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…

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…

Canadian multidisciplinary artist Steven Shearer, known for his portraits blending youth subculture, contemporary iconography, and art-historical references, has been named the winner of this year’s C$100,000 ($71,000) Audain Prize for the Visual Arts. artforum.com/news/steven-she…

Two German artists were arrested at the Louvre in Paris on September 19 after mounting two canvases to a wall of the Salle des États, where Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is displayed. Police reported that the pair used sticky tape to affix the works, each of which measured roughly 12 by 9 inches. artforum.com/news/artists-ar…

The Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (Malba) has announced that Mexican architect Frida Escobedo will lead the project to expand the museum. The subterranean expansion will be constructed beneath Plaza Perú and will roughly double the museum’s current exhibition space. artforum.com/news/frida-esco…

Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota and Mami Kataoka, the director of the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, have been appointed to l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) by the government of France. Shiota was awarded the rank of Officier, while Kataoka was given that of Chevalier. artforum.com/news/chiharu-sh…

Jeffreen M.H. Ash will depart from her role as executive director of the Chicago cultural nonprofit Threewalls on September 30. She has spent 11 years at the contemporary art organization, whose mission is to support Black artists through collaboration and community. artforum.com/news/jeffreen-m…

The Art Institute of Chicago has announced that it will return Jean Metzinger’s painting "Woman with a Fan" (1913) to the family of Jewish art collector Emanuel Lewenstein. Provenance research discovered that the painting was taken from the family during World War II and sold involuntarily. artforum.com/news/aic-return…

The U.K. government has placed a ban on the export of an early-sixteenth-century bronze, valued at $6.2 million, in an effort to give British museums and galleries time to acquire the work and keep it on public display. artforum.com/news/u-k-ban-on…

The Bienale de Yucatán, the first large-scale international contemporary art biennial in Mexico, is set to open in Mérida, the capital of the Yucatán state, this November. Artistic director Abraham Cruzvillegas has made language and all forms of communication the focus of this first edition. artforum.com/news/merida-hos…

Artist, photographer, and filmmaker Tyler Mitchell has been named the recipient of the 2026 Don Tyson Prize for the Advancement of American Art. Established in 2016, the prize is awarded biennially by the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. artforum.com/news/tyler-mitc…