Welcome to August, deep into summer. Today is August 12, 2025. On this day, Christopher Columbus arrives in the Canary Islands on his first voyage to the New World (1492); American inventor Thomas Alva Edison makes his discovery of the phonograph (1877); Henry Ford’s company builds the first Model T car (1908); William Somerset Maugham’s acclaimed Of Human Bondage by is published (1915 ); A dedication of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Home as a national shrine is held (1922); East Germany begins construction of the Berlin Wall serving as a symbol of the Cold War and separating East Berlin from West Berlin for 28 years (1961); Echo 1, the first communications satellite, is launched by NASA (1960); Last American combat ground troops leave Vietnam (1972); IBM introduces its first Personal Computer (1981); Swiss banks agree to pay $1.25 billion as restitution to World War II Holocaust victims (1998); Eight years ago today, “Unite the Right” rally takes place in Charlottesville, Virginia, leading to the deaths of 3 and injuring nearly 50 others; Donald Trump during his then first term, hails the phrase “very fine people on both sides,” provoking widespread protests and resulting in the resignation of members of the Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (Art & Politics in America). Spa, or not Spa.
Earlier this summer we celebrated Our 8th Year Anniversary. And on this day August 12 was born German artist Hans Haacke (1936), and died Jean-Michel Basquiat (1988). Welcome to the 163rd edition of Prescriptions. Here is our guide to current events in the arts.
Patrick Wack, Untitled, Young Ukrainians jumping into the Black Sea from a pier in Odesa, Ukraine, Summer 2023. Courtesy of the artist
Les Rencontres d’Arles / Disobedient Images
In the spirit of Édouard Glissant who extols the intertwining of cultures and the richness of encounters, this new edition of the festival proposes the exploration of the image in polyphonic form. On view through October 5, 2025.
Park McArthur, Contact M at mumok: Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Vienna, Installation view of Ramps, 2014, Missions, 2025. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Simon Vogel
Park McArthur. Contact M
This exhibition considers McArthur’s practice and presence among a recent generation of artists whose materialist and institutionally-responsive strategies refuse to separate critique and imagination. On view at mumok through September 7, 2025 and Museum Abteiberg through September 28, 2025.
Beneath Which Rivers Flow, 2025, Iraq. Directed by Ali Yahya
78 Locarno Film Festival
Cinema is complete art capable of influencing a life, shifting a way of thinking. It hits you with intense emotions and truth. It brings to life human complexity, extraordinary or devastating stories. Through August 16, 2025.
Neo Norte 4.0 di Tere Chad
Neo Norte: Art, Migration, & the Power of Cultural Syncretism
“How do these diverse cultures integrate? And how do they create something entirely new and unique?” reflecting the ever-evolving nature of Latin American identity – shaped by centuries of colonisation, migration, and cultural blending. Interview by Chantelle Weir.
Parisa Azadi
Ordinary Grief
A Story of Reconciliation by Parisa Azadi. “I returned to Iran after 25 years of self-exile, where I embarked on a personal and political reclamation of my identity and history. My attempt to reconcile despair and joy, exhaustion and hope…”
HAU4, Hue Studio, Invisible Women, 2025 © Huo Studio
Berlin Art Week 2025
Berlin Art Week marks the start of the new art season with over 100 museums, galleries, collections, project spaces, and an art fair, it offers a varied festival program making it a key destination. Forthcoming September 10–14, 2025
Robert Grosvenor, Untitled (2022)
Astrup Fearnley Collection
The Astrup Fearnley Collection is one of Europe’s leading collections of international contemporary art with nearly 1,500 works. The museum shares this dynamic collection with regular exhibitions. On view at Astrup Fearnley Museet through December 30, 2025.
Kudzanai‑Violet Hwami, Atom Painting #2, 2021, oil, acrylic, and oil bar on canvas, 200 × 200 cm. Pinault Collection
Corps et Âmes
The Bourse de Commerce is drawing some one hundred works from the Pinault Collection to present the exhibition “Corps et Âmes”, an exploration of representations of the body in contemporary art. On view through August 25, 2025.
