Breadwoman lives at the center of the earth. She is so ancient that her face has turned to bread.The mysterious figure created in 1982 by Anna Homler, the Los Angeles–based musician and performance artist, presides over the cover of Artforum’s September issue. artforum.com/issue/2026/sept…

For the fourth year running, the Switzerland-based MCH Group, the parent company of the Art Basel fair, recorded an increase in revenue and profit in the first half of 2026. The company’s net profits also quadrupled from CHF 4.4 million ($5.3 million) last year to CHF 18.4 million ($22.1 million). artforum.com/news/art-basels…

The Vancouver Art Gallery has announced Eva Respini and Sirish Rao as its co-CEOs. The appointment caps a yearlong stint for the pair as interim-co CEOs, following the March 2025 departure of Anthony Kiendl, who went on to lead the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver. artforum.com/news/eva-respin…

Hyperallergic, which has long touted free access to readers as a crucial aspect of its mission, is now routinely paywalling a portion of its articles and requiring readers to sign in to view the majority of its content. Readers were alerted to the changes in a September 16 email. artforum.com/news/hyperaller…

The Milwaukee Art Museum on September 9 transferred two stoneware vessels made by enslaved potter David Drake to his relatives. The pots had been given to the museum by the Chipstone Foundation earlier this year. artforum.com/news/milwaukee-…

An installation by Polish artist Alicja Kwade occupying a space outside Tai Kwun Contemporary in Hong Kong was found to have been damaged on September 20. Staff cordoned off the area and summoned the police, who are investigating the case as one of criminal damage. artforum.com/news/alicja-kwa…

Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Gilcrease Museum is scheduled to reopen in March 2027 in a new, purpose-built home, following a multiyear closure. The building was collaboratively designed by architecture firms SmithGroup and G&A, and creates more flexible spaces for exhibitions, research, and public interaction. artforum.com/news/gilcrease-…

Filipina artist Imelda Cajipe Endaya was named to the Order of National Artists of the Philippines for Visual Arts on September 1, becoming the first woman to receive the honor in its fifty-four-year history. artforum.com/news/imelda-caj…

The Thai Ministry of Culture has named jiradej-pornpilai meemalai: BAAN NOORG as the artistic director of the Fifth Thailand Biennale. Emily Chin-Jie Lee, Gesyada Siregar, and Tyuki Imamura will serve as curators of the event, to take place December 2027 to April 2028 in Rayong. artforum.com/news/artistic-d…

A red chalk drawing of a crouching child was recently attributed to the French modernist Edouard Manet. The suspected study is owned by a private Italian collection. artforum.com/news/drawing-fo…

A former senior employee at the National Gallery of Victoria in Australia is said to have drained $8 million from the institution’s coffers over a six-year span. The staffer is said to have spent the money on mobile phones, which he purchased through a museum account and sold for personal profit. artforum.com/news/national-g…

On September 23, the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced that 36 trafficked or looted antiquities would be returned to the people of Syria. The repatriation ceremony coincided with the visit of Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa to address the UN General Assembly in New York. artforum.com/news/new-york-r…

Asian American Arts Alliance announced the 38 recipients of the last round of its A4 Arts Fund, which distributes $500,000 to arts and cultural organizations that support Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Grants are awarded to organizations with annual budgets under $500,000. artforum.com/news/asian-amer…

Artists, students, and cultural workers gathered outside of Colombia’s Ministry of Culture in Bogotá on September 21 to protest a proposed 30% cut to the cultural budget in 2027 and a suspension of national arts awards. artforum.com/news/cultural-w…

The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, has named Jonathan Abbott as its new director and CEO. Abbott arrives to the institution from public media company GBH, the country’s largest producer of multiplatform content for PBS and partner to NPR and PRX, where he spent fifteen years as director. artforum.com/news/jonathan-a…

The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles has purchased a newly discovered painting by seventeenth-century Spanish master Diego Velázquez—the first work by the artist to enter its collection, and the first to enter the collection of any West Coast museum. artforum.com/news/getty-acqu…

Aperture, the nonprofit photography publisher founded in 1952, opened its new home last week. The organization has taken the first two floors of a building on the Upper West Side at Columbus Avenue and West 78th Street, across from the American Museum of National History. artforum.com/news/aperture-n…

Christie’s has revealed the launch of a new division focused on sales of pop culture memorabilia. The announcement comes on the heels of a sale of sports, music, and historical memorabilia from the collection of Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay that brought in a whopping $105.3 million. artforum.com/news/christies-…

Last week, the Joan Mitchell Foundation published the report “Creating Future Memory: Building the Field of Artist Legacy Stewardship.” Christa Blatchford, the foundation’s executive director, said that the new resource argues for more equitable investment in legacy stewardship. artforum.com/news/mitchell-f…

The Fondation Beyeler in Riehen, Switzerland, has revealed a trio of buildings designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, the Pritzker Prize–winning designer of the new David Geffen Galleries at the LACMA. The three structures expand the museum beyond its extant Renzo Piano–designed structure. artforum.com/news/fondation-…

On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, a nonprofit organization called the International Center for 9/11 Justice rented space from New York’s El Museo del Barrio for a 4-day conference called “Turning the Tide: 9/11 25 Years Later.” The museum says it regrets renting space to the event’s organizers. artforum.com/news/el-museo-d…