Museums & Heritage

Vast pre-Maya earthwork in Mexico is a map of the cosmos, archaeological analysis suggests

The 3,000-year-old ceremonial complex of Aguada Fénix in Tabasco was designed as a monumental “cosmogram”, according to new research

Penn Museum opens Native North America Gallery after two-year overhaul

The Philadelphia museum, located on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, has completely rethought the 2,000-sq.-ft gallery in collaboration with eight Indigenous curators

Philadelphia Art Museum taps former Metropolitan Museum leader after firing previous director

Daniel H. Weiss, who led the Met from 2015 to 2023, will succeed Sasha Suda, who is suing the Philadelphia Art Museum over the circumstances of her firing

British Museum stubs out controversial tobacco sponsorship deal

The move follows a recent report which described the partnership as a key part of the tobacco firm’s lobbying strategy

Collector of Beeple’s $69.3 million NFT work launches space in Singapore

Vignesh Sundaresan, who purchased Everydays: The First 5000 Days in 2021, has unveiled Padimai Art & Tech Studio—which opens with an exhibition made in collaboration with Olafur Eliasson

Rijksmuseum to host study exploring potential benefits of art for people with Parkinson’s

A leading neurologist is working with the Amsterdam museum to see if making or encountering art can help ease symptoms of the degenerative disease

Louvre closes gallery ‘until further notice’ citing structural problems

This latest blow for the Paris museum follows a report on its buildings which highlighted “particular fragility” in its Campana Gallery

Metropolitan Museum workers launch unionising effort

The new organising effort, with the Local 2110 chapter of the United Auto Workers, would create a union representing around 1,000 employees

Climate report from Getty’s PST Art programme urges cultural organisations to confront exhibitions’ impacts

The report is a significant step toward addressing the environmental sustainability of art world activities

Metropolitan Museum's new Condé M. Nast Galleries will put fashion at the forefront

Anna Wintour's efforts to "get out of the basement" have paid off as the Costume Institute prepares to take centre stage

Fast-rising Montana art organisation to take over century-old theatre

Bozeman-based Tinworks Art will start programming at the historic Rialto Theater with screenings of Matthew Barney’s neo-Western film “Redoubt”

Acquisitions round-up: an ‘exceptionally rare’ portrait of an enslaved person and two large-scale donations

Our pick of the latest gifts and purchases to enter institutional collections worldwide, including the enigmatic “Portrait of Frederick”

Portland Art Museum to unveil $116m transformation with Mark Rothko at its heart

After more than a decade of planning, the US state’s largest ever capital investment in the arts opens with a new pavilion named for Rothko and a gallery devoted to Black artists

With end of US government shutdown, National Gallery of Art and Smithsonian museums start reopening

Areas of the National Gallery of Art and parts of the Smithsonian were open to the public for the first time in more than a month on Friday

Art sector could collectively cut over five million tonnes of CO₂ a year, report suggests

Gallery Climate Coalition’s inaugural Stocktake Report shows the difference the art sector can make when it comes to the climate—but the next five years are crucial, says chair Frances Morris

Children curate exhibition of Clyfford Still works inspired by their reservation

A hundred students from the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation contributed to Clyfford Still Museum’s new show

Tate workers face in-work poverty, mental and physical health issues, union says—as strikes expected across UK

Following the announcement of week-long strikes at Tate galleries across the country, the Public and Commercial Services union has raised concerns about their members' welfare

Syrian officials issue—then delete—statement identifying ancient Roman statues stolen from Damascus National Museum

The country’s ministry of culture yesterday shared images of six nude sculptures of the goddess Venus via social media—but within hours the post had been removed

Art Gallery of Ontario gets gift of more than 450 works

The lion’s share of the donated pieces, from the late collectors Carol and Morton Rapp, are prints and photographs

A new hope: Lucas Museum of Narrative Art sets September 2026 opening date

The $1bn museum co-founded by the ‘Star Wars’ director George Lucas and his wife, Mellody Hobson, will open its futuristic doors next autumn in Los Angeles

Toronto’s Gardiner Museum, devoted to ceramics, reopens after $11m renovation

The museum now boasts a gallery dedicated to Indigenous ceramics, expanded education facilities and enough space to display around 40% of its collection

Artificial installation: artist hangs own AI-generated work in Welsh museum

The rogue print was on show at National Museum Cardiff for a few hours before it was spotted by staff

Fired director sues Philadelphia Art Museum

Sasha Suda claims in a lawsuit that she was terminated after she “clashed with a small, corrupt and unethical faction” of the museum’s board of trustees

Opening of Museum of West African Art in Nigeria delayed after protests

The official preview weekend for the museum in Benin City was disrupted when a group of protestors broke in

New York’s Studio Museum—known for championing Black artists—reopens in $300m new home

The legendary institution, which took seven years to build, reopens with an exhibition devoted to the works of Tom Lloyd

Peru’s mysterious ‘band of holes’ site may have been bustling marketplace

New analysis of the 1.5km-long site consisting of thousands of holes suggests they may have been used to measure and trade commodities

National Trust rejects pressure group’s claim that its buildings are ‘under-insured’

The UK charity has responded to a resolution put forward by Restore Trust, calling for its historic properties to be protected against ‘any eventuality’

Vatican Museums will return rare Indigenous kayak to Canada

The Vatican is working with the Canadian Catholic Church to return Indigenous artefacts

San Francisco Arts Commission votes to dismantle Vaillancourt Fountain

Decision comes just days after city planning department determined fountain eligible for National Register of Historic Places designation

Louvre’s €666m plans for new entrance ‘financially unsound’—and security should come first—auditor says

The much-anticipated report from the Cour des comptes points to issues with the management of the Paris museum and calls for a rethink of priorities