Museums & Heritage

‘Marks that speak across time’: rock carvings and drawings discovered in Oman

A newly discovered archaeological site has revealed a massive rock face covered in art that is believed to be ancient

Former director of Rio’s Museu de Arte Moderna ordered to pay breach-of-contract fine

Shortly before his departure from the museum, Fábio Szwarcwald had publicly stated that it lacked fire insurance between 2006 and 2022, which the museum claims undermined its credibility

Shipwrecks linked to the ‘golden age of piracy’ discovered in the Bahamas

Three sunken pirate ships, one of which may have belonged to Henry Every, were recently found in Nassau Harbour

International organisations and Lebanese culture ministry issue warnings amid Israeli capture of Beaufort Castle and strikes on Tyre

Unesco has increased support following confirmed damage to protected archaeological sites across southern Lebanon

National Galleries of Scotland announces £56m funding boost for V&A East Storehouse-like gallery in Edinburgh

The Art Works is a central feature of the NGS’s 2026-30 strategic plan, which focuses on improving access to Scotland’s national art collection

Victoria and Albert Museum to bring Istanbul to London in upcoming exhibition

Charting the Turkish city's history through the Byzantine and Ottoman empires, the V&A claims that the show will be “the first exhibition in the UK to tell this story in full”

The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC receives largest gift in museum’s history

The Washington, DC institution has received a $15m gift from the Sherman Fairchild Foundation, the bulk of which will go to shoring up its finances, infrastructure, staffing, conservation and digital systems

New photography museum in Cincinnati foregrounds the medium’s democratic power

The new FotoFocus Center gives the city’s popular photography biennial a permanent presence and an inclusive mandate

Mexico City museum with world's richest collection of Kahlo and Rivera works reopens after years of controversy

The Museo Dolores Olmedo is welcoming visitors again after a six-year-long closure during which plans were floated to relocate its prized collection

New digital archive reconstructs Leonardo da Vinci manuscripts for the first time in four centuries

The director of the Museo Galileo, which has led the Leonardotheka project, says it sets a “compelling precedent for how cultural institutions can and must retain intellectual ownership of their digital endeavours”

Stoke-on-Trent—the UK's home of ceramics—seeks emergency funds for crumbling heritage

Without urgent action, “the unique value of the landscape could be lost forever”, city council’s chief executive warns

Miami Beach’s Bass Museum of Art hires Philippe Vergne as artistic director and chief curator

Vergne, who is currently the director of the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, previously held leadership roles at the Dia Art Foundation and Moca Los Angeles

Openingsfeature

Quentin Blake’s sprawling Centre for Illustration to launch in London

The hub, housed in complex of industrial buildings in north London, will showcase illustration and graphics by the celebrated British artist and many others

Gaudí’s Sagrada Família finally shakes off its ‘incompletable’ tag, as Pope prepares to inaugurate its tallest tower

Long considered forever unfinishable due to its extreme complexity and the loss of its architect’s original plans, the Barcelona basilica’s 14th tower has now been completed

Phoenix Art Museum gifted 185 works of Native American art

The acquisition, from the collection of William P. Healey, will form the basis of an exhibition opening at the museum in August

Chichén Itzá reopens after dispute with vendors that led to 13-day closure

A battle over new visitor facilities highlights tensions between tourism development and local livelihoods

Inside the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art's major expansion

The Arkansas museum now has 50% more space for its ever-expanding collection and art-and-wellness programming

The 2026 Whitney Biennial in five key themes

Many patterns emerge across the 56 participants’ works, from an interest in complicating our understandings of US history and interventionism, to new approaches to looking at and making images

Getty Center reveals details of upcoming campus renovations

In addition to replacing its famous tram, the museum will build a more inviting waiting area at the bottom of the hill and a new welcome hall at the top

French project uses AI to visualise how climate change will affect heritage sites

The tool in development analyses photographs and audio as well as meteorological and material data to create an augmented reality model

Whitney Museum workers rallied outside fundraising gala amid contract negotiations

Guests arriving at the recent Whitney Gala were greeted by members of UAW Local 2110 handing out pins and flyers as they seek their second labour contract

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts gifted collection of nearly 2,000 photographs

The gift, from the foundation established by the late collector Howard Stein and his wife Janet, boosts the museum’s photography holdings as it plans to open new galleries dedicated to the medium in 2027

Barrage of Russian missiles damages museums, library and theatre in Kyiv

Among the institutions that were hit are the National Art Museum of Ukraine and the National Chornobyl Museum, Ukraine’s culture ministry reports

Comment | The flaws in the plan to charge entry to British museums

The end of free universal museum entry risks deterring visitors and creating a two-tier system

Heir says Cezanne watercolour in Basel show was lost due to Nazi persecution

The 1888 work depicting Montagne Sainte Victoire was on loan to the Fondation Beyeler’s Cezanne exhibition, which closed Monday

Museumsfeature

Fee or free? How entry charges affect museums in the US

While some leaders in the sector say free entry is an ideal worth pursuing to widen access, others say it imperils institutions financially

‘Lost forever, all because of this new tax’: fears for UK church heritage as VAT relief ends

The end of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme leaves churches facing sudden cost increases, forcing vital repairs to be delayed or abandoned and placing artworks—from medieval carvings to rare murals—at growing risk

Controversy resurfaces in Colombia over treasure-filled San José shipwreck

Allegations of looting and lack of transparency plague the contested galleon that sank in 1708 laden with gold, silver and emeralds

Bill to build Smithsonian women’s museum fails in US congress amid disputes over Trump and trans rights

The previously popular bipartisan legislation was undone by Republican additions about “biological women” and allowing Trump to override its location on the National Mall

Chanel gives Centre Pompidou financial boost with new five-year partnership

The “commitment will strengthen Centre Pompidou’s work across access, scholarship, and the preservation of public knowledge” according to a statement