Inside LACMA’s 2026 Reopening: What to Know About the New David Geffen Galleries

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has announced that its highly anticipated David Geffen Galleries will officially open to the public on April 19, 2026. Designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Peter Zumthor in collaboration with director Michael Govan, the new facility features a horizontal, elevated design that spans Wilshire Boulevard. The structure will house 26 galleries on a single level, representing the culmination of a nearly two-decade redevelopment project.

Still in 'war mode': Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art reopens with exhibitions about conflict

The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMoCA) has reopened with a weekly rotating post-ceasefire program called 'Art and War,' following weeks of bombardment that forced its closure and prompted emergency efforts to protect its collection. The program began with works by American Pop artists James Rosenquist, Roy Lichtenstein, and Robert Indiana, and this week features three works from Pablo Picasso's Weeping Woman series, focusing on Spain. Museum director Reza Dabirinezhad described the challenges of safeguarding the collection during US-Israeli strikes, including removing 80% of the oil from Noriyuki Haraguchi's installation 'Matter and Mind' (1977) to prevent fire risk, and protecting outdoor sculptures by Henry Moore, René Magritte, and Max Bill.

Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit reopens, with the local community front and centre

The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (Mocad) reopened on 25 April after over a year of renovations, unveiling upgrades to its 22,000-square-foot Midtown space—including a new learning space, air conditioning, and a large street-facing window—just in time for its 20th anniversary. The main building has been renamed after co-founder Julia Reyes Taubman. Co-directors Marie Madison-Patton and Jova Lynne have repositioned the institution as a civic space, emphasizing community engagement and local artists, with exhibitions such as Olayami Dabls: Detroit Cosmologies, Martha Mysko's Retail Therapy, and Carole Harris's This Side of the River.

Usher, Spike Lee, and Tyler Mitchell Helped Raise $3.7 Million for the Studio Museum in Harlem at a Party for the Ages

The Studio Museum in Harlem hosted a star-studded gala at the Glasshouse in Manhattan, raising $3.7 million to support its upcoming reopening. The event marked a significant milestone for the institution, which has been undergoing extensive renovations for seven years and is scheduled to open its new doors on West 125th Street on November 15. Director and Chief Curator Thelma Golden described the evening as a 'threshold' moment, celebrating the museum's legacy of shaping cultural history since its founding in 1968.

How Detroit’s Art Scene Is Ushering in a New Chapter for the City

Detroit's art scene is experiencing a resurgence, marked by the reopening of the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) after an eight-month renovation. The museum, now renamed the Julia Reyes Taubman Building, unveiled four new exhibitions, including a career survey of local artist Olayami Dabls titled "Olayami Dabls: Detroit Cosmologies," his first solo museum show in over 40 years. The reopening follows a 2020 reckoning over toxic workplace allegations, leading to the appointment of co-directors Jova Lynne and Marie Madison-Patton, who have refocused the institution on accessibility, civic engagement, and local contemporary art.

Was in den Museen läuft

Munich's art festival "Various Others" kicks off this week with major city museums participating. The Pinakothek der Moderne presents "Reflexion," a group show of 100 works across fine art, architecture, graphic design, and design by artists including Isa Genzken, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Piet Zwart, and Ettore Sottsass. The Alexander-Tutsek-Stiftung celebrates its 25th anniversary with a glass-focused exhibition featuring Monica Bonvicini, Tony Cragg, and Laure Prouvost. The Villa Stuck reopens after renovation with four shows: Philipp Messner's sculptures, Ilit Azoulay's macro-film installation, a returning Franz von Stuck painting, and Delschad Numan Khorschid and Jan-Hendrik Pelz's migration-themed "Zehn Leben." The Lenbachhaus presents "Ein Ferngespräch. Szenen aus der Weimarer Republik" with works by Jeanne Mammen, Gabriele Münter, and Christian Schad. Museum Brandhorst's "Carrying" addresses the history of the Maxvorstadt art district, once site of a military barracks built by Ottoman prisoners. The Eres Stiftung continues "Seeing the Unseen" on quantum physics. The Flux meeting space, designed by Morag Myerscough, moves indoors at the Pinakothek der Moderne.

Near Paris, this mythical restaurant transports us into a Renoir masterpiece

Près de Paris, ce mythique restaurant nous transporte dans un chef-d’œuvre de Renoir

The historic Maison Fournaise in Chatou, a legendary riverside restaurant and inn near Paris, has been meticulously restored to its 19th-century glory. Once a central hub for the Impressionist movement, the site served as the specific setting for Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s 1881 masterpiece, "Luncheon of the Boating Party." The restoration, led by the Ludéric group and featuring a menu by Michelin-starred chef Christian Le Squer, coincides with major Renoir exhibitions at the Musée d’Orsay.

Venice Art Biennale: The Time of Nuances

Biennale d’art de Venise : le temps des nuances

The 61st Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys," opened under the artistic direction of the late Swiss-Cameroonian curator Koyo Kouoh. The exhibition features 111 artists and collectives, presenting a more subdued, poetic, and experiential approach compared to the previous edition's explicit decolonial program. It navigates contemporary political tensions, including the participation of Israel and the reopening of the Russian pavilion, while aiming for a radical return to art's own environment and its place in society.

The Cape Ann Museum’s Newest Exhibition, Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea, Coincides With the Reopening of the Museum’s Main Campus

The Cape Ann Museum has opened a landmark exhibition titled "Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea," featuring 82 works by Milton Avery, Adolph Gottlieb, and Mark Rothko. The show explores the artists' formative summers on Cape Ann in the 1930s and '40s, where they escaped New York City and developed a deep artistic camaraderie. The exhibition coincides with the reopening of the museum's main campus after 20 months of renovations, and will travel to The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. in October—the first time a Cape Ann Museum-organized exhibition tours to a national museum.

American Art Lovers: A Nation of Artists Opens

The Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts have launched a major collaborative exhibition titled 'A Nation of Artists.' Spanning both institutions, the show features over 1,000 works from 1700 to the present, drawing heavily from the private Middleton Family Collection. It coincides with the reopening of the PMA's newly renovated American art galleries and PAFA's restored Frank Furness-designed Historic Landmark Building.

Inside A Nation of Artists, Philly’s New Must-See Exhibition

The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) have launched "A Nation of Artists," a massive dual-museum exhibition running through late 2027. The show features over 1,000 works, including the public debut of 120 pieces from the private Middleton Family Collection, owned by Philadelphia Phillies owner John Middleton. While the PMA presents the works chronologically from 1700 to 1960, PAFA offers a thematic exploration, both aiming to integrate underrepresented Black, Indigenous, and immigrant artists alongside canonical figures like Georgia O’Keeffe and Jackson Pollock.

In Warsaw, the Poster Museum reopens and it is the oldest in the world

A Varsavia riapre il Museo del Manifesto ed è il più antico del mondo

The Poster Museum in Wilanów, a suburb of Warsaw, has reopened after a major conservation restoration co-financed by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. Founded in 1968 as an autonomous institution from the National Museum in Warsaw, it is the oldest museum of its kind in the world. Its collection now holds approximately 63,000 posters from Poland and abroad, dating from the late 19th century to the present, including works by Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, and Stasys Eidrigevičius. The reopening exhibition, "Polish Posters: The Collection," features 240 works spanning 130 years of Polish urban life, covering themes from politics and propaganda to cinema, theater, music, and fashion. The museum also hosts the International Poster Biennale, founded in 1966, with the next edition scheduled for 2027.

In Barcelona, the Joan Miró Foundation celebrates 50 years. All the planned initiatives

A Barcellona la Fondazione Joan Mirò festeggia 50 anni. Tutte le iniziative in programma

The Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona is celebrating its 50th anniversary with an extensive program of exhibitions, concerts, performances, and public initiatives. The festivities begin on June 11 with the exhibition "Poetry Has Just Begun: 50 Years of the Miró," a retrospective tracing the foundation's history and its role in the international art system. Other highlights include "Miró and the United States" in autumn, exploring the artist's dialogue with post-war American avant-garde figures like Louise Bourgeois, Helen Frankenthaler, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko, organized in collaboration with the Phillips Collection in Washington. In March 2026, the foundation will unveil a new permanent collection layout based on Miró's creative processes and open the Garden of the Cypresses, a previously inaccessible historic area on Montjuïc.

MOCAD Reopens with New Exhibitions from Detroit Artists

Detroit's Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCAD) has reopened after an eight-month closure for construction, unveiling four new exhibitions as part of its 2026 Spring Exhibition and 20th anniversary. The renovations include a new HVAC system, educational space, and windows that allow passersby to see inside. The building has been renamed the Julia Reyes Taubman Building in honor of the late co-founder, whose family contributed $1.8 million toward the $3 million first phase. Mayor Mary Sheffield toured the exhibitions at an April 23 media preview, praising the museum's role in community healing and access. Featured exhibitions include "Olayami Dabls: Detroit Cosmologies," the first retrospective of the artist's nearly 50-year career, showcasing his evolution from figurative acrylics to abstract collage.

Jean Shin’s Living Memorial to the Trees of Green-Wood Cemetery

Artist Jean Shin unveiled a new site-specific earthwork titled "Offering" (2026) at Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery on April 18. The installation, situated in a meadow facing the cemetery's gates, consists of a long, oval-shaped mound of soil covering two felled oak trees. The work was inspired by traditional Korean tumulus burial mounds and involved a community ritual led by a Korean shaman, with volunteers planting wildflowers and shrubs on the mound.

Drones, Uncle Sam, and Grand Master Rafael: 10 Must See Exhibits This Spring

New York City’s museum landscape is entering a major spring season characterized by high-profile retrospectives, institutional reopenings, and the 82nd Whitney Biennial. Key highlights include a massive Raphael survey at the Metropolitan Museum of Art featuring over 200 works, the reopening of the expanded New Museum with a tech-focused exhibition on the future of humanity, and a major survey of sculptor Carol Bove at the Guggenheim. The season also features thematic shows exploring American folk art, Dutch Golden Age masterpieces, and the relationship between Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

DHM main building likely closed until 2031

DHM-Hauptbau wohl bis 2031 dicht

The German Historical Museum (DHM) in Berlin will remain without its main building, the Zeughaus on Unter den Linden, until at least 2031 due to further delays in its renovation. Museum director Raphael Gross announced that a binding timeline from the property owner and the federal construction authority is not expected until 2027, and a reopening before 2031 is unrealistic. In the meantime, the museum is using its modern Pei-Bau wing to host a new exhibition titled "Objekte. Geschichte. Geschichten," featuring around 200 highlights from its collection of one million objects, including a samurai armor once gifted to Adolf Hitler and objects from a refugee shelter.

parties new museum gala 2026 debbie harry

On Monday evening, the New Museum held its 2026 gala at Cipriani South Street, honoring outgoing Director Lisa Phillips, who led the institution for over three decades. The event featured a performance by Blondie's Debbie Harry, a live auction with works by Jack Pierson, Billy Sullivan, Rashid Johnson, and Cindy Sherman, and remarks from John Waters, Maya Lin, and Whitney Museum director Adam Weinberg. Notable attendees included artists Hank Willis Thomas, Derrick Adams, Marilyn Minter, and Anne Imhof, as well as arts leaders Thelma Golden, Yvonne Force Villareal, and Noah Horowitz.

Venice Biennale Jury Bars Israel and Russia from Official Prizes

The international jury of the 61st Venice Biennale announced on April 23 that it will not consider the Israeli and Russian pavilions for official prizes, including the Golden Lion for national participation. The five-member, all-women panel—comprising Solange Farkas, Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi—said it would exclude countries whose leaders are currently charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, a criterion that applies to Israel and Russia due to ICC arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin. The decision comes amid mounting controversy over the Biennale's decision to host both pavilions, with Russia returning after its artists withdrew in 2022 over the Ukraine invasion and Israel reopening after its 2024 pavilion remained closed pending a Gaza ceasefire. The European Commission had also threatened to suspend a €2 million grant over the Russian pavilion's reopening.

The FLAG Art Foundation Named Founding Sponsor of Alchemy with Anthony Mason, Launching May 6

The FLAG Art Foundation has been named the founding sponsor of "Alchemy with Anthony Mason," a new long-form interview series launching May 6, 2026. Hosted by CBS News special correspondent Anthony Mason, the series features intimate 45-minute conversations with artists such as Hozier, Paul Simon, Nile Rodgers, Violet Grohl, and Taj Mahal, focusing on the transformative creative process rather than the finished work. The partnership is integrated into the series' identity, with each episode presented under FLAG's support and connecting viewers to contemporary art exhibitions, including Ellsworth Kelly: Eight Decades at the Parrish Art Museum and the reopening of the David Geffen Galleries at LACMA.

Museum Moves 24 – 30 April 2026

This article is a weekly roundup of museum news from 24–30 April 2026, covering openings, closures, and exhibitions across the UK. Highlights include the permanent closure of Blackpool's Tramtown museum due to structural unsafety, the reopening of Sibsey Trader Windmill after a five-year restoration, and several new exhibitions: 'Vennels: Perth’s Little Streets' at Perth Museum, 'The 90s: Art and Fashion' at Tate Britain, 'Regeneration' at Hull's Streetlife Museum, 'Inspiration' at Stockport Station, 'Our Story with David Attenborough' at Outernet London, and 'Lynn Chadwick at Houghton Hall' in Norfolk.

Harwood Museum announces closing events for Pursuit of Happiness art exhibit

The Harwood Museum of Art in Taos, New Mexico, is hosting a Mystery Cabaret event on May 22 and 23, 2026, to celebrate the closing of its exhibition *Pursuit of Happiness: GI Bill in Taos*. Written and directed by local playwright John Biscello, the interactive theater experience invites guests to solve a fictional art theft, with actors, mocktails, and 1940s-era costumes. The exhibition closes May 31, after which the museum will remain closed until the opening of *Unearthing Futures / Desenterrando Futuros* on June 27.

Art as survival: US artists' anti-war artefacts exhibited in Tehran

An anti-war exhibition titled "Art and War" has opened at a top museum in Tehran, featuring works by American pop artists Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Indiana, and James Rosenquist. The pieces, including Rosenquist's "F-111" and Lichtenstein's "Brattata," were selected for their anti-war themes and come from the museum's major collection of American and European modern art, acquired in the 1970s by former Empress Farah Pahlavi and largely kept from public view since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The exhibition opened amid ongoing tensions and a recent ceasefire in the Middle East, with the museum director stating it was a deliberate response to current events.

Art for Our Age of Chaos

The article reviews two major New York exhibitions opening in 2026: the Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art, featuring over fifty artists, and "New Humans: Memories of the Future" at the newly expanded New Museum, with over a hundred artists. Both shows are described as enormous and defiant, responding to a distracted public and financial pressures. The reviewer notes that both exhibitions juxtapose large-scale immersive works with tiny, intimate pieces, and finds the Whitney Biennial lacking urgency, while preferring the New Museum's historical narrative about technology and modernity.

The soap opera continues. Minister Giuli will boycott the inauguration of the Venice Biennale

La telenovela continua. Il Ministro Giuli diserterà l’inaugurazione della Biennale di Venezia

Alessandro Giuli, Italy's Minister of Culture, has announced he will boycott the pre-opening and inauguration ceremony of the 61st Venice Biennale on May 9, 2026, escalating a political and cultural crisis. The dispute began when Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco allowed the Russian pavilion to reopen, absent since 2022 due to the Ukraine invasion, citing artistic freedom. Giuli demanded the removal of ministry representative Tamara Gregoretti from the Biennale board for failing to oppose the decision. Tensions flared during the Italy Pavilion press conference, where journalists were confined to a separate streaming room and questions were restricted. The European Commission condemned the Russian pavilion's reopening, cutting €2 million in funding and issuing a 30-day ultimatum, while 22 European countries signed a letter pressuring the institution. The Biennale's international jury, led by Solange Oliveira Farkas, then excluded Russia and Israel from award consideration, citing ethical guidelines against countries whose leaders face International Criminal Court charges for crimes against humanity.

À Berlin, le Musée de Pergame rouvrira partiellement en 2027

Berlin's Pergamon Museum, closed since October 2023, will partially reopen in June 2027, with only the north wing and central section accessible. The renovation and expansion project, launched in 2012, has faced repeated delays and its budget has ballooned to €1.5 billion. The partial reopening coincides with the bicentenary of Berlin's Museum Island and will bring back the Pergamon Altar, unseen for over a decade, along with redesigned permanent exhibitions for the Museum of Islamic Art and the Museum of the Ancient Near East. However, major attractions like the Ishtar Gate and the Market Gate of Miletus will remain closed until the 2030s, with full museum completion now estimated between 2037 and 2043.

The Reopening of the Musée de la Vie Romantique

La réouverture du Musée de la Vie Romantique

The Musée de la Vie Romantique in Paris has reopened following a significant renovation project. While the restoration of the historic house and its shutters has sparked some debate regarding historical accuracy, the museum now showcases a substantially enriched permanent collection featuring numerous recent acquisitions of Romantic-era paintings, sculptures, and drawings.

Château-Chinon unveils the astonishing gifts of President François Mitterrand

Château-Chinon déballe les étonnants cadeaux du président François Mitterrand

The Cité des présents-François Mitterrand, formerly the Musée du Septennat, has reopened in Château-Chinon, France, after a renovation. The museum displays thousands of diplomatic gifts received by President François Mitterrand during his 14-year tenure (1981–1995), including a portrait of Prince Charles, a vermeil oasis from the king of Saudi Arabia, and taxidermy lions from the Central African Republic. The collection of 4,800 objects spans 80 countries, with one-third donated by French citizens. The site also houses a fashion museum featuring 5,000 pieces from the 17th century to contemporary designers like Alexis Mabille and Yves Saint Laurent.

À Bordeaux, la métamorphose du MADD

The Musée des arts décoratifs et du design (MADD) in Bordeaux has reopened its design-focused wing after three years of renovation, featuring a new entrance pavilion designed by Antoine Dufour Architectes that connects the historic Hôtel de Lalande and the former municipal prison. The overhaul includes a monumental shelving display of eighty vases by designers such as Andrea Branzi and Gaetano Pesce, a new "gallery of know-how" dedicated to rotating thematic presentations (starting with ceramics), a graphic arts cabinet showcasing the Jacques Sargos collection of over 130 drawings, and improved climate control for conservation.

Healing From the Burns: How The Getty Recovered From the LA Fires

On January 7, 2025, a wildfire driven by extreme winds reached the Getty Villa in Los Angeles. Thanks to years of preparation, staff efforts, and firefighter support, the museum buildings and art collection survived undamaged, though the landscape suffered severe damage. The Villa closed for about six months, during which staff removed 1,400 burned trees, cleaned soot and ash, restored water service, and installed a new exhibition. It reopened in late June 2025, welcoming visitors back to the galleries and gardens.