansplainting," is framed as a pivotal point in their artistic relationship, which the exhibition "Manet and Morisot" explores through paintings that dialogue with each other, including Manet's *The Balcony* and Morisot's *The Artist's Sister at a Window*.

"Du bist nun in die ewigen Jagdgründe der Kunst entschwunden"

This week's art news roundup covers several stories: Jonathan Meese publishes an obituary for his mother Brigitte Meese in Der Spiegel, describing her as a central figure in his life and work. Pussy Riot seeks to take over the Russian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. The European Media Art Festival (EMAF) in Osnabrück faces controversy over antisemitism allegations linked to Palestinian-American filmmaker Basma al-Sharif, leading the city and state government to distance themselves from the festival. In the NZZ, Christian Wildhagen reports on conflicts over official political portraits, citing examples like Swiss councilor Martin Neukom rejecting paintings and Donald Trump criticizing his portrait. Art historian Horst Bredekamp pays tribute to Italian philosopher Federico Vercellone (1955–2026) in the FAZ, highlighting his theory of the 'self-activity of form.'

NEREIDA APAZA MAMANI A HISTORY OF MIGRATION AND VIOLENCE AT THE ICPNA CULTURAL IN MIRAFLORES

Nereida Apaza Mamani presents a solo exhibition at ICPNA Cultural in Miraflores, Lima, featuring 150 works across watercolor, painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, embroidery, and installation. The show traces stories of migration and displacement through cartographies, maps, and family trees, drawing on embroidery techniques inherited from her mother and grandmother. Curated by Miguel López, the exhibition explores belonging in a country marked by discrimination and centralism, incorporating the artist's notebooks begun in 2009 and works that address political violence and memory.

‘Layers of Us’ show examines culture through art

Mothership Studios is hosting the opening reception and a brunch for the "Layers of Us" exhibition, featuring nine artists from Texas State University. The show explores the concept of culture through individual representation and community, using diverse media like video, painting, photography, and sculpture.

Islamophobia, motherhood, war and immigration: Indy artists get political

Four Indianapolis-based artists—Salma Taman, Alejandra Carrillo, Bailey Jörk, and Iryna Bondar—are creating work that directly responds to contemporary political and social crises, including the war in Gaza, immigration, and political division. Their art, ranging from Taman's Arabic calligraphy painting promoting forgiveness to Carrillo's digital drawing protesting a migrant detention center, serves as a form of personal and communal expression in a fraught global climate.

Artist Lynn Rogers shares lifelong love of art as Munson docent

Artist Lynn Rogers has volunteered as a docent at the Munson museum in Utica, New York, for over 15 years. She credits her lifelong passion for art to childhood visits to the Yale Art Museum with her mother, an artist, and now uses similar interactive teaching methods to guide visitors through Munson's collections and special exhibitions.

Marina Xenofontos on Representing Cyprus at the 61st Venice Biennale

Artist Marina Xenofontos will represent Cyprus at the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026. Her exhibition, centered on an animatronic sparrow titled 'Passer' and incorporating folk songs recorded by her grandmother and great-aunts, explores themes of memory, endurance, and the quiet persistence of culture.

Brigitte Meese Dies at 96

Brigitte Meese stirbt mit 96 Jahren

Brigitte Meese, the mother, manager, and long-time artistic companion of German artist Jonathan Meese, has died at the age of 96. She was a formative figure in her son's artistic environment, providing organizational support for decades while also serving as his muse, model, and co-performer.

Jinsun Kim: C.O.C.O.O.N.: HEALING

Interdisciplinary artist Jinsun Kim presents a solo exhibition titled 'C.O.C.O.O.N.: HEALING' at K Space Contemporary in Corpus Christi, Texas. The exhibition features mixed-media sculptures that create immersive, cocoon-like environments exploring themes of healing, survival, and transformation. The works are informed by Kim's childhood memories of her mother's illness and recovery, translating personal experience into universal spatial narratives.

Louisville exhibit explores history and heritage across the African diaspora

The Kentucky Center for African American Heritage in Louisville has launched "Celebrating the Black Experience," a traveling exhibition showcasing diverse artistic mediums from across the African diaspora. Featuring works ranging from hand-built porcelain to traditional hand-quilted textiles, the show highlights personal narratives, cultural identity, and the preservation of generational legacies. Notable contributions include Debra Harley’s completed quilts started by her great-great-grandmother and J. Everett Young’s return to physical painting and drawing from digital art.