Museums have a duty to inspire the creatives of the future. At V&A East, I’ve made that my mission | Gus Casely-Hayford

Gus Casely-Hayford, the director of V&A East, outlines his vision for the new museum as a collaborative space designed specifically to re-engage young audiences. Highlighting a new commission by Cuban artist Tania Bruguera created with local youth, Casely-Hayford argues that museums must move beyond Victorian-era paternalism toward a model of co-creation. The institution has consulted over 30,000 young people to ensure its galleries, such as the "Why We Make" space, reflect contemporary concerns and community needs.

musee dorsay manet mock trial dejeuner sur lherbe 1234755595

The Musée d'Orsay in Paris staged a mock trial of Édouard Manet and his model Victorine Meurent for his 1863 painting *Déjeuner sur l'herbe*, which caused scandal at the Salon des Refusés for its nude female figure. The event, part of the museum's Orsay Live program for 18-to-25-year-olds, featured real lawyers, a sitting judge, and students from the Fédération française de Débat et d'Éloquence, with speeches reviewed by Manet specialist Isolde Pludermacher. The trial aimed to explore historical debates about morality, indecency, and artistic freedom in a courtroom format.

Mummy, is this a video game? The dangers of showing kids art on a screen

A parent takes their toddler to Frameless, an immersive digital art experience in London, where works by Hieronymus Bosch, Claude Monet, and Georges Seurat are projected onto walls, ceilings, and floors. The child reacts with mixed engagement—enjoying some moments but feeling overwhelmed by the frenetic, screen-based environment—while the author reflects on the tension between traditional static art and animated digital reproductions.

Décès de Jacques Gairard

Jacques Gairard, a figure in the French art world, has died. The announcement appears in Le Journal des Arts, which also covers the opening of the Venice Biennale amid controversy, the final adoption of a law on the restitution of cultural property looted during colonization, the V&A East's focus on young audiences, the uneven economic impact of Monet's legacy in Giverny, and the structuring of the Nabis art market.

V&A East targets young people

Le V&A East vise les jeunes

The Victoria and Albert Museum has opened a new branch called V&A East in Stratford, east London, within the former Olympic Park. The £135 million (€155.8 million) building, designed by O'Donnell and Tuomey, features 479 sand-colored concrete panels and houses around 500 objects from the V&A's collection across two permanent galleries titled "Why We Make." The museum opened on April 18 and is part of the East Bank cultural complex supported by the London municipality. It prioritizes local engagement and mediation tailored to attract younger audiences, with exhibitions addressing social justice and environmental themes.

Kids Day: When Nature Becomes Art

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice offers a free weekly workshop series called "Kids Day" for children aged 4 to 10, held on Sundays at 3 pm. The upcoming session, "When Nature Becomes Art," introduces young participants to collage techniques inspired by Surrealist artists such as Eileen Agar and André Masson, who used natural materials like shells, sand, feathers, and plants. The program includes a brief guided tour of the museum followed by a hands-on art workshop, conducted in Italian with interpretation available upon request.

‘Geometry of Light’: Step into the shadows at Seattle Asian Art Museum

The Seattle Asian Art Museum has opened 'Geometry of Light,' an immersive exhibition featuring artist Anila Quayyum Agha's 300-pound laser-cut steel lantern sculpture that projects intricate geometric shadows across the gallery walls, ceiling, and floor. Visitors' movements become part of the artwork as their own shadows interact with the light patterns. The show spans three galleries, including paper and fabric works and two light-box installations, and also features Ai Weiwei's 'Water Lilies' rendered in LEGO bricks, on view through March 2026.

HIGH MUSEUM OF ART TO PRESENT FAITH RINGGOLD CHILDREN’S BOOK ART EXHIBITION

The High Museum of Art in Atlanta will present "Faith Ringgold: Seeing Children" from June 27 to October 12, 2025, the most comprehensive exhibition to date of the late artist's original paintings and drawings for her children's books. Featuring more than 100 works from a dozen titles including "Tar Beach" and "We Came to America," the show includes several never-before-exhibited artworks and is the eighth in the museum's series celebrating children's book art, presented in conjunction with a production by the Alliance Theatre.

What To Expect at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science’s New Brick Planet Exhibition

The Denver Museum of Nature and Science has opened "Brick Planet: A Magical Journey Made With LEGO® Bricks," a temporary exhibition by award-winning Lego artist Sean Kenney. Featuring 1.5 million bricks, the show includes life-size animal sculptures like a polar bear, a ruby-throated hummingbird, and a Galapagos tortoise, along with interactive elements such as a "Mystery Mosaic." Kenney, a former Lego Masters guest judge, has toured his Lego exhibitions globally since 2012, with this installation emphasizing nature and environmental responsibility.

When Art Meets Nature

The Taoyuan Museum of Fine Arts and the National Gallery Singapore have jointly organized "When Art Meets Nature," a children's art exhibition running from July 2 to November 9, 2025, at the Taoyuan Children's Art Center. Featuring five artists from Taiwan and Singapore, the show presents interactive installations, audiovisual works, and immersive environments centered on ecology, sustainability, and the human-nature relationship. Artists include Zul Mahmod, Chen Po-I, Hsu Yenting, Tan Zi Xi, and Soh Ee Shaun, with works inspired by local waterways, forests, and indigenous ecological wisdom.

National Geographic photographer captures beauty of wolves in new James Museum exhibit

The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art in St. Petersburg, Florida, has opened a new traveling exhibition titled "Wolves: Photography by Ronan Donovan." Curated by the National Museum of Wildlife Art and the National Geographic Society, the show features stunning photographs and videos by National Geographic photographer Ronan Donovan, documenting wild wolves in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic. The exhibition aims to challenge fear-based stereotypes about wolves, highlighting their intelligence, social structures, and family bonds. Accompanying programs include a Family Day on May 16 with puppet shows and scavenger hunts, and the fourth annual Menagerie at the Museum on August 15, featuring live animal encounters with local rescue organizations.

When Art Meets Nature: Children’s Art Exhibition At National Gallery Singapore

National Gallery Singapore presents 'When Art Meets Nature', a children's art exhibition running from 30 April to 1 November 2026. The show features two installations: 'Peace Forest' by Singaporean artist Soh Ee Shaun, located in the Keppel Centre for Art Education, and 'Where the River Runs' by Yenting Hsu, displayed in the City Hall Alcove. The exhibition is co-curated by the Taoyuan Museum of Fine Arts and National Gallery Singapore, offering interactive experiences such as a scavenger hunt and a woodblock art station, alongside a video and audio installation exploring the Dahan River in Taiwan.

Students take the lead: Inside a peer-led tour at Janet Turner Print Museum

Jasmine Lezema, an art history major and museum intern at the Janet Turner Print Museum, has organized a peer-led exhibition tour titled "Through an Art Historian’s Lens," scheduled for Wednesday from 5 to 5:30 p.m. The tour focuses on printmaking at Chico State and encourages students to engage deeply with artworks. Lezema selected three pieces from the current exhibition that personally resonated with her, drawing on her art history training to interpret symbolism, materials, and context. The museum’s director, Rachel Skowoski, and education assistant, Dylan Charlton, emphasize that student interns are empowered to shape programming around their interests, making this tour a product of that philosophy.

Art Kids Summer at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) has launched its annual Art Kids Summer program, running from July 5 through August 24, 2025. The initiative offers drop-in art-making, family tours, workshops, and monthly family festivals centered on the theme "Paper, Prints, and Play!" and inspired by the exhibition "Brand X Editions: Innovation in Screenprinting." Activities include printmaking with local artists, silk screen printing, still life sketching, and performances by groups like Ninth Planet and ILL DOOTS. Visitors 18 and under are admitted free.

Beyond the Mona Lisa: MOSI’s Leonardo da Vinci exhibit showcases the ‘original innovator’ in Tampa

MOSI (Museum of Science & Industry) in Tampa, Florida, is hosting an exhibition titled "Machines in Motion" that features 20 working machines built from Leonardo da Vinci's 15th-century designs. Created by Italian engineers using period-appropriate materials, the interactive display includes inventions such as ball bearings, an olive oil press, a printing press, and wartime weapons. MOSI President & CEO John Graydon Smith describes da Vinci as "the original innovator" and notes the exhibit aims to inspire creativity in both children and adults. The temporary exhibition runs until May 3.

Guide to Seattle Art Museum’s ‘Farm to Table’ exhibit

The article provides a guide for families visiting the Seattle Art Museum's (SAM) current exhibition 'Farm to Table,' which explores the journey of food from farm to table through French paintings and sculptures. It offers practical tips for parents to engage children, such as using open-ended questions like 'What’s going on here?' and turning the visit into a treasure hunt, highlighting specific works like 'Still Life with Brioche' and 'The Gleaners.'

Cultural heritage reform. The 'Italia in scena' law gives some answers but raises many questions

Riforma dei beni culturali. La legge “Italia in scena” dà alcune risposte ma produce tante domande

Italy's parliament approved the "Italia in scena" law in March 2026, a cultural heritage reform aligned with right-wing priorities: territorial valorization, local identity promotion, autonomy, and private-sector involvement. The law establishes a digital registry (Anagrafe), a roster of accredited operators, and a framework for private management of cultural assets, but allocates only €4.5 million annually—a symbolic sum compared to France's cultural mediation budgets. It also opens participation to the Third Sector (cooperatives, community foundations) but defers all critical details to implementing decrees with no strict deadlines or enforcement mechanisms.