5 museum and art exhibitions worth traveling to see in 2022

YYou don’t have to be a lifelong patron of the arts to plan a trip around a visit to a museum. History buffs, fashion lovers, architecture enthusiasts — pretty much anyone with a cultural curiosity — will all find treasures in a collection of world-class new museum furnishings and groundbreaking, identity-forming exhibits across all media. Read on for five new exhibitions and museums worth visiting.

Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971

Los Angeles, California

The first exhibition of its kind, this historical exploration of the history of black cinema, debuts on August 21 at Academy Museum in Los Angeles. The ultra-bustling new museum is a worthwhile destination in itself, an architectural masterpiece with a spherical, spaceship-like theater and a rooftop terrace with stunning city views.

The second major exhibition since the museum opened in 2021, regeneration will explore both the triumphs and challenges of black American filmmakers from the medium’s inception to the civil rights movement. Expect rare and restored archival films, newsreels and home videos, photos, screenplays, costumes, posters and other impeccably curated relics. The exhibition remains on view at the Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Gallery until April 9, 2023.

tickets: $25 for adults, free for children and members. Advance reservations are required.

Lee Alexander McQueen: Spirit, Myth, Muse

Los Angeles, California

Since you are already there, walk a few steps from the Academy Museum to the neighboring one Los Angeles County Museum of Art for the Alexander McQueen exhibit. The first McQueen exhibition on the West Coast, it explores his process, innovations in fashion and art, and the interdisciplinary instincts that have shaped his career. Look for wardrobe from the Regina J. Drucker collection as well as artwork from the museum’s permanent collection. The exhibition began on April 24th and runs until October 9th at the Resnick Pavilion.

tickets: $25 for adults (from outside of LA County), free for children and members. Advance reservations are required.

Cezanne

Chicago, Illinois

The Art Institute of Chicago hosts the country’s first major Cezanne Looking back on 25 years. (It is also the first in over 70 years to be organized by the Art Institute of Chicago.) The expansive exhibition explores the artist’s work across media and genres. In total there are 80 oil paintings, 40 watercolors and drawings, and two complete sketchbooks. Expect well-known works (Madame Cezanne in a yellow chair, Still life with apples) as well as rarely shown works from public and private collections on four continents. The exhibition includes allegorical paintings, impressionist landscapes, paintings of the Montagne Sainte Victoire, portraits and bathing scenes. The exhibition opened on May 15th and runs until September 5th.

tickets: $25 for adults (from outside of Chicago), free for children and members. Advance ticket sales are required for non-members.

Strange

Melbourne, Australia

This exhibition out Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) collection spans hundreds of years of history and a wide range of media – some 400 works in total, including painting, drawing, photography, decorative arts, fashion, video, sculpture and design. It is the most historically comprehensive exhibition of its kind by an Australian arts institution.

Rather than attempting to piece together a definitive history of queer arts, the exhibition looks at the NGV’s own collection through the lens of queerness in sexuality, gender, politics and attitudes. Not all works come from artists who identify as queer: some lived in times when this was not even possible, others come from artists with a different connection to queerness. The idea is to underscore the intersectionality of queerness and that LGBTQ+ rights are inseparable from other equality movements. The exhibition opened on March 10th and runs until August 22nd.

Tickets: Free entry

Great Egyptian Museum

Giza, Egypt

More than two decades ago, the Egyptian government announced a global competition to design a museum that would house the country’s most important antiquities in a location just two kilometers from the Pyramids of Giza. Irish firm Heneghan Peng Architects won this competition and set to work designing a state-of-the-art building. Construction began in 2005, but world events and other challenges kept delaying completion. It is finally set to open in 2022 – with a target opening date of November.

If so, it will be the largest archaeological museum complex in the world, with more than 100,000 artifacts and the complete collection of King Tut’s treasures on display for the first time. (And yes, the actual pyramids are right outside – so be sure to catch those during your visit, too.)

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