Mosaics in Istanbul's ancient Hagia Sophia will be covered by curtains or lasers during times of Muslim prayer, the spokesman for Turkey's ruling AK Party said on Monday, after President Tayyip Erdogan converted the museum into a mosque.

Japan's first national museum dedicated to the indigenous Ainu people of northern Japan opened Sunday after repeated delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Istanbul's iconic Hagia Sophia is to reopen for Muslim worship as a mosque after an almost nine-decade hiatus, in the latest historic tussle with Christianity over religious sites.The move adds to a long list of such conversions of holy sites over the centuries. The following are examples:   

Mongolia's annual Naadam sporting festival kicked off Saturday without a live audience for the first time in its 800-year history as COVID-19 fears gripped the Central Asian country.

Pope Francis on Sunday joined an international chorus of condemnation of Turkey's decision to convert Istanbul's iconic Hagia Sophia landmark back into a mosque.

Several of opera's biggest stars beamed in from around the world on Saturday to announce the Metropolitan Opera's latest virtual initiative amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The Tokyo art exhibit opened to enthusiastic visitors, but many of those circulating weren't just there to soak in some culture -- they were casing the joint for a midnight raid.

A special edition of ARTJOG will be presented in the form of ARTJOG: RESILIENCE from Aug. 8 to Oct. 10.

Roy Lichtenstein's "Nude with Joyous Painting" was the big seller as a Christie's hybrid sale fetched an impressive $421 million Friday.

Turkish President announced that the Hagia Sophia would be reopened for Muslim worship as a mosque, sparking fury in the Christian community and neighboring Greece.

With Britain's coronavirus lockdown eased, sculptor Anish Kapoor can finally exhibit his work at Houghton Hall.

UNESCO must be notified of any change in the status of Istanbul's sixth-century Hagia Sophia museum and the changes may have to be reviewed by its World Heritage committee, the United Nation's cultural body said on Thursday.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday gave his blessing to a faithful reconstruction of the spire of the fire-damaged Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, in a change of heart after previously calling for a "contemporary" touch.

The US artist behind a wooden statue of Melania Trump in Slovenia said Thursday that he was mulling an "artistic response" after his work was burned down at the weekend.

French authorities have opened an investigation into Parisian street artist Wilfrid A, known for his uplifting graffiti, after almost 30 women filed complaints accusing him of rape and sexual assault, prosecutors told AFP on Wednesday.

Britain's National Gallery reopens on Wednesday, with masks recommended and social distancing and advance booking mandatory, as the country continues to emerge from three months of coronavirus lockdown.

Vivienne Westwood and Wolfgang Tillmans are among 100 artists who have contributed art and articles to a new magazine LIMBO created especially to help colleagues who are out of work and to capture the world during lockdown. 

As museums and galleries are emerging from their coronavirus lockdowns, most are still puzzling over how to reconfigure their spaces in line with new health and safety regulations. 

The guide explained how Jakarta was a melting pot of many cultures.

Five museums under the Education and Culture Ministry in Jakarta have started welcoming visitors again.

A Hong Kong museum chronicling the crackdown by Chinese troops on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square is raising funds to digitalize its collection as concerns over a new national security law create uncertainty over its future.

The exhibition is about exceeding one's limit and turning problems into strengths.

“Considering the current situation, we’d like to apologize that our performance has had to be postponed,” said Teater Koma’s manager, Ratna Riantiarno, on the troupe’s Instagram account.

Despite current travel restrictions, art lovers can discover more than 50 monumental sculptures scattered around the globe in Christie's new selling exhibition.

A philharmonic orchestra performed to spectator-free Roman ruins in east Lebanon Sunday, after a top summer festival downsized to a single concert in a year of economic meltdown and pandemic.

Patriarch Kirill, the leader of Russia's Orthodox Church, said on Monday that calls to convert Istanbul's Hagia Sophia into a mosque posed a threat to Christianity.

Britain will spend nearly $2 billion to help theaters, art galleries and other cultural institutions survive the coronavirus crisis.

While this year's Turner Prize was canceled in May in reaction to the pandemic, Tate Britain announced that it will be splitting a £100,000 ($123,000) fund for the prestigious award into ten Turner Bursaries.

While some museums have had to cancel or postpone long-planned exhibits because of the coronavirus, organizers of a Van Gogh show in Toronto had a novel idea: offering art lovers a drive-in option.

Donning masks and observing social-distancing practices, movie and theater fans on Saturday bid a final farewell to Thailand's La Scala theater in Bangkok, which is set to close its doors in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.