Nav Haq Appointed as Curator of the Fourth Lahore Biennale

The Lahore Biennale has announced Nav Haq as curator for its fourth edition, slated to open in 2027. An Antwerp-based writer and curator, Haq currently serves as associate director at M HKA – Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp and as an editor at Afterall journal. He received the 2012 Independent Vision Award for Curatorial Achievement. The forthcoming biennial will foreground cross-border cultural exchange, exploring Lahori, Punjabi, Desi, and Eurasian perspectives while positioning Lahore as a global nexus. Reflecting on his appointment, Haq said in a statement: “The biennale has become a pillar of the artistic scene in Pakistan and South Asia, as well as an important reference globally. . . . I’m looking forward to working with the [biennale] team to build upon its extraordinary contribution to the cultural and intellectual life of Lahore.”

Sonsbeek Announces Artists for 2026 Edition

Arnhem’s Sonsbeek, Europe’s oldest large-scale public art exhibition, has announced the full artist lineup for its 13th edition. Under the theme “Memory as Living Action,” the forthcoming event will examine memory as a fluid terrain defined by the tension between remembering and forgetting. Sonsbeek will take place at multiple citywide venues, including Park Sonsbeek, and at various partner institutions such as Museum Arnhem, Focus Filmtheater, and Museum Bronbeek, among others. With 18 participating artists and collectives from the Netherlands and beyond—including On Kawara, Korakrit Arunanondchai, Mounira Al Solh, Ipeh Nur, and Jumana Manna—the presentation will feature site-specific installations, sculptures, and performances, alongside new commissions. In a press release, co-curators Amira Gad and Christina Li noted, “[W]e see memory as a living, generative force—an action that resists erasure, transforms histories, and shapes possibilities for tomorrow. It is through this lens that this edition’s artists will engage with Arnhem, a city where history is deeply embedded in the landscape.” Sonsbeek will be on view from July 2 to October 11.

Qatar Museums Reveals Further Programs for Inaugural Quadrennial

Qatar Museums has unveiled several programs for the inaugural edition of Rubaiya Qatar, a transdisciplinary quadrennial spanning exhibitions, public art projects, residencies, commissions, and more. Its headline exhibition, “Unruly Waters,” will feature over 50 contemporary artists and more than 20 new commissions, shown alongside artifacts from the Qatar Museums collection, to probe Qatar’s place within the intertwined histories, geographies, and ecologies of the Gulf and East Asia through the motif of water. The exhibition will be on view at Qatar Museums Gallery – Al Riwaq and across multiple sites in Doha. Rubaiya Qatar will also present “Our Common Currents” at QM Katara Gallery and “Seething Sea” at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art. The quadrennial will run from November 2026 to early 2027.

Yuko Mohri Wins 2025 Calder Prize

Yuko Mohri has been awarded the 2025 Calder Prize, which includes USD 50,000 and the placement of a work in a prominent public collection. Cocreated by the Calder Foundation and the Scone Foundation in New York in 2005, the biennial award recognizes emerging artists whose innovative practices signal the potential for major contributions to the field. Born in Kanagawa and based in Tokyo, Mohri’s work—spanning installation, sculpture, photography, and video—explores processes of continual change shaped by surrounding environments. Exhibited internationally, she represented Japan at the 2024 Venice Biennale with a solo show titled “Compose,” featuring acoustic sculptures made of rotting fruit. Alexander Rower, the foundation’s cofounder and president, marked that “[Mohri’s] aesthetic voice is powerfully singular,” and her work “is at once enigmatic and inviting, successfully drawing viewers into real-time experiences influenced by . . . time, space, and unseen forces.”

2026 Biennale of Sydney Announces Further Artists

The Biennale of Sydney has announced additional artists, artworks, and programs for its 25th edition, titled “Rememory.” With 33 newly confirmed artists and collectives, the total number of participants from 37 countries has been brought to 83. Highlights include The great Ngurrara Canvas II (1997), an 80-square-meter painting created by Ngurrara artists of the Great Sandy Desert Western Australia; The Unburied Sounds of a Troubled Horizon (2022) by Vietnamese American artist-filmmaker Tuan Andrew Nguyen; and Ema Shin’s two-meter-tall handwoven sculpture of a human heart. A public program comprising performances, talks, tours, and open discussions will accompany the exhibition. The biennale will run from March 14 through June 14.

Abu Dhabi Unveils Art Customs Duty Waiver Program

On February 3, the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT Abu Dhabi) announced the launch of the Art Customs Duty Waiver Program, which aims to position the emirate as a prime destination for the long-term storage, preservation, and display of valuable artworks. Marking the latest undertaking in Abu Dhabi’s broader cultural policy, the initiative is dedicated to supporting high-net-worth international collectors and family offices. According to a press release, the scheme “prioritizes governance, legal clarity, and institutional oversight as the foundation for participation,” further placing “due diligence, documented provenance, ownership transparency, and alignment with applicable legal and compliance standards at the core of eligibility.” Open to individual applicants, the program requires that artworks be valued at a minimum of AED 10 million (USD 2.7 million) and remain in Abu Dhabi for at least three years. In addition to the customs duty waiver, participants will gain reputational and cultural benefits, including enhanced visibility for artworks through curated displays and opportunities for academic research and engagement.