The Bronx Museum of the Arts announced its Seventh AIM Biennial will open January 23, 2026. The new exhibition will highlight the power of artistic collaboration and community in today’s fractured cultural moment.

According the Bronx Museum’s press release, the exhibition is organized around a curatorial vision that “rises against division with a vision — and infrastructure — of connection.” The Biennial presents work by 28 artists who completed the Museum’s signature AIM (Artists in the Marketplace) Fellowship in 2024 and 2025.

AIM, the Bronx Museum’s long-running professional development program for emerging New York City–based artists, pairs year-long training with opportunities to exhibit work in institutional contexts — a rare and vital stepping stone in careers often hindered by structural inequities in the art world.

The exhibition brings together a diverse cohort whose practices span sculpture, photography, installation, performance, and time-based media. Each artist explores themes of connection and disconnection, whether through personal memory, community ties, interrogations of social systems, or reflections on individual identity in broader collective frameworks.

Highlights include:

• Jennifer Teresa Villanueva’s cyanotypes documenting ancestral homes and generational change;
• Delvin Lugo’s table installation honoring moments of found family and belonging;
• Asia Stewart’s provocative video work, which examines empire and symbolism;
• Bryan Fernandez’s mixed media piece, channeling the urban streetscape into the gallery.

Bryan Fernandez’ work, Beso a la Camera. Source: Bronx Museum.

Curated by Patrick Rowe, Director of Education & Public Engagement, and Nell Klugman, the exhibition reflects the close relationships formed during the AIM Fellowship and underscores the Museum’s commitment to fostering ongoing support and exchange among artists.

In addition to the exhibition, the Museum has programmed a series of artist-engagement opportunities throughout the Biennial’s run, including the 2026 AIM Convening on February 7, 2-26, a professional development event designed and facilitated by the 2025 AIM cohort, as well as monthly family art-making programs led by exhibiting artists.

The Biennial runs through June 28, 2026, offering free admission to all — a cornerstone of the Bronx Museum’s mission to make contemporary art accessible and relevant to broad and diverse audiences.

This latest Biennial continues the Museum’s legacy of elevating historically marginalized artists and strengthening cultural infrastructure in the South Bronx. Even amid ongoing renovations to the Museum’s South Wing, which briefly closed the institution for installation work earlier this month, the Biennial marks a moment of return and renewal for the city’s only free contemporary art museum.

For more on exhibition programming, visiting hours and the Seventh AIM Biennial at the Bronx Museum, see the Bronx Museum’s official site.