ArtReview's editors have curated a list of 11 must-see exhibitions worldwide for May 2026, excluding Venice. Highlights include Audie Murray's solo show at april april in Pittsburgh, featuring works made with her own hair and breast milk; Delcy Morelos's monumental earthwork 'origo' at the Barbican Sculpture Court in London; and Bold Tendencies' 20th anniversary season in Peckham, titled 'Euphoria', with new commissions across multiple disciplines.
Trinket exchange boxes, where people swap small items like pins, stickers, and ceramic animals, are rapidly spreading across the UK and US. The phenomenon, which began in Philadelphia in autumn 2024, has grown from 800 to nearly 1,500 installations in two months, according to Portland-based artist Rachael Harms Mahlandt, who tracks them on a world map. In Edinburgh, pet-sitter Sam Stevens runs a popular pink box outside Argonaut Books, inspired by a San Francisco exchange, and has seen her follower count jump overnight as locals trade trinkets for fun.
The Arts Council of Wales has announced a 19-strong team of early-career artists, curators, and students who will travel to Venice this summer to support Wales' presence at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, running from May 9 to November 22, 2026. As part of the Invigilator+ programme, participants will spend at least one month in Venice acting as ambassadors for the Wales in Venice exhibition, an official collateral event. The exhibition, titled Sownd, is led by artists Manon Awst and Dylan Huw, jointly organized by Oriel Myrddin in Carmarthen and Oriel Davies in Newtown, with Steffan Jones-Hughes as Curator and Catherine Spring as Exhibition Project Director. The invigilators include Lily Tonkin Wells, Robert Oros, Ophelia dos Santos, Grace Springer, Cerian Wilshire Davies, Megan Evans, Howl Hubbard, Temeka Davies, Llyr Evans, Chloe Goodwin, Abby Pouslon, and Niamh O'Dobhain, while student team members come from Cardiff Metropolitan University, University of Wales Trinity St David, Wrexham University, and Aberystwyth University.