Reading · picked from the post-it pile

Welcome to the second iteration of a new monthly series I’m calling the Arts Digest, a heavily-researched resource connecting you to my top picks for exhibitions around the world (with an emphasis on women artists and marginalized voices because white men have dominated the art world for far too long), available jobs in the arts, and calls for artist submissions and residencies. Everything in this post was curated and written by me with no AI, obviously. I also make a concerted effort to see out free events + art shows so everyone can experience this guide.

The goal of this series is to make it easier for you to connect with art, whether that means experiencing it IRL, submitting your art and writing to outlets and galleries across the world, or landing a job in the arts ecosystem. If you’re an ambitious creative like me, the last thing you want to spend time doing is all of this research that detracts from your creative practice.

Pouring effort into this guide was only possible thanks to the support I receive from my paid subscribers. If you found this guide helpful or want to ensure that I publish meaty posts like this one regularly, consider becoming a paid subscriber and gain access to the jobs + open calls section of this post and my paywalled posts about my experience working in the art world and as an arts and culture journalist.

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* indicate exhibitions showing work by living women artists

*Los Angeles, through 8/22: Let's Get It On: The Wearable Art of Betye Saar at Roberts Projects (free admission)

*Los Angeles, through 10/3: Sadie Barnette: How to Fly at California African American Museum (free admission)

*Los Angeles, through 7/11: Imagining Elsewhere featuring Hiba Schabaz, Rajni Perrera, Shahzia Sikander, and more at Rajiv Menon Contemporary (free admission)

*San Francisco, 6/27-5/14: Nengi Omuku: The Gathering at de Young Museum (free admission on Saturdays)

San Francisco, through 8/16 : Demitri Broxton at Museum of African Diaspora (free during first Thursdays from 4-8 and every Second Saturday)

San Francisco, through 8/23: Diedrick Brackens: Gather Tender Night at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (free on Wednesdays)

*San Jose, through 8/23: Anoushka Mirchandani: My Body Was A River Once at ICA San Jose (free admission)

*San Francisco, 7/16-9/5: Ana Elisa Egreja, Teresa Baker, Genesis Belanger, Asuka Anastacia Ogawa, and Julie Béna at Jessica Silverman Gallery (free admission)

Santa Rosa, through 11/8: Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Running Fence at 50 Years at Museum of Sonoma County

*Oakland, through 10/8: Mildred Howard at OMCA

*Seattle, through 1/2027: Monochrome: Calder and Tara Donovan at Seattle Art Museum

*New York, through 7/24: Peripheral Sight featuring works by Laura Benson, Jae Kim, and Marin Majić at Harper’s Chelsea (free admission)

*New York, through 8/7: Double Blind: Belonging and Its Discontents featuring works by Arlene Correa Valencia, Stephanie Syjuco, and others at Fridman Gallery (free admission)

New York, through 7/25: Shape of Dreams: Leonora Carrington at L’Space

New York, through 7/2: Jeremy Frey: Permanence at Karma Gallery (free admission)

New York, through 7/2: Helen Frankenthaler at Gagosian (free admission)

New York, through 9/29: Yves Saint Laurent and Photography at International Center of Photography

*Washington, D.C.: Sky Hopinka: Kicking the Clouds at National Gallery of Art

*Chicago, through 1/25/2027: Abigail Lucien: Blood of the Earth at Art Institute Chicago

*Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, through 9/6: Akea Brionne: A Dreaming Hour at Cranbrook Art Museum

*Louisville, through 8/9: Vanessa german: ...do you remember when you were the sky? at Speed Art Museum

*Sarasota, Florida, through 9/27: Maria A. Guzmán Capron: New Works at Sarasota Art Museum

*West Palm Beach, Florida, through 9/27: Recognition of Art by Women: In Retrospect at the Norton Museum of Art featuring work by Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Rose B. Simpson, María Berrío, and other women artists

Ottawa, through 10/12: Helen McNicoll: An Impressionist Journey at National Gallery of Canada

Toronto, 7/10-7/12: Toronto Outdoor Art Fair

*Vancouver, through 7/12: Shelly Adler at Kostuik Gallery

*Toronto, through 8/16: Sara Cwynar at Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto

London, through 1/3/2027: Frida Kahlo: The Making of an Icon at Tate Modern

London, opens 7/15: Ana Mendieta at Tate Modern

Paris, through 8/30: Hilma af Klint at Grand Palais

Paris, through 7/19: Leonora Carrington at Musée du Luxembourg

*Yorkshire, UK: Hold to This Earth: Works by Contemporary Indigenous North American Artists from Tia Collection at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Berlin: Christiane Grimme at Galerie Sara Lily Perez

Zurich: Marisol at Kunsthaus Zurich

Seattle, July 23-26: Seattle Art Fair