Art is a perennial dance. Following 2025’s vortex of disruptions, 2026 brings continuing seismic vibrations as the global art ecosystem recalibrates. Institutions and biennials, from a fresh crop of shuttered galleries to new public commissions on the Gulf’s sun-scorched sands, each grapple with reinvention and programs laced with the quiet urgency of transition. Museums worldwide will continue their cycle of opening, closing, and reopening. While the Centre Pompidou’s Paris flagship begins a EUR 460 million (USD 535.7 million) metamorphosis, due to re-emerge in 2030, its second Asian outpost is set to debut in May 2026. This new venture, a collaboration with Hanwha, will reside within the Korean chaebol’s 63 Building skyscraper in Seoul. Across the Atlantic, New York’s New Museum will also emerge from its chrysalis as the next year opens. Designed by OMA / Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas, an expansion that will double the exhibition space at 235 Bowery, the new annex is poised to effortlessly complement the pre-existing SANAA-designed structure. 

New bastions are rising across Asia. Tashkent’s Centre for Contemporary Arts launches in March 2026 within a Studio KO-refurbished 1912 tram depot and diesel station. An initiative of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation, its inaugural exhibition “Hikmah” (“wisdom” in Uzbek), curated by its artistic director and chief curator, Sara Raza, will showcase works by various artists, including Ali Cherri, Kimsooja, and Muhannad Shono. Meanwhile, Thailand will also welcome Ruam Samai, a new private institution in Chiang Mai whose name translates to “combining all time periods.” Founded by the Angsuvarnsiri family, known for their extensive antique and contemporary collections, the museum is designed by Studio MDA, which has notably worked with high-end commercial galleries in New York and London.