WASHINGTON, DC.- In the first exhibition dedicated to Venetian Renaissance sculptor Tullio Lombardo (c. 1455–1532), his romantic approach to portraiture is revealed in four of his greatest marble carvings, which are joined by eight related works from his closest circle. On view at the National Gallery of Art's Italian galleries in the West Building from July 4 through November 1, 2009, An Antiquity of Imagination: Tullio Lombardo and Venetian High Renaissance Sculpture celebrates the artist's pioneering talent.

LONDON.- Bonhams next sale of Old Master paintings on July 8th in New Bond Street, offers stunning views of some of the highlights of The Grand Tour by some of the masters of the time. Today, when the capturing of images by cameras, phone, video and film have become commonplace we forget the power and the impact and the privilege of having images of places one has visited. Many of the band

SHREWSBURY.- In the year of the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s Origin of the Species – and 200 years since the great man’s birth – Darwin’s home town is hosting a 10-day celebration of the lasting legacy of his ground-breaking work. The Shift Time festival brings together over 30 artists and performers, who have all been inspired by Darwin’s theories to create new commissions ranging from large-scale sculptures to street theatre performances; and from dance displays to interactive exhibitions. Sparking debate and questioning the very roots of human existence, Shift Time directs us through art, performance and spoken word to find an answer for that age-old

NEW YORK, NY.- The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has named Steven Holl Architects’ recently completed Linked Hybrid complex in Beijing the recipient of the “Best Tall Building” in Asia and Australia award. Annually, the CTBUH recognizes one outstanding tall building from each of four geographical regions: Americas, Asia and Australia, Europe, and Middle East and Africa. The “Best Tall Building Overall” will be selected from among these four

BARCELONA.- CaixaForum Barcelona, “la Caixa” Community Projects opened Maurice de Vlaminck, a Fauve Instinct: Paintings from 1900 to 1915. This is the first Spanish exhibition of works by this artist, who is key in terms of the renewal of European avant-garde painting at the beginning of the 20th century, and arrives to Barcelona after being shown at CaixaForum Madrid. With this exhibition, “la Caixa” Community Projects aims to make the general public aware of the pioneers of art at the beginning of the

ST. PETERSBURG, FL.- The largest collection of Salvador Dali works outside of his native Spain is being moved to a more secure location, a hurricane-proof, cement and glass building located just blocks away from its original location in St. Petersburg, Florida. The collection of 2,140 pieces, including 96 paintings by the "enfant terrible" of Surrealism, as well as numerous etchings and drawings, will be relocated in a new, $35 million structure in that west-central Florida city that will have a sturdier structure and be less exposed to the elements.

LUCERNE.- With its new exhibition, Museum of Art Lucerne is continuing the tried and trusted form of the changing exhibition presentation. The combination of works of art in various media and eras under a common theme has become a genuine trademark of the museum. The selected theme links the works together in an open dialogue. Familiar works can be rediscovered in this changing environment, unfamiliar or newly acquired works are being presented to the interested public either in a new way in the context of the collection or for the first time.

NEW YORK, NY.- Artists and designers’ rising interest in ritual since the 1990s inspires Reinventing Ritual: Contemporary Art and Design for Jewish Life, the first international exhibition to survey this phenomenon. On view at The Jewish Museum from September 13, 2009 through February 7, 2010, Reinventing Ritual features nearly sixty innovative works, created between 1999 and 2009 by leading artists in diverse media. Visitors will see

OMAHA, NE.- A rich tradition of religious painting flourished in New Mexico during the Spanish colonial period prior to 1912. In the 18th and 19th centuries, self-taught painters in New Mexican villages established workshops to produce devotional images called retablos. These colorful narrative panels consisted of images of Christian saints painted on wood, earning for their creators the title of santeros — or saint makers. These small paintings were sold to devout believers who displayed them in home altars to honor their patron saints. Virtually

NEW YORK, NY.- Aperture, Pratt, and the Strand Book Store are pleased to announce the winners of the Eye on the Strand photography contest, which kicked off last fall and concluded March 31, 2009. The winners were chosen by a prestigious panel of judges from over 500 submissions featuring unique and creative photo representations of the Strand Book Store. The Grand Prize Winner will get to have lunch at New York City’s famous Balthazar Restaurant with world-renowned photographer Mary Ellen Mark, and receive a collection of Aperture

OXFORD.- A comprehensive group of over 200 drawings and sketch books, assembled by the artist Tom Phillips, has been acquired by the Ashmolean with a major grant from independent charity The Art Fund, and additional funding from the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, and the Christopher Vaughan Bequest Fund. The collection spans the chronological range and genres of his work, from a drawing of his mother made before he went to university, to a set design for The Magic Flute at Opera Holland Park in 2008.

MEXICO CITY.- The collection of the National Museum of Interventions (MNI) is formed by more than 600 weapons from different origins and ages, from 18th to 20th centuries. From knives to cannon balls, these items give testimony of history of Mexico and its non-intervention politic tradition. “Our country’s history can be recreated through war technology” commented historian Raymundo Alva, chief of Educative Communication Area of the museum

MANCHESTER.- What?s your favourite animal, book, food or weather? These are just some of the questions that are answered by an eclectic group of well-known personalities from the worlds of fashion, illustration, journalism (and more) in a series of delightfully quirky, intriguing and often humorous pictures on display at Manchester Art Gallery this summer.

WASHINGTON, DC.- The Corcoran Gallery of Art opened Neighborhood Watch, an exhibition of vintage and contemporary photographs by artist Claudia Smigrod. In Neighborhood Watch Smigrod revisits the subjects she photographed for her 1989 exhibition, Portraits of Innocence. Through a resurvey of the original participants in black and white photography Smigrod records the evolution of twenty individuals as she captures them within their native environments in Alexandria, VA.

NEW ORLEANS, LA.- This fall, the New Orleans Museum of Art presents Skylar Fein: Youth Manifesto, the first solo museum exhibition of work by the New Orleans-based artist Skylar Fein. Focusing on youth culture, rock and roll, Americana and advertising, Youth Manifesto tackles the pervasive power and symbiotic relationship between rock music and consumerism. The high-energy exhibition is comprised entirely of new work, including painting, sculpture, video and screen prints.

CANBERRA.- The National Gallery of Australia will be holding Knitta Please, a festival of events starting from Sunday 5 July. The week will culminate in a community project, Stitching up the NGA, which is being held from Tuesday 7 to Sunday 12 July. Magda Sayeg, founder of Knitta Please, Sydney artist Denise Litchfield and a team of volunteers will transform six large concrete poles at the front entrance of the Gallery. Knitters all over the world have been invited to help create squares of

TURIN.- The d documenta is a two-day conference which has the goal to provide a forum of discussion and reflection on the history of documenta, its various incarnations and its future. documenta has come to represent a key periodic moment when contemporary art is exhibited and those who are interested in art as well as in its relation to the world meet, assess the situation and share their views. For those involved in organising the next documenta, the journey publicly begins on September 18th, 2009.

TORONTO.- In House on Fire, a new exhibition of photo-based works and sculpture by 33-year-old Winnipeg-based artist Sarah Anne Johnson, the political meets the personal as Johnson explores the story of her grandmother's unwitting participation and mistreatment in a CIA research program in Montreal in the mid-1950s. Opening at the Art Gallery of Ontario on July 4 and continuing through August 23, House on Fire features a

NEW YORK, NY.- British artist Richard Woods' wall and door and roof whimsically transforms various structural elements at City Hall. Cladding the property's two security booths with a printed facade of cartoon-like red bricks, Woods draws on his native vernacular which identifies this design as an inexpensive architectural style. The visually dynamic work dramatically juxtaposes the historic architecture of City Hall with ordinary building materials. Woods' faux renovation continues inside City Hall on a set of lobby doors. Covering the doors in a printed graphic that is a replication of itself, the artist creates an optical