Art Basel Qatar 2027’s artistic director and curatorial theme have been announced.
Art Basel has appointed curator and museum director Wassan Al-Khudhairi as artistic director of its 2027 Qatar edition, unveiling the curatorial theme “between / نیب”, conceived as a space for “encounter, exchange and fluidity.” Al-Khudhairi—founding director of Doha’s Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art—will shape the second edition of Art Basel Qatar following the fair’s inaugural 2026 launch in Doha’s M7 creative hub and Design District under artist Wael Shawky. The appointment reinforces Art Basel Qatar’s emphasis on artists and galleries from the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and the Global South, while continuing the fair’s experimental format that departs from traditional booth models in favor of more conceptually driven solo presentations and cross-cultural dialogue.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation named America’s 11 most endangered places.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has released its 2026 list of ‘America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places,’ framing this year’s selection around the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States and the founding principle that “all people are created equal.” The sites—spread across the country from New York and California to Alabama, Texas, and the Four Corners region—include locations tied to civil rights, immigration, LGBTQ+ history, women’s rights, and Indigenous heritage, such as the Stonewall National Monument, Philadelphia’s President’s House Site, the Women’s Rights National Historical Park, and California’s Angel Island Immigration Station. Now in its 38th year, the annual program aims to draw national attention to historically significant sites threatened by neglect, political pressures, environmental damage, redevelopment, or lack of funding, with each location receiving preservation support and increased public visibility through the designation.
Phillips’ sold-out evening sale of modern and contemporary art brought in $115.2 million.
Phillips’ 2026 Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in New York totaled $115.2 million, achieving a white-glove result—with all 41 offered lots sold after two works by Richard Prince and Albert Oehlen were withdrawn shortly before the auction. The sale finished near its $121.7 million high estimate and marked a 119% increase over the equivalent sale last year, driven by strong bidding across both blue-chip and contemporary artists, with more than half the lots carrying third-party guarantees. Highlights included a new auction record for Danish painter P.S. Krøyer, whose 1902 self-portrait sold for $1.29 million, alongside major results for works by Andy Warhol, Joan Mitchell, Gerhard Richter, Mark Bradford, Agnes Martin, Claude Monet, Jackson Pollock, and Salman Toor, reinforcing renewed momentum at the high end of the contemporary art market.
Ron Howard’s Richard Avedon documentary demonstrates that “you can be commercial and not a sellout.”
Ron Howard’s new documentary, Avedon, premiered as a Special Screening at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, tracing the life and influence of legendary photographer Richard Avedon. Produced by Imagine Entertainment and Fifth Season in association with the Richard Avedon Foundation, the film draws on previously unseen archival footage, behind-the-scenes recordings, and interviews with collaborators, artists, editors, and family members to examine Avedon’s evolution from his early years at Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue to politically engaged projects such as Nothing Personal with James Baldwin and In the American West. Critics have noted the documentary’s emphasis on Avedon’s artistic vision and cultural influence—spanning fashion, celebrity portraiture, civil rights, and American identity.
Giambattista Valli bought back his brand from Artémis.
Giambattista Valli has reacquired full ownership of his eponymous fashion house from Artémis, the Pinault family investment company that first took a minority stake in the brand in 2017 before increasing its ownership to more than 90% by 2021. The move ends nearly a decade of backing from Artémis, which helped expand the Paris-based couture house’s international presence, retail infrastructure, and ready-to-wear and haute couture operations, even as the brand recently canceled its Spring 2026 couture show amid an internal review focused on long-term sustainability. Founded in 2005, Giambattista Valli remains one of the few non-French maisons admitted to the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, with standalone stores in Paris and Milan and a reputation for dramatic couture silhouettes rooted in romanticism and craftsmanship.
Today’s attractive distractions:
Rashid Johnson has curated a sweeping summer group exhibition for Hauser & Wirth on Menorca.
Tilda Swinton will unveil a new work at the Guggenheim Bilbao for Dom Pérignon.
Miu Miu opened a jazz club in Tokyo.
Photographer Gordon Laing produced a new series on Apple’s three-decade-old QuickTake 100 “binocular” camera.
