May has arrived, and with it, a fresh wave of global happenings that spotlight the stories shaping fashion, art, and design. From Dior’s boutique windows, reimagined by the artist Alex Chinneck, and Miu Miu’s one-night-only jazz club to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs’s sweeping new exhibition exploring the evolution of Thai dress to Peter Knapp’s Courrèges showcase at the Fondation Maeght, this month’s calendar spans continents and perspectives alike. Here are the best exhibitions, performances, and creative activations to have on your radar in May.
Safe for the Whole Family Explores Nashville’s Contemporary Christian Music Scene
Nashville’s contemporary Christian music empire gets a long-overdue reckoning in Safe for the Whole Family: How to Make a Christian Superstar, a new documentary unpacking the billion-dollar industry that shaped—and silenced—a generation of artists. Directed by filmmaker Jason Ikeler, Safe for the Whole Family follows former CCM artists Jennifer Knapp, Michael Passons, and Nikki Leonti, as they revisit the evangelical machine that launched their careers while demanding strict moral conformity behind the scenes. Featuring intimate interviews with a cross-generational lineup of influential CCM and faith-adjacent artists, the documentary explores how CCM became one of the most powerful forces in faith-based entertainment, and what happened to those who challenged its rules. “CCM wasn't just a genre – it was an industry built largely out of Nashville,” Ikeler says in a statement. “The film looks at what happens when faith, fame, and commerce become inseparable, and what it costs the people inside that system.”
Dior Brings Its Artful New Window Displays to New York and L.A.
Following Jonathan Anderson’s cruise 2027 show at LACMA, the house of Dior is continuing its dialogue with the U.S. The maison has unveiled site-specific window displays at its New York and Beverly Hills boutiques, designed by the artist Alex Chinneck. “I wanted to conceive creative responses that resonate with the architecture of the space,” Chinneck tells ELLE. “But also with the history of the house, the visual identities, and the direction that the house is going.” The sculptures draw elements from each city—in New York, a traffic light and taxicab, in Beverly Hills, a classic car and decorative lamppost—with couture-like finishes twisted into bows, spirals, and knots. “The bow was a form that made total sense in the context of Dior,” the artist explains. For Chinneck, the collaboration is reflective of Anderson’s new chapter at the house. “There’s this notion in his work that something can be both timeless and highly crafted, but also playful while not losing sight of the archive.”
‘Hidden Treasures’ Opens in New York City
For six days only, New York City becomes the stage for “Hidden Treasures, 250 Years of Franco-American Luxury Stories”—a sweeping exhibition from Comité Colbert celebrating the romance between French craftsmanship and American culture. On view at The Shed from May 26 to 31, the exhibition features rare archival pieces, exceptional objets d’art, and contemporary creations from some of France’s most storied maisons and institutions. Highlights include a Karl Lagerfeld-era Chloé ensemble from the spring/summer 1971 collection, an original Hermès Kelly bag from the ’50s, and couture pieces by Hubert de Givenchy.
The Whitney Hosts Its 2026 Gala
On May 19, the Whitney Museum of American Art hosted its annual Whitney Gala, raising a whopping $6.3 million in support of the institution. The evening welcomed star-studded guests from the art, fashion, and philanthropic worlds to honor artist Julie Mehretu—who, in 2024, donated more than $2 million to make admission for those under 25 free—Whitney board chair Fern Kaye Tessler (pictured here), and director emeritus Adam D. Weinberg. The evening kicked off with cocktails on the museum’s eighth floor, followed by a seated dinner in the lobby backdropped by a work from David Stark Design and Production.
JW Anderson Partners With Burnt Fen Flowers
Florals? For spring? This time, they’re actually groundbreaking. To celebrate the 2026 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, JW Anderson is joining forces with Burnt Fen Flowers on an exclusive installation at the annual event. Hosted at the label’s Pimlico Road store, it features 15 vases by the British florist and author Constance Spry, created in collaboration with Fulham Pottery. Five of the vases host floral arrangements by Alfie Nicholson, founder of Burnt Fen Flowers.
Tribeca Festival and Chanel Announce a Conversation With Teyana Taylor
Teyana Taylor is taking her love affair with Chanel to New York. On May 19, the maison announced that Taylor would participate in a conversation at the 2026 Tribeca Festival as part of the event’s Storytellers Series. Presented by Through Her Lens: The Tribeca Chanel Women’s Filmmaker Program, the talk will take place on Sunday, June 7, at 2:00 P.M. ET at Spring Studios with tickets available at tribecafilm.com. Taylor also joined the Chanel Through Her Lens Advisory Committee, which champions women writers and directors in the film industry. “I know how powerful it is when women are given the space, support, and confidence to fully step into their vision,” Taylor said in a statement. “That’s what Through Her Lens is about—empowering women to tell bold, honest stories in their own voice.”
De Beers Debuts ‘Voyage Through the Diamond Realm’ at Frieze New York
With a guest list that glittered nearly as much as the jewels on display, A Diamond Is Forever partnered with De Beers at Frieze New York to present “Voyage Through the Diamond Realm.” The installation brought together artists and artisans from Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and France to explore the journey of diamonds through visual storytelling, soundscapes, and scenography. The evening continued at Markette with “Matter of Eternity,” a multisensory installation by Nasir Dean that reimagined diamonds as ancient vessels of cosmic time. Guests including Sharon Stone, Swizz Beatz, Ciara, Julia Fox, and Dao-Yi Chow gathered to celebrate the evening.
Miu Miu Hosts a Jazz Club in Tokyo
To celebrate the reopening of its Ginza flagship, Miu Miu presented the Miu Miu Jazz Club on May 13—an immersive one-night event honoring the rich legacy of Japanese jazz and the women who shaped it. Conceived as a contemporary salon, the program began at the Dance Hall Shinseiki, the city’s oldest dance hall, and concluded at the historic Tokyo Kinema Club with performances and an after-party. The event featured shows from the Tokyo-based instrumentalist Lily, Reiya Terakubo, and Grammy-winning pianist Hiromi.
Courrèges and Peter Knapp Unveil a New Exhibition
Photographer Peter Knapp is revisiting the revolutionary work of his close friend and legendary fashion designer, Andrés Courrèges, with a new exhibition at the Fondation Maeght. Courrèges’s spring/summer 1965 couture collection is central to the show, as is Knapp’s 1965 spread for ELLE France in which he captured the Space Age-inspired designs. The image, which features a woman floating in an elliptical series, informs the remainder of the exhibition, which includes four large prints, archival materials, and outfits photographed by Knapp in 1965.
Musée des Arts Décoratifs Opens ‘La Mode en Majesté’
The Musée des Arts Décoratifs’s latest exhibition, “La Mode en Majesté,” traces the evolution of royal Thai dress from the 1960s to today through nearly 200 extraordinary pieces that blur the line between couture and cultural diplomacy. From Pierre Balmain creations to exquisitely crafted Thai ceremonial garments, the exhibition reveals how fashion became a language of modernity, elegance, and national identity under the vision of Queen Sirikit. On view until November 1, the installation commemorates the 170th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and Thailand.
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