Vasari Codex. A living chronicle of the art world.

article news schedule Jun 12, 2026

Charleston’s International African American Museum To Furlough Staff Amid Funding Shortages

The International African American Museum (IAAM) in Charleston, South Carolina, will furlough all staff in staggered 20-day phases from July 1 to December 31, citing financial pressure and a shifting political and funding environment. The museum, which opened in 2023 after 20 years of planning, reported a $883,000 loss in 2023 on $11.1 million in revenue, and President and CEO Tonya Matthews noted a decline in federal funding has exacerbated the situation.

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 11, 2026

Phoenix Art Museum Receives 185 Indigenous Artworks in Major Gift

The Phoenix Art Museum has received a major gift of 185 artworks by Indigenous artists from the William P. Healey Collection of Native American Art. The collection includes works by Cara Romero, Allan Houser, and Jaune-Quick-to-See Smith. To celebrate, the museum will open an exhibition titled “The Way We Came: A Century of Indigenous Art (The William P. Healey Collection at Phoenix Art Museum)” in August, featuring over 100 of the newly acquired pieces and running through July 2027. The show is curated by Dr. JoAnna Reyes and artist Tony Abeyta, and centers on the concept of “survivance,” a term coined by scholar Gerald Vizenor that blends survival and resistance.

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 5, 2026

Crystal Bridges To Open $150 Million, 100,000 Square Foot Expansion

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, will unveil a $150 million expansion to the public on June 6–7, adding 114,000 square feet of new space. Designed by Safdie Architects, the project increases exhibition space by 50 percent and includes new galleries, a restaurant, artist-in-residence studios, a ceramic-making space, and five acres of forest trails. The expansion also features a 14,000-square-foot Learning and Engagement Hub and 29,000 square feet of new gallery space.

person people schedule Jun 4, 2026

Miami Beach’s Bass Museum of Art hires Philippe Vergne as artistic director and chief curator

The Bass Museum of Art in Miami Beach has appointed Philippe Vergne as its inaugural artistic director and chief curator. Vergne joins from the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art in Porto, where he led the institution's expansion with the Álvaro Siza Wing, inaugurated in 2024. He succeeds former chief curator James Voorhies and will work alongside executive director Silvia Karman Cubiñá. The new role was created organically to leverage Vergne's extensive experience with artist commissions and project oversight, including past curatorial work such as co-organizing the 2006 Whitney Biennial and solo exhibitions of artists like Kara Walker, Yves Klein, and Mike Kelley.

article news schedule Jun 4, 2026

Artists & Mothers Announces 2026 Recipients of Childcare Grants

New York City nonprofit Artists & Mothers has named the 2026 recipients of its $25,000 childcare grant for artists who identify as mothers. The four awardees—Sara Cwynar, Nickola Pottinger, Trisha Baga, and Mimi Ọnụọha—work across photography, sculpture, collage, video, and multimedia installation. The grant covers nine months of childcare for emerging and mid-career artists raising a child under three, and this is the program's third cycle.

article news schedule Jun 3, 2026

French Street Artist JR’s Paris Installation Postponed Due to Wind Damage

French street artist JR's monumental public art project "La Caverne du Pont Neuf" has been postponed after high winds in Paris damaged the inflatable printed canvas installation, which was set to drape over the Pont Neuf bridge. The artwork, scheduled to open June 6th and run through June 28th, would have allowed visitors to walk through its interior. Organizers are assessing the damage and will announce a new opening date once the investigation is complete.

article news schedule Jun 2, 2026

French Artists Denounce Centre Pompidou and Hanwha Partnership in Open Letter

More than 100 prominent French artists have signed an open letter demanding the termination of the partnership between the Centre Pompidou and South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group, which was set to open the new “Centre Pompidou Hanwha” museum in Seoul. The protest stems from Hanwha Group’s ties to the Israel Defense Forces through its affiliate Hanwha Systems, which signed deals with Israeli defense firms Elbit Systems and Elta Systems. The artists accuse the partnership of being an “art-washing” operation that masks profits from armed conflicts linked to the Palestinian genocide, and they criticize the commodification of culture through corporate alliances.

article policy schedule Jun 2, 2026

Graduate Arts Programs Could Lose Loan Access Under New Federal Guidelines

The Department of Education (ED) is developing a proposed "earnings test" that would cut federal student loan access to graduate arts programs failing to meet specific income thresholds for two out of three consecutive years. The rule, part of the "Accountability in Higher Education and Access Through Demand-Driven Workforce Pell" proposal, targets programs whose graduates do not earn more than peers with bachelor's degrees in the same fields. An analysis by the New York Times found that Yale University's master's programs in visual arts and music, Harvard University's museum studies master's, and The Juilliard School's graduate music programs would all fail the test under current data.

article policy schedule Jun 1, 2026

British Museum Draws Criticism for Postponing Lecture on “Ancient History of Israel and Judah”

The British Museum postponed a lecture on the ancient history of Israel and Judah, scheduled as part of Jewish Culture Month on May 28, citing concerns that a significant number of registered attendees intended to disrupt the event. The museum stated the decision was made to ensure safety for speakers, staff, and visitors, and emphasized that the talk was postponed, not canceled, with a rescheduled date in early June. The move drew criticism from Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch and historian Simon Schama, while the group Jewish Artists for Palestine questioned the museum's approach to hosting controversial topics.

article news schedule Jun 1, 2026

Hilde Lynn Helphenstein, Jerry Gogosian Satirist, Found Dead in São Paulo

Hilde Lynn Helphenstein, the 40-year-old influencer behind the satirical Instagram account Jerry Gogosian, was found dead in her room at the Rosewood São Paulo hotel in Brazil. Brazilian media reports that a plastic surgeon seeking her alerted hotel staff after being unable to reach her; staff entered the room and found her unconscious. Helphenstein had been in São Paulo for a three-week trip for a cosmetic procedure. The hotel is cooperating with authorities, and the U.S. Embassy and United Talent Agency have not commented.

article news schedule Jun 1, 2026

Maurizio Cattelan’s Banana Stolen from Centre Pompidou-Metz

The banana from Maurizio Cattelan's artwork *Comedian* (2019) was stolen from the Centre Pompidou-Metz in Metz, France, where it was on display as part of the exhibition “Endless Sunday: A Living Exhibition in Perpetual Motion.” A photograph dated May 30 shows only a mangled strip of duct tape on the wall. The museum stated that the work's value lies in its certificate of authenticity and presentation protocol, not the perishable banana, which is replaced every three days per the artist's instructions. The institution condemned the act as undermining respect for works on display.

article news schedule May 29, 2026

Getty Center Reveals Renovation Plan: New Trams, New Entrance, New Green Spaces

The Getty Center in Los Angeles has announced specific plans for a major renovation, including replacing its iconic tram system with new cars from Doppelmayr to reduce wait times and increase capacity. The project, designed by Gehry Partners, WHY Architecture, and OLIN landscaping, will add a new welcome hall, garden cafe, gift shop, expanded green spaces, a sheltered stairway, reinstalled outdoor sculptures, and new commissioned works. The museum will close to the public on March 15, 2027, and reopen in spring 2028, ahead of the Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

person people schedule May 28, 2026

Christie’s London Taps Kering Scion François-Henri Pinault as New Chairman

François-Henri Pinault, chairman of Kering and president of Christie's parent company Groupe Artémis, has been appointed Chairman and Non-Executive Director of Christie's London, effective May 22. Bryan Lourd, CEO and co-chairman of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), also joins the board as Non-Executive Director. Pinault succeeds Guillaume Cerutti, who left the role after a brief tenure as president of the Pinault Collection.

trending_up market schedule May 28, 2026

Online Betting Platform Kalshi Introduces Prediction Markets for Art Auction Results

Kalshi, a controversial online prediction market, has launched a new category allowing users to bet on individual art auction sales and total art auction profits. The platform, which has processed tens of billions of dollars in trading volume since government approval in 2020, now offers bets on outcomes such as whether Basquiat will break his auction record or the sale price of a specific Modigliani painting. Kalshi has also expanded into luxury watch auctions and precious metals, and has faced criticism from addiction experts over risks to young users.

article news schedule May 27, 2026

Artists Rashid Johnson and Sheree Hovsepian to Launch New Residency Program in Menorca

Artists Rashid Johnson and Sheree Hovsepian are launching a new residency program called The Residency at Casa Gràcia on the island of Menorca, set to begin next spring. The self-directed residencies, open to three artists and two writers per cohort, require no public presentation or outcome. Applications are open until July 31, with an advisory board including Hank Willis Thomas, Colson Whitehead, and representatives from Hauser & Wirth. The historic Casa Gràcia, built in 1860 and recently renovated by Laplace and Maimó&Brosa, features a studio, study, and walled garden in Mahon.

article policy schedule May 22, 2026

Spanish Government Threatens to Fire Director of Museo Reina Sofía

Manuel Segade, director of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Spain, has been threatened with removal by lawmakers if he does not complete a full inventory of the museum’s over 25,000 artworks by December 31, 2025. The pressure comes from Spain’s Court of Auditors, which has criticized the museum’s cataloguing methods for years, and is backed by the far-right and the conservative Popular Party. Segade, appointed in 2023, has been overseeing a multi-year renovation and has increased the representation of women artists to 35%, though only 15% of the collection’s 26,000 pieces are by women. The museum recently refused to lend Picasso’s *Guernica* to the Guggenheim Bilbao, and a pro-Israel group filed a complaint over a Palestinian flag display and a seminar series.

article news schedule May 21, 2026

Thomas J. Price and Tavares Strachan Make Shortlist for Billie Holiday Monument Designs

The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs has announced a shortlist of six finalists for a public monument honoring jazz singer Billie Holiday, to be installed outside the Jamaica Performing Arts Center in Queens. Among the top contenders are British sculptor Thomas J. Price and Bahamian conceptual artist Tavares Strachan, whose proposals include abstract bronze forms and a mirrored column, respectively. Other finalists are La Vaughn Belle, Nikesha Breeze, Nekisha Durrett, and Tanda Francis, all of whom consulted with Holiday scholars and family members to develop their designs.

article policy schedule May 20, 2026

Sainsbury Centre Receives £91.2 Million Donation for Refurbishments

The Sainsbury Centre in Norwich, England, has received a £91.2 million donation from politician and philanthropist Lord David Sainsbury, one of the largest gifts ever made to a UK museum. The funds will support a major refurbishment of the Grade II* listed building, originally designed by Norman Foster, including the conversion of the south cafe terrace into a sustainable space and the installation of photovoltaic panels. The museum was founded in 1973 through a donation from Lord Sainsbury’s parents, Sir Robert and Lady Lisa Sainsbury, who also commissioned Foster to design the gallery.

museum exhibitions schedule May 18, 2026

Hong Kong’s M+ And Centre Pompidou Announce Strategic Partnership

M+, Hong Kong's museum of modern and contemporary art, has announced a multi-year strategic partnership with the Centre Pompidou in Paris. The collaboration includes co-organized exhibitions at M+ starting in 2027, a joint exhibition at the renovated Pompidou around 2030, and a four-year postdoctoral fellowship funded by the Huo Family Foundation, established by philanthropist Yan Huo in 2009. The Huo Research Fellow will focus on twentieth- and twenty-first-century Western and Asian art.

article news schedule May 14, 2026

Artists Spar Over Credit For A Dress Displayed In The Met’s ‘Costume Art’ Exhibition

London-based artist Anouska Samms has accused the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute of exhibiting a dress that she claims is a counterfeit of her work in the ongoing "Costume Art" exhibition. The dress, titled Corpus Nervina 0.0, is credited solely to New York-based Israeli designer Yoav Hadari, but Samms alleges it closely resembles an earlier Nervina hair dress she co-developed with Hadari during their 2023 residency at the Lee Alexander McQueen Sarabande Foundation. Samms discovered the display via a social media post and has since spoken out, noting that a contract from their collaboration designated her as the sole owner of the intellectual property of the fabric. The Met has requested that the two parties resolve their dispute before the museum takes further action.

museum exhibitions schedule May 14, 2026

Rene Matić wins 2026 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize

Rene Matić has won the 2026 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize, becoming the first British winner in over a decade. The announcement was made at The Photographers’ Gallery in London on May 14, 2025, where Matić received £30,000 for their exhibition *AS OPPOSED TO THE TRUTH*, which uses photography, installation, and sound to explore identity and belonging. Matić was nominated for the show at the Center for Contemporary Arts Berlin (CCA Berlin) and is also a recent Turner Prize nominee. The prize exhibition runs at The Photographers’ Gallery until June 7, alongside works by fellow shortlisted artists Jane Evelyn Atwood, Weronika Gęsicka, and Amak Mahmoodian.

article policy schedule May 14, 2026

Parliamentary Report Outlines Major Issues In French Museums After The Louvre Heist

A French parliamentary commission released a report on May 13 detailing severe security deficiencies in French museums, following a December 2025 heist at the Louvre where French Crown Jewels worth $100 million were stolen. The report, overseen by MPs Alexis Corbière and Alexandre Portier, draws on over 20 hearings and highlights that only 25% of surveyed museums have a finalized security plan, with the Louvre itself criticized for dilapidated conditions and ignored audit warnings from 2017 and 2019 that predicted the thieves' modus operandi. Former Louvre director Laurence des Cars, who resigned in February, faced criticism for delays in implementing a security master plan.

article news schedule May 13, 2026

Iran’s Participation in the Venice Biennale Still Uncertain

Iran’s participation in the 61st Venice Biennale remains uncertain after a public contradiction emerged between the Biennale Foundation and Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance (MCIG). The Biennale Foundation had announced that Iran would not participate in the 2026 edition, curated by Koyo Kouoh, but Aydin Mahdizadeh Tehrani, director general of visual arts at the MCIG and commissioner of the Iranian Pavilion, stated in an interview with the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) that Iran never submitted a withdrawal letter. Instead, Iran requested more time and sent a letter on May 10 asking for the pavilion to open even if ineligible for prizes. Mahdizadeh Tehrani cited the US-Israel war with Iran as causing currency fluctuations that nearly tripled projected costs, complicating prior agreements, and noted that Iran had proposed a shorter exhibition period, which the Biennale rejected.

museum exhibitions schedule Apr 30, 2026

Portland’s Converge 45 Triennial Announces Participating Artists

Portland, Oregon's Converge 45 triennial has announced the participating artists for its upcoming exhibition titled “Here, To you, Now.” Curated by Lumi Tan, the triennial draws inspiration from Ursula K. Le Guin's 1985 novel Always Coming Home, which explores the impermanence of spoken language. Featured artists include Trisha Baga, Ricky Bearghost, Aaron Cunningham, Jacqueline Kiyomi Gork, and sidony o'neal, among twenty-three others, with seventeen new commissions. Venues include Barn Radio, the Hoffman Gallery at Lewis & Clark College, the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, Oregon Contemporary, and the Pacific Northwest College of Art.

article news schedule Apr 30, 2026

Embattled US Venice Biennale Pavilion is Seeking Donations

The American Arts Conservancy (AAC), an organization founded last year by the Trump administration, has launched a crowdfunding campaign to support the United States Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. This comes amid widespread controversy and calls to exclude the US, Russia, and Israel from the event. The AAC website solicits donations starting at $100, claiming a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" to restore America's artistic presence abroad. The US government has already contributed $375,000, but the State Department says the total exhibition cost far exceeds that amount. This year's pavilion will feature sculptor Alma Allen, after Barbara Chase-Riboud and William Eggleston declined to participate.

trending_up market schedule Apr 29, 2026

Online-Only Art Auctions Overwhelmingly Succeed in 2025

A new report from Artnet reveals that online-only auctions at Sotheby’s, Christie’s, Phillips, Bonhams, and Artnet Auctions generated $423.9 million in 2025, an 8% increase from 2024. The average price of artworks sold online also rose 8.6% to $14,309, with some platforms like Fair Warning finding success through hyper-specific sales, such as one centered on Andy Warhol’s 1974 portrait of Brigitte Bardot. Christie’s reported that 63% of new buyers made their first purchase online in 2025, where the average price point was $22,700.

article news schedule Apr 29, 2026

Father Daughter Counterfeiting Duo Face Twenty Years in Prison

A father-daughter duo from New Jersey, Erwin Bankowski (50) and Karolina Bankowska (26), pleaded guilty to creating and selling over 200 counterfeit artworks falsely attributed to artists including Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Fritz Scholder, and Banksy. They admitted to wire fraud conspiracy and misrepresentation of Native American-produced goods, defrauding buyers out of at least $2 million. The pair fabricated provenances and collection histories, forged gallery stamps, and attempted to auction the works for up to $160,000 each. They each face up to 20 years in prison.

article local schedule Apr 28, 2026

Arts Collective to Open New Arts Center in Northampton England

Arts Collective will open a new arts center in Northampton, England on May 1st, following a £5.2m renovation of the city's municipal offices and town hall annex. The complex will feature 17 artist studios, community spaces, a gallery, and "The Northampton Rooms," a series of public spaces designed by artist Giles Round as a "living work of art." The inaugural exhibition will showcase Northamptonshire-born artist Rose Finn-Kelcey.

article news schedule Apr 28, 2026

Russia’s Venice Pavilion Will Be Closed to Public for Duration of Biennale

Russia's pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale will be closed to the public for the duration of the exhibition, from May 9 to November 22, following escalating controversy over the country's participation. The group show, titled “The tree is rooted in the sky,” will only be open to press and industry insiders during the preview days (May 5–8). The move comes after the International Criminal Court accused Russia of crimes against humanity, leading the Biennale to bar Russia and Israel from competing for awards. Italian culture minister Alessandro Giuli has also boycotted the preview and opening ceremony in protest.

article news schedule Apr 24, 2026

Leaky Berlin Modern Museum’s Opening Delayed Until 2030

The opening of the Berlin Modern Museum, a planned extension of the Neue Nationalgalerie, has been delayed until 2030 due to significant moisture damage and microbial contamination in its foundation, floors, roof coverings, and exterior walls. Originally laid in February 2024 with a projected 2027 opening, the museum's construction costs have surged from 200 million to 507 million euros, according to Monopol. A spokesperson for the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation stated that repairs are underway but will push completion back by approximately eight months.

person Theo Belci