Coverage of recent developments, announcements, and institutional activity shaping the contemporary art landscape.
Gallery Compass
Galleries across major art cities are moving away from single-night openings and adopting multi-stage launches with previews, timed walkthroughs, and structured press access.
Field Notes
New UK artist training programs are reshaping early-career routes into galleries and media.
How Artists Build
When time is stripped out, judgment collapses. When evaluation is rushed, mistakes surface publicly.
Field Notes
Tate signals a controlled handover. Maria Balshaw will step down in 2026 with funding secured, projects underway, and leadership transition already shaped.
Art Market Watch
A slowdown in top-end sales is pushing collectors to draw on art-backed credit far earlier, turning stored and displayed works into active financial tools.
Gallery Compass
In 2026, art events and galleries face fast-moving calendars, short media cycles, and dense cluster weekends. Structured, progressive visibility is now essential for sustaining attention before and after openings.
How Artists Build
The Serpentine x FLAG Prize introduces a long-term, high-stakes model for supporting emerging artists, pushing institutions, collectors, and practitioners to recalibrate ahead of the first selection in 2026.
How Artists Build
Emily Carr University launches a national Teen Art Contest tied to its centennial year, offering two full scholarships to its 2026 teen programs.
Field Notes
As the $1 billion Lucas Museum races toward its 2026 opening, the sudden loss of chief curator Pilar Tompkins Rivas throws control, community promises, and curatorial power into sharp focus.
Trends & Attention
Gen Z has moved product decisions into creator channels and private chats, pushing brands out of the spaces they once controlled. Launch campaigns, heritage, and polished ads fall behind real-time testing and creator-led verdicts.
Law & Politics
Four protesters were arrested after hurling crumble and custard at the Imperial State Crown display in the Tower of London, forcing a temporary shutdown and raising fresh questions over security and protest tactics.
Field Notes
A water leak damaging hundreds of research volumes in the Louvre’s Egyptian department has triggered a staff strike and renewed scrutiny of the museum’s fragile infrastructure.