Must-Visit Art Exhibitions of 2024

After years of disruption to the global art calendar, 2024 promises a spectacular lineup of exhibitions across the world's premier museums and galleries. From landmark retrospectives of established masters to provocative showcases of emerging talent, this year offers something for every art enthusiast. Whether you're planning your travel itinerary or looking for inspiration closer to home, here's our curated guide to the must-see art exhibitions of 2024.

Major Retrospectives

Georgia O'Keeffe: Beyond Flowers

Museum of Modern Art, New York
May 12 - September 8, 2024

While Georgia O'Keeffe is primarily known for her iconic flower paintings, this comprehensive retrospective aims to showcase the full breadth of her artistic vision. Featuring over 100 works spanning her six-decade career, the exhibition includes lesser-known abstractions, New York cityscapes, and her powerful New Mexico landscapes alongside her famous florals.

Curator Sarah Martinez explains, "We wanted to challenge the reductive view of O'Keeffe that has dominated popular perception. This exhibition reveals her as the complex, innovative artist she truly was—one who constantly reinvented herself and her approach to the American landscape."

The exhibition also includes newly restored works and pieces rarely seen in public, on loan from private collections. A series of companion events will explore O'Keeffe's pioneering role as a woman in the male-dominated art world of her time.

Picasso and African Art: A Reexamination

Centre Pompidou, Paris
April 3 - August 15, 2024

This groundbreaking exhibition explores the complex relationship between Pablo Picasso's work and the African art that profoundly influenced him. Rather than simply acknowledging this influence, the exhibition critically examines issues of cultural appropriation and the colonial context in which European artists encountered African artifacts.

The show juxtaposes Picasso's works with the specific African pieces that inspired them, often displaying them side by side. Importantly, the exhibition also includes contemporary responses from African and diaspora artists, creating a dialogue across time and cultures.

"This isn't just about Picasso's genius, but about giving proper attribution and context to the African artistic traditions that transformed Western art," notes exhibition curator Jean-Philippe Dedieu. "We're interested in telling a more complete story that acknowledges the complexities of this cultural exchange."

Contemporary Showcases

Immersive Futures: Art in the Digital Age

Tate Modern, London
June 20 - November 3, 2024

As digital technologies continue to transform artistic practice, this ambitious exhibition brings together artists working at the intersection of technology and creative expression. From large-scale immersive installations to intimate AI-generated portraits, the show explores how contemporary artists are engaging with virtual reality, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and other emerging technologies.

Highlights include TeamLab's room-sized interactive digital environment that responds to visitor movements, Refik Anadol's data-driven AI sculptures, and Lu Yang's avatar-based digital performances. The exhibition also features a specially commissioned work by Anicka Yi that combines robotics and organic materials to explore the boundaries between the natural and artificial.

"The best art helps us see our world differently. Today's artists are using technology not just as a tool but as a medium that reveals new dimensions of human experience." — Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director

Threads of Resistance: Textile Art and Political Expression

Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
March 15 - July 28, 2024

This timely exhibition examines how contemporary artists are using textile-based practices—traditionally marginalized as "craft" or "women's work"—to address urgent social and political issues. The show brings together artists from across the globe who employ techniques like weaving, embroidery, quilting, and sewing to engage with themes of protest, identity, labor, and environmental justice.

Featured artists include Ghada Amer, whose embroidered canvases challenge representations of female sexuality; Ibrahim Mahama, known for his massive installations using jute sacks that reference global trade; and Pacita Abad, whose trapuntos (quilted paintings) address migration and displacement. The exhibition also highlights emerging artists whose work extends these traditions into new conceptual territory.

Biennials and Major Art Events

60th Venice Biennale: "Foreigners Everywhere"

Various venues, Venice, Italy
April 20 - November 24, 2024

The world's oldest and most prestigious international art exhibition returns for its 60th edition under the direction of curator Adriano Pedrosa. Titled "Foreigners Everywhere," this year's Biennale examines themes of migration, displacement, and belonging through the lens of artists who work outside their countries of origin or engage with these issues in their practice.

The exhibition spans the traditional venues of the Giardini and Arsenale, with 88 national pavilions presenting the work of artists from around the world. In addition to established names, Pedrosa has made a point of including indigenous artists and those from the Global South who have been historically underrepresented in the Biennale.

Notable highlights include the first-ever pavilion from Tanzania, a boundary-pushing multimedia installation at the Japanese Pavilion by Chikako Yamashiro, and Kara Walker's provocative new work at the U.S. Pavilion that addresses America's ongoing racial reckoning.

15th Gwangju Biennale

Various venues, Gwangju, South Korea
September 5 - November 30, 2024

Established in memory of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising, this Biennale has always maintained a strong connection to themes of democracy and human rights. The 15th edition, titled "Collective Resilience," examines how communities respond to crisis, trauma, and environmental change through artistic practice.

Artistic Director Defne Ayas has brought together artists whose work engages with collective healing, community building, and ecological awareness. Rather than focusing solely on individual artists, this Biennale highlights collaborative practices and artist collectives, emphasizing art's role in fostering social cohesion and imagining alternative futures.

"In a time of increasing polarization and isolation, we're interested in how art can help us rebuild social bonds and shared understanding," Ayas explains. "The works in this Biennale demonstrate how creative practices can be forms of care, resistance, and regeneration."

Historical Revelations

Hidden Histories: Women Artists of the Renaissance

Uffizi Gallery, Florence
February 15 - July 21, 2024

This groundbreaking exhibition brings to light the overlooked contributions of women artists during the Renaissance period. Drawing on recent scholarship and newly attributed works, the show features paintings, sculptures, and illuminated manuscripts by more than 30 women artists who worked between 1400-1600.

Beyond well-known figures like Artemisia Gentileschi, the exhibition introduces visitors to lesser-known artists such as Properzia de' Rossi, Lavinia Fontana, and Sofonisba Anguissola, examining how they navigated the significant constraints placed on women's artistic education and professional opportunities during this period.

The exhibition also explores the ways these artists both worked within and challenged the conventions of Renaissance art, offering alternative perspectives on traditional religious and mythological subjects and pioneering new approaches to portraiture and still life.

Art Under Occupation: Palestinian Visual Culture, 1948-Present

Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
August 10 - December 15, 2024

This comprehensive survey examines over 70 years of Palestinian art created under occupation and in diaspora. Moving beyond simplistic political readings, the exhibition traces the development of a distinctive visual language that engages with themes of land, memory, identity, and resistance through multiple generations of artists.

The show includes historical works from the mid-20th century alongside contemporary pieces, revealing both continuities and transformations in Palestinian artistic expression. Featured artists include pioneers like Sliman Mansour and Ismail Shammout alongside contemporary figures such as Emily Jacir, Mona Hatoum, and Larissa Sansour.

Through painting, photography, installation, video, and performance, the exhibition offers insights into how artists have responded to displacement, documented cultural heritage, and imagined possible futures. A series of public programs will provide historical context and create opportunities for dialogue about the complex issues raised by the works.

Planning Your Visit

With such an exceptional lineup of exhibitions, art enthusiasts may want to plan their travel strategically. Here are some tips for making the most of your art experiences in 2024:

• Book timed tickets in advance for major exhibitions, especially on weekends and during peak tourist seasons.
• Consider membership at museums you plan to visit multiple times, which often allows you to skip lines and access member previews.
• Look for curator talks and guided tours, which can provide valuable context and insights into the exhibitions.
• Explore digital extensions of exhibitions, as many museums now offer virtual components that can enhance your experience before or after your visit.
• Check for combination tickets if you're visiting multiple venues in the same city, as many cultural institutions offer discounts for joint visits.

Whether you're a dedicated art aficionado or a curious newcomer, 2024 offers extraordinary opportunities to experience art that challenges, inspires, and connects us across cultures and histories. Which exhibitions are on your must-see list this year? Share your plans in the comments below!