Beirut’s Long-Awaited Home Works IV
On April 12, following months of delay, Beirut’s leading contemporary art organization, Ashkal Alwan, launched the fourth installment of Home Works, the groundbreaking arts forum that has become the benchmark for cultural discourse in West Asia. Held in venues throughout the Lebanese capital over eight days, the multidisciplinary program included... [more]

NS Harsha Wins Artes Mundi Prize
Indian artist NS Harsha was awarded the £40,000 (USD 78,900) Artes Mundi Prize at a gala ceremony held at the National Museum Cardiff, Wales, on April 24. Artes Mundi is the largest international art award in the UK and is granted every two years to an exceptional... [more]

Police Seize Artist’s Photographs of Naked Teenagers
On May 23, more than 20 photographs by acclaimed Australian photographer Bill Henson (see AAP 50) were seized by authorities from an exhibition about to open that night at the Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery in Sydney. The police raid was prompted by complaints filed by a child advocacy group alarmed by the invitations sent out for the show that featured an image of a naked... [more]

Leading Chinese Artists Donate New Works to Earthquake Aid Auction
As news reports of the devastating 8.0 magnitude Wenchuan earthquake on May 12 poured out of Sichuan province, artists and art institutions across China opened their wallets and their studio doors to provide aid to survivors. A set of hastily arranged charity auctions, including a section of Poly Auction’s Spring sale on May 28, brought together recent and older donated works by... [more]