Centre Pompidou Hanwha Unveils Commissions Backed by AI Giant Anthropic

Anthropic, the American AI giant behind Claude, has supported five new commissions currently on display at Seoul’s Centre Pompidou Hanwha, marking the company’s first cultural partnership in South Korea. On view through November 13, the commissioned works by MinOhrichar, Inhwa Yeom, Ubac Studio, Kahee Jeong, and Mirim Chu, are part of the group exhibition “AS _____ AS POSSIBLE,” spanning video, sound, and interactive installations. The collaboration started out as a forum, dubbed the Seoul Research Salon, which explored the mechanisms of AI systems. Speaking with Ocula, Jieun Seo, senior curator at the Hanwha Foundation of Culture, said that rather than “tak[ing] a definitive position for or against AI,” the show “aims to create an open space in which artists and audiences can reflect on what technology makes possible.” The project raises concerns about AI corporations becoming involved with museums, and comes amid Anthropic’s controversial acquisition of Korean books to train its language model. Moreover, prior to the Centre Pompidou Hanwha’s opening in June, 100-plus French artists, researchers, and art professionals petitioned to boycott the institution over Hanwha Group’s ties to Israeli arms manufacturers. 

Workers at 61st Venice Biennale Join Global Dockworkers’ Strike

On October 30, cultural workers and artists at the Venice Biennale went on strike in solidarity with global protests against the militarization of ports, rising fuel costs, and poor living and working conditions. Further coinciding with a national general strike in Italy and supported by 25-plus international unions, the action saw the partial or complete closure of around 20 national pavilions at the Venice Biennale, including those of Japan, Korea, India, and Lebanon. The dockworkers’ strikes, organized by the grassroots campaigning collective No Harbour For Genocide, further call for “an immediate end to the genocide of the Palestinian people and all imperialist wars,” as their statement reads. The 61st Venice Biennale has already been disrupted by numerous shutdowns and rallies demanding the exclusion of Israel and Russia from this year’s edition.

teamLab Announces Expansion to the US

Japanese art collective teamLab has revealed plans for its first permanent museum in the US, scheduled to open in 2030. Designed by Los Angeles-based architecture firm Smith-Clementi, the forthcoming outpost will be located within OCVIBE, a USD 5 billion mixed-use district currently under development in Anaheim, California. Though the final design and budget are still being finalized, OCVIBE CEO Bill Foltz told Artnet that “the investment we’re making is well over USD 100 million,” making it “one of the more significant investments within the OCVIBE district.” The museum will span approximately 10,200 square meters, featuring a textured exterior inspired by organic forms and responding to shifting light, and house teamLab’s immersive digital installations, though further details about the inaugural exhibition are yet to be announced. The project marks teamLab’s latest international expansion. Founded in 2001, the Japanese art collective has established permanent venues in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Abu Dhabi, and Jeddah, showcasing interactive installations exploring the relationship between nature, technology, and human perception.

Melati Suryodarmo Wins 2026 Nandur Srawung Lifetime Achievement Award

On October 27, Indonesian performance artist Melati Suryodarmo received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the 13th edition of Nandur Srawung, an art exhibition held annually at the Taman Budaya Yogyakarta. Renowned for her physically demanding, hours-long performances that draw on traditional Javanese dance to explore  themes of love, labor, and memory, Suryodarmo was honored for her significant contributions to the Indonesian contemporary art scene. Upon receiving the award, Suryodarmo gave an address in which she emphasized that artistic expression is “a way of living and continuing to open oneself to things not yet understood,” inviting audiences to continue supporting experimentation and creative freedom.