Nan Goldin encourages activism in art, urges young people to ‘be courageous’ at Vancouver event - The Globe and Mail

the american artist digs into musée d’orsay’s archives to uncover the conflicts, contradictions, and uncomfortable truths of the past. Iñaki Laguardia October 19, 2026 6 min prefer designboom on googleJENNY HOLZER ILLUMINATES MUSÉE D’ORSAY WITH WORDS FROM THE PASTThe walls of Paris’ Musée d’Orsay have plenty to say, and Jenny Holzer is giving them a voice. For J’ai Vu (I Saw), opening October 20, 2026, the American artist transforms the former railway station into a vast canvas of illuminated words, moving texts, and engraved stone sculptures. Developed in collaboration with the museum, the exhibition draws on writings from the period represented in its collections, bringing together artistic correspondence, political commentary, and historical accounts. Rather than simply revisiting the 19th century, Holzer lets its voices confront the present, proving that some conversations are far from over. The intervention begins outside, where the museum’s Seine-facing facade becomes the setting for ÉCLAIRÉ, a series of monumental light projections presented from October 18 to 22, between 7 pm and 11 pm.

from abandoned factories in ghana to his major exhibition in paris, the artist uses repair to rethink how we relate to history, labor, and one another, arguing that what we inherit can become a resource for building something new. thomai tsimpou October 19, 2026 11 min prefer designboom on googleIbrahim Mahama brings Ghanaian industrial histories to paris Ibrahim Mahama has spent years collecting, dismantling, and rebuilding things that could be considered beyond repair. Old trains, airplanes, factory structures, wooden stools, and industrial materials shape a practice that looks at what societies leave behind and what can be done with it. His work is rooted in northern Ghana, where the history of colonial exploitation continues to shape the region, but his questions reach far beyond it: who gets to shape the future, what do we do with the past, and how can art create something useful for the people around it? These questions come together in The Harvest Season, Mahama’s major exhibition at Fondation Cartier in Paris, on view from October 22nd, 2026, to February 28th, 2027.