tania willard wins sobey art award 1234760864

Tania Willard, a mixed Secwépemc and settler artist from Neskonlith, British Columbia, has won the 2025 Sobey Art Award, receiving CAD$100,000 ($71,000). The announcement was made at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. The award, established in 2002 by the Sobey Art Foundation, supports contemporary Canadian artists. The five other shortlisted artists—Tarralik Duffy, Chukwudubem Ukaigwe, Sandra Brewster, Swapnaa Tamhane, and Hangama Amiri—each receive CAD$25,000. Willard's land-based, community-focused practice centers Indigenous resurgence, and her site-specific installation *Declaration of the Understory* is on view at Bentway Staging Grounds in Toronto through spring 2026.

the tangs donate 150 native american artworks to ny historical jeff and lauren sanchez bezos become honorary chairs of met gala morning links for february 24 2026 1234774258

Agnes Hsu-Tang and Oscar Tang have donated 150 works by Native American artists to the New-York Historical Society to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States. The collection features significant pieces by artists such as Fritz Scholder, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, and T.C. Cannon, intended to bridge historical and contemporary indigenous narratives. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has named Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos as honorary chairs for the upcoming Met Gala, a move that follows their previous roles as major sponsors.

an indigenous takeover of the met asks who should be writing art history 1234757699

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.

art toronto 2025 showcasing indigenous art 1234758460

Art Toronto, Canada's oldest and largest international fair for modern and contemporary art, opens to the public on Friday with a strong focus on Indigenous artists. Over half of the fair's 100-plus booths feature works by Indigenous makers from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Latin America. The fair includes a mix of Canadian, European, Latin American, and US galleries, with a dedicated 'Arte Sur' section highlighting Mexican and Central and South American art. Notable exhibitors include Ceremonial Art, Fazakas, Feheley Fine Arts, and N. Smith Gallery, showcasing works by artists such as Ningiukulu Teevee, Shuvinai Ashoona, Gerardo Ramírez, and Manuel Mathieu.

Art exhibitions to kickstart your cultural calendar in 2026

A roundup of art exhibitions opening in India during January-February 2026, curated to help readers plan their cultural calendar. Featured shows include 'Signs of Life' by Kunel Gaur at Method-Delhi, 'Chhoti Baatein, Bade Sapne' by Rajesh Ram at Palette Art Gallery, 'Zameen' at the Birla Academy of Art and Culture in Kolkata, and three exhibitions by Emami Art at the Kolkata Centre for Creativity, covering themes from identity and ecology to printmaking and regional artistic lineages.

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

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

Philadelphia Museum of Art and PAFA team up for a massive American art show

The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) have launched "A Nation of Artists," a massive collaborative exhibition marking the United States' 250th anniversary. Spanning 20,000 square feet across both institutions, the show features over 1,000 works ranging from 18th-century portraiture and Hudson River School landscapes to contemporary pieces by local artists. The exhibition was catalyzed by significant loans from the private collection of Philadelphia Phillies owner John Middleton and his wife, Leigh, which filled critical gaps in the museums' permanent holdings.

First Indigenous Representative of Peru at the Venice Biennale, Sara Flores Opens the Doors of Her Studio in the Heart of the Amazon

Première représentante autochtone du Pérou à la Biennale de Venise, Sara Flores ouvre les portes de son atelier au cœur de l’Amazonie

Sara Flores, a 76-year-old artist from the Shipibo-Konibo Indigenous community in the Peruvian Amazon, has been selected as the first Indigenous artist to represent Peru at the Venice Biennale. In her open-air studio deep in the rainforest, she creates large-scale geometric compositions in the kené ("true drawing") tradition, using natural dyes from local plants. She is also co-founder of the Bakish Mai Multiversity, an educational institution dedicated to Indigenous knowledge and artist residencies, alongside Matteo Norzi, one of the two curators of the Peruvian pavilion. The article offers an intimate portrait of her life, her matriarchal family, and her creative process.

8 musées incontournables à visiter à Montréal

Montréal, a UNESCO City of Design, is home to a wealth of cultural institutions. This article highlights eight must-visit museums, including the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal (the city's largest art museum, with nearly 47,000 works from antiquity to today), the Musée McCord Stewart (a centennial museum focusing on Canadian history and Indigenous voices), the Écomusée du Fier Monde (dedicated to working-class history and eco-design), and Pointe-à-Callière (an archaeology and history museum built on the city's original foundations). Each museum offers a unique perspective on art, history, and society.

Minnesota Anishinaabe artists well-represented at major new exhibition in Detroit

A major new exhibition, “Contemporary Anishinaabe Art: A Continuation,” has opened at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), marking the museum’s first major Native American exhibition in over three decades. The show features 90 works by more than 60 artists from the Great Lakes region of the U.S. and Canada, including a strong contingent of Minnesota-based painters, sculptors, designers, and filmmakers. Curated in collaboration with a panel of Anishinaabe artists—including Duluth-based painter and filmmaker Jonathan Thunder, Kelly Church, Jason Quigno, Monica Rickert-Bolter, and Jodi Webster—the exhibition spans painting, beadwork, fashion, film, and sculpture. Signage is translated into Anishinaabemowin, and QR codes offer language learning. The curators deliberately chose not to begin with historical works, asserting that Native American artists should not be required to provide a historical preamble.

A Look at the DIA’s Contemporary Anishinaabe Art Exhibition

The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) has opened "Contemporary Anishinaabe Art: A Continuation," its first Native American art exhibition in over 30 years. Featuring 92 works by more than 60 Anishinaabe artists from the Great Lakes region, the show spans from 1892 to 2025 and includes pieces by renowned artists such as Jim Denomie, Norval Morrisseau, Kent Estey, Jonathan Thunder, and Rabbett before Horses Strickland. Highlights include Denomie's vibrant "Four Days and Four Nites, Ceremony" (2020) and Morrisseau's spiritual works like "Punk Rockers Nancy and Andy" (1989).

Cara and Diego Romero: Tales of Futures Past Comes to Albuquerque Museum

The Albuquerque Museum will present "Cara and Diego Romero: Tales of Futures Past" from November 1, 2025, through February 8, 2026. This is the first national traveling exhibition to bring together the work of acclaimed contemporary artists Cara Romero (Chemehuevi) and Diego Romero (Cochiti), featuring 40 works including Diego’s pottery and lithographs and Cara’s photographs from her Indigenous Futurism series. The exhibition, organized by the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa, includes the debut of Cara Romero’s large-scale photographs "Four Horsewomen I and II" and a documentary by Kaela Waldstein. Public events include an opening panel moderated by artist and scholar Deborah Jojola.

Florida’s Indigenous Artists Take Center Stage at Miami Art Week

Two Florida museums, HistoryMiami Museum and the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, have organized an exhibition titled "Yakne Seminoli" ("Seminole World") for Miami Art Week, featuring works by over 25 Seminole artists. The show spans traditional crafts like beadwork and basketry alongside contemporary media including painting, photography, and AI-generated art, aiming to highlight Seminole creativity and resilience. It includes pieces by the late Jimmy Osceola, Gordon O. Wareham, and Hali Garcia, among others.

“Come in and learn” - Sunrise Moon Art Gallery now open in High River

Virginia Aldoff-Pinay, a Cree Kokum from the Foothills School Division, has opened the Sunrise Moon Art Gallery in High River, Alberta. The gallery features Indigenous art, artifacts, and educational displays representing the Blackfoot Confederation, Métis, and Inuit cultures, along with a tea room and library. Aldoff-Pinay, who comes from a family of artists, named the gallery after a morning prayer when she saw both the sunrise and moon. The business is managed by her grandson Ethan Carpenter, and the sign was made by her daughter Vanessa.

Corban Clause Williams to debut solo show at Melbourne Art Fair 2026

Emilia Galatis Projects, a Perth-based gallery focusing on Western Australian First Nations artists, will present the first Melbourne solo exhibition by Corban Clause Williams at Melbourne Art Fair 2026, running February 19-22. The show will debut 15 new paintings and design works extending Williams' Manyjilyjarra Country and culture into sculptural and textile forms, accompanied by a Martu Wangka artist talk with Anya Judith Samson. Williams, born in 1994 and based in Parnngurr Community, has gained rapid acclaim for canvases weaving ancestral knowledge with contemporary visual language, and was named an inaugural Creative WA Fellowship recipient in late 2025.

Gallery 121 celebrates Indigenous artists in new exhibition

Gallery 121 in Belleville, Ontario, opened a new Indigenous art exhibition on January 19, 2026, featuring nine Haudenosaunee artists including David R. Maracle, Rebecca Maracle, Janice Brant, and others. The month-long show, running until February 7, opened with a smudging ceremony and musical performance by Maracle, and includes works by Gallery 121 member artists. The exhibition continues the gallery's annual tradition of showcasing Indigenous artists from the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory since 2014.

Six Nations, Six Languages of Resilience, at Ucross Art Gallery

The Ucross Art Gallery has launched "Resilience," a group exhibition showcasing the work of the 2025 Ucross Fellowship for Native American Artists recipients. Curated by Marwin Begaye, the show features a diverse array of disciplines including sculpture by Gina Herrera, literature by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, mixed-media by Wade Patton, and performance art by Sarah Ortegon HighWalking. The collection explores the intersection of cultural identity, heritage, and the enduring strength of Indigenous communities across the United States.

New exhibition lets ‘cheeky dogs’ run wild in the gallery

Hervey Bay Regional Gallery in Queensland is closing out 2025 with three new exhibitions by local artists, opening November 28. The shows include a solo exhibition by Alywarr artist Dion Beasley, titled "Six Dogs," featuring his playful drawings of camp dogs inspired by his hometown of Tennant Creek and his children's books. Also on view are Brisbane-based Tyza Hart's "Appearing," a decade-spanning installation of ceramics and self-portraits, and the collaborative project "Weeds to Paper" led by papermaker Zela Bissett, which transforms invasive plants into handmade paper artworks in partnership with Butchulla Traditional Custodians.

Q&A: How does UVA’s ‘Fuego Eterno’ exhibit explore indigenous sovereignty?

The article is a Q&A with artist and professor Fernando Peralta, co-director of the Global Spanish Initiative at the University of Virginia (UVA), about the exhibition 'Fuego Eterno' at UVA. The exhibition, which opened August 29, features artists from indigenous and Afro-descended communities across the Americas and its diasporas, exploring themes of indigenous sovereignty, Nahua cosmologies, and border resistance. Peralta also has his own works in the show, and the exhibition includes a symposium, a workshop with Peruvian artist Venuca Evanán Vivanco, a film screening, and a closing party.

New art exhibition at the M features queer Indigenous artists, cultural teachings

The Minnesota Museum of American Art in St. Paul has opened “Queering Indigeneity,” a new exhibition curated by artist Penny Kagigebi and supporting curator Ben Gessner. Featuring works by 16 queer and two-spirit Indigenous artists, the show includes a birch bark basket by Kagigebi that retells an Ojibwe story about two-spirit ancestors, a glass mosaic by Sharon Day, beaded soundwave portraits by Ryan Young, and an abstract quilt by Delia Touché. The exhibition opens Thursday in the Nancy and John Lindahl Gallery.

‘A family reunion of artists’: Minnesota Anishinaabe artists showcased in Detroit and beyond

A group exhibition titled 'A Family Reunion of Artists' features works by Minnesota Anishinaabe artists, currently on display in Detroit and traveling to other venues. The show brings together multiple generations of Indigenous artists from the Anishinaabe community, highlighting their diverse practices and shared cultural heritage.

Museum of Art Fort Collins brings visibility to Indigenous contemporary art

The Museum of Art Fort Collins has opened “Indigenous Voices: A Contemporary Art Exhibition,” curated by artist Gregg Deal of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. The show features diverse Indigenous artists using distinct visual techniques—from acrylic painting to beadwork and animal hide—to address political, cultural, and social topics. Among the participants is Gregg Deal’s child, Sage Deal, an art history student at the University of Colorado, Denver, and Skye Little Cloud, a Pratt Institute student who founded Little Cloud Studio in 2024. The exhibition runs until January 4, 2026.