Awards

Manila-born visual artist Imelda Cajipe Endaya, renowned for her social realist paintings, was conferred the Philippines’ Order of National Artists on September 1. She is the first woman to receive the honor.

Bhutanese artist Pem Lham won the Rubin Museum’s USD 30,000 Himalayan Art Prize for her mixed-media works, which explore Himalayan folklore, memory, and identity.

Christine Sun Kim, whose multimedia works wryly probe the politics of sound, drawing on her own experiences as a Deaf artist, was awarded the 2026 MacArthur Fellowship on September 30. 

Obituaries

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, whose fields of dots, monumental pumpkins, and vast mirrored chambers mobilized seriality and proliferation, passed away on August 14, aged 97. 

Birzeit-born visual artist Sliman Mansour, known for his politically charged paintings engaging with Palestinian cultural heritage and resistance, died on August 24. He was 79 years old. 

Chinese artist Liang Shaoji—who uniquely incorporated live silkworms in his soft sculptures and installations to explore questions of time, transformation, and spirituality—died on September 14, aged 81.