The final episode of The Week in Art podcast for 2025 reviews the year's biggest stories and exhibitions. Host Ben Luke is joined by The Art Newspaper's contemporary art correspondent Louisa Buck, art market editor Kabir Jhala, and Americas editor-in-chief Ben Sutton to discuss topics ranging from the Los Angeles wildfires in January and President Trump's cultural policies to the crisis at the Louvre, the National Gallery in London's expansion plans and their impact on its relationship with Tate, and the art market's shift toward the Middle East for fairs and auctions. The guests also select their top exhibitions and works of the year, featuring artists such as Kerry James Marshall, Helen Chadwick, Coco Fusco, Jack Whitten, Henri Matisse, and Hamad Butt.
This episode matters because it provides a comprehensive, expert-curated overview of the defining events and trends that shaped the art world in 2025. By covering institutional crises, market shifts, policy changes, and standout exhibitions, it offers listeners a critical lens on how political, economic, and cultural forces are reshaping the global art landscape. The discussion of the Louvre's challenges and the National Gallery's expansion, in particular, highlights ongoing tensions between tradition and modernization in major museums.