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An open letter demanding curatorial independence at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) has gathered over 500 signatures after trustee Judy Schulich reportedly blocked the acquisition of Nan Goldin's moving-image work *Stendhal Syndrome* (2024), calling the Jewish American photographer “antisemitic.” The AGO had planned to acquire the work jointly with the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Walker Art Center, but the vote was 11–9 against acquisition. In response, curator John Zeppetelli resigned, two volunteer committee members stepped down, and Goldin herself criticized the decision as censorship driven by donor influence. The AGO has since announced a restructuring of its modern and contemporary curatorial committee, splitting it into two groups for 20th- and 21st-century art, effective in 2026.

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Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Qatar has mounted a presentation of seven works by Palestinian artist Samia Halaby that were originally slated for a canceled survey at Indiana University’s Eskenazi Museum of Art in December 2023. The university cited “safety reasons” for the cancellation, which Halaby criticized as occurring amid the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza. The works are displayed in the first gallery of the exhibition “we refuse_d,” curated by Vasif Kortun, which also includes pieces by other artists whose shows were canceled, such as Jumana Manna. Halaby’s paintings span 1980 to 2024 and include the previously unseen “Worldwide Intifadah” (1989) and “Massacre of the Innocents in Gaza” (2024).

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The Gaza Biennial, a major exhibition featuring 25 artists from Gaza, concluded its full run at the Brooklyn nonprofit space Recess, with an abbreviated version remaining on view until December 20. The show presents painting, video, drawing, and testimony created under siege, offering a powerful artistic response to the ongoing conflict and displacement.

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Gabrielle Bejani, a Lebanese Palestinian artist based in South London, created a series of works responding to the November 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon that was quickly broken by Israeli fire in Khiam. The series, exhibited as "Deliberate Dreams" at Beirut's Saleh Barakat Gallery in July 2025, uses painting, drawing, and collage to process grief, anger, and guilt over the violence. Bejani incorporates everyday cultural items like bougainvillea and 20th-century Lebanese postage stamps, reclaiming darkness as a metaphor for identity and resistance against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's characterization of Palestinians as "children of darkness."

Dozens of Venice Biennale Artists Demand Israel’s Exclusion

A coalition of 182 artists, curators, and art workers participating in the 2026 Venice Biennale, organized under the Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA), formally delivered a letter demanding the exclusion of Israel from the exhibition. The signatories, including prominent artists like Yto Barrada, Alfredo Jaar, and Miet Warlop, argue that the Biennale must not normalize Israeli policies towards Palestinians.

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South Africa has officially withdrawn from the 2024 Venice Biennale following a legal battle over the cancellation of its national pavilion. The controversy began when Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie pulled the plug on artist Gabrielle Goliath’s planned exhibition, which referenced the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza. Goliath and curator Ingrid Masondo challenged the decision in court, alleging censorship and a violation of freedom of expression, but a South African judge recently dismissed their case without providing a specific reasoning.

World Press Photo 2026 winners – in pictures

The World Press Photo 2026 winners have been announced, with Carol Guzy awarded the top honor for her image of distraught girls clinging to their father as ICE agents detain him after an immigration hearing in New York City. Finalists include Saber Nuraldin’s photograph of Palestinians scrambling for aid in Gaza, Victor J Blue’s image of Achi women outside a Guatemala City court, and other powerful works documenting climate displacement in Mexico, a wedding during a typhoon in the Philippines, police detaining a priest at a pensioners’ protest in Argentina, and a social robot in Europe.

From Gaza to Syria: Stories from Middle East dominate art exhibition in Portugal

The Anozero – Bienal de Coimbra in Portugal is presenting a significant number of works addressing conflict and displacement in the Middle East. The biennial, curated by John Zeppetelli and Hans Ibelings, features projects like Taysir Batniji's "Just in Case #2," a series of 250 photographs of keys belonging to displaced Palestinians, and Adam Broomberg and Rafael Gonzalez's "Anchor In The Landscape," documenting destroyed olive trees.

Israeli Authorities Plan to Seize Major Archaeological Site in West Bank, Sparking Outrage

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Israeli authorities have announced plans to seize a 182-hectare archaeological site in the West Bank town of Sebastia, the largest such land seizure for an archaeological project since 1967. The plan includes building a visitor center, parking lot, and a fence that would separate the site from the Palestinian town, cutting off local access to both the ruins and surrounding olive groves. The move has been denounced by Palestinian residents and officials as an aggression that threatens livelihoods and erases Palestinian identity.

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.

Art exhibition weekend raises more than £25,000

Three Suffolk women—journalists Mai Noman and Nicola Gooch, and curator Mary George—organized a weekend art exhibition titled 'From Suffolk to Gaza with Love' at Noman Studio in Monks Eleigh, raising over £25,000 for the UK charity Medical Aid for Palestinians. The event featured paintings and sculptures donated by 70 artists, attracted 200 attendees on opening night, and included Palestinian cultural elements such as oud music by Reem Anbar, Arabic cakes, and a talk by a Suffolk aid worker.

‘I'm sending a piece of Gaza to the world’: Palestinian artist Ahmed Muhanna discusses his exhibition of works painted on aid boxes

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has launched a traveling exhibition titled "Gaza: Stories of Hope and Resilience," featuring over 40 paintings by Gazan artist Ahmed Muhanna. Muhanna created the works on WFP aid boxes and paper over three intense months under constant threat of bombings, using the boxes as canvas due to a lack of art materials. The exhibition opened on 15 September in Brussels and will tour nine European cities before closing on 23 October, with funding from the EU.

Canadian Museum for Human Rights’ planned exhibition on displacement of Palestinians sparks outpouring of support and criticism

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg announced plans for an exhibition titled 'Palestine Uprooted: Nakba, Past and Present,' scheduled to open in June 2026. The show will document the lived experience of the Nakba—the mass displacement of Palestinians beginning with the 1948 Arab-Israeli war—through video testimonials, objects, art, text, and photography, focusing on personal stories of Palestinian Canadians. The announcement has drawn both strong support and criticism, with museum CEO Isha Khan emphasizing the exhibition is not a historical retrospective or commentary on current Israel-Palestine relations.

Gaza Biennale, featuring works by artists from the war-torn strip, will come to New York City

The Gaza Biennale, a 60-artist exhibition featuring works by artists from Gaza, will debut in New York City from September 10-14 at Recess, a non-profit art space in Brooklyn, with a smaller iteration remaining on view through December 20. The biennale is a decentralized event taking place across 19 venues in 12 cities worldwide, including new pavilions in Toronto, Washington, DC, and New York. It builds on previous editions in London, Athens, Istanbul, Padua, Valencia, and elsewhere, showcasing art made from humble materials like garment scraps and old aid boxes, and includes works by 22 Gaza-based artists in its New York iteration.