Art News Of The Week
Stories Every Artist And Art Lover Should Know
The art world has a lovely way of reminding us that there is always something new to discover. A forgotten artistic voice finds its way into the spotlight, a contemporary artist gets the opportunity to share years of work with a wider audience, or an exhibition opens a conversation that stays with us long after we have left the gallery.
This week, we are looking at stories that celebrate women shaping the art world in different ways. From a major exhibition revisiting the contributions of women Impressionists in the United States to exciting developments in contemporary photography and experimental art in Australia and Japan, there is plenty to explore. We also have an opportunity for women artists who have been thinking about sharing their work with Women In Arts Network.
Whether you are an artist looking for your next opportunity, an art enthusiast interested in discovering new exhibitions, or someone who simply enjoys keeping up with the creative community, here are five stories worth knowing from October 25 to October 31, 2026.
1. Minneapolis Institute Of Art Announces Major Exhibition Celebrating Women Impressionists
October 28, 2026 | Minneapolis, USA
When we think of Impressionism, names like Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir often come to mind. But women artists were also making remarkable contributions to the movement, developing their own approaches to painting and exploring subjects that deserve greater recognition. A major upcoming exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is bringing some of these artistic voices together.
Announced on October 28, Women Impressionists and the Land will bring together approximately 75 paintings, drawings, prints, and decorative artworks by pioneering women artists, including Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, Marie Bracquemond, and Blanche Hoschedé-Monet.
The exhibition takes a particularly interesting approach by looking beyond the domestic scenes traditionally associated with women Impressionists. Instead, it explores how these artists represented the natural world, bringing forests, waterways, farms, gardens, and parks into focus.
Through these works, visitors will have an opportunity to discover how women artists engaged with landscape painting, experimented with artistic techniques, and developed their individual creative identities during a period of significant change in European art.
The exhibition will also feature important loans from institutions including the Musée d’Orsay, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago. Three recently acquired works by Rosa Bonheur, Blanche Hoschedé-Monet, and Berthe Morisot will also be included.
For art lovers, this is an opportunity to revisit a familiar artistic movement through a different perspective. For women artists, it is an encouraging reminder of the importance of recognising, preserving, and exhibiting the contributions women have made to art history.
Women Impressionists and the Land will be on view at the Minneapolis Institute of Art from March 6 to June 20, 2027.
2. Just Over A Week Left To Submit To Cats, Dogs & Stories By Women In Arts Network
Open Call | Submission Deadline: November 9, 2026
Sometimes, the most meaningful artistic inspiration comes from the little companions who share our everyday lives. A familiar face waiting at the door, a playful moment captured in a photograph, or a memory of a beloved pet can all become the starting point for a beautiful artwork.
With just over a week left to submit, Women In Arts Network is inviting women and non-binary artists from around the world to participate in its virtual exhibition, Cats, Dogs & Stories.
The open call celebrates the many ways cats and dogs become part of our lives, memories, relationships, and creative imagination. Artists are welcome to interpret the theme in their own way. You could create a traditional animal portrait, explore the emotional connection between humans and their pets, or approach the subject through symbolism, storytelling, and imaginative compositions.
The opportunity is open to a wide range of visual art practices, including painting, photography, illustration, sculpture, ceramics, digital art, textiles, collage, and mixed media. Artists can submit up to three original artworks for consideration.
Selected artists will have their work presented in an international virtual exhibition, alongside opportunities for promotion through Women In Arts Network’s platforms. There is also an optional Artist Interview Feature for creatives who would like to share more about their artistic journey and the stories behind their work.
The open call welcomes women and non-binary artists aged 18 and above, from anywhere in the world. The submission fee is $15 for the virtual exhibition, with the interview feature available as an optional add-on.
If you have been waiting for an opportunity to share an artwork inspired by an animal you love, this might be a lovely one to consider. With submissions closing on November 9, there is still time to prepare your images and complete your application.
3. Atong Atem’s First Major Solo Exhibition Opens At The National Gallery Of Victoria
October 30, 2026 | Melbourne, Australia
There is something special about seeing an artist’s work brought together in a space where audiences can experience the full breadth of their creative journey. For South Sudanese-Australian artist Atong Atem, this October marks an important milestone with the opening of her first major solo exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV).
Titled Passage: The Art of Atong Atem, the exhibition brings together more than 65 works spanning the past decade of her practice. It offers an opportunity to explore the artist’s distinctive approach to portrait photography, self-representation, cultural memory, and storytelling.
Atem is particularly known for her vibrant photographic self-portraits, in which she uses textiles, elaborate costumes, paint, and symbolic objects to transform her body into a canvas. Her images draw inspiration from African studio photography, family archives, Catholic imagery, and science fiction, creating compositions that feel both deeply personal and visually imaginative.
Her practice also explores the relationship between identity, heritage, and belonging. Through her photographs, Atem reflects on her Dinka Bor cultural background, the experiences of the African diaspora in Melbourne, and the ways personal and collective histories continue to shape how we understand ourselves.
The exhibition includes a new commission created especially for NGV, alongside works that trace the development of her artistic practice. A fully illustrated monograph, produced in partnership with Thames & Hudson Australia, is also being released alongside the exhibition.
What makes this achievement particularly meaningful is the opportunity it creates for audiences to encounter Atem’s work beyond individual photographs shared in galleries or publications. Bringing together an extensive body of work allows visitors to understand the ideas, cultural references, and creative decisions that have shaped her practice over the years.
Passage: The Art of Atong Atem is on view at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia in Melbourne until June 14, 2027. Entry is free.
4. Mariko Mori Receives A Major Retrospective At Tokyo’s Mori Art Museum
Opening October 31, 2026 | Tokyo, Japan
What happens when art, technology, spirituality, and ideas about the future come together? Japanese artist Mariko Mori has spent much of her career exploring these fascinating intersections, and a major new retrospective at the Mori Art Museum is bringing more than three decades of her work together for audiences to discover.
Titled Mariko Mori: All That Shines, the exhibition opens on October 31 and marks the artist’s first major retrospective in Japan since her 2002 exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. Organised in collaboration with The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, the exhibition brings together 40 works across photography, video, drawing, sculpture, performance, and large-scale interactive installations.
Mori first gained international attention during the 1990s through works that explored the relationship between technology, popular culture, and identity. Her early photographs often placed herself in futuristic environments, drawing inspiration from anime, video games, fashion, and science fiction. As her practice developed, she became increasingly interested in Buddhist philosophy, ancient civilisations, scientific ideas, and humanity’s relationship with the universe.
One of the most interesting aspects of her work is the way she combines traditional cultural references with contemporary technology. Her installations and digital imagery often create otherworldly environments that invite viewers to think about existence, time, and the connections between human beings and the natural world.
The retrospective is organised chronologically, allowing visitors to follow the development of Mori’s artistic ideas and the different materials and technologies she has explored throughout her career. For artists interested in experimental practices, this exhibition offers an opportunity to see how an individual creative vision can evolve across different mediums without losing its central identity.
Mariko Mori: All That Shines will remain on view at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo until March 28, 2027.
5. A Feminist Reinterpretation Of Traditional Furniture Opens At Indiana University Of Pennsylvania
October 30, 2026 | Pennsylvania, USA
Furniture might not be the first thing that comes to mind when we think about feminist art, but artist and woodworking professor BA Harrington is encouraging audiences to look at everyday objects through a different lens.
Her new exhibition, Suite Américaine, opens at the University Museum at Indiana University of Pennsylvania on October 30. The exhibition explores the history of American furniture through a contemporary woodworking practice informed by feminist perspectives.
Harrington’s work revisits traditional furniture forms from the late seventeenth to early nineteenth centuries, including dower chests, writing desks, and sewing tables. These objects have an interesting history: many were designed for women and associated with domestic life, yet their construction and recognition as fine craftsmanship were largely shaped by men.
Through her contemporary interpretations, Harrington questions this historical divide between the objects women were expected to use and the creative recognition traditionally given to those who made them. Her approach also draws on a multigenerational family craft lineage, bringing personal history and traditional woodworking knowledge into conversation with contemporary artistic practice.
The exhibition offers an interesting perspective on how artists can revisit familiar materials and historical design traditions while asking new questions about gender, labour, craftsmanship, and creative authorship. Visitors can explore the exhibition and meet the artist at a free opening reception on October 30, from 6 pm to 8 pm. Suite Américaine will remain on view until December 5, 2026.
For artists working with textiles, furniture, ceramics, sculpture, and other craft-based practices, this is a reminder that everyday objects can carry histories and ideas worth exploring through art.
Until Next Week…
The stories from this week remind us that art can take so many different forms. It can preserve cultural memories, give new meaning to familiar histories, challenge traditional ideas, and introduce us to creative worlds we might never have imagined.
It is equally encouraging to see women artists receiving opportunities to present their work on major international platforms, while exhibitions and cultural conversations continue making room for different voices and experiences.
As we move into November, we hope these stories inspire you to explore something new, discover an artist whose work you haven’t encountered before, or perhaps take the next step in sharing your own creative practice.
Until next week, keep creating, keep exploring, and keep making space for art.
