**Thota Vaikuntam**, a name synonymous with India's contemporary art scene, has traversed an extraordinary journey from a humble village in Telangana to international acclaim. 

## Early Life and Inspiration
Born in 1942 in Burugupalli, a small village in the Karimnagar district of Telangana, Vaikuntam's early life was marked by simplicity and a deep connection to his roots. His father ran a grocery shop, while his mother, Satyamma, played a pivotal role in shaping his artistic imagination. Vaikuntam's fascination with local theatre performances and his mother inspired his earliest sketches, setting him on a path to becoming one of India's most celebrated artists.

## Artistic Journey and Achievements
Vaikuntam's artistic journey, marked by decades of dedication and perseverance, has been nothing short of remarkable. Some key points include:
- Studied at the College of Fine Arts and Architecture in Hyderabad (1960-1970)
- Awarded a fellowship by the Andhra Pradesh Lalit Kala Akademi to study at the Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda (1971)
- Trained under the legendary **K.G. Subramanyan**
- Held his first solo exhibition at the **Kala Bhavan** in Hyderabad (1973)
- Received the **National Award for Painting** (1993)
- His works are part of the collections at the **National Gallery of Modern Art** in New Delhi, **Peabody Essex Museum** in Massachusetts, and **Glenbarra Art Museum** in Japan

Vaikuntam's distinctive style, characterized by dusky-toned figures adorned with traditional elements, has earned him serious attention globally. Even in his eighties, he continues to paint every day, a testament to his unwavering commitment to his craft.

Thota Vaikuntam: A grocery shop owner's son from a village who became one of India's most celebrated artists; his paintings are hung from National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi to Peabody Essex M

**Art Basel 2026** is set to once again raise the bar as the premier event in the international art market. 
## A Global Art Phenomenon
Art Basel is widely regarded as the benchmark of the international art market. Each edition presents museum-quality exhibitions, groundbreaking contemporary works, and the world’s leading galleries. 

## What's in Store
Beyond the exhibition halls, the city becomes a global meeting point for artists, collectors, institutions, and cultural innovators. Key aspects of the event include:
- Museum-quality exhibitions
- Groundbreaking contemporary works
- Participation of the world’s leading galleries
- A platform for artists, collectors, institutions, and cultural innovators to converge

The city’s transformation into a vibrant art hub underscores **Art Basel**'s status as one of the most important events in the international art calendar, hosted at the **art-factory**.

[View the original on ArtMap](https://www.artmap.gallery/name/art-factory/posts/art-basel-2026)

ART BASEL 2026

**Stunning Glass Art Emerges from **Fokin Glass Studio****. The latest masterpiece from **Anton Fokin** at **Fokin Glass Studio** has left art enthusiasts in awe. This breathtaking work, titled **Golds**, showcases the incredible versatility of glass as a medium.

## A Testament to Glass Artistry
The piece is crafted from **100% glass**, a material that **Anton Fokin** has mastered. Key highlights of this work include:
- Exquisite craftsmanship
- Innovative use of glass
- A testament to the artistic vision of **Anton Fokin**

The unveiling of **Golds** at **Fokin Glass Studio** cements the studio's reputation as a premier destination for glass art. **Anton Fokin**'s ability to push the boundaries of this medium has once again been demonstrated through this stunning creation.

[View the original on ArtMap](https://www.artmap.gallery/name/fokin-glass-studio/posts/golds)

Golds

**Alexander Fokin**'s latest masterpiece, **Tree**, has taken up residence at the **Fokin Glass Studio**. This stunning work of art is crafted entirely from **100% glass**, showcasing the artist's exceptional skill and attention to detail.

## A Testament to Glass Artistry
The **Tree** sculpture is a testament to **Alexander Fokin**'s innovative approach to glass art. By pushing the boundaries of this delicate medium, Fokin has created a truly breathtaking piece that showcases the versatility and beauty of glass.

Key highlights of **Tree** include:
- Crafted from 100% glass
- A showcase of **Alexander Fokin**'s technical skill and artistic vision
- Currently on display at the **Fokin Glass Studio**, a venue synonymous with exceptional glass art

The **Fokin Glass Studio** is renowned for featuring the works of **Alexander Fokin**, and **Tree** is no exception. This latest addition to the studio's collection is sure to captivate art enthusiasts and glass art aficionados alike.

[View the original on ArtMap](https://www.artmap.gallery/name/fokin-glass-studio/posts/tree)

Renowned Glass Artistry on Display

**Stunning Glass Artwork Unveiled**

The **Fokin Glass Studio** is proud to present a breathtaking glass artwork, **'100% Glass'**, created by talented artist **Taisiya Fokina** in 2024. This masterpiece showcases Fokina's exceptional skill and artistry in glasswork.

## A Closer Look
- The artwork is made entirely of glass, highlighting Fokina's expertise in this medium.
- **'100% Glass'** is a testament to the artist's creativity and attention to detail.
- The piece is now on display at the **Fokin Glass Studio**, offering art enthusiasts a chance to experience Fokina's work up close.

[View the original on ArtMap](https://www.artmap.gallery/name/fokin-glass-studio/posts/art-flower)

Art flower

**Edwin Blashfield**'s majestic work, **Springt Scattering Stars**, painted in 1927, showcases the artist's mastery in oil on canvas. This stunning piece measures 130 cm × 110 cm and is part of a private collection.

## A Life of Artistic Devotion
Blashfield was a multifaceted artist, born in Brooklyn in 1848. He initially studied engineering at the **Massachusetts Institute of Technology** before shifting his focus to painting at the **Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts**. His artistic journey took him to Europe, where he studied under **Léon Joseph Florentin Bonnat** in Paris.

## Achievements and Legacy
Some key highlights of Blashfield's career include:
- Muralist works at the **1893 World's Columbian Exposition** in Chicago and the **Library of Congress**
- President of the **National Society of Muralists** from 1909 to 1914
- Member of the **National Academy of Design**, **American Academy of Arts and Letters**, and **National Institute of Arts and Letters**
- Recipient of the **National Academy of Design's Gold Medal** in 1934

Blashfield's remarkable life and artistic contributions have left a lasting impact on the world of art.

[View the original on ArtMap](https://www.artmap.gallery/name/este-gallery/posts/springt-scattering-stars-by-edwin-blashfield-1927-oil-on-canvas-130-cm-110-cm-private-collection)

Edwin Blashfield's 'Springt Scattering Stars'

**Gordon Mortensen**, a renowned artist celebrated for his intricate woodcut technique, has been perfecting his craft for decades. Born on April 27, 1938, in North Dakota, Mortensen's artistic process involves creating a single painting that can take up to three months to complete.

## A Unique Woodcut Technique
Mortensen's work involves using a single block of wood, usually basswood, and applying the image to it. He then cuts away the layers, making each press onto handmade Japanese mulberry paper. This labor-intensive process allows him to achieve remarkable results, with each painting using up to 64 colors and 45 presses.

Some key aspects of Mortensen's technique include:
- Using a single block of wood per piece
- Cutting away layers to achieve up to 64 colors
- Making 45 presses per painting
- Working with handmade Japanese mulberry paper

**Mortensen's** mastery of pattern, depth, and contrast, combined with his use of soft, opalescent hues, beautifully capture the essence and mood of the landscape. His work has earned him numerous prestigious awards and critical acclaim worldwide, solidifying his legendary status in the art world, with pieces showcased at **este-gallery**.

[View the original on ArtMap](https://www.artmap.gallery/name/este-gallery/posts/artist-gordon-mortensen-woodcuts)

Artist Gordon Mortensen. Woodcuts.

**Scott Prior** is a highly regarded American realist artist celebrated for his captivating depictions of everyday subjects. 
## A Master of Light and Composition
Born in 1949 in Exeter, New Hampshire, **Prior** has spent his career perfecting his craft, graduating with a BFA in graphic arts from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1971. Since then, he has lived and worked in Northampton, Massachusetts, producing a body of work that has been showcased in numerous cultural and group exhibitions worldwide.

Some key highlights of **Prior**'s achievements include:
- His works are held in the collections of prestigious institutions such as the **Boston Museum of Art**, the **DeCordova Museum** in Lincoln, Massachusetts, and the **New Britain Museum of Art** in Connecticut.
- **Prior** is known for his innovative use of light to transform familiar subjects, whether in landscapes, still lifes, or figurative works.
- His paintings offer fresh perspectives on the ordinary, making the mundane appear extraordinary through his masterful use of composition and illumination.

[View the original on ArtMap](https://www.artmap.gallery/name/este-gallery/posts/scott-prior-is-a-talented-american-realist-artist)

Acclaimed American Realist Artist Scott Prior

**Johann Nepomuk Schödlberger**'s breathtaking landscapes captivated royal patrons and art enthusiasts alike in the early 19th century. Largely self-taught, Schödlberger began teaching drawing at Viennese schools in 1797 and was eventually elected to the **Vienna Academy of Fine Arts** in 1815.

## Influences and Artistic Style
Schödlberger's style was shaped by his meticulous copying of paintings by **Claude Lorrain** and **Jacob van Ruisdael**, as well as his transformative Italian journey from 1817-18. This period solidified his reputation as a landscape painter, with a penchant for depicting **highly idealized landscapes**.

Some key points about Schödlberger's career and artistry:
- Taught drawing at Viennese schools from 1797
- Elected to the **Vienna Academy of Fine Arts** in 1815
- Influenced by **Claude Lorrain** and **Jacob van Ruisdael**
- Enjoyed great success with royal patrons, including **Francis II** and **Ludwig of Bavaria**
- His notable work includes **"Rocky Coast in Moonlight,"** 1830

[View the original on ArtMap](https://www.artmap.gallery/name/este-gallery/posts/rocky-coast-in-moonlight-1830-artist-johann-nepomuk-schdlberger-austria)

Austrian Landscape Painter Johann Nepomuk Schödlberger's Idealized Works

**Breaking Boundaries in Digital Art**: Danish digital artist **Morten Laskogen**, born in 1986, has been making waves in the art world with his stunning 3D graphics. 

## A New Era of Creative Freedom
After nearly a decade of working as a photographer, **Morten Laskogen** began exploring 3D graphics in 2018. He found that the principles of lighting and composition he learned from photography were still applicable, but with a game-changing twist: in a 3D environment, he had complete control over lighting. 

Key aspects of his work include:
- Experimentation with 3D graphics since 2018
- Application of photography principles to 3D art
- Unlimited lighting possibilities in 3D environments

**Morten Laskogen** continues to practice photography, but his work in 3D has allowed him to create captivating pieces that push the boundaries of what is possible with photography alone.

[View the original on ArtMap](https://www.artmap.gallery/name/este-gallery/posts/work-by-danish-digital-artist-morten-laskogen-b-1986)

Work by Danish digital artist Morten Laskogen (b. 1986).

**Discover the blissful world of ceramics** at **Art-Factory** with **Marina Novitckaya**'s latest exhibition, *Ananda*. The concept of *Ananda*, meaning "joy" or "bliss" in Sanskrit, is deeply rooted in the idea that our true essence is made of unlimited, increasing bliss.

## The Art of Ceramic Craftsmanship
Marina Novitckaya's handmade sculptural ceramic vases embody this philosophy, harnessing technology to create stunning pieces from high-temperature ceramic and bare clay bodies. Key highlights of her work include:
- Handcrafted with precision and care
- Made from high-quality, durable materials
- Unique sculptural designs that evoke a sense of joy and wonder

Visit **Art-Factory** to experience the beauty and tranquility of **Marina Novitckaya**'s *Ananda* exhibition, and uncover the bliss that lies within.

[View the original on ArtMap](https://www.artmap.gallery/name/art-factory/posts/ananda)

Ananda: Joyful Ceramic Vases by Marina Novitckaya

**Connection Vase** brings together seemingly opposing materials in a stunning visual representation of harmony. 
Crafted by **Belotserkovsky Roman** in 2024, the **Connection Vase** combines chestnut burl wood and steel to create a thought-provoking piece. 
## A Study in Contrasts
The vase's design serves as a metaphor for the Tao, a force that unites opposing elements in nature.

Key features of the piece include:
- Crafted from chestnut burl wood and steel
- A visual representation of the harmony of opposites
- On display at the **art-factory** gallery

The union of the cool, industrial steel with the warm, organic charred wood embodies the endless flow of the Tao, bringing antagonistic elements into a single, cohesive whole.

[View the original on ArtMap](https://www.artmap.gallery/name/art-factory/posts/connection-vase)

Connection Vase

**A chance visit to a quilt show** turns into a surprising journey of discovery for a self-proclaimed non-sewer. A husband's weekend outing to the **Boundary Bay Quilters Guild**'s quilt show at the **South Delta Recreation Centre** in Tsawwassen, BC, becomes an eye-opening experience.

## Discovering the Art of Quilting
The writer, initially unenthusiastic about quilts, finds himself astounded by the variety and complexity of the quilts on display. He encounters quilts that are not just beautiful but also tell stories, evoke emotions, and push the boundaries of traditional quilting.

Some key highlights from the show include:
- Quilts that rival murals in size and impact
- Pieces that showcase a range of styles, from utilitarian to fine art
- Examples of modern quilting, studio art quilts, and craftivist works

**Dawn Fielden**, vice-president of the **Boundary Bay Quilters Guild**, provides insight into the evolution of quilting as an art form. She notes that quilting has transformed over the last 50 years, with modern quilters drawing inspiration from various styles and using fabric as a medium for expression.

Pete McMartin: A disinterested husband falls in love with quilts

In a high-end art gallery or modern mansion, the floor looks like a work of art in and of itself. If you work in a factory, polished concrete is not nearly as modern or high-tech. But putting a machine over the floor isn’t the only way to make it look great. Here are seven design tricks that professionals use to make rooms look beautiful.
1. Selecting the perfect aggregate exposure
The “aggregate” refers to the small sand and stones that mix into the concrete. You can opt for a “salt and pepper” look, where only tiny grains are visible, or a “full exposure” look that shows larger, colorful stones. This choice changes the texture and character of the room.
For your decor, you can adapt this exposure to match your style and work with polished concrete specialists. If you prefer a minimalist, industrial feel, a light grind will generally be your style. Exposing larger stones allows you to project the appearance of an expensive terrazzo at a fraction of the cost, making it look much more decorative and luxurious.
2. Mastering the levels of reflectivity
Not every concrete floor should look like a mirror. Specialists provide levels of “sheen”—from a soft matt to a high-gloss finish. In busy areas, matte finishes are ideal to obscure dust and footprint marks, offering an elegant and unobtrusive facade.
High-gloss finishes, meanwhile, are like a giant lamp in your room. They reflect natural light and overhead lamps, and small spaces can feel bright and airy. The key is to keep the gloss level the same so that your lighting plan works and the room doesn’t feel too bright or too dark.
3. Utilizing integral color and dyes
Concrete doesn’t have to be grey. Specialists use integral colors added to the wet cement or topical dyes applied during the polishing process to create almost any color. The color possibilities are virtually limitless, ranging from deep charcoal to warm, earthy tones.
Topical dyes are well recommended because they are layered to develop a variegated, natural stone pattern. The method adds depth and movement to the floor so it doesn’t appear to be a flat, painted surface.
4. The role of grout and densifiers
Professional grinders use grout to smooth out uneven surfaces by filling in tiny fissures and holes. After that, densifiers are used to chemically harden the concrete from the inside. It increases the floor’s resistance to water and stains.
The process guarantees that the shine will remain for a long time. Future applications of waxes and coatings are rendered unnecessary. An appropriately densified floor is ideal for high-traffic areas like retail stores or households with young children because it requires far less cleaning and upkeep.
5. Creating decorative saw cuts and patterns
You can experiment with ornamental saw cuts for architectural details or scale. These shallow grooves can mimic the appearance of large-format tiles or illustrate geometric designs. They improve the visual appeal of a room by breaking up large areas of flooring.
For a more striking effect, colored resins can be used to fill these cuts. The floor feels more “designed” than “just finished” thanks to this subtle design detail.
6. Managing the edging and corners
While large machines handle most of the work, workers use smaller tools to finish the corners and edges by hand. If you don’t do it right, the room’s border will have a different texture and shine than the rest.
Experts put in many hours to ensure the “edge-to-center” transfer goes off without a hitch. Your floor will appear perfect from any angle thanks to this meticulous approach. It’s the deciding factor between an amateurish-looking renovation and a high-quality architectural addition that increases the value of your home.
7. Protecting the surface with penetrating sealers
The last secret is in the sealer you pick. Professionals use penetrating sealers instead of regular floor finishes, which just sit on top of the surface and can scratch or peel. These penetrate the pores of concrete and protect it from within.
This keeps the concrete’s natural ability to breathe while making it very resistant to spills. It also doesn’t change the way the floor looks, so the natural beauty and color of the aggregate stand out.
Investing in architectural excellence
Polished concrete is more than just the floor; it’s also about the longevity and aesthetic of your home. If you go into your next renovation, think about how the perfect floor could influence the design of the entire interior. Choosing polished concrete now is a decision well worth making, given its low maintenance and high impact. It’s fun to see how the material can change the look of your room.

7 Design Secrets from Polished Concrete Specialists Today

Article content
Staff was also directed work the consultation of stakeholders in the area into their 2027 workplan after there was some discussion about further increasing the number of short-term parking spots along 1st Avenue West.
Owen Sound and North Grey Union Public Library CEO and Chief Librarian Tim Nicholls Harrison appeared before council during the public forum portion of the meeting, where he called the city’s plan to incorporate two short-term parking spaces on 1st Avenue West “the start of the right idea.” He said the move by council only partially addresses the issue because the spaces “are always going to be filled.”
Nicholls Harrison noted that parking along the street is limited to two hours, but that isn’t enforced and some motorists are parking there all day.
Article content
He asked that the city increase the two current accessible parking spots to four larger spaces, and designate the rest of the parking spots from the corner of 8th Street East to the bandstand as short-term parking with a 30-minute maximum time limit.
He said the library was involved in the consultation process for the parking changes, and encouraged the city to make its recommended changes in order to have it implemented quickly, but asked for more to be done.
“We know the number one issue for people using the library forever has been parking,” said Nicholls Harrison. “So you have come up with a solution that doesn’t help us in the big picture, when there is actually an opportunity where we can do a lot more together.”
Coun. Marion Koepke moved an amendment to staff’s recommendation of two short-term spaces to make a longer stretch of short-term spaces to the bandstand and to review the accessible parking spaces, but that change was defeated after discussion by council.
Concerns were raised that other stakeholders like the nearby St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, should be consulted before making such a change.
The short-term parking spaces will be identified by signs and be implemented for the July/August summer season, according to a staff report.
The spaces will be enforced by the city’s parking enforcement contractor as part of scheduled patrols during the downtown hours of enforcement, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the report said.

Short-term parking going in near Owen Sound library, art gallery

FOR collectors who have admired the work of Cyril Kongo on everything from Richard Mille timepieces to collaborations with Hermès and Chanel, there is now a new way to experience his art — not on the wrist, on a handbag, or hanging on a gallery wall, but from behind the wheel.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has unveiled the Black Badge Cullinan by Cyril Kongo, a series of just five specially commissioned SUVs that transform the marque’s most rebellious model into a moving work of contemporary art.
Kongo is no stranger to the world of high-end collectibles. The French-Vietnamese artist, whose bold graffiti-inspired style has made him one of the most recognizable names in contemporary art, gained particular attention among watch enthusiasts through his celebrated collaboration with Richard Mille. His hand-painted RM 68-01 Tourbillon remains one of the most visually distinctive and sought-after creations in modern horology.
Now, collectors who follow his work have the chance to ride in the Kongoverse.
Each of the five Cullinans carries Kongo’s unmistakable visual language across the Starlight Headliner, dashboard, picnic tables, rear center console, and waterfall between the rear seats. Every painted surface was completed by hand at Rolls-Royce’s Bespoke facility in Goodwood, where Kongo worked side by side with the company’s designers and artisans for several months.
Although all five vehicles share the same overall concept, no two are identical. Each features a one-of-one composition, making every Cullinan as unique as a signed canvas.
The interior is particularly striking. Against a black backdrop, bursts of Phoenix Red, Turchese, Forge Yellow, and Mandarin divide the cabin into four distinct color zones. Above, the Starlight Headliner becomes Kongo’s cosmic playground, incorporating imagined planets, constellations, and references to quantum physics. In a first for Rolls-Royce, one shooting star stretches the full length of the roof.
The hand-painted veneer extends across 19 wood surfaces, from the fascia to the rear picnic tables. After Kongo completed each artwork, Rolls-Royce artisans sealed the pieces under ten layers of lacquer before sanding and polishing them to the glass-like finish expected of the brand.
The exterior is intentionally muted, serving as a subtle introduction to the dramatic cabin. Finished in Blue Crystal Over Black, each Cullinan features a multicolored gradient coachline and different-colored brake calipers behind the 23-inch wheels—another first for Rolls-Royce.
This is not the first time Rolls-Royce has collaborated with artists, but the depth of Kongo’s involvement was unprecedented. Rather than merely supplying sketches, he was embedded within the Bespoke Collective and given his own studio space inside the Goodwood headquarters, where his ideas evolved in real time with Rolls-Royce engineers and craftspeople.
All five Black Badge Cullinan by Cyril Kongo models have already been allocated to collectors around the world.
For those who appreciate Kongo’s work on a Richard Mille watch, a limited-edition handbag, or a commissioned canvas, this may be the ultimate expression of his art. It is not something you wear or display. It is something you drive.

Watch and art collectors get a new canvas with the Rolls-Royce Black Badge Cullinan by Cyril Kongo

The items studied were two nights’ three-star weekend accommodation, a three-course meal for two with a bottle of house wine, a cup of coffee, a bottle of beer and Coca Cola, a glass of wine, return airport transfers, a 48-hour travel card, a sightseeing bus tour and tickets to top heritage attraction, top museum and top art gallery
An often-overlooked city with a rich history and breathtaking natural scenery is Europe’s best-value city for a short break.
Despite having a population smaller than Reading and sitting hundreds of miles inland from the coast, Sarajevo is a destination that packs a serious cultural punch, while being perfect for a summer holiday.
If for no other reason than for how cheap it is.
The capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina has topped Post Office Money's City Cost Barometer 2026, ranking it the cheapest of the 50 European destinations included.
The items studied were two nights’ three-star weekend accommodation, a three-course meal for two with a bottle of house wine, a cup of coffee, a bottle of beer and Coca Cola, a glass of wine, return airport transfers, a 48-hour travel card, a sightseeing bus tour and tickets to top heritage attraction, top museum and top art gallery. Sarajevo's total basket price was £248 - less than a third that of last place, Oslo.
READ MORE : Thailand makes visiting harder in attempt to stop 'low quality' tourists comingREAD MORE : Not Blackpool or Brighton - the UK's best seaside town has been crowned
According to local tour guide Nermin Numic, life in Sarajevo is cheap and easy. Filling up on the city's most famous local dishes, such as grilled minced meat cevapi, or the slow-cooked stew Bosanski Lonac, is easily achievable for £5. A fancier dinner and drink will set you back £15 a person.
In the high season, a simple room for two can be found for under £50, while higher-end hotels and Airbnbs charge around £150.
Nermin spent time out of the country during the Kosovo War and Covid, experiences which helped him see his home through different eyes.
"Sometimes it takes time being separated to appreciate things. It is amazing for me what this city and country has. So much diversity and these amazing mountains that I took for granted."
Known as the Jerusalem of Europe, Sarajevo is a place where cultures, regions, and religions intersect. The Ottoman influence can be felt in the narrow winding alleys, bustling copper-smithing bazaars and traditional timber-framed houses. It butts up against the Austro-Hungarian influence, felt in the wide European avenues, grand neoclassical facades, and opulent public buildings, reflecting the city’s rapid modernization in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
"It's diverse in so many ways. It is called Little Jerusalem, it has churches, mosques, and synagogues next to each other, and it has for centuries. There are Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, and communist social blocks part of the town," Nermin explained.
The city sits between four mountains that hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics, meaning skiing opportunities in the colder months - and hiking trails in the summer - are within easy reach.
While Nermin insists that two days and nights in the city is the absolute minimum required, any flying visit should take in the disused bobsleigh track. "It is now a canvas for local artists. You can walk down the track from the hills into the city," he said.
The Old Town is another must. "It looks very exotic, but feels familiar. It's a meeting of cultures. Look east, and you're in Turkey. Look west, and it feels Hungarian."
Suitably for a destination known for closing divides and bringing cultures together, Sarajevo is a place of bridges. Thirteen of them to be precise. The best-known is Latin Bridge, where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in an event that triggered the WWI. The Mostar Bridge is on the cover of almost every Bosnian travel guide, arching dramatically as it does over the emerald green Neretva River.
Unlike Bosnia and Herzegovina's second city, Mostar, Sarajevo is rarely crowded. The one exception is in August, when the diaspora returns and the Capital's film festival injects a real buzz into the place.
Ryanair flies from London Stansted to Sarajevo, while Wizz Air takes off from Luton. Return fares this summer are available for around £60.
All of the five cheapest cities in the Post Office Money rankings are in Eastern Europe. Bucharest (£258, Romania), Tirana (£263, Albania), Belgrade (£265, Serbia) and Trenĉin (£272, Slovakia) complete the top five. All five now offer direct flights from the UK.
Lowest-priced cities
Sarajevo – £248.27
Bucharest – £258.07
Tirana – £262.85
Belgrade – £265.13
Trenčín – £271.64
Riga – £278.19
Lille – £289.33
Vilnius – £289.39
Strasbourg – £319.13
Podgorica – £332.45
Most expensive cities

Not Tirana or Prague - Europe's cheapest city for a 2026 holiday is named

Editor’s Note: This is part of a monthly feature on arts and culture offerings in Orange County, which is rich with indoor and outdoor, often inexpensive or even free, options that you might not know about.
The city of Brea makes sure visitors driving around town know it supports the arts with an extensive public art collection, but people may not know its appreciation for contemporary art — particularly the creative expressions of up-and-coming artists — can also be discovered within the city’s own gallery.
The Brea Gallery, a 6,500-square-foot art space, opened in the Brea Civic and Cultural Center in 1980.
Just steps from the Brea Mall, the Brea Gallery focuses on contemporary work by living artists and mounts four exhibitions a year, gallery director Katie Chidester said.
“We mix it up,” Chidester said. “Sometimes we bring in a guest curator; sometimes it’s curated in-house by me and the staff — just depending.”
Currently, the gallery’s signature exhibition, running year after year since its early days, is open: “Made in California.”
The 41st “Made in California” exhibition, which features the work of nearly 100 artists, will run through June 28.
“It just keeps getting bigger every year, which is really exciting,” Chidester said. “We had 5,000 submissions.”
The juried exhibition features multiple media and is not organized around a single theme, Chidester said.
All artists submitting work live in California, and their art has been created within the last three years.
“So, it’s a little bit of everything,” Chidester said. “We’re trying to get a sense of what’s the pulse. We’re really interested in what artists are doing right now, what’s contemporary, what’s present.”
The gallery’s next exhibition, opening July 31, will be “America 350,” showcasing artists’ reflections of what America will look like in 100 years, forecasting the impacts of technology such as AI and augmented reality.
The fall exhibition, “What Fearful Shadows,” will seek to reimagine “iconic elements of early American horror — The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the Salem Witch Trials, and the works of Edgar Allan Poe — through the lens of modern culture.”
“What Fearful Shadows” is scheduled to open Oct. 10.
“We keep calling it the spooky show,” Chidester said.
The gallery regularly hosts artist-in-residence weekends and occasionally holds workshops and classes, Chidester said.
“We get a ton of kids all the time,” she added. “It’s nice that we’re right here next to the library. We get a lot of foot traffic.”
“There is some really good art in there,” said Michael Trino, a member of the city’s cultural arts commission. “It’s the curation. You can tell the difference.”
The five-member city commission is directly involved with the cultural arts center, giving guidance on culturally oriented programming.
And on the way to the Civic Center and Brea Gallery, visitors can tour the nearly 200 pieces of public art beautifying the city’s landscape, ranging from sculptures of individuals who reflect the town’s history to abstract pieces forged from metal that convey an artist’s thoughts. Brea’s Art in Public Places program recently celebrated 50 years — it requires a piece of public art with new developments of $1.5 million or more.
Also playing a significant role in the Brea Cultural Arts Center is the 199-seat Curtis Theatre.
The intimate setting puts the audience in close contact with the stage for curated live theater, musicals, and youth theater.
Check it out
What: Brea Gallery
Where: 1 Civic Center Circle, Brea; it is on the plaza level of the Brea Civic and Cultural Center at the corner of Birch Street and Randolph Avenue.
Hours: Noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays
Admission: $3 general admission

Brea Gallery is made for enjoying art

An EastEnders legend has denied using artificial intelligence in his paintings as he opened his first solo exhibition.
Jake Wood, who plays Max Branning, launched his “Icons” series of portraits at Brighton's Indelible Fine Art Gallery on 7 May.
After posting images and videos of his paintings online, including a portrait of Sir David Attenborough, Wood's followers accused him of using AI in his pieces.
Wood denied this, writing: "I do not use AI to generate any of my artworks. I do not use AI personally. The images and photos I’ve used were already in existence and I have then collaged them (digitally or manually) and then painted over them digitally myself before printing and sticking them over a mixture of collage, spray paint and acrylic."
Ten per cent of the sales of Wood's prints will be donated to Dementia UK, "a cause closely connected to the spirit of the exhibition and the people it honours," the gallery said.

EastEnders legend forced to deny he used AI in paintings

David Ruben Piqtoukun once attributed his existence to the trial-and-error survival skills that he learned growing up in the western Arctic. But it was carving that rescued him at his lowest point in adult life and it was sculpture inspired by traditional storytelling that shaped his career as an Inuvialuit artist living in Southern Ontario. He could have said he owed his existence to art.
The sculptor, who used the Inuvialuit name Piqtoukun, died from cancer Jan. 22 in Hospice Quinte in Belleville, Ont. at the age of 75.
One of 17 children in a nomadic family, he was born in a canvas tent near Paulatuk, NWT. His parents, Billy Esoktak Ruben and Bertha Thrasher, were the descendants of Alaskans who had worked in the whaling industry until it collapsed and they relocated to the Paulatuk region (in what is now the Inuvialuit Settlement.)
Billy, renowned as a hunter and trapper, was of Irish and Yupik ancestry while Bertha, a seamstress and storyteller, was of Portuguese-African and Yupik descent. The family lived on the land and Bertha raised her many children with both Christian and Inuit beliefs. At birth David Ruben was also given the Inuvialuit name Piqtoukun, meaning strong wind, a reference to Arctic hurricanes.
He was only five years old when he was forcibly removed from his family by Catholic missionaries and taken to a residential school hundreds of kilometres west in Aklavik, NWT. He would refer to this as “the abduction,” and in sculptures about planes and flight often represented the terror he felt as a child.
“The rules were very straightforward,” he wrote in a 1991 text that he reworked in 2014, describing how the children had their parkas and kamiks stripped off them and their heads shaved to discourage lice. “Do not speak your language or even whisper your original language to yourself or anyone else around you. You will be dressed to all look alike, in pants, shirt or sweater and will wear shoes (whether they fit or not). … Always obey the nuns, keep your snotty nose clean, no fighting and never speak your Eskimo language! Welcome to an education in forgetting.
“My recollection was that I retaliated at every turn. I was always cussing and cursing, fighting. … But my deepest resentment was being surrounded by all the religious statues and forced to recite religious prayers and to eat unknown food; and not having a clue about the whereabouts of my parents. I was your classic Lost Child.”
He left the Arctic at 18, scrounging enough for the plane ticket to Edmonton, and would never return north to live, although he often visited family in Inuvialuit. At first he worked as a labourer and a roughneck in Alberta, but he said he could never hold down a job. Around 1970, he moved to Vancouver where his brother, the artist Abraham Anghik Ruben, encouraged him to take up carving.
“There’s something magical about this material. It felt like silk,” he recalled of his first experience carving stone in a 2023 interview with the Canadian Press.
He did an apprenticeship at the New World Jade Company in Vancouver and was soon selling pieces to galleries.
He didn’t stay long in Vancouver, however, but relocated to Toronto around 1972. In the mid-1970s, he met Allan Gonor, a medical doctor and Inuit art collector from North Battleford, Sask., who often worked in settlements in the western Arctic. It was Dr. Gonor who encouraged Piqtoukun to collect traditional stories from his family every time he went home to access a mythology he could then translate into his carving. The artist once cited Shaman Returning from the Moon, a stone carving from 1984 now at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, as an example: It was based on a story his father told him.
Yet despite his artistic development, the 1980s in Toronto were not kind to Piqtoukun, and by 1991 he was in crisis: “My personal life was collapsing,” he said in the essay. “Mentally, emotionally, physically and financially, I was totally spent. I was a troubled Inuk. I endured borderline homelessness, with nowhere to turn and a questionable future.”
His solution was to carve Bear in Shamanic Transformation, a figure of a bear with a man’s head, as a reminder of the shaman’s ability to bring about spiritual and physical healing. Piqtoukun explained in his essay that the bear-man was the most powerful Inuit shaman and was summoned to cure the people of illness and hunger, and to bring back the caribou, fish and geese that had disappeared. The shaman observed that taboos had been broken and once this was recognized order would be restored. The moral was that acknowledging and then learning from mistakes were crucial, and that message returned Piqtoukun to himself. Trial and error had helped him survive so far, and it would help him again.
In 1996, he met Katherine Lee, an artist of Korean heritage, at a studio in Toronto; they married in 1998 and soon moved to Georgina, Ont. They lived on Lake Simcoe where Piqtoukun would sit on the dock whittling and took up ice f

Sculptor David Ruben Piqtoukun found inspiration in Inuit myths and his own early trauma

Most people just want their homes to be a place to chill out, right? For Poh Ling Yeow, though, home is so much more than that: it’s her canvas, her gallery, her collection of memories, all rolled up into a constantly shifting work of art.
Hidden away in the suburbs of Adelaide, Poh’s home, cheekily named “Cassida Chaos,” really lives up to its name. It’s vibrant, layered, and unapologetically chaotic in the best way. Forget all those minimalist vibes with blank walls and clean lines; this place is overflowing with personality. It’s a wild mix: vintage finds, salvaged treasures, splashes of color everywhere, big bold artworks, and emotional storytelling woven into every corner.
People know Poh as the ever-creative MasterChef judge, artist, author, and TV personality, and she brings that same spark to everything. Whether she’s plating up a dish, painting huge murals, or styling her space, her fearless creativity shines through. She fills her home with “things with history,” the kind of objects that have scratches, quirks, and loads of stories behind them.
The house itself, named “Cassida Chaos,” which is a split-level built in 1959, has transformed over the years into something both wildly imaginative and cozy. Poh’s not chasing perfection; she’s chasing personality. And honestly, every room catches you off guard: Moroccan-inspired color-filled corners, a kitchen with Turkish tiles, forest murals in progress on the walls, rescued chairs, handmade furniture, and gallery walls that feel a bit like stepping into her brain.
Remember her joke about Marie Kondo’s “keep only what sparks joy” motto. Poh’s own personal twist? — “Everything sparks joy.” And you can tell, as there’s not an inch of Cassida Chaos that doesn’t feel alive.
The '59 build has serious character. The split-level layout, mezzanine spaces, concrete floors, and open flow scream mid-century charm, which immediately grabbed Poh. She bought it over a decade ago with her former partner, Jonathan Bennett, and took her time shaping it, letting it age gracefully instead of chasing a flashy renovation. Poh loves objects that are “old and sad” because they’re packed with mystery and memory, and she treated the house the same way, working with what was already there instead of wiping the slate clean.
Cassida Chaos is basically color unleashed. Poh does not do muted beige. In fact, she says neutral spaces drive her “bonkers.” For her, color is all about fuel: emotional and creative.
Take the living room, for example. It’s like a mini gallery with Australian art, vintage mirrors, chandeliers, bold rugs, standout furniture: a “Great Britain” sofa and armchair anchor the visual madness. Her art collection turns the room into a private exhibition.
The TV room is pure Moroccan drama: deep shades, rich textures, moods everywhere. Poh never designs for trends; she designs for how things feel.
She calls herself a “bowerbird,” almost a “borderline hoarder,” and the house is proof. Antique tins, quirky finds, sentimental objects dragged back from bazaars, second-hand furniture… You name it, she’s probably found a home for it. One favorite? A tiny old tin with a boy’s name scratched inside; she likes to imagine it once held marbles, but now it’s filled with tea. That’s exactly how she thinks: ordinary things become magical if you look at them right.
For a chef, the kitchen isn’t just a room; it’s the heart. Poh’s kitchen is bursting with personality: Turkish tiles for a splash of energy, a mosaic border she made herself. That’s not all; she even cut the tiny tiles by hand for a brick pattern, and jokes she nearly “lost an eye or two” doing it.
The result? The oven and stovetop are pretty much industrial size, because Poh doesn’t believe in holding back on food. There’s an entire wall covered with a forest mural (still unfinished), interrupted only by the fridge. She says the mural demands total immersion; blending every leaf for that lush, layered effect.
For Poh, the kitchen’s got to be more of a creative studio than just a cooking space.
Poh Ling Yeow is a Malaysian-born Australian cook, artist, author, and TV presenter. She became a star as runner-up in the first MasterChef Australia season in 2009, and returned as a judge in 2024. You know her for that bright Chinese-Malaysian cooking style and creative background.
Poh moved from Kuala Lumpur to Australia at age nine, and has since turned into a household name: returning on ‘Back to Win’ (2020), hosting shows like ‘Poh’s Kitchen’ and ‘Poh & Co’, publishing cookbooks, running Jamface, her food stall in Adelaide. She spent over 20 years as a professional painter before food fame, and hosts other shows like ‘Snackmasters Australia’ and ‘Adam & Poh's Great Australian Bites’.
She’s loved for her warmth and her creative blending of art and cooking. And as for Cassida Chaos, her Adelaide abode isn’t built to impress; it’s shaped to feel alive. And that’s luxury in its truest form.

​Inside MasterChef judge Poh Ling Yeow’s artistic ‘Cassida Chaos’ in Adelaide​

“When should painters become old masters?” Former National Gallery director Philip Hendy put that question to then Tate director John Rothenstein almost 70 years ago. Founded in 1897 as the National Gallery’s annexe for British Art, by the 1950s Tate had developed into a gallery of modern as well as British art. Rothenstein wanted it to emerge from its parent’s shadow. Any move towards independence, however, required agreement between the National Gallery and Tate on how to divide the collection they shared.
Now that same question, of where one collection ends and the other begins, is getting another airing. The National Gallery has announced the winner of a competition to design “Project Domani”, a £750 million expansion. A new building by architect firm Kengo Kuma and Associates will replace the 1960s office block that currently stands on Orange Street, behind the gallery’s Sainsbury Wing. According to the National Gallery, the annexe will allow Trafalgar Square to show the “continuum” of “the history of painting in the western tradition”.
That phrase, “the western tradition”, is itself something of a land grab. Until fairly recently the National Gallery was understood to be a collection of western European painting. In 2014, however, it paid £18.6 million for Men of the Docks, a painting by American artist George Bellows. Unlike his fellow countrymen John Singer Sargent and James McNeill Whistler, Bellows had never travelled to Europe and could not be considered an honorary Englishman.
According to the gallery, the purchase represented “a new direction in its acquisition policy”. They now sought to “represent paintings in the western European tradition, rather than solely those made by artists working in western Europe”. Men of the Docks dated to 1912, close to the chronological border between the National Gallery and Tate collections. For those fond of viewing London’s museums as a turf war, it was a shot across Tate’s bows.
Rather than fighting over this or that patch of art history, surely London’s museums can agree that all art is a “continuum”?
This article is part of our State of the Arts series. These articles tackle the challenges of the arts and heritage industry – and celebrate the wins, too.
“To me there will always be only one national collection,” noted Hendy in 1953, “and I don’t believe that carving it up in this rigid way is in anybody’s interest.”
Despite the gallery’s rhetoric of give-and-take, over the years Tate was repeatedly left feeling bruised, after being obliged to let the National Gallery take back British paintings that the Tate had come to consider its own. This included one of the highlights from the National Gallery’s Joseph Wright of Derby show: An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump was given to the National Gallery by the politician Edward Tyrrell in in 1863. The National Gallery later passed it to Tate, only to take it back in 1986.
The history of the gallery turf war
Under an influential model developed in late 19th-century Paris, the Musée du Luxembourg served as purgatory for modern French painters. After a decent interval, after any initial controversy as well as the artist had died, works that passed the test of time were promoted to the heaven of the Louvre.
For much of Tate’s history, it has been viewed as the Luxembourg to Trafalgar Square’s Louvre. In 1935, National Gallery director Kenneth Clark opposed the idea that Tate might achieve complete independence from his institution. It “would deprive us of the purgatorial function of the Tate”. It would also force Tate to decide whether it was a “National Gallery of British Art” or a “modern art gallery”.
Worse of all, Clark noted, if Tate did decide it was a modern art gallery, the two institutions would have to agree a historical date at which modern painters became old masters. In 1954, the National Gallery and Tate Act appeared to grant Tate the independence it craved, while ordaining that the two galleries should periodically consult each other about loans and transfers, in order to ensure that all paintings were “on view in the best context”.
In 1957 Hendy suggested that all paintings “graduate” to Trafalgar Square when they reached their 100th birthday. Rothenstein refused such a rigid rule. The history of art was not “a regular and predictable process”, he insisted. As the “founding fathers of the modern movement”, Van Gogh, Cézanne and Seurat would have to remain at Tate, regardless of how much time had passed.
Under Nicholas Serota’s directorship Tate blossomed into a constellation of galleries in the 1990s. Tate Liverpool demonstrated how a contemporary art space could regenerate post-industrial cities. In 2016 Tate Modern opened its own, £220 million annexe. Meanwhile it seemed that the National Gallery was happy (Sainsbury Wing aside) to expand within its existing footprint.
If Project Domani treads on Tate toes, there will be repercussions. When New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art announced the gi

The National Gallery’s £750m new wing has reignited London’s art turf war

Easter is around the corner, and I know many children are eager to go hunting for colorful eggs filled with tiny surprises. However, I just discovered a fun, free treasure for adults or kids that’s year round. You’ll find little treasures, but they won’t be in eggs. Instead, you’ll find miniature art in a tiny art gallery.
Curated by Debb Ward, these tiny galleries are similar to the little free libraries often found in yards. Both are post-mounted boxes placed in front yards or public spaces.
The community-driven art gallery promotes the arts and a community connection.
Ward said the inspiration for the idea came from seeing the tiny libraries in people’s yards. She searched on Instagram and noticed there was a tiny art gallery in Connecticut, so she decided why not place one in her front yard.
She purchased a kit on Amazon and put the first one together on her kitchen table. She then came up with the name “Tiny Gallery of Art” and started an Instagram account. After the first one, she had multiple friends that offered to assemble the tiny galleries and now has five located in Hampton Roads.
Locations include: Ward’s front yard; Old Dominion University. (ODU) Hixon Building Art Education Hall; Salem Middle School – Art Department; VA Beach Middle School – Art Department; The Creative Well- off site – Cypress between 20th and 21st Street and TCC Norfolk’s campus.
“Tessa Duquette, co-founder of The Creative Well Arts Foundation, saw mine on Instagram and said, ‘I want one,’” Ward said. “I’m a big fan of the ViBe Creative District and the city’s commitment for community art, so gifting one to the ViBe was an opportunity to expose ‘Tiny Gallery of Art’ to a larger audience with all the foot traffic down there.”
Kate Pittman, executive director of the ViBe, said the ViBe will be commissioning local artists to create work for the gallery located in their district.
When Ward first started, she placed three pieces of art in her tiny gallery, but also included a few small 2-by-2-inch blank canvases.
She encouraged visitors to view art, make art and trade art. She said children were the first to contribute artworks, and then her art friends started adding to the growing collection.
Most submissions are small paintings on canvas or watercolor paper, but other artworks have included ceramics, collages, wood pieces, air dry clay, print making and painted seashells and rocks.
Ward estimates over 100 handmade artworks have been traded in her tiny gallery at her home.
“It’s all about community art,” Ward said. “I like spreading the mission of Tiny Gallery of Art by encouraging people of any skill level or age to view art, make art or trade art.”

Here’s where you can find tiny art galleries across Hampton Roads

Drawings at an “anti-Semitic” art exhibition allegedly showing Jewish people eating babies are not “directly abusive or insulting” to Jews, Kent Police has decided. The force ruled that the art, condemned by leading Jewish figures and politicians for portraying anti-Semitic tropes, has not reached the threshold to be considered either a hate crime or a non-crime hate incident.
The alarm was first raised by the columnist Zoe Strimpel, who visited the Joseph Wales Studios in Margate. Ms Strimpel said on X: “My cheeks are red. I am shaking. Matthew Collings told me ‘Israel are the Nazis’ and that the swastikas are ‘critique’.” Kent Police responded to a complaint after the exhibition, called Drawings Against Genocide, prompted an outcry from Jewish campaign groups and politicians who described the artwork as “grotesque” and “not just sickening, but dangerous”.
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In a letter to the complainant, the force said: “The artwork is critical of the Israeli state and its actions but does not include content that is directly abusive or insulting toward Jewish people as a group. There is also no indication of an intent by the artist to stir up racial or religious hatred.”
Reporting on her interaction with the authorities, Ms Strimpel said: “Kent police sergeant just called. He told me: no action to be taken. He said ‘because some Israelis happen to be Jews it doesn’t mean it’s antisemitic’.”
The exhibition featured hundreds of crudely drawn pictures, reported The Telegraph. One drawing depicted two auctioneers at Sotheby’s – owned by Patrick Drahi, a French-Israeli businessman – eating babies, with blood dripping from their sharpened teeth.
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It was the work of Matthew Collings, 70. Mr Collings said the art was “about raising consciousness about hell” and that “Israel is the pure encapsulation of it” through its actions in Gaza.
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A sign directing visitors to the drawings said: “Antisemitic art exhibition this way”.
Mr Collings denied that it showed Jewish people, saying: “Nothing in the drawing says ‘Jews’ or claims Jews eat babies.” He added: “It makes a comment that the owner of Sotheby’s is a Zionist” and “the message is that Zionism is a brutal ideology”.
Labour-led Thanet council apologised for promoting the event on its tourism website. A spokesman said: “Once the council was contacted regarding the nature of the content, the link to this exhibition was removed. The council is not affiliated with the gallery or this exhibition and apologises sincerely for any distress.”
Kent Police acknowledged the complainant’s distress. Officers attended the exhibition before senior officers assessed the case. The force said the drawings did not meet the legal threshold for a hate crime. It also did not meet the threshold for a non-crime hate incident (NCHI).
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The police said: “This is because the content is political in nature, focuses on a nation state rather than a protected group, and is part of artistic expression. There is no information to suggest hostility toward Jewish people as a group.”
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, urged Kent Police to rethink its decision. Mr Philp said: “It’s ridiculous that Kent Police think there is no case to answer here. These pictures are clearly full of sickening anti-Semitic tropes. Kent should reopen this investigation immediately.”
Alex Hearn, from Labour Against Antisemitism, said: “How did police detectives miss the clue where the artist says: ‘Antisemitic art exhibition this way’? They took the artist at his word but ignored Jews. That a police force believes depicting Jews eating babies is ‘criticism of Israel’ shows how urgently intervention is needed.”
Labour Against Antisemitism has written to Tim Smith, Kent’s chief constable, urging him to re-examine the assessment.
The historian Sir Simon Schama, speaking at the Oxford Literary Festival, said the police needed formal education in anti-Semitism. Sir Simon said: “What it comes down to is educating the police.
"There is no question that it’s perfectly legitimate to criticise Zionism, but it’s also extremely clear when that morphs into something harmful to Jewish communities.”
Sir Simon added: “Two perfectly nice policemen came along, were surrounded by emblems of blood-soaked, child-eating Jews, and said, ‘No, we think this is perfectly legitimate criticism of the state of Israel.

Police issue statement over art in UK seaside town gallery showing Jews eating babies

When artist Jen Haefeli looks at a piece of arts and crafts material, or really a scrap of just about anything, she sees a world of possibility.
It might end up as part of a mixed-media collage. Then again, it might end up as part of a piece of clothing, or become a repeating pattern that shows up on another one of her projects.
Haefeli, who has lived in Robinson for the past 16 years, has a degree from George Mason University in “inter-art.”
“It’s kind of a rare degree,” she said. “I’ve described it as a cross-pollination of studio arts. It allowed me to sort of dip into different categories of art, whereas most places you have to declare a major and then choose a minor.”
Haefeli is one of 25 local and regional artists whose work is part of the sixth annual “Women in Art” exhibition at the You Are Here gallery in Jeannette.
“Some inter-art practitioners use up-cycled objects, some work with fiber art or metals, or they might work in stage production,” Haefeli said. “Something I find up-cycled might be used for part of a museum gallery exhibition, or it might find its way onto the stage or into something wearable.”
This year’s “Women in Art” exhibition is titled “No Kings, Just Queens,” and was chosen by Greensburg Central Catholic’s visual arts department chair Erin Riggi.
Similar to Haefeli, Greensburg artist Pamela Cooper enjoys working with a variety of media in her pieces.
“When I get a conceptual idea, I don’t usually stay with just one medium,” said Cooper, 62. “The piece I submitted, ‘Transcendental Bellissima,’ was done with acrylic paint, paper, marker and colored pencil.”
The piece earned Cooper the Juror’s Choice Award from Riggi.
Cooper is a lifelong Greensburg resident and a graduate of Hempfield Area High School. She has a degree in fashion illustration from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and a bachelor of arts degree in graphic design from Seton Hill University.
Cooper said her roots as a Black woman have played an outsized role in her art journey the past few years.
“I didn’t see many people like me doing art when I was younger,” she said. “But as I began reading more, I found those people and wanted to learn more about them.”
One of those people was renowned Pittsburgh sculptor Thaddeus Mosley, who died March 6.
“I was blessed to have a great relationship with Thaddeus,” Cooper said. “He’d always take a few minutes to talk with me and I had an incredible opportunity to go visit with him at his studio on the North Side. He was a very instrumental part of my artistic journey.”
Haefeli’s contribution is a piece from a series she created called “Mother in Exile.” It is a print that began life as a drawing of Emma Lazarus who wrote, “The New Colossus,” the poem emblazoned on a plaque at the foot of the Statue of Liberty in New York City. The poem is famous for its lines inviting the world to “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” In the drawing itself, Lazarus’ face takes on the bluish-green hue of the statue.
“We know the statue and most people think of her poem,” Haefeli said. “I brought it into Adobe Illustrator and placed some lines from the poem over top.”
Haefeli said You Are Here is the type of gallery where she enjoys displaying her work.
“I’m really drawn to smaller, community galleries,” she said. “I like when they can be impactful and serve as teaching spaces.”
“Women in Art: No Kings, Just Queens” will be up through April 18 at You Are Here, 406 Clay Avenue in Jeannette.

Jeannette art gallery hosts 6th annual ‘Women in Art’ exhibition

What does it feel like to be home, or to want to be? In “Homeward Bound,” artists Josue Bessiake, Esther Marie Hall, and Bárbara Miñarro explore the expansive concept of the home as not just a place to go, but as a feeling, memory, and experience. The group exhibition, presented by contemporary art gallery DORF, opens Friday and runs through May 23.
The body of works first laid roots in October 2024, when the three artists met at the Flower Shop Art Residency, an artist-in-residence program in Brownsville, Texas. The three formed a fast friendship and discovered they had each been exploring similar themes independently, Bessiake said.
“We all kind of just clicked, and we were all really trying to do some work together,” he said. “Then recently, the stars just aligned. [DORF] had an opening, we had the work, and our works all kind of melded together. So it was perfect timing.”
Through installation, sculpture, and textile-based works, each artist approaches the interpretation of home in a different way – Bessiake as a physical structure, Miñarro as embodiment and belonging within the body, and Hall as an existential state of being.
For Bessiake, who moved around frequently throughout his childhood, home was never a specific location, but rather wherever his siblings and parents were. His structural interest in the home traces back to memories of road trips when moving to a new place, he said.
“I remember just looking out the window and really being interested in the structure of all these different houses that I’d seen,” Bessiake said. “Sort of how specific the structure of this place was to any particular state or environment that we were in.”
His art explores the idea that one-to-one pieces that reference a very specific place by embodying these structures can evoke memories of home. “It’s been this idea of taking chunks out of space from whatever place I visited,” he said. “I like the idea that they arrive at some sort of form.” Through physical structures informed by painting, his primary medium, his work borrows materials from places he’s visited – tar paper from Joshua Tree, Calif.; dried paint flakes from Brownsville; bits and bobs that form an assemblage of materials to reference the feeling of home.
“I’m collaging and combining these sort of anatomical areas of the home,” Bessiake said. “[Like] if the home was a body, like intramuscular systems, using the skin, using the bones of a home.”
Friday’s opening reception will also feature a performance by Bessiake and curatorial fellow Jesus Treviño, which will examine the different ways that tiny, confined spaces have been used for different purposes. The exhibition will be open on Saturdays from noon to 5pm through May 23.
In their interpretations of home’s meaning and the pursuit of it, each artist pays special attention to the specificity of choice, Bessiake explained. “I really feel like, when every choice is available to you, I think the specificity of your choice is what creates meaning,” he said. “If I could use any material in the world to explore whatever I’m doing, being very specific and intentional about that is what creates that meaning and creates that feeling of being in pursuit of home.”
This article appears in February 27 • 2026.

Homing In With New DORF Gallery Show

In a sunlit gallery in historically Black East Austin, larger-than-life community leaders peer through vibrant canvas windows. Masterfully captured by self-taught painter Angélique Ferrão, the Black men featured in Ferrão’s inaugural art exhibit “Vis-à-Vis” invite you to meet them face-to-face.
Loosely translated, vis-à-vis describes relational context – face-to-face meeting, or relevance to something or someone. Ferrão’s large-format oil portraits range in height from 4 to 5.5 feet tall, bringing viewers up close and personal within the modest Cloud Tree Studios gallery space. Smaller charcoal studies line the entryway, offering perspective into the artist’s creative journey.
“I always paint big,” says Ferrão, a former muralist whose work has adorned myriad Downtown walls. “I feel very free and very confident when I work large.”
“I’m not from this country so I don’t have that way of thinking, but I learned … some people see a Black man as a potential threat,” she explains. “But I wanted these men to take up space with their body, their energy. There’s no way you can interpret any of these portraits as hostile. This juxtaposition of taking up space in a small room – larger-than-life, but not threatening – that was very intentional.”
The men of “Vis-à-Vis” represent a broad swath of Austin talent, including musicians, artists, educators, and financial leaders. Some gaze directly through the canvas at the viewer while others gaze into the distance, frozen in a moment of introspective thought.
The series evolved from unexpected origins: a corporate HR meeting in the immediate wake of George Floyd’s Minneapolis murder in 2020. Ferrão, who worked for a financial services firm at the time, attended a race-relations panel hosted by her colleague, Lukas Smart, who shared his experience growing up Black in the United States. Deeply moved by Smart’s openness and vulnerability while struggling with feelings of powerlessness, Ferrão reached out afterward to ask if she could paint his portrait.
A South Asian artist who arrived in Austin by way of New York City and Bangalore, India, Ferrão’s experiences as an immigrant had made her feel “powerless for a very long time,” especially in the face of recent politics. After attending Smart’s talk, Ferrão felt drawn to portray his courage through her portraiture, saying, “I don’t have a lot of power, but I have my brush.”
That initial portrait morphed into a series as Ferrão began reaching out to others throughout the Austin community, pushing through feelings of hesitation because she wanted to do the subject matter justice.
“I know how to paint,” says Ferrão, who found her way to oil painting by way of watercolors and acrylics. Completely self-taught, she developed her technique through trial and error, leaning heavily into curiosity and intuition to guide her through the creative process. “I’m very confident in my work. But I didn’t know the ‘right way’ to approach the project with respect.”
The journey to “Vis-à-Vis” made Ferrão grow as a person “because I had to do a lot of research, have conversations with these gentlemen,” she said. “They didn’t know me, didn’t know what my intentions were, so I was very nervous. But they were very supportive and gracious.”
“I was immediately enthralled by the idea of this woman who is not Black deciding she wants to render Black men positively, to place us in a space where we’re often not placed,” says Ya’Ke Smith, a University of Texas Radio, Television, and Film professor whose portrait sits to the right of the exhibit didactic. “She’s speaking truth to power, debunking stereotypes, rewriting a narrative that has been portrayed since time immemorial. Any artist that wants to add to the [positive] archive and conversation – we need this work out in the world, and this needs to be championed.”
“Representation really matters,” Smart says of the project. Seeing Black men in a position of honor and prominence in “Vis-à-Vis” “has been a good example” for his teenage sons, who knew that the series began after their father spoke up about his life experiences at work. “I was proud of myself, of Angelique, proud of the other people who were there.”
Each painting originated from two of Ferrão’s other artistic strengths: photography and connection. After initial contact, Ferrão typically met with her subjects to build rapport before photographing them from several angles, always from a lower perspective angling upward – a subtle but intentional composition that elevated them to a vantage point of power. Finally, each man chose their favorite image for her reference, taking ownership over their final portrayal.
“I was very conscious of the colors I chose for each portrait,” Ferrão says of her saturated palette for the series. “Sometimes art featuring Black subjects subconsciously reflects so much collective trauma in history through earthy, muted tones. I didn’t want that historical trauma attached to my paintings, and it was easier for me to do t

Face With Black Austin Figures • The Austin Chronicle

To lift the United States out of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt put Americans to work building roads and bridges, conserving forests and rivers, laying sewer pipes, and constructing schools, parks and airports.
But the U.S. needed something more, Roosevelt thought. It needed art. So his White House built a national gallery and museum, then scattered the works around the country, placing dazzling murals and sculptures in hundreds of post offices. The works brought visibility — and crucial paychecks — to the artists, and lifted morale during the depths of the Depression and the Second World War.

The disappearing art gallery in your post office

Seated cross-legged on a slightly raised table, monks Sonam Punchok, Ngodu Tsering, Thupten Tsultrim and Lobzang Choygal are bent over the geometric diagram, which also feature floral and freehand motifs. While they colour the tiny details of the mandala with a copper funnel called a chak-pur, tapping it with a wooden stick to release the coloured sand slowly, curious visitors stand transfixed, watching the therapeutic process of creation. “The making of the sand mandala, the living culture of the Vajrayana Buddhism is a slow and steady process that requires a lot of patience,” says Joyoti Roy, assistant director project and public relations of CSMVS. “The museum often invites such practices to demonstrate how performative rituals and displayed objects come together in reality,” she adds. This project is one such, facilitated by the department of information and international relations, Central Tibetan Administration, Dharamshala.
The Himalayan gallery at the museum is the only one of its kind in the country, displaying 175 Buddhist objects, dating from 10th to 18th century CE. These include statues from Vajrayana Buddhism, which flourished from 6th to 11th Century CE, and practiced in the Himalayan belt of Nepal, Tibet and Ladakh, in India. This sect includes more ritualistic practices including creation of butter dolls and mandalas, which could be drawn on Thangkas (traditional Buddhist drawings) or embroidered and even created with sand, similar to a rangoli. In Buddhism, a mandala is essentially a map of the cosmos, dedicated to different gods and goddesses.
The sand mandala at the museum is for Boddhistava Avalokiteshvara, the one with infinite compassion. In Mumbai, the four members of the Gyudmed monastery have been working on it since last week, every day, from 10.30 am to 5.30 pm and will continue till today. They first consecrated the space they are working in and then drew the mandala to colour it; beginning from the centre before moving outside. The colours are made manually, by grinding white stones into fine powder and mixing it with different shades. Like Avalokiteshvara’s mandala (geometrical designs depicted in Tibetan Thangka paintings), Vajrayana Buddhism has many such cosmic maps, which are dedicated to different deities. “Each has its distinctive pattern and colours, described in great detail in the scriptures along with the mantras that must be chanted while making the mandalas,” explains Punchok.
But not all monks can make sand mandalas. Punchok and his friends have studied the art for about a year at their monastery, which also houses an institute of Buddhism studies. They must also pass an exam, which tests their skills and knowledge of the scriptures on mandala. Punchok and other monks from his monastery have been invited to create sand mandalas in Germany, Russia, Singapore, Thailand and other countries. “It takes a lot of time and dedication to learn how to make sand mandalas,” says Punchok.
Initially, when they start, their backs and eyes hurt from bending over and squinting for long durations. “It is hard. But after some time, you get used to it,” adds Punchok.
Though what’s surprising is that the painstakingly created work over several days, and with so much precision, dedication and back-breaking hard work is almost immediately destroyed after it’s completed. “It does feel bad, but it’s in line with the teachings of Buddhism,” says Punchok. “The practice reiterates that nothing is permanent,” explains Roy.
(Watch the sand mandala being made at the Himalayan gallery at CSMVS, Fort today.
Time: Today; 10.30 am to 6 pm
Entry fee: ₹200)
EOM

CSMVS hosts live art of sand mandala by Buddhist monks

Louisville artist Terry Maker says that her work, large-scale and transformative pieces spun from everyday materials into meditations on existence, feminism, and the spaces between known and unknown, is very much connected to her faith.
“I’m a very liberal Christian,” she says, laughing, “which is very important to my walk in life, and my work. So I might compact into a very hard, dense papier-mâché process, both scientific and religious documents. So I might shred a Bible, for example, and then use those shreds and combine them with secular works of science so the two might live together. Like they do, I believe. Once those are conformed, you might see some traces of them — edges, forms, bits of the refuse of the recycled documents — but not enough to know exactly what’s in there. And thereby comes the mystery and the magic of what happens when these things are alchemically made to bring about another world entirely.”
Such is the artistic philosophy behind much of Maker’s work, some powerful examples of which are included in the Robischon Gallery’s new show Ostinatos, which runs through March 21. The name of the show borrows from the musical term for a continually repeated musical phrase or rhythm, and features artists like Maker who utilize repetition in their visual work as well. For a complete list of the artists contributing to the group show, see the Robischon Gallery exhibit page.
“It’s my use of the circle and the sphere, repeated over and over for the physical aspect of it,” Maker explains. Repetition was a major element in Maker’s last show at Robischon, an individual show of her work called Traces.
One of Maker’s major works in Ostinatos is “Veil,” a contemplative six-paneled work constructed of thousands of drinking straws in shiny black resin. “It’s teeming with objects,” Maker says, “but what really fills it are the little black voids that threaten to suck the viewer in.” But there are oases amongst the many emptinesses. “There are these various red and gold felted circular forms,” she says, “intended to create a haptic response. The desire to reach for those soft points of brilliance amongst the darkness.”
Another of Maker’s pieces in this group show is “Lace Map of the Known World,” which is a network of intricate lines, fissures and voids that may appear fragile up close, but its composition of compacted secular and spiritual shredded documents, foam, thousands of drinking straws, and cast resin elements makes for a hard and sturdy structure undergirding the delicate aesthetic. “The overall illusion is to a Renaissance map,” Maker says, “the kind that attempted the feat of portraying a globe on a flat surface through a surfeit of circles and lines. Sometimes we have trouble finding our way; this is a cartography of the soul, searching to find that better place.”
Much of the act of creation in Maker’s work tends to embrace tearing apart before the reconstruction. “I put my materials through extreme force, such as pressure, cutting, drilling, grinding, and shredding,” she explains. “Then I arrange the matter into abstract composition that hints at space, or the cosmos. In other words, I bury things, and then I kind of resurrect them.”
In terms of theme, some artists begin their process with a specific vision of what they see in their mind’s eye; others jump in and discover the vision as the process takes place. Maker says she does a little of both. “I start with an idea of where I want something to go, and then I take a leap of faith,” Maker says. “Artists have to be really brave, because they don’t know what’s really going to happen. We have ideas, and it’s exciting, and there are hopes and dreams. And then the journey happens, and the art starts to speak, and my consciousness or spirit starts to say, ‘Oh no, this isn’t where this piece wants to go.’ And then you do a dance, and sometimes it’s a really great dance.”
Maker describes herself as both a person and an artist who’s seeking liminal spaces. “These are thin places,” she says, referring to the old Celtic concept, “locations or moments where the veil between the physical earthly world and the spiritual eternal world is exceptionally porous. Liminal spaces are where the divine feels close.”
Which is where the work returns to faith, for Maker. “I think that as artists, we can be conduits of that,” she says. “When we make things, it’s not just a hard and cold thing. It is, I believe, a transmitting of a much more spiritual gift. It’s our journey, our path, and our duty. Especially in this hard world. It comes from something deeper. Even if you’re not religious, there is that gift that we receive. We get to use it and play with it. I truly think that we’re at a point in time we return to that acknowledgement, particularly in the too-often hateful environment we live in today.”

Artist Terry Maker Seeks the Liminal at Robischon Gallery Show

At Mumbai’s iconic Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, amid bustling crowds, music, and installations, a quiet, almost meditative spectacle is drawing visitors in. Inside the Himalayan Art Gallery at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Tibetan monks sit cross-legged for hours, pouring grains of coloured sand with extraordinary precision, without sketches, blueprints, or visual references. It's all the mastery of memory that comes with years of meditation practices. This is the sacred creation of a sand mandala, an ancient Tibetan Buddhist ritual.
In an exclusive interaction with The Free Press Journal, members of the Tibetan cultural delegation explained the deep spiritual, cultural, and political significance behind the sacred Sand Mandala, an ancient Buddhist art form that is meant not to endure, but to be dismantled.
A cultural mission beyond art
Tenzin Lekshay, the official spokesperson of the Tibet Administration, talks about their representation in the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival's 26th edition. He says, "The Tibetan cultural delegation's presence at Kala Ghoda this year is deeply symbolic. According to the delegation's representative, the participation serves two important purposes. "One is to help Indians understand that Tibet has a vibrant, living, and unique culture. The second is to show that even in exile we are preserving this culture under the leadership of His Holiness The Dalai Lama.”
He further says, "The delegation's participation coincides with a significant global observance, the Year of Compassion, marking the 90th birthday of His Holiness The Dalai Lama. Celebrated from July 2025 to July 2026, the year-long tribute reflects his teachings, wisdom, and legacy of compassion."
Sand Mandala Art by Tibetan monks | FPJ/ Sunanda Singh
The sand mandala, its significance and meaning
The sand mandala being created at Kala Ghoda Arts Festival represents the abode of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion. In Tibetan belief, His Holiness The Dalai Lama is considered a manifestation of Avalokiteśvara.
The process of the sand mandala is as rigorous as it is sacred. "On the first day, we draw the outline of the mandala," explains a monk. “Everything is based on precise geometry and mathematical proportions. You cannot modernise or alter it." What astonishes most visitors is that the monks work entirely from memory.
"They don’t refer to images or diagrams. Years of meditation and training allow them to visualise every detail internally," he adds.
Even small details like the absence of fans in the room are intentional, as a single gust could scatter hours of work. Each grain of sand is placed with a metal funnel called a chak-pur, producing a soft, rhythmic sound that adds to the meditative atmosphere.
Statue of Buddha inside the Himalayan Arts Gallery | FPJ/ Sunanda Singh
"It takes days to create something so intricate," one of the monks says. "And yet, in the end, it will be dismantled."
Talking about the concept of attachment and detachment, he says, "This deliberate destruction reflects the Buddhist understanding that attachment leads to suffering. At the heart of the mandala are five deities, each representing aspects of human consciousness and the five sensory faculties. These symbols guide practitioners during meditation, helping them transcend ignorance, hatred, and attachment; the three root causes of suffering in Buddhism."
“The colours, the gates, the symbols; nothing is random," he explains. “Every colour represents a deity. Every element follows exact religious instructions."
An artifact at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) | FPJ/Sunanda Singh
Safeguarding Buddhism in India
After the completion of the sand mandala art, it will be dismantled. "This teaches detachment," says another monk. "Even the most beautiful things are temporary. The sand is often collected and dispersed into flowing water, symbolising the spread of compassion into the world."
For the Tibetan monks, India is not just a place of exile. It is a spiritual homeland. "Buddhism originated in India," he explains. "Lord Buddha's teachings were later carried to Tibet in the 7th Century. We have preserved these traditions for centuries. Buddhism connects India to countries across Asia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Japan, Korea, and Nepal. Preserving this tradition benefits the world."
The Tibetan delegation also showed their gratitude towards India, saying, "Because of the government and people of India, Tibetan culture has survived and thrived. In our homeland, our culture faces extinction. In India, we have found refuge, dignity, and freedom."
Meditation and inner peace
Meditation is central to Buddhism, and here's what Tenzin has to say about it. "One must understand the preciousness of human life, everything we consume, from food to clothing, comes from others."
"Meditation cultivates gratitude, compassion, and awareness. When compassion grows, the mind finds peace. Without it, misunderstandings

Tibetan Monks Create Stunning Sand Mandala Art At KGAF 2026

Image generated by Al; for representational purposes only; (R) Alison Luchs shooting the video at the National Gallery of Art with her Gen Z crew
A 77-year-old museum curator has become an unlikely Gen Z icon. Alison Luchs, deputy head of sculpture at the National Gallery of Art, learned the latest youth slang — from GOATED to big drip — to describe centuries-old masterpieces in short videos, and the internet ate it up. What started as an educational experiment racked up millions of views, proving that classical art can still slay in the age of memes.Art + Rizz = Viral Luchs stood by a 16th-century urn on camera, dropping lines like “Haters will say this urn is mid,” “screamed big drip” and “Honestly, she ate.” Nearly 9 million views later, viewers praised her natural delivery and fresh spin on guided tours – turning old masterpieces into fresh content.Gen Z Lingo School To prepare, Luchs studied slang like it was a new language – learning terms describing charisma (rizzler), cool vibes (aura points) and glamorous makeovers (yassified). Her enthusiasm has even reshaped daily life: colleagues say she now uses the new vocabulary off-camera too. The gallery is also running a contest inviting short-form art videos, showing that remix culture isn’t going anywhere.
Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”
End of Article

Believe it or not: This museum curator’s got the rizz

“The fact Whistlejacket is on this plain background makes it feel very modern, and we want to believe that Stubbs was bucking a trend and having a little experimentation,” he said, but if his “understanding of Stubbs’s technique was correct” then the artist had painted the horse first “with the intention of coming back to put the background in”.
From March 12, Whistlejacket will be joined in a National Gallery exhibition by Scrub, another life-sized painting of a horse by Stubbs that was also commissioned by the marquess and does have a landscape background.
Both Scrub, showing a bay colt, and Whistlejacket, an Arabian chestnut stallion, are thought to have been painted by Stubbs in about 1762 and to be the first life-size portraits of horses without riders in British art.
The National Gallery said its belief that both the marquess and “possibly” Stubbs considered Whistlejacket finished was based on a 1797 memoir by a friend of the artist, recounting an incident in which the real Whistlejacket saw its near-finished portrait and tried to attack it. The marquess was “so pleased with such proof of the excellence of the picture that he determined nothing more should be done”.
Stubbs and the marquess, who was prime minister for two terms and a renowned racehorse breeder, are known to have had a prickly relationship. Despite having commissioned Stubbs to paint Scrub, the marquess decided not to buy that artwork, and it remained in the artist’s studio for 20 years.
• Stubbs, Lowry or Turner: who painted Britain best?
Scrub — titled in full Scrub, a bay horse belonging to the Marquess of Rockingham — will be on public display for only the second time when it is shown in a room near Whistlejacket at the National Gallery.
It is thought that the marquess originally commissioned both Whistlejacket and Scrub as bases for portraits of George III, who was then to have been depicted atop the horses. It is speculated that he abandoned the plan after resigning from his post as lord of the bedchamber in 1762.
Grosvenor, who first explained his theory on his podcast, Waldy and Bendy’s Adventures in Art, told The Times that Stubbs’s landscapes were revolutionary, just as his animal depictions were.
“He was the first person to really say the fidelity of the horse matters more than anything else and that is why he spent so many years literally peeling them back to the bone [through anatomical studies],” he said. “And because he is so interested in fidelity he is right up there in British art history as the first person to say. ‘I am going to paint this landscape absolutely faithfully’.
“It was at a time when aristocratic patrons wanted Italianate or Claudian pastiches. Stubbs liked to observe the reality of the landscape and I just feel that he would have wanted to situate Whistlejacket in some kind of setting.”
Ozias Humphry’s memoir recounts an incident when, according to the gallery, Stubbs was “about to finish the painting of the horse” when the real Whistlejacket began to “stare & look wildly at the picture, endeavouring to get at it, in order to attack it, the boy pulling him back & checking him”.
Humphry wrote: “The Marquis came shortly after to see what progress had been made, & learning the circumstance, was so pleased with such proof of the excellence of the picture that he determined nothing more should be done to it, tho’ it was on the bare canvas without a back ground.”
Mary McMahon, the gallery’s associate curator, said on Friday: “The anecdote may be exaggerated, particularly as it ties in to a tradition of stories about great artists producing a work so realistic it tricks the viewer. But it does record Humphry receiving information directly from Stubbs that the marquess had the final say on the finished painting, as one would expect for this time as the patron of the work.”
McMahon said there was no correspondence to “further clarify how the decision was reached … but Stubbs had already produced two other works for the Marquess of Rockingham early in 1762 without a figurative background, suggesting this was a request particular to the patron.”

Is Stubbs’s Whistlejacket experimental - or just unfinished?

I just had a most eventful week.
I watched in horror as a terrible storm in the Mediterranean dashed a ship against a rocky coast, forcing its crew and passengers into a desperate attempt to save themselves and rescue their cargo.
I soared with the birds among snow-covered peaks in the Rockies, marveling at the many shades of white and blue.
And I joined picnickers on a serene hillside along the Hudson River, where I watched the sunlight and clouds play above a sheep pasture and a tiny village beyond it.
What’s more, I did all of this in just 90 minutes at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. I took the museum’s “Finding Awe” tour and, with the help of staff, unlocked a sense of wonder I did not know I could feel while looking at art — in this case, a 1772 shipwreck scene by Claude-Joseph Vernet, a 1946 abstraction by Georgia O’Keeffe, and an 1860 landscape by Jasper Francis Cropsey.
The National Gallery, working with University of California at Berkeley psychologist Dacher Keltner, has so far hosted 36 awe tours for the 800 people lucky enough to get a slot. You can also take a self-guided awe tour using the museum’s tools, or apply the same techniques to experience wonder while looking at art anywhere.
A growing body of evidence demonstrates that the experience of awe that visual arts can trigger has mental and physical health benefits for us. They are similar to the restorative effects produced by awe-inspiring natural settings, such as a mountain vista or open sea, but we can access them more easily. The best part is you don’t need to know anything about the art you are looking at.
“In some ways I think it’s actually easier if you don’t have an understanding,” National Gallery of Art Director Kaywin Feldman told me, because “that moment of ‘oh my goodness’ is part of wonder. You have to sort of stop in your tracks, have that moment of surprise.”
This was excellent news for me, because that one semester of art history I took in college didn’t stick. Until now, the primary feeling I’ve had when visiting a museum has been drowsiness. I call it “museum head.” I race through one of the world’s best collections — the Louvre, the Uffizi, the Prado, the Met — and glimpse as many works of art as I can take in until, overstimulated and overwhelmed, I find a seat near the gift shop and wait for the others in my party to finish.
But now I know the cause of museum head: I was doing it all wrong. The way to experience awe in visual art — in fact, the way to experience awe in any setting — is to slow down. The point is not to see it all but to see a few things, or even one thing, deeply.
Feldman’s first such awe experience came in Padua, Italy, when she was 22 and, though hungry, tired, and dirty from her travels, she decided to see the Giotto de Bondone frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel. “When I walked out of that chapel, I felt like I was walking on a cloud,” she recalled. “I thought life was so beautiful, such a gift. I fell back in love with humanity and felt such optimism for the future.”
Since then, she has made it her life’s work to help others experience such moments of wonder. She told me she once kicked a pair of donors off a Florence art tour when they declined to visit the Uffizi because they already “did it” decades earlier. “You’re there to have an experience, not to check something off the list.”
To illustrate, she took me to see a 1659 self-portrait by Rembrandt and instructed me to study his face, brightly lit while all else in the painting was in shadow. His dark eyes locked on mine even as I moved from side to side. I studied the wrinkles in his forehead, the folds under the eyes, the loose flesh in the pallid cheeks. I could see a blood vessel on his bulbous nose, the whiskers of his thin beard and the individual curls in his hair. I saw sadness and maybe worry in that face.
After I took that in, Feldman explained the sadness. Rembrandt, 53 in the portrait, had just gone bankrupt and had to move from his home and sell his possessions. He had lost his wife and several children and had a financial dispute with a partner. “He’s looking at you and connecting and asking you to acknowledge him,” she said. For her, the wonder comes from this “direct connection with somebody who is no longer alive.”
I held the great man’s gaze from across the centuries and I felt a chill. This connection to immortality made my daily vanities and worries seem small and insignificant. It reminds us, as Feldman put it, that we are “part of something bigger.”
New research out of King’s College London gauged people’s physiological responses while they viewed works by Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Edouard Manet, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec for 20 minutes. The study, now in preprint, found that participants’ levels of the stress hormone cortisol dropped by 22% on average, while markers of inflammation dropped even more sharply and heart rhythms indicated greater relaxation.
This is consistent with other recent research c

A sense of wonder can improve our physical and emotional health

Whether you're looking for cocktails or an art gallery, we've discovered spots you might not have come across.
Cambridge is full of well-known buildings and bars, which you will see tourists crowding around every summer. However, our city also has its fair share of hidden attractions, which you could easily miss.
These hidden gems range from a hidden cocktail bar to a memorial to a famous Chinese poet. Take a look below to find your new favourite places to take family and friends next time they visit the city.
Hidden Rooms
The clue's in the title with this one. This cocktail bar is, of course, hidden to the average passer-by. It is a reservation-only spot located in the basement of a Victorian-era Roman baths, and looks just like it's part of the Kibou restaurant on Jesus Lane.
Once you discover the bar, you will realise there is plenty going on here. Not only are you invited to sip margaritas and martinis, but you could get involved in a cocktail-making class or attend one of its regular music nights.
The Women's Art Collection
The historic divide between "town and gown" in Cambridge may mean residents, who aren't students, are missing out on some of the delights to be found in the university's colleges. Some of these, like the women's art collection at Murray Edwards College on Huntingdon Road, are open to the public.
This collection began in the late 1980s and has grown, now numbering over 600 works by more than 300 artists. As well as the permanent collection, there are regular exhibitions and talks by artists.
Newton's apple tree
This is not the tree from Isaac Newton's childhood home. However, it is close enough to be special: this tree outside Trinity College, Trinity Street, is an offshoot of that original tree, which has a place in the stories told as schools worldwide while students about Newton's discovery of gravity.
The tree was planted in 1954 to honour his links to the University of Cambridge (where he studied and worked) and to celebrate his contributions to science. It is visible at all times, although members of the public are banned from entering the grass surrounding it.
Xu Zhimo Memorial
From science to poetry: there are plenty of celebrated figures with a connection to the city, and who are remembered in various ways along Cambridge's streets and at its colleges. One of these is poet Xu Zhimo, known for his contributions to modernist Chinese poetry.
Xu's love for the city began when he first entered King's College, Cambridge, in 1922, where he fell in love with Romantic poetry and literature. Having returned to China and infused Chinese poetry with European Romanticism, he came back to Cambridge in 1928.
Here, he penned a poem that celebrated the punters, willows and sunlight experienced in the Backs of King's College, which has since become famous in China. Xu was tragically killed in a plane crash in 1931, and his memorial stone was unveiled in the grounds of King's College in 2018.
People can visit the stone by buying a ticket to enter the grounds of King's College.
Bar-OH
Tucked away next to the Hilton hotel on Downing Street, you will find a treasure trove of video games and quirky drinks. Customers are invited to play classics like Wii Sports and MarioKart, and say hello to the robot doorman.
Although it is hidden, this bar has managed to gain a reputation for excellence. In 2024, Muddy Stilettos listed Bar-OH as a finalist in its award for the best bar in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk.
Dinky Doors
These minute, intricate structures are dotted around the city. You may have spotted one or two Dinky Doors, described by their creators as "petite portals into other worlds", while walking around.

Cambridge's hidden places that everyone should visit at least once

In the pulsating heart of the 21st century, modern art continues to evolve, challenging our perceptions and pushing the envelope of creativity. As a gallery curator, I find myself at the intersection of this dynamic landscape, where tradition meets innovation, and the ordinary collides with the extraordinary. The modern art scene is a kaleidoscope of styles, mediums, and expressions, each piece telling a unique story that resonates with the contemporary human experience. 

From the stark minimalism of a monochromatic canvas to the immersive digital installations that blur the lines between reality and virtuality, modern art is a testament to the boundless potential of human imagination. One of the most compelling aspects of modern art is its ability to reflect and critique the societal shifts and cultural transformations of our time. Artists today are not just creators; they are observers, commentators, and activists, using their art to spark conversations about pressing issues such as climate change, social justice, and technological advancement. This narrative-driven approach to art-making has given rise to a new wave of socially engaged artists who are redefining the role of art in society. The gallery space has also undergone a significant transformation in recent years. No longer confined to the white cube, contemporary art is increasingly being presented in unconventional settings, from abandoned warehouses to public parks, making art more accessible and inclusive.

 This shift towards democratizing art is a reflection of the broader cultural movement towards inclusivity and diversity, where art is seen as a universal language that transcends boundaries and fosters connection. As a curator, my role is not just to showcase art but to create meaningful experiences that engage, provoke, and inspire. Whether it's through thought-provoking exhibitions, artist talks, or community workshops, the goal is to create a space where art can be experienced, discussed, and appreciated in all its complexity. The future of modern art is as exciting as it is unpredictable. With the rapid advancement of technology, we are seeing the emergence of new mediums such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence, which are opening up new possibilities for artistic expression. As we navigate this ever-evolving landscape, one thing is clear: modern art will continue to challenge, inspire, and captivate us, reflecting the ever-changing tapestry of the human experience.

Navigating the Boundaries of Modern Art: A Curator's Perspective

In the hushed gallery of dreams, where light dances upon the walls, there lies a canvas, a silent sentinel of emotions. It is not merely a piece of art, but a poem, a sonnet of colors and forms, a ballad of the artist's soul. The brushstrokes are like lines of verse, each one a syllable in the grand ode to life, love, and the human condition. The colors, vibrant and deep, are the metaphors that paint a thousand tales, each hue a word that speaks volumes of the artist's journey. The canvas is a symphony of silence, a chorus of stillness that sings the loudest of songs. It is a poem, a masterpiece, a whisper of the artist's heart, echoing through the halls of time, a testament to the power of art, a testament to the power of poetry.

Whispers of the Canvas

In the heart of Paris, a city renowned for its art and culture, a remarkable painting has recently come to light, captivating the attention of art enthusiasts and critics alike. The painting, titled 'L'Éveil des Sens,' was discovered in a small, unassuming gallery tucked away in the Latin Quarter, far from the bustling crowds of the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay. Its creator, a relatively unknown artist named Claire Moreau, has left an indelible mark on the art world with this extraordinary piece. 'L'Éveil des Sens' is a large-scale oil painting that immediately draws the viewer in with its vibrant colors and intricate details. The central figure is a woman, her eyes closed in a moment of serene contemplation. She is surrounded by a lush garden, teeming with life and color. The painting is a symphony of textures and hues, from the delicate petals of the flowers to the rough bark of the trees. What makes 'L'Éveil des Sens' truly remarkable is its ability to evoke a sense of tranquility and introspection. The woman's serene expression and the peaceful surroundings create a sense of harmony that is both calming and inspiring. It is a painting that invites the viewer to pause, to reflect, and to appreciate the beauty of the world around them. The discovery of 'L'Éveil des Sens' has sparked a renewed interest in the work of Claire Moreau. While she may not be a household name, her talent is undeniable. This painting is a testament to her skill and creativity, and it is sure to cement her place in the art world. As word of 'L'Éveil des Sens' spreads, art lovers from around the world are flocking to Paris to see this masterpiece for themselves. It is a reminder of the power of art to inspire, to challenge, and to bring people together. In a world that often feels chaotic and uncertain, 'L'Éveil des Sens' offers a moment of peace and beauty, a reminder of the enduring power of the human spirit.

A Masterpiece Unearthed: The Hidden Gem of Paris

This fall, the Bay Area’s luxury real estate market isn’t just selling homes, it’s selling experiences. Strolling through estates in Pacific Heights, Atherton, or the hills of Marin, it’s easy to question whether you’re touring a residence or an art gallery. These properties are evolving into curated showcases, where the architecture, décor, and artwork are as much the stars as the sprawling kitchens or infinity pools.
High ceilings, natural light cascading through floor-to-ceiling windows, and interiors designed by internationally acclaimed designers make these estates feel more like private museums than places to hang your coat. Sculptures occupy corners like permanent installations; canvases with bold brushstrokes command attention in spaces that blend classic elegance with modern minimalism. Buyers are acquiring not only a luxurious living space, but also a lifestyle, a statement, a curated world.
The trend is fueled by buyers who are collectors of wealth as well as collectors of taste. In the Bay Area, tech magnates and creative entrepreneurs are investing in homes that double as sanctuaries for art and design. Some estates even come with their own dedicated galleries, climate-controlled for precious pieces, complete with exhibition lighting that would make any museum curator nod in approval. The homes themselves feel alive, each room narrating a story, each hallway a private exhibition.
Fall accentuates this phenomenon beautifully. The season’s soft, golden light spills across galleries of glass and stone, illuminating interiors like living canvases. Gardens transform into outdoor installations, with autumnal foliage providing a natural backdrop to sculptures and fountains. Walk through an estate at sunset, and you might forget whether you’re stepping into a private residence or a carefully staged art experience.
Bay Area estates have become cultural statements, arenas where architecture and art converge. For enthusiasts of both design and lifestyle, these properties redefine what it means to live luxuriously. The ultimate luxury is no longer just space or location; it’s the seamless fusion of beauty, function, and artistry under one roof.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) may have been used to aid in the development of this content with human supervision to edit and approve all final content. The editorial team did not contribute to these pieces, and the opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the editorial staff. Refer to our partner statement to better understand the nature of the relationship.

Luxury Homes or Art Galleries? Bay Area Estates are Blurring the Line This Fall

Visit just about any art museum, and they will almost surely have several rooms full of paintings from around the world and throughout history. Other rooms may feature sculptures or photographs, fiber arts or metal work.
Tattoos rarely, if ever, receive the same chance to be admired. The image may be on a person, not a canvas, but it doesn’t make the art less noteworthy or the artist less talented.
Christina Villagomez, founding artist of 5th Dimension Studios in Coeur d’Alene, and Sara Mortier, owner of La Mort Tattoo in Spokane, independently submitted show proposals to Terrain for its gallery that centered on, in part, seeing tattoos in a new light.
Villagomez and Mortier were paired together for the November exhibition and are co-presenting “Body of Work,” now open at the Terrain Gallery. The show runs through Nov. 29.
Villagomez grew up with a musician father and a photographer mother who instilled a love of the arts into their children. Villagomez started drawing when she was “knee-high to a grasshopper,” though in high school, she thought her creativity would lead her to work as a journalist.
“My mom kept telling me she always thought I was going to grow up to be a tattoo artist,” Villagomez said. “I thought that was so strange, because I didn’t really have any interest in it at the time.”
While working on her associate’s degree, Villagomez realized she wouldn’t have a lot of time to draw if she was a full-time journalist, so she put a pause on school so she could re-evaluate her next steps.
Around the same time, a local tattoo artist whose art Villagomez admired reached out and asked if she could use some of Villagomez’s art for flash tattoos. This opened her eyes to there being an interest in her work as tattoos but also the variety of tattoos being done.
“We had family friends that were tattoo artists, and I always saw it as a singular style,” she said. “Being able to see all these different styles of tattooing that have emerged in the last 20 years was so inspiring and so exciting. I really wanted to be a part of it, so I actually started my apprenticeship in my mid-20s.”
In other words, mother knows best.
Villagomez apprenticed under Jake Sifford at Black Matter Tattoo for two years. Over those two years, she experimented with a variety of styles but ultimately solidified the love she had for illustrated black work when she entered her apprenticeship.
Similar to Villagomez’s youthful interest in drawing, Mortier said she “came out of the womb drawing.” Unlike the support Villagomez received, many cautioned Mortier that she didn’t want to be a starving artist.
As a result, drawing remained a hobby for Mortier as she worked first as a special education teacher then as a manager of a research lab at the University of Washington. That hobby lead her to tattooing about six years ago when Mortier decided she wanted to give herself a tattoo.
Having never picked up a tattoo machine before, Mortier spent a year and a half studying tattoo theory, reading all the books and watching all the videos about tattooing she could, and taking online courses.
She then ordered a tattoo machine and practiced tattooing on oranges.
“Then I finally turned it on myself, and I was like ‘This is the most amazing thing. I love it so much,’” she said. “I loved this theory already. It was amazing, the science of it, the art of it. Human physiology mixed with all of that? Fantastic and so complex. I turned the machine on myself, and there was no going back. I was so in love with it.”
Mortier began tattooing friends and family before eventually opening a private studio for two years. She opened La Lune Tattoo Collective but has since returned to a private studio, La Mort Tattoo, after La Lune closed earlier this year.
Villagomez and Mortier independently submitted proposals for gallery shows, both of which involved sensory elements, like silicone forms and sculptural installations. Villagomez’s proposal wasn’t necessarily tattoo-related, but she loved the idea of adding sensory elements to tattoos.
On Villagomez’s side of the exhibit, she has displayed a number of examples of her flash tattoos. Many pieces are on paper, featuring animals and flowers, while others follow the curves of mannequin forms which have been turned into lamps.
“I love art nouveau and I love the idea of art being accessible on a daily basis in a practical way,” she said. “I wanted to make lamps, because I thought it was a fun way to make an object that’s useful in everyday life, but it’s still representative of tattooing and something that you can find in the gallery.”
On Mortier’s side, she takes viewers through a timeline of tattoos through history. The timeline starts with the simple lines found on Ötzi, the mummy of a man thought to have lived between 3350 BC and 3105 BC, which Mortier said are believed to have been medicinal in nature, aligning with joints that had degraded while he was alive.
It continues with Polynesian back tattoos, among other sty

Terrain Gallery show 'Body of Work' puts tattoos in fine art spotlight

A government task force is deciding the future of Darwin's flagship art gallery building - and it could become a mixed-use office block instead.
The $145 million State Square Building was designed to showcase one of Australia's most important art collections, held by the Museum and Art Gallery of the NT (MAGNT), and has been purpose-built with two large gallery spaces.
But costs have blown out by $100 million, according to Northern Territory Arts Minister Jinson Charls, who said the project lacked a business case and operational funding.
Turning the gallery into an office block instead would be a depressing outcome, said NT Labor's arts spokesman Chansey Paech.
"It's incredibly disrespectful and offensive to our creative community in the Northern Territory," he said.
"You've got a government walking away from a building purpose-built to celebrate the contributions of arts in the Territory, and I think that's really sad."
The Country Liberal Party government launched an eight-week expression of interest process that it said was intended to identify the most cost effective and impactful use for the site.
"This is about securing a future use for this building that benefits Territorians, boosts the economy, makes our city centre a destination of choice," said Charls in a statement.
That process ended in late October, with the list of tenderers including two property development firms, a top-end tourism peak body - and a 3D metal printing company that is expanding into manufacturing rocket engine parts.
MAGNT is also in the mix, but declined to comment citing the terms of the expression of interest process.
MAGNT's existing site at site at Darwin's Bullocky Point has functioned as both museum and art gallery since 1981, and like many cultural institutions, the institution has only a small fraction of its collection on show, with the rest in storage.
The Northern Territory is at the centre of what is perhaps Australia's biggest contribution to visual arts, the Aboriginal art movement, which is also a major tourist attraction for the region.
One of the movement's annual showcases, the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, recently posted sales figures of $5.1 million, the event's best result in almost two decades of operation.
Almost 16,000 visitors attended and another 13,000 shopped online, with revenues going to 78 participating art centres, many of them in remote communities.
Indigenous art is a major tourist attraction for the NT, but in Alice Springs plans for a Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Gallery of Australia have also been recently scrapped.
Paech has accused the NT government of failing to invest in the arts and regional communities.
But the government maintains arts grants have increased to $7.9 million and the current budget has provided an extra $2.5 million per year to meet higher operating costs at the MAGNT.
The State Square project, funded by both federal and NT governments, is expected to be finished by July 2026 and open for use from August.

Art gallery or office block: flagship project in doubt

How long is a piece of string? David Shrigley can’t answer that, but he can tell you how much it weighs: 10 tons, apparently. His latest installation is literally an exhibition of 10 tons of old rope, accumulated by him over months, and left in towering mounds in this swanky gallery in London’s Mayfair. Most of it is marine rope, destined for landfill. It’s hard to recycle this stuff, it seems, and there’s an endless supply of it dumped around the world. So Shrigley scooped up as much of it as he could find, piled it up and put a massive price tag on it.
The work can be yours for £1m. And that’s the point of the show: this is literally money for old rope. It’s not that deep – it’s just an idea taken to its logical conclusion, an idiom taken too far, a pun taken too literally.
Shrigley made his name with deadpan, easily intelligible, visual one-liners: simple paintings with simple phrases written across them, just a bunch of glum, self-deprecating but often funny non-sequiturs. And that’s exactly what this is, a non-sequitur, a joke with no punchline. Just an idea and a price tag.
And it looks great! Largely because it looks pretty much like any other conceptual art installation. Piles of discarded rubbish have been a common sight in art galleries for decades, but this is the first one to do it quite so sarcastically and knowingly. It’s like Shrigley is gamely admitting that, well, this is all a bit stupid.
The issue here is that, at its root, this is art about the value of art, about what people are willing to pay for an idea, about which ideas have value and which don’t. But I don’t think the financial value of art is all that interesting. Who cares if someone wants to pay millions for a dirty old bed, or a light going on and off or a rotten banana taped to a wall? What rich people do with their money is about as relevant to me as what they have for breakfast.
Making a snarky comment about the value of art in a gallery that’s struggling to survive financially (SFG announced some pretty huge losses earlier this year) does feel a bit awkward, too. It’s like Shrigley is saying: “You lot would buy any old crap, wouldn’t you?” Yet this is a gallery that’s having quite a hard time selling any old crap.
Maurizio Cattelan, the artist now famed for making a golden toilet that was stolen, made a similar point – in a more aesthetically impactful way – when he taped a banana to a wall at an art fair in 2019 and sold it for more money than anyone should ever spend on a banana. But that was then, when the art world was a lot more boomy. These days, when things are so much more cautious, I don’t think ideas about the financial value of art are as clearcut or obvious as they once were.
Despite all this, in a very Shrigley way, the work is disarming and charming. Look at you, wandering around a fancy gallery trying to think deep thoughts about piles of rope. It’s obscene, ridiculous, funny. I want to pick it apart, untangle its conceptual threads and prove that they don’t weave into anything sensible – but obviously they don’t. The conceptual threads are just a big pile, a mess. Part of me wants to go all lyrical and describe the colours and fabrics, the smell, the history implied in each strand, the narratives of the hands that once pulled these ropes and yadda yadda yadda.
But I don’t think that’s the point. It really is just some old rope. And that’s kind of great.

Yours for £1m! David Shrigley puts 10 tons of old rope on display in a gallery

Drag artist Louisianna Purchase carries a specific elegant yet emotional style to every project she takes on, whether that’s her live drag shows around Austin or their music video and photography collaborations with local artists. In her first gallery show in over 10 years, “MY HEART WILL BURST INTO A MILLION STARS,” that style infuses into 11 paper and pearl pieces hung around Feats of Clay’s Conroy Gallery – opening this Saturday, Nov. 15.
The first inklings of the show bloomed last December as a result of Louisianna using newly gained free time to take on art commissions. This was “mainly to see if I still enjoyed creating paper cuts,” she explains, “but also to see if there would be interest.” Having received a positive response from commissioners, Louisianna also found that in returning to paper cut work that “I missed creating visual art.”
Her work in paper has been a lifelong interest, specifically with silhouettes. “I’m drawn to the simplicity of silhouettes and how they can still tell such a story while leaving room for interpretation,” Louisianna says. “There’s room left for the viewer to emotionally connect in a way that’s powerful for them.” Through these evocative paper cuts, Louisianna says she most often explores trauma and “mainly how childhood trauma colors our lives and the languages we create to survive. How we create worlds to delve in, to keep us alive, and what we do when they crash down.” This was her inspiration behind the show’s title, which references “those extreme moments, happy or sad, [when] our hearts feel like they could propel our body through space.”
Despite the subject matter being one of Louisianna’s most well-trod, she did step out of her comfort zone in adding hand-pearling to each piece. “It’s made everything way more time consuming,” she says, “but has added a level of delicateness to the pieces that I love so much.” These nacreous details are meant to be tears, Louisianna explains, which tie into the show’s main theme of trauma’s effects. “We all carry a [sadness],” she adds, “and I can only hope to turn my sadness and pain into [something] magical.”
In addition to premiering these 11 pearled and paper-cut pieces, Louisianna’s current music project RIBBONS will perform a 20-minute set featuring visual projections. This acts as the show’s “soundtrack,” she says, that creates a world and atmosphere for visitors to experience. Having previously opened for and played on the records of other artists, Louisianna hopes to have RIBBONS’ own EP out some time next year.
“Music was one of my earliest loves,” Louisianna says. “RIBBONS is a celebration of my love of shoegaze, drone, dream pop, and ambient music.”
For Louisianna, returning to visual art represents her own inner growth. “I feel I’m a lot more confident,” she says on picking back up paper-cutting. “Having done drag for 12 years now, the confidence from that has spread into the other art forms I love. I feel completely assured in my vision and the world I’m wanting to create.”

Paper Cuts & Pearls Decorate Louisianna Purchase's New Art Show • The Austin Chronicle

The Augusta Arts Council's Annual Winter Art Showcase features original art from local artists priced at $200 or less.
Artwork is on display in the City Gallery at the Augusta-Richmond County Municipal Building.
A reception for the showcase will be held on December 5 from 5-7 p.m. in the City Gallery.
Purchases can be made online or by calling the Arts Council, not directly at the municipal building.
Looking for that perfect holiday gift that's original, unique, and chances are no one else has it?
Try the Augusta Arts Council's Annual Winter Art Showcase for an opportunity to buy original art from a local artist for $200 or less. The Arts Council has been sponsoring the event since 2016, and it's grown into the organization's most popular event, said Executive Director Denise Tucker.
The artwork is now on display in the City Gallery in the lobby of the Augusta-Richmond County Municipal Building at 535 Telfair St. in downtown Augusta, Tucker said. The city allows the Arts Council to display artwork in the lobby of the building to promote local arts.
The art also can be viewed during the Arts Council's Annual Winter Art Showcase from 5-7 p.m. on Dec. 5, in the City Gallery, she said.
The art isn't sold from the Municipal Building, she said. Rather, information on ordering a specific piece is displayed with the artwork which can be ordered online or by calling the Arts Council. Mailing or pickup arrangements can be made at the time of purchase.
Local artists who are part of the exhibit include Naazima Ali, Karey Santos, Carol Cross, Ryan Dunbar, Gabe Rawlins, Ronda Bryce, Chloe Ross Mahon, Elise “Pheonix” Cardinal, Sindhu Pillai, Kirstyn Denney, Reveille McNeill, Emily Bender, Fox Si-Long Chen, and Rhian Swain.

Local artists offer original work for $200 or less this holiday season

A PAINTING ESTIMATED to be worth around €60,000 has been hanging quietly on a wall inside RTÉ for decades, but the broadcaster isn’t certain who actually owns it.
The Gerard Dillon work, titled Kitchen Interior with Seated Woman, may have been loaned to the broadcaster by an unnamed art gallery five decades ago.
RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst said the broadcaster is currently trying to track down paperwork to confirm its provenance.
“We believe it may well have been lent to us by an art gallery about 40 or 50 years ago, and we’re trying to find the paperwork,” Bakhurst told RTÉ Radio’s Drivetime this afternoon.
“You can understand that’s not straightforward. The art gallery has been in contact saying they believe it was lent to us, but they also don’t have paperwork to show that.”
According to Bakhurst, the unnamed art gallery has indicated it would like the piece returned if it is indeed theirs.
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“To the best of our knowledge, it may well be theirs. We need to bottom it out. If it is, we’ll give it back to them, obviously,” Bakhurst added.
Dillon, a self-taught Belfast-born artist, worked as a house painter and decorator before fully committing to his art. he became the rising star of the Irish avant-garde, his works widely exhibited and written about. He passed away in 1971.
The Dillon painting has been hanging in an RTÉ office in an “inconspicuous” spot, according to Bakhurst.
The broadcaster said the issue only came to light in recent months, prompting a search through historical records to clarify ownership.
“It’s the first time, to our knowledge, that it was raised with us. We’re trying to see whether the gallery has any proof of ownership, or whether we have any proof that it was loaned or bought,” Bakhurst said.
The discovery forms part of a wider internal review by RTÉ, which has also uncovered historical irregular payments and pension arrangements dating back decades.
Bakhurst emphasised that the broadcaster has no interest in keeping property it does not own, but wants to ensure proper due diligence before returning the artwork.
“We just want to be sure before we hand it back,” he said.
RTÉ also published its annual report today, which detailed the salaries of the braodcaster’s highest earners.

A €60k painting has been on display in RTÉ's offices for decades, but nobody knows who owns it

After announcing its closure last month, the Promenade Fine Art Gallery is now shuttered and signs have been removed or painted over.
Promenade Fine Art Gallery Now Closed
The shop was located outside the main BoardWalk building, between the BoardWalk lobby and Screen Door General Store. It’s one of three Promenade Fine Art Galleries locations, the other two being an open display walk at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and a gallery in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Cast Members noted that the company would still be around “somewhere,” leading us to believe that there will be a move to a new permanent location somewhere else at Walt Disney World.
The store was set to close on October 19, but this was our first trip to check on the closure. All signage has been removed or painted over and the windows and doors are covered. We do not know what will happen to the space now that it is closed, and so far no official announcements of a replacement have been made by Disney.
The company usually appears at the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts, of which dates, details, and more were recently announced.
Have you ever shopped at Promenade Fine Art Gallery? Let us know in the comments and on social media.
For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Promenade Fine Art Gallery Now Closed at Disney’s BoardWalk Resort

Bring a sketchbook, graphite or colored pencils, and/or pens and have a seat in the Main Gallery of The Church for a communal drawing salon led by artists and art professors Jackie Hoving and Norm Paris! This recurring program celebrates our fall exhibition Here & There: The Church’s First Churchennial while also honoring The Church’s commitment to fostering creativity on the East End. Flex your creative muscles as you draw the people around you, the space, or something that catches your eye in a meditative experience of observing and being present.
Norm, a professor at Rhode Island School of Design, and Jackie, a professor at Pratt Institute, met as students in Sam Messer’s Yale Norfolk Summer School of Art program. It was there the couple spent time in Sam’s “drawing happenings” and were inspired by his belief in community and bringing people together through drawing.
In alignment with The Church’s vision for a creative community, the Drawing Meetups invite participants of all skill levels to a laid-back environment with a communal spirit. Tables and chairs will be provided and participants are also welcome to find a space within the exhibition for a solo meditative drawing journey. Some graphite pencils and 8x11” paper will also be provided, though participants are encouraged to bring their own supplies. Charcoal, paints, and markers are not permitted in these sessions.
Please note that this is a causal drawing session and not a class.

Drawing Meetup with Artists Jackie Hoving and Norm Paris

Curved lines and block colors in shades of orange, yellow and blue create the image of an artist, framed by a border of abstract shapes. Look a little closer and you can see the artist’s beret with concentric circles, perched atop the solitary figure’s head as they lean over their work.
The painting is by Nigerian artist Uzo Egonu, as part of a series titled “Stateless People,” made in 1981. Egonu settled in Britain in the 1940s, where he spent most of his career until his death in 1996 in London. As an artist yearning for his homeland, Egonu crafted paintings that spoke to feelings of statelessness and the complexity of migration.
Think of modern art and you may think of Pablo Picasso, Georgia O’Keeffe or Salvador Dalí. However, a new exhibition at London’s Tate Modern gallery shows how Nigerian artists have contributed to the movement throughout the 20th century. Egonu is one artist among the more than 50 represented in “Nigerian Modernism” — the first show at the museum to trace modern art from the country. It spans over 250 works created in the 1940s during British colonial rule, through to independence in 1960 and into the postcolonial period of the 1970s and 1980s.
“Where we would often associate modernism with European art history, there were in fact multiple contexts within which the language of modern art developed and evolved,” said Osei Bonsu, a curator of International Art at the Tate Modern.
Nigeria was a key hub for the development of modern African art, in part due to its colonial connections with Britain — several of the artists featured in the show had trained in London or other European cities before returning back to Nigeria, blending both European and indigenous techniques and forms within their work. As the country achieved independence from British rule, artists debated what new forms of nationhood, identity and art could look like. And while some techniques, such as uli — a traditional design practice indigenous to Igbo land in southeastern Nigeria, where women painted directly onto their bodies or created wall murals — may not have been viewed as modernist at the time, they incorporated modernist ideas such as improvisation and harmony through the use of positive and negative space, said Bonsu.
Merging traditional African techniques with Western art principles
One artist who is credited with pioneering Nigerian modernism is the sculptor and painter Ben Enwonwu. “His works were the cultural background to our growing up,” said Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, professor of History of Art and Architecture at the University of California, Santa Barbara and author of the 2008 biography “Ben Enwonwu: The Making of an African Modernist”. “Enwonwu made it possible to think about the arts as a respectable profession. In terms of Africa, he was the first African artist to gain global recognition and global prestige.”
Born in 1917 to an elite family in Onitsha, in the southeastern region of Nigeria, Enwonwu earned a scholarship to train at the Slade School of Art in London. Contemporary critics placed him in the same — if not higher — calibre as European modern masters, while famed British sculptor Henry Moore saw Enwonwu as a protégé and even bought one of his early works, said Ogbechie.
In 1957, Enwonwu was commissioned to create a sculpture of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, which elevated his already-respected artistic profile and prestige throughout the countries under British colonial rule as well as those that had recently gained independence. Yet Enwonwu also connected his Igbo ethnic identity and heritage with his classical art training in other aspects of his work. He used traditional sculpture techniques and tools inherited from his father, and in his paintings portrayed Igbo masquerade culture — a traditional ritual where masks, costumes and performance personify ancestral spirits.
“He foregrounded African cultural registers in his work,” said Ogbechie. “He was very insistent on the fact that if Monet could paint church facades and hay bales and water lilies and be considered a modern artist, there was no reason why he couldn’t paint masquerades and African market scenes and have them received in the same manner.”
Another artist now receiving recognition further afield is the potter and ceramicist Ladi Kwali, whose portrait appears on the 20 Nigerian naira note. Born in the Gwari region of northern Nigeria, Kwali became the first female trainee at the Pottery Training Centre in Abuja in 1954, and is known for infusing her modern ceramics training with traditional influences.
“I’ve been very drawn to her way of making, and I think it’s really interesting that she stuck to her own identity and maintained a certain way of doing things,” said Helene Love-Allotey, the head of department and a specialist in Modern and Contemporary African Art at Bonhams, a private auction house in London. Love-Allotey pointed to Gwari traditions, such as Kwali’s aunts teaching her techniques including handcoilin

These artists revolutionized modern art in Nigeria. They’re finally getting recognition further afield

Don't want to stare at a blank TV screen on your wall when you're not watching something? This Samsung 75-inch The Frame Pro TV, which is currently on a huge sale during Amazon's October Prime Day sale, turns into your personal art gallery when not in use as a television. You can upload your own photos or access a curated collection from the Samsung Art Store for a museum-like viewing experience.
The TV ranges in size from 43-inches to 85-inches, but the 75-inch set offers the best deal. It's now priced at $2198, down $800 from $2,998, a new low price.
CNET TV reviewer Ty Pendlebury notes that buying the best TV to meet your needs is a balancing act of finding the best picture quality, the best price and the size that's right for your room. TVs are a stable technology, and year-to-year improvements are usually minor, he notes. So if you're a fan of Samsung TVs, as CNET reviewers are, and this size appeals to you, it's a good price, and, the lowest we've seen.
Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are freeand save you money
Why this deal matters
This particular TV offers great value. It features a wireless connection hub allowing flexibility in mounting options, free from cords and clutter. It offers smooth visuals and elite speeds for VRR gaming at up to 4K 144Hz. The virtually glare-free screen includes a subtle matte texture to make the art displayed look like a real print. Users can also choose from more than 3,000 artworks, and the TV bezels themselves can be swapped out with Modern Brown, Modern Teak, Modern White and Sand Gold frames.
At $800 off, this is the lowest price we've seen this TV listed at, but we have no idea how long it will last. So, if this multi-purpose TV appeals to you, now is the time to jump on it.

Nab This Prime Day Deal on a 75-Inch TV That Turns Into an Art Gallery

You're invited to celebrate Ontario Culture Days with the Art Gallery of Algoma (AGA).
This province-wide festival is running now and will end on Oct. 12.
All events at the AGA, which is one of the sixteen Hubs featured in Ontario and nationwide, are free or "pay by donation."
For more information, including the list of events, see the press release below.
The Art Gallery of Algoma (AGA) is presenting several events during the 2025 Ontario Culture Days festival. Ontario Culture Days (ONCD) is a province wide festival which opened on Sept. 19 and will close on Oct. 12, 2025. For the last four years the AGA and Sault Ste. Marie are one of the sixteen Hubs featured in Ontario and nationwide.
All ONCD events are free or “pay by donation”. This allows everyone to visit arts and culture sites, making it accessible to all.
These programs are part of the Cultural Family Fun Day in the Clergue Park which features many local arts and culture sites and groups.
On Oct. 4 the AGA will present three programs:
Welcome, Newcomers to the Soo! from 3PM to 5 PM featuring an exhibition tour and a sharing of the cultures by participants from different parts of the world. It will be an exchange of various arts from many countries.
Doors Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the AGA will welcome visitors to see the exhibitions, art studio and the shop. This program runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Center & Sketch: Meditation in Motion, the last in the intro series of the wellness programs presented by Shauna Carpinelli, Art and Wellness Officer at the AGA. This hands-on activity runs from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
On Oct. 9 the AGA will present hands-on art activity in the Ken Danby Studio Art on Your Sleeve from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Bring your own knitting, sewing, embroidery or crochet projects and exchange ideas and try something new. All levels are welcome. If you do not have a project and you never tried, we will provide materials and instructions.
Please join us for one or all the programs that we are offering this year for ONCD!

Celebrate Ontario Culture Days with the Art Gallery of Algoma

A 'streetwise' and 'eco-friendly' catwalk show with a difference has been applauded for its unusual designs after being curated by a London businesswoman, whose footballer husband survived a cardiac arrest that ended his playing career.
Nadia Perrier, director of the Central London Alliance group, curated an event called 'Fashion Frenzee' as a climax to the recent London Fashion Week - highlighting 'sustainable' wear including clothes made from rugby balls or retrieved from railway lost property offices.
A line-up of models including Mrs Universe 2022 went on parade on a special runway installed at the Guildhall Art Gallery - showcasing unusual clothing aimed at cutting back on waste and bringing new use to 'pre-loved' or potentially discarded items.
A silent auction was also held, with proceeds going towards two charities - Integrity International Trust and Dress For Success.
Now London-born and raised Mrs Perrier, 35, has told how she and colleagues hope to continue attracting more visitors and investment in responses to setbacks suffered by the capital during Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns.
And while the CLA's activities include similar fashion initiatives, they are also backing sporting festivals across London, which is where her husband also helps.
Former youth international Michael Perrier, now 36, played for clubs including Sion, Aarau and Stade Lausanne Ouchy in his native Switzerland - but was forced to retire after collapsing following a cardiac arrest aged 32.
Sports events organised by the CLA have gone from the City's first pop-up padel court attracting 6,380 players three years ago to its London Sports Festival welcoming more than 23,000 since launching this May.
Mrs Perrier said of the CLA, which formed five years ago following the pandemic: 'More people are being attracted back into the centre of the capital - and it's still very much needed.
'We've migrated into habits of hybrid working which has had such an impact on central London - the recent train strikes don't help at all. But we're constantly looking at giving workers incentives to come back.'
Reflecting on the recent Fashion Frenzee event, she told of wanting it to 'shine a light on the creativity and diversity that make London such a global capital of style, while championing responsibility in how we create and consume fashion'.
She added: 'I'm proud that together with our brands and partners, we've made fashion not just stylish, but purposeful.'
Among the designs featured at the Guildhall Art Gallery showcase were those by Le Ballon Responsable, founded by French rugby legend Serge Betsen, 51, and which turns rugby balls into 'artisanal fashion pieces'.
Also featured were Atelier de Nalin Thakral, reviving traditional Zardosi embroidery with ethical couture, CQ (Cheongsam Quotidien) London which blends Eastern heritage with Western design and GOFF COURTNEY, said to be 'redefining fashion as age-, size- and gender-free'.
Other contributors included The Collective by London 3x3, merging sport and sustainability through streetwear, eyewear brand Pop Specs and vegan-fashion promoting Sanya Dutta.
Mrs Perrier told the Daily Mail: 'It's so important to be focusing on lots of different people from different walks of life - and showcase all these designers' work.
'There were about 150 people there - I was so glad to hear the positive comments. We had so many items on display, from Victoria Beckham clothing to pieces that had been retrieved from lost property.
'It's good to have people thinking about garments in a different way - maybe turning T-shirt sleeves into jeans, or working with saris, or rescuing clothes left on the Tube.'
Her husband Michael's footballing career came to a premature halt four years ago, following his sudden fainting and collapse following a cardiorespiratory arrest at the age of 32 - in front of horrified friends and colleagues during a trip to a karting track in May 2021.
He was airlifted to hospital and spent 72 hours in an induced coma after desperate attempts to revive him - and though his recovery is ongoing, his football career could not go on.
He has previously said, looking back: 'I'm a miracle. That's what all the doctors kept telling me.
'They tried to resuscitate me five times. They say that if nothing happens after two attempts, it's usually over - or that the after-effects quickly become irreversible.
'In my case, it wasn't until the fifth attempt that they managed to revive me and my heart started beating again.'
He has since retrained as a physiotherapist, though his wife says he still struggles even to play a mini kickabout or games of padel - the tennis-style sport increasingly popular on spreading courts across the UK especially London.
But she told the Daily Mail: 'He helps advise me with our sports events.
'He can't play football again and he doesn't have the same life at all since his cardiac arrest - he can't do physical activity like he did before. He can't even do padel.
'But he's embraced the

From designer gowns to clothes found in railway lost property or made out of rugby balls - 'streetwise' eco-friendly outfits hit catwalk with a difference

Teufelsberg, known as Devil's Mountain, rises from Berlin's landscape as a peculiar blend of history and art. Built from wartime rubble, this 80-meter mound offers panoramic views across the city and stands on the remnants of a Nazi military college.
During the Cold War, its strategic height proved ideal for U.S. spies, who, alongside British and French allies, erected antennas to monitor Soviet and East German communications. William McGowan, a former American soldier, recalls the intense surveillance efforts aimed at providing Western Europe with crucial warnings against potential attacks.
Now abandoned, Teufelsberg has found new life under a collective of artists. The site, with its graffiti-covered halls, tells the story of transformation, being repurposed from a Cold War espionage hub to a vibrant gallery of street art.

Teufelsberg: Berlin's Eerie War-torn Monument and Artistic Haven

‘Rouse tempers, goad and lacerate, raise whirlwinds’ were the words theatre critic Kenneth Tynan had pinned above his desk. Perhaps no writer of our times followed those instructions more obediently than the late Brian Sewell, who died ten years ago today.
Called by the Guardian ‘Britain’s most famous and controversial art critic’, Sewell, who wrote mainly for the Evening Standard, never seemed far away from trouble. According to Brian’s memoir, he was reportedly spat at and thumped by RA exhibition-organiser Norman Rosenthal, received a black eye from one young painter – ‘the blow so heavy that it disrupted sight for several weeks’ – and was beaten over the head by a Bond Street art dealer with a wet umbrella (‘clammily unpleasant but, unfurled, an ineffective weapon’).
Sewell was lampooned for his snobbishness, his homosexuality and his unbelievably posh and prim way of speaking (‘You’ve had elocution lessons!’ boys hissed at him, inaccurately, at school). He was once attacked in an open letter, signed by 35 luminaries of the arts world, denouncing his ‘dire mix of sexual and class hypocrisy, intellectual posturing and artistic prejudice’. None of this seemed to knock him back or chasten him in any way. ‘Nothing matters more than intellectual probity,’ he once declared, ‘and on that altar the critic must sacrifice even his closest friends.’
Many of us knew him as an edgy, dangerous chat-show guest – openly inveighing against Tracy Emin and conceptual art, dismissing Victoria Beckham as a ‘common little bitch’ to an open-mouthed Alan Titchmarsh. He was also a dream panellist on Have I Got News for You, needling the other guests, frequently dissolving into giggling fits. He was lofty, cherubic, mischievous, camp, slightly sinister and, in his disdain, deadly serious. ‘Art history,’ he wrote, ‘is not merely the disciplined recounting of dates and documents, but an adventure into the spirit and humanity of man.’
There was much more to Brian Sewell than the media caricature he played upon, as his two-volume autobiography, Outsider – Always Almost: Never Quite, made clear. He was the bastard son of Peter Warlock (the kind of minor English composer Radio 3 used to make programmes about, who committed suicide before his son’s birth), and was brought up by a bigamous, unloved stepfather and a mother he suspected of having sold sexual favours to pay the bills.
Sewell, a not-so-lapsed Catholic (in his youth he had plans to become an Roman Catholic priest), was also a firm believer in assisted dying: ‘I can think of no more loving act of friendship than that push.’ Having thrived chastely in the army during National Service, he was a great advocate for that too:
Only a fool could do two years National Service and resent it as a waste of time… If I am now capable of making worthwhile moral judgements, it is because I was for two brief years a soldier of sorts, not because I am an art historian, a lapsed Conservative, an agnostic Christian.
His passion for art began early – by the age of 8, he said, ‘there was not a major museum or art gallery in London I did not know.’ Awarded a place to study history at Oxford, he felt instead the ‘overwhelming siren call of the Courtauld Institute’ and went off to pursue history of art under Anthony Blunt. Blunt was unmasked as a Soviet spy and traitor by Margaret Thatcher in 1979, a time when Sewell turned from protégé to protector and virtually became Blunt’s spokesman. He remained eternally grateful to his mentor, crediting Blunt with ‘transforming the underfunded, academically obscure and scarcely reputable Institute into a school of art history that would rival, equal and surpass all the schools […] long established in Germany and central Europe.’ The Courtauld Institute, he added, made most of its students ‘closed to any career that did not involve the further pursuit of art history.’
This, of course, tore him away from his vocation as a Catholic priest and left him with a sense of dilemma that never lifted. He would, he wrote, feel guilty if he wandered past the local Carmelite church ‘without nipping in for a quick genuflection and a dab of cold water’ but also loved fast cars, malicious gossip, promiscuous sexual encounters and a succession of dogs. ‘Dogs,’ wrote his editor Max Hastings, ‘are the only people for whom he feels unqualified enthusiasm.’
Politically a ‘natural conservative’, he stated his credo thus:
My Conservatism is rooted in the conviction that all men are not equal, and that were we all given an equal chance, we would achieve very different ends and again be unequal within a generation…
My Conservatism is rooted in philanthropy, in the conviction that none should starve on the streets, live, sleep or die there…
My Conservatism is rooted in the passionate belief that it is through education, cultural, classical and Christian, that men learn the ancient virtues and philosophical abstractions – justice, probity, generosity, nobility, gravity, forgiveness, pru

We need Brian Sewell more than ever

But the renowned site will have been either partially or fully closed for an astonishing 11 years if the strategy succeeds
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery would be fully reopen by 2031 under an “ambitious” new vision for the city centre venue.
If the five-year strategy from the Birmingham Museums Trust succeeds, the city’s cultural gem will have been either partially or fully closed for around 11 years.
The museum and art gallery (BMAG), next to Birmingham City Council House, closed in 2020 for essential maintenance works but partially reopened in 2022 for the Commonwealth Games.
READ MORE: Birmingham Labour’s flag position made clear as row enters council chamber
It then reopened in phases last year, with a number of spaces such as the Round Room Gallery welcoming members of the public for the first time in years.
But the majority of spaces in the attraction are still not in use.
The Trust said its vision was set out “within the context of the city council’s financial constraints and wider sector funding challenges”, adding it would take steps to secure alternative revenue streams.
It also wants to launch a large-scale “digitisation programme” to better connect all its sites with all of the communities of Birmingham.
The plan focuses on modernising infrastructure, including urgent restoration projects at key historic sites and a transformation of the Museum Collection Centre.
“Our museums are at a critical crossroads,” Sara Wajid and Zak Mensah, co- chief executives of Birmingham Museums Trust, said.
“This strategy is about resilience, reinvention and making sure Birmingham’s cultural treasures remain accessible and relevant to all.
“It is an unapologetically ambitious plan to invest in the city’s greatest cultural asset, to create a world class museum service.”
They added: “We are committed to fostering a more democratic, inclusive approach to heritage, ensuring that every community sees themselves reflected in our spaces and stories.”
The strategy was developed with recommendations from its citizens’ jury and “extensive” audience research, as well as support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
READ MORE: Birmingham BOXPARK plans for historic archway no longer going ahead
The Trust operates nine sites, including BMAG, Birmingham Science Museum, Aston Hall, Blakesley Hall and the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter.
It also manages a collection of over a million objects and specimens covering art, human history, science and industry and natural science on behalf of Birmingham City Council.
Last year, a council report said previous repairs and maintenance at BMAG “highlighted the need” for essential refurbishment works to be undertaken in order to enable a full reopening.
Approval was being sought at the time to submit a ‘stage one’ bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund of £9m, which would go towards a total project in the sum of around £10m.
“While the electrical and essential remedial works addressed infrastructure repairs, many galleries have not had investment in their fabric for 20 to 50 years and the electrical rewiring works have revealed new challenges,” the report said.
These included issues with gallery walls, ceilings and floors, it continued.
“In some behind-the-scenes examples, the collections storage and facilities used by staff and volunteers are in an even poorer state of repair,” the report added.

Major Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery full reopening update revealed

For long, memes have been dismissed as fleeting jokes or humorous fragments of digital life. Yet they have also mirrored our collective psyche, politics, and emotions with uncanny precision. Now, memes have entered the gallery space as objects of serious artistic and cultural reflection.
At the Media Majlis Museum at Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q), the first university museum in the Arab world dedicated to exploring journalism, communication, and media, this transformation takes centrestage in an exhibition, ‘Memememememe’, on view until December 4.
A new lens on memes
Curated by Jack Thomas Taylor and Amal Zeyad Ali, the show gathers artists from Qatar, the region, and beyond to highlight how memes serve as cultural barometers, emotional shorthand, and tools of political commentary. Organised around four themes such as mass, length, time, and volume, the exhibition examines how memes spread and measure our collective thought.
“As a university museum integrated in NU-Q’s academic mission, the Media Majlis blends scholarship, art, and media to make a fuller sense of the world we live in,” said Marwan M Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northwestern Qatar. “Memememememe takes something we encounter every day-memes-and asks us to look deeper at how they shape the way we think, connect, and communicate.”
The exhibition, in the words of the director Alfredo Cramerotti, invites visitors to pause and examine memes as “seemingly trivial fragments that profoundly shape how we perceive and navigate our world.”
Global rise of meme exhibitions
Globally, in 2021, the online humour platform 9GAG in Hong Kong opened a meme museum with memes becoming part of how people communicate. It made the visitors relive internet history in 4D. Showcasing over 100 memes, the museum featured seven themed zones centred around the ‘Troll Face,’ ‘Doge,’ ‘Disaster Girl’ and more. A ‘Meme Me’ photo booth and get a temporary tattoo at the “Memeingful Tattoo Station’ and “Beyond the Meme” sensory 4-D interactive experience were part of the show. However, the Museum of the Moving Image in New York is one of the first museums dedicated to the art, technology and social impact of film, television and digital media. It houses the nation’s largest collection of moving image artefacts, screens hundreds of films annually and offers education programmes. In the past , it has held exhibitions showcasing images of memes as well. In 2019, India, too, has seen an exhibition on meme culture as a relevant art form. A series of exhibitions, one such titled “Meme Regime 2.0”, was organised by psychology graduate and self-proclaimed artist Anuj Nakade, who has been working on memes since 2007. A picture of Doge (a Shiba Inu species of dog) on which he had pasted a chef’s hat and written ‘Onion-cut much fry wow’ in colourful text was one of his first meme artworks.
Meanwhile, the Qatar show’s centrepiece, Jeroen van Loon’s Permanent Data (2020), stretches across 12 kilometres of fibre-optic cable inscribed with both the Gutenberg Bible and thousands of YouTube comments on data loss. It poses a stark question: what survives of our digital culture in the long run? Christine Wang’s Sarcastic Willy Wonka (2020) reimagines a viral meme as an acrylic painting, questioning the absurdity of digital culture when translated into the permanence of canvas. Qatari artist Alia Leonardi’s dnd, still online, still alive (2025) uses embroidered fabric to capture internet-born coping mechanisms like bed rotting and doom scrolling. In her hands, the language of memes collides with the tactile weight of manual craft, reframing online escapism as resistance.

Memes in a museum: Internet culture finds its place as art

CDLH said the substantial property investment at 193–199 Bath Street “represents a rare opportunity to acquire a well-positioned, mixed-use property in one of Glasgow’s busiest commercial and leisure areas”.
The agent said: “Situated on Bath Street, close to Sauchiehall Street and Charing Cross, the location benefits from heavy footfall, excellent public transport links, and proximity to major city attractions and business hubs.
“The lower ground floor is occupied by Bunker Bar, a long-established and well-known name in Glasgow’s hospitality scene. With a strong local following, themed nights, and consistent trade, the bar provides a stable rental stream.
“The business is unaffected by the sale and will continue to operate under the lease agreement that is in place.”
Tenants listed include Dawncrest Limited, Ecosse Art Limited, and Watermans Legal Limited.
Read More:
“These floors are suitable for letting to creative businesses, freelancers, professional practices, healthcare, co-working operators, or could be refurbished to create event spaces or meeting rooms.”
The agent said: “The asset has been managed to gain vacant possession on upper floor space over the short term, to enable redevelopment.
“Given its central location and traditional building style, the property lends itself well to redevelopment into residential apartments or student accommodation.
“Bath Street is surrounded by hotels, university buildings, and major entertainment venues, making it ideal for short-term or long-term living solutions.”
It added: “Alternatively, the space could be transformed into a serviced aparthotel or serviced apartments, targeting business travellers, tourists, or extended-stay guests.
“While change of use would require planning permission, the building is in a zone where mixed-use and residential redevelopment is generally supported by the local authority. In addition, the top floor has historical consent for residential use.
“The city’s ongoing demand for both residential accommodation and flexible short stay lodging, makes this an attractive repositioning opportunity.”
CDLH said: “Whether retained as a mixed-use investment, or transformed into residential or serviced apartments, this property offers significant income potential and capital growth opportunity.
The premises have been placed on the market at offers over £3.25 million.

City restaurant and art gallery building put up for sale

To get the lowdown, I spoke to award-winning interior designer and artist Lana Dullaghan, who has just launched a bespoke Art Advisory Service. Dullaghan insists the process should be fun and meaningful – but she also has some firm ground rules to keep you on track.
Before hammer meets nail, it’s all about agreeing on the overall feel. “First things first: what’s the vibe?” Dullaghan laughs. If one of you gravitates towards Scandi minimalism while the other is into 1970s boho maximalism, don’t panic. “Opposites can attract beautifully,” she explains, but stresses the importance of doing some prep work: gather pictures, colour swatches, even scraps of wallpaper. A shared mood board can help you find common ground.
When it comes to the art itself, Dullaghan is adamant that a gallery wall should be more than decorative. “It should be part history, part ‘us right now’.” That might mean mixing heirlooms, souvenirs, letters, or postcards with more current snapshots of your life together.
“Think about the stories behind each piece and how they reflect your relationship.” And, yes, brutal honesty is encouraged: admit if there’s something you really can’t live with, but make sure there’s space for both of your passions.
If the budget allows, Dullaghan also suggests commissioning something bespoke from a local artist: “That way, you’ll always have a piece that’s unique to you as a couple.”
My Favourite Room - Orlaith Donlon
Once you’ve agreed on the pieces, the practicalities begin. Dullaghan recommends laying everything out on the floor first to get a sense of balance and spacing. Painter’s tape on the wall can also help you visualise the shape before committing. “Balance is key: mix big pieces with small ones, and keep gaps even, ideally between 5-10cm,” she says. To anchor the wall, choose a large focal point, like a striking painting or a photo of the two of you. What about frames? “Frames are like shoes – they can make or break the outfit!” Dullaghan suggests mixing vintage and modern styles for an eclectic feel, or keeping everything uniform for a cleaner, more polished look. For canvases, sometimes it’s best to skip the frame altogether for a more relaxed effect.
Finally, the fun bit: hanging it all. Start with the largest piece and work outwards, using a level to keep things straight. Don’t forget the personal touches; a pressed flower from your first date, framed ticket stubs, or a shelf with travel trinkets are what make your gallery wall truly yours.

Home help: I’ve just moved in with my partner and we both love art. How do we create a gallery wall that blends our tastes?

ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. (AP) — Anne Pace has been hearing about Dog Mountain for years, but until earlier this month, had never made a trip to the park.
“I really wanted to see this place,” she said, during a visit to the grounds with her one-year-old border collie, Tam. “I put a note up for my previous border collie. He was my best buddy.”
Set on 150 acres tucked away on a hillside in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, Dog Mountain has become a destination for dog lovers looking to explore nature, take in art, or pay tribute to a pet.
The park was created 25 years ago by Vermont folk artist Stephen Huneck and his wife, Gwen, and features hiking trails, swimming ponds, an art gallery and a Dog Chapel where visitors can add to the thousands of photos and notes to pets that cover the chapel walls.
“It is absolutely breathtaking. That’s a lot of love when you think about each picture that’s here,” said Vanessa Hurley, who was visiting with her husband and two dogs from Ohio. “Dogs and cats both, they just bring so much enjoyment to our lives,” she said.
Inspired by the bond he shared with his dogs, Huneck wanted to create a space where other animal lovers could celebrate their beloved pets, gallery manager Pam McCann said.
“Dog Mountain is really a pilgrimage place and a sanctuary,” she said.
Huneck’s sculpture, prints and furniture are featured in the gallery and scattered throughout the park, including inside the chapel he built himself. With black labs and golden retrievers carved into the ends of each pew and images of his own dog, Sally, in the stained-glass windows, his love of dogs is evident in every detail.
Scott Ritchie and his wife, Julie, have been traveling the country in an RV with their three large dogs and thought Dog Mountain would be the perfect place for them to stretch their legs. They enjoyed it so much on their first visit, they decided to come back the next day.
“It’s very rare you see something like this anywhere. We’ve been traveling all over the U.S. for five and a half months. Just a beautiful area,” he said.
McCann says the park was made for visitors like Ritchie.
“That’s what it’s for, people who really care and people who are very connected to everything around them,” she said. “Including the animals that they are the guardians of.”

A massive mountain park in Vermont celebrates the bond between dogs and their humans

As Los Angeles county’s new $720m art museum building nears completion, it’s still haunted by a single, vexing question: how do you hang art in a gallery where every single wall is made of massive slabs of concrete?
Designed by Peter Zumthor, a prizewinning Swiss architect, the new building at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Lacma) has sparked controversy in the art world since its initial designs were made public in 2013.
The monolithic concrete structure, which has been compared with a freeway overpass and an “amoebic pancake”, was built to replace four older Lacma buildings, which were torn down to make room for the stylish newcomer. The building will hold a rotating selection from Lacma’s permanent collection of more than 150,000 art objects from around the globe.
The creation of the new gallery space has been marked by unusual drama and contention. One of Lacma’s major donors publicly broke with the museum as a result of conflict over how the permanent collection would be displayed. The construction site, which borders the LaBrea Tar Pits, is famous for the ancient fossils preserved in bubbling tar. Building a gigantic concrete building on tar-filled land in an earthquake-prone region caused additional costs and delays: thirteen sabre tooth tiger skulls were uncovered during construction.
As the estimated cost of the project rose by nearly $100m, Zumthor, the star architect, publicly distanced himself from the results, saying he had repeatedly been forced to “reduce” his design, and that the experience had convinced him to never again work in the US.
The building, which was initially conceived as an all-black structure evoking a tar pit or an oil spill, will now remain the raw gray of unadorned concrete.
On Thursday, Lacma’s CEO, Michael Govan, who has championed the divisive project for nearly two decades, gave an early tour of the new space to a group of journalists, including some who have publicly criticized the building’s design. The building, named the David Geffen Galleries after its largest donor, will officially open in 2026.
View image in fullscreen Michael Govan, the CEO of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, has spent nearly two decades defending his vision for a hulking concrete gallery designed by a star architect. Photograph: Gary Leonard/Museum Associates/LACMA
Outside, the structure resembles a gleaming dinosaur egg on squat concrete legs, with a long tail of a gallery that curves over Wilshire Boulevard, allowing visitors to enter on both sides of the street. Inside, the building is all hulking concrete surfaces and curving walls of windows that let in the southern California sun – a striking but controversial choice for a museum, since paintings and drawings are typically kept out of direct sunlight.
Govan defended the wraparound windows as essential for giving the museum a sense of place; he wanted visitors to “know you’re in Los Angeles – these collections are in Los Angeles”.
The CEO led a crowd of journalists into one of the gallery’s multiple entrances, which is at the top of a daunting flight of concrete steps. The museum CEO loves stairs, he explained: the only exercise he gets is climbing Lacma building stairs and pacing while talking on the phone.
As Govan walked the journalists through the sinuous galleries, he was energetic, full of quotations and anecdotes about Zumthor, his star architect. Zumthor was not there.
Govan noted that the sleek leather benches in the sunlit galleries were only there as temporary place-holders: Zumthor had requested red-brown leather benches stuffed with duck feathers, which had yet to be installed.
When asked to respond to the many criticisms of the project, the CEO was defensive. The “whole idea” of the space “was a new idea, right, so you can’t – no one’s ever experienced this before”, he said. “That is the spirit of experimentation. That proof will be in the final results – of whether it works, and how the public responds to it.”
View image in fullscreen The building was designed by the prizewinning Swiss architect Peter Zumthor and has sparked controversy in the art world. Photograph: Iwan Baan
Opposition to Zumthor’s evolving design had been fierce. Some of the most dedicated critics of “the blob” hated it so much they held an alternative design competition and bought full-page newspaper ads in protest.
But to Govan, his building is not just a new gallery: it’s a fundamentally new way of experiencing art, an attempt “to reinvent art history for the 21st century”.
The space was designed to be “non-hierarchical”, Govan said. He did not want to organize the museum’s permanent collection by time period or geography or type of art: he recalled telling Zumthor that “I don’t want anyone in the front.”
In practice, this means that all of the gallery space is on a single floor, and the layout of the rooms is unpredictable and confusing to navigate.
“The building itself really avoids linear histories or linear paths,” Govan said. “The remit

Modern marvel or concrete ‘blob’? Inside LA’s divisive $700m art gallery

It’s that time of year again. As the crowds grow, historic Italian cities and museums become the setting for a You’ve Been Framed-style sequence of absurdist moments. Last year it was a young woman embracing a (replica) Giambologna statue in the streets of Florence. This year the Uffizi gallery, guardian of Florentine art, has been defiled as a man posed for a photo in front of a portrait of Ferdinando de’ Medici. While imitating the hand-on-hip, baton-wielding pose of this scion of the soon-to-be-extinct Medici family, he slipped and put his hand through the canvas. This comes shortly after an incident in a Verona museum, where a tourist sat on an artwork in the form of a crystal chair, also for a photo, and shattered it.
View image in fullscreen A barbarian horde? … A tourist damages a painting at the Uffizi gallery, Florence, in images taken from an exclusive video by TG1. Photograph: Independent Photo Agency Srl/Alamy
The Uffizi’s director says it will now take action against the swarm of visitors “coming to museums to make memes or take selfies for social media … We will set very precise limits, preventing behaviour that is not compatible with the sense of our institutions and respect for cultural heritage.” But is it really fair to see everyone who takes a selfie with a painting, or shares their travels on social media, as part of a barbarian horde intent on destroying civilisation? If so, the battle is lost.
Judging how other people experience art in museums is a dubious activity. Just because someone adopts a silly pose for a selfie does not mean they are an idiot the rest of the time – they might be an overexcited PhD student doing a thesis on the last days of the Medici. Hypothetically.
Last year, I spent a long time in front of one of the Uffizi’s greatest treasures, The Birth of Venus by Botticelli, and the whole time people were taking selfies with it. They did so responsibly and politely: taking turns, not hogging. And none objected to my getting in the way so I could stare at Venus’s pearly skin or the waves that are spurts of sperm.
1:10 Palazzo Maffei releases CCTV footage of tourists breaking crystal-covered chair – video
And while I don’t do selfies, I snap away on my phone – I’ve got scores of Uffizi pics, and I was told off for taking photos last year in the church of Santo Spirito. To the custodian, I was a tourist idiot, never mind that most of my snaps were of architectural details of this Brunelleschi masterpiece.
It would be pure snobbery to assume anyone is failing to appreciate art simply because their enjoyment includes, or is even dominated by, one of the most common ways 21st-century people structure all their experiences. There were plenty of old-style cultural tourists, in the 19th and 20th centuries, who trudged from one landmark to another clutching Baedeker guidebooks but not feeling very much about what they saw. Who’s to say today’s phone-clutching Botticelli fans don’t appreciate more? The history of tourism is a history of fads, absurdities and ignorance, yet it is also a culturally uplifting experience. One thing’s for sure: the guy who the Uffizi now hopes will be prosecuted won’t forget that portrait of Fernando de’ Medici in a hurry.
As a child, I believed the replica of David outside the Palazzo Vecchio was the real thing. So what? Millions of people visit Italy. We see art in between pizzas and ice cream, misunderstand a lot of what we see, must look to locals like morons. But locals too can get confused by the sheer cultural overload – last year in Florence, a charming bar owner informed me that Michelangelo’s painting of God creating Adam was in the nearby Brancacci Chapel.
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Are tourists ruining Florence? Balls. I mean the Medici balls, or palle, their coat of arms that is all over Florence. In its shadow, generations of visitors come and go and the city adeptly changes to accommodate them, without ever losing its heart. Once every tourist ate Eggs Florentine, but now you would be laughed at for ordering it. Everything must change so that everything can stay the same. The occasional selfie disaster won’t spoil the incredible Italian art legacy. It’s just another twist in the grand tour, the most ridiculous and sublime experience many of us will ever have.

‘I’ve been told off for taking snaps too’: our critic on the selfie-taking crackdown at the Uffizi gallery

Instagram and TikTok are obsessed with the latest innovation in TVs — Samsung’s The Frame TV. If you’re wondering why, it’s because this smart TV does more than stream Netflix. This stealthy Samsung TV doubles as an art gallery, transforming from a blank black box into your home version of The Met or MoMA.
Rather than pay more than $1,000 to enjoy this experience at home, you can save 25% on the internet’s favorite TV. A 43-inch, open-box model of the Samsung Frame TV is now available for only $749.99 (regularly $999) while inventory lasts. It’s available in other sizes as well, and Cult of Mac readers can take an extra $100 off the 55-inch model with code THEFRAME.
Samsung’s The Frame: Get the internet’s favorite TV for less
Let’s face it: Apple is never going to make a stylish, futuristic TV set. Samsung’s sleek new The Frame might just be the next best thing, though.If you’re tired of the space your blank TV screen takes up in your bedroom or living room, you’ll love how The Frame gives you an art gallery experience at home. Turn on Art Mode and Samsung’s magical QLED 4K screen will display 2,500-plus curated works of art from artists like da Vinci, Kahlo and Monet. Or you can set it to display personal photos of your pet or family.
Art Mode really gives your Samsung TV the museum feel, reducing glare and providing lifelike art viewing. Its matte, antireflection display mimics the look of real paper or canvas. So, whether you choose to display family vacation photos or your favorite Impressionist artworks, they will show up in vibrant, exquisite detail. (Important note: You will need to pay separately for full access to the Samsung Art Store, which provides all the artwork.)
Gorgeous streaming video and images on a QLED 4K screen
When you’re not enjoying your home art gallery, The Frame TV from Samsung streams video from your favorite platforms via its TizenOS interface. Watch Sunday football or The Perfect Couple in crisp, vivid detail, and listen to the game or a podcast with immersive sound. You can even exercise at home with a virtual trainer.
You can grab this Samsung smart TV at a discount because it’s an open-box item. But that doesn’t mean it’s used. It may have had customer contact and signs of extra handling, but it’s undergone verification to ensure it’s still in new working condition. Plus, it comes with a one-year warranty.
Save on Samsung’s The Frame TV
Why go to The National Gallery when you can enjoy the museum experience at home? Grab this 43-inch class 2024 open-box The Frame TV by Samsung for just $749.99. It’s available in larger sizes, too. And you can get an exclusive $100 discount on the 55-inch model with by entering code THEFRAME at checkout. Act now while supplies last!
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