Hadani Ditmars

Storied media arts centre launches emergency fundraising appeal to avoid closure

Vivo Media Arts Centre has been a cornerstone of the new media community in Vancouver, throughout Canada and internationally since 1973

Filmpreview

New documentary gives E.J. Hughes, painter of lyrical Canadian landscapes, his due

“The Painted Life of E.J. Hughes” is premiering in Vancouver as interest in Hughes’s life and work grows among Canadian collectors and institutions

Possible medieval artefacts, discovered at Canadian thrift store, will form basis of university archaeology class

Students at a Vancouver university will analyse the designs and materials with a view to identifying where and when the items originate from

Prizesnews

Sculptor Brian Jungen wins top Canadian art prize

The $C100,000 Audain Prize for the Visual Arts recognises the achievements of artists from Canada’s westernmost province, British Columbia

Vancouver Art Gallery selects architects for second attempt at new building

After abandoning a costly design by Swiss starchitects, the museum has picked Vancouver-based Formline Architecture and Urbanism and Toronto-based KPMB Architects to take on the project

How AI-trained robots are helping to root out fake paintings tied to a notorious forgery case

The Norval AI tool is being used to determine the authenticity of works alleged to by the Canadian artist Norval Morrisseau

How the restoration of ancient Babylon is drawing tourists back to Iraq

Work on the Temple of Ninmakh and walls at the Ishtar Gate is nearing completion at the Mesopotamian metropolis, a victim of centuries of damage and neglect

‘Exceptional importance’: drought reveals ancient tombs at Iraq’s Mosul Dam

The 2,300-year-old tombs were unearthed following a significant decline in water levels

Claws for celebration: Canada’s first cat museum launching with Montreal pop-up exhibition

After the museum’s fur-st show, founder Aqeela Nahani hopes to open a purr-manent space in 2026

Ancient artefacts from sunken city lifted out of Mediterranean near Alexandria

A selection of the objects, some dating back 2,000 years, is now on view at the Alexandria National Museum

Relocation of popular public sculpture called off after Vancouver residents claim it would block their views

The dispute over the future location of “Trans Am Rapture” has prompted duelling petitions, with the municipal government calling off the reinstallation to find a new site

Discovery of ancient Coptic city ‘enhances our understanding of early Christianity in Egypt’

The city, which dates from between the third and seventh centuries, includes residences, tombs and two churches

New Canadian art museum seeks to connect disparate disciplines and a university campus

Simon Fraser University near Vancouver will open its new Marianne and Edward Gibson Art Museum in September

Key player in Norval Morrisseau forgery ring pleads guilty

James White, a prominent member in the vast network, pleaded guilty to forgery and trafficking

Vancouver Art Gallery to lay off around 30 employees

The layoffs come amid a $23.4m deficit in the last fiscal year and represent around 20% of unionised employees

Missing Tom Thomson painting at centre of $8m lawsuit returned to owner

The small landscape painting was consigned to a Toronto auction house a decade ago, but had not been seen since 2021

The legacy of the Baghdad Modern Art Group is explored in first major US show

The exhibition at the Hessel Museum of Art includes works by artists such as Dia al-Azzawi, Jewad Selim and Mohammed Ghani Hikmat

National Gallery of Canada receives gift of 61 works valued at $16.8m

The donation, from the Vancouver-based collector and businessman Bob Rennie, is the largest in the gallery's history

‘I feel at home here’: Michael Rakowitz’s Acropolis Museum exhibition locates the lines between stories of lost heritage

The Iraqi-American artist’s work has been brought into dialogue with ancient artefacts in a first for the Athens-based museum

Canada’s art market takes a nationalist turn amid trade war with US

In addition to keeping the Liberal party and Mark Carney in power, Donald Trump's threats are leading collectors and institutions to prioritise Canadian art through shows and acquisitions

Exhibitionsinterview

Wafaa Bilal: ‘I see democracy slowly eroding now’

On the occasion of his solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Iraqi American artist reflects on how his work grapples with the personal impact of political power

Canadian art museum gets $36m funding boost for expansion from provincial government

The McMichael Canadian Art Collection, the country’s largest museum devoted to Canadian art, has also received $18m from the federal government toward the renovation and expansion project

Architect Lina Ghotmeh to design Qatar Pavilion at Venice Biennale

Lebanon-born Ghotmeh—whose other projects include a forthcoming redesign of the Western Range galleries at the British Museum—is known for her work addressing themes such as history and nature

‘It’s all about tenderness’: Gazan artist known for her portraits reportedly killed by Israeli airstrike

Dina Khaled Zaurub was beloved for her charcoal and graphite drawings of Palestinians who have died as a result of attacks by the Israel Defense Forces

Patients can be prescribed visits to Emily Carr exhibition under new Vancouver Art Gallery mental health initiative

As part of Canada’s national nature prescription programme, healthcare professionals can send visitors to the gallery in support of their psychological wellbeing

Crime news

Public sculpture destroyed in apparent arson attack in Toronto

The public art piece in the shape of a canoe, by Douglas Coupland, was a tribute to the famed Group of Seven painter Tom Thomson

Vancouver Art Gallery parts ways with director and chief executive Anthony Kiendl

Kiendl’s departure comes a few months after the gallery pulled the plug on an ambitious but costly building project it had already spent C$60m on

‘First museum in Europe dedicated to contemporary Palestinian art’ to open in Edinburgh

The Palestine Museum US’s director hopes the institution will challenge “dominant narratives and showcase the rich cultural heritage of Palestine”

‘The missiles will not erase his mark on our hearts’: Palestinian artist killed in Israeli strikes

Dorgham Quraiqi, was working with the UK charity Hope and Play, when the remains of his house were bombed

Ancient Mesopotamian clay tablets discovered in Iraq reveal intricate details of how empire was governed

The finds, which also include dozens of clay sealings, contain details of a metric system used to measure resources, as well as evidence of a cult of personality around a particularly charismatic ruler