Museums & Heritage

Stories brought to life: the National Portrait Gallery's latest virtual reality venture is a triumph of immersive storytelling

The London gallery and Frameless Creative, a leading maker of immersive experiences, have combined to create an unforgettable touring experience, with its first location at Salford Quays

Van Gogh Museum claims it could be ‘forced to close’ amid funding feud with Dutch state

The museum has raised concerns about the safety of its collection, visitors and staff

France returns three human skulls to Madagascar—including one that may have belonged to a king

The restitution is the first to take place under a 2023 French law on the return of human remains

Campaign group threatens legal action over University of Leicester's trans-inclusive museums guidance

Freedom in the Arts claims the guidance is “misleading”, but others say it plays an important role in protecting transgender people against discrimination

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

The US’s largest Raphael exhibition is opening at the Met next year

“Raphael: Sublime Poetry” is being curated by Carmen Bambach, who organised the Met’s hugely popular Michelangelo exhibition in 2017-18

Artists and scholars respond to White House’s list of Smithsonian grievances

Amy Sherald, the historian Ibram X. Kendi and others personally attacked in the Trump administration’s list of reasons for why the president “is right about the Smithsonian” hit back

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

US museums urged to stop lobbying against Nazi loot restitution bill

A bipartisan group of Senators has proposed amendments to the Hear Act of 2016, but some powerful organisations are concerned the changes go too far

‘We’ve faced immense new pressures’: Shanghai museum director on the challenges—and benefits—of going free entry

Rockbund Art Museum faced complaints after first making the change, but its director says audiences have since been “transformed”

Tens of thousands sign petition to stop loan of ‘extremely fragile’ Bayeux Tapestry to UK

The appeal references alleged warnings from textile restorers that a move could risk damaging the 1,000-year-old work’s embroidered linen fabric

Getty Foundation awards $2.6m in grants to preserve Black visual arts archives

Libraries, museums and archives throughout the US will use the funds to make their collections more accessible through digitisation and—at least in one case—a VR game

Dallas Museum of Art picks director wrapping up another institutional expansion to guide it through campus overhaul

Brian Ferriso will inaugurate the expansion of the Portland Art Museum on 20 November and start his new job in Dallas on 1 December

Trump accuses Smithsonian of being too focused on ‘how bad slavery was’

The US president’s criticisms come as the White House begins a review of the Smithsonian’s programmes and exhibitions

San Francisco’s de Young Museum opens revamped Native American art galleries

The spaces are curated by a team of predominantly Native curators, with a special focus on bridging historical and contemporary works

US Senator calls for investigation into MoMA trustee Leon Black’s business ties to Jeffrey Epstein

The push by Senator Ron Wyden comes amid partisan disputes over the nature and extent of Epstein’s dealings with the rich and powerful

Barbara Hepworth sculpture to remain in UK following over 2,000 public donations

The fundraising campaign was also supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Art Fund

London's Dulwich Picture Gallery prepares to reveal £5m redevelopment

The space, which is the first purpose-built public art gallery in England, will open its newly transformed sculpture garden to the public early next month

Verdi's villa—where composer wrote 'La traviata'—taken over by Italian state

The heirs could no longer afford the upkeep of the dilapidated building, so the government has stepped in

Lost Maya stronghold against Spanish conquest discovered in Mexican jungle

Believed to be Sac Balam, the last stronghold of rebellious Lacandon Ch’ol Maya, the site sheds light on colonial resistance and Indigenous survival strategies

More than 200 geoglyphs discovered in Nazca Desert with help of AI

The newly found Nazca Lines include depictions of human sacrifice and a priest carrying a human head

Glasgow art centre to reopen under new leadership after pro-Palestinian protest incident

The Scottish organisation, which has been closed since police were called to stop a planned takeover in June, has issued an apology to its community

White House launches review of Smithsonian museums and exhibitions

In a letter to the Smithsonian leader Lonnie G. Bunch, members of Trump’s administration said they want to “ensure alignment with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism”

‘Pornographic’ mermaid statue must be removed, Danish government confirms

The statue, which has faced considerable criticism in recent weeks, will not remain in Copenhagen, according to The Agency for Culture and Palaces

Comment | US museums are finally going bilingual: here's why it matters

In the past few years, art institutions across the country have been making a concerted effort to provide information about their collections and exhibitions in languages other than English—and it's a step that's worth celebrating

Revealed: the long-suppressed stories of the world’s oldest slave ship

Marine archaeologists, academics, film-makers and local descendants of enslaved people are working together to shed light on the infamous “Camargo” shipwreck

Mexico City’s Muac damaged during anti-gentrification protest

A rising movement calls for housing reform in Mexico’s largest and most expensive city, but vandalism by disruptive groups has weakened its cause

Ancient stone carvings uncovered on Hawaiian beach

The 600-year-old petroglyphs, depicting humans and abstract forms, are usually obscured by sand and have not been seen in their entirety since they were first discovered in 2016

Discoveries at site of Isaac Newton’s mother’s home shed new light on world he grew up in

A dig led by the National Trust and York Archaeology—on land very near to where the scientist was born—has uncovered a collection of domestic objects