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Arts & Culture

Nicolas Party at work on sunrise, sunset, 2017 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Muralist Nicolas Party Samples Great Artists of the Past Like a Visual DJ

The Hirshhorn’s installation, inspired by Barack Obama’s “sun will rise” promise of continuity, highlights fantasy landscapes, beauty of nature

Trained and created for UniverSoul Circus in Johannesburg, South Africa, the Pizza Posse marries acrobatics to slap stick comedy.

Two Circus Pros Juggle History and Race to Springboard Black Entertainers

Cedric Walker and Veronica Blair share a common fascination for the history of African-American circus

Which Books Do Americans Take on Vacation?

Our city-by-city breakdown uncovered some surprises

A 50-pound batch at Shriver’s makes about 2,000 pieces.

What Makes Salt Water Taffy the Perfect Summer Candy?

The first families of the sugary treat stir up another season of making history by the bite

What Happened to America’s Public Intellectuals?

Our nation has always depended on these heavyweights to guide us, but are they still with us, and if so, who are they?

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Catalonia

This 155-mile Hike Through the Pyrenees Merges Contemporary Art With Spain’s Stunning Landscapes

An art project of the Contemporary Art Center Nau Côclea brings artists and audiences together on a cultural pilgrimage

A carving of a wallaby, representing the Rainbow Serpent.

Australia

A Guided Tour of Australia’s Blue Mountains Follows Ancient Aboriginal Songlines

Yanna Muru’s walkabouts to sacred sites teach visitors about Darug culture

Barbara Prey's watercolor is a depiction of MASS MoCA's newest wing, which once served as a textile mill.

The Story Behind the World’s Largest Watercolor Painting

The massive artwork marks the opening of the MASS MoCA’s new 130,000-square-foot wing, which makes it the largest contemporary art museum in the U.S.

French American Music and Dance, 1983

Commentary

After 50 Years of Song, Dance, Food, Even Hog Calling, at the Folklife Festival, Is It Still Worthwhile?

Recognizing traditional culture in the information age is ever more important argues the director of the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

Piri Thomas by Máximo Colón, 1972

Why Piri Thomas’ Coming of Age Memoir Still Resonates Today

“Down These Mean Streets” was an instant classic, a text of painful truths

“The Southern BBQ Trail” episode.

Come for the Bug Eating and Get a Lesson in Humanity from Andrew Zimmern

A Q&A with the Travel Channel’s ‘Bizarre Foods’ Chef

“I felt that I was always connected to the world and the people of the world, and that activism was in me from a very young age,” Ono says.

The Long and Winding Road of Yoko Ono’s Art

A Hirshhorn exhibition of four works opens the same week Ono is credited, 46 years later, as a co-writer of the chart-topping ballad “Imagine.”

Mateo-Vega (derecha) muestra a los compañeros Emberá y Kuna cómo tomar medidas forestales. De izquierda a derecha, los técnicos indígenas Edgar Gariboldo, Chich Chamarro, Baurdino López, Evelio Jiménez, Alexis Solís. (Sean Mattson / Smithsonian)

Future of Conservation

Cómo Los Científicos y Grupos Indígenas Pueden Aliarse Para Proteger Los Bosques y el Clima

Demetrius Shipp Jr. as Tupac Shakur in All Eyez On Me.

The Musical Legacy Behind the Tupac Biopic ‘All Eyez on Me’

Curator Dwandalyn Reece from the Smithsonian’s African American Museum investigates

When Fresh Air Went Out of Fashion at Hospitals

How the hospital went from luxury resort to windowless box

Mad Max: Fury Road offers a dystopian look at the future.

Art Meets Science

What Happens to Fiction When Our Worst Climate Nightmares Start Coming True?

Movies, books and poetry have made predictions about a future that could be rapidly approaching

Brigitte Kowanz, Light Steps.

Art Installations Transform a Historic Venetian Island

San Clemente Island in the Lagoon of Venice, a former refuge for crusaders and a hospice for plague victims, opens an island-wide art show

Alexander Calder, "Five Rudders," 1964. Lent by the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University St. Louis. Gift of Mrs. Mark C. Steinberg, 1964. © 2017 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

11 New Art Exhibits to See This Summer

From Edvard Munch to sonic arcades, these shows are worth putting on your calendar this season

In his 1910 rendering of the Winslow House, Wright seems to mimic Ando Hiroshige’s use of vegetation as a frame.

Frank Lloyd Wright Credited Japan for His All-American Aesthetic

The famed architect was inspired by drawings and works from the Asian nation

Zelt 46—dithyrambisch (Tent 46—Dithyrambic) by Markus Lüpertz, 1965

It Takes Two Museums to Cover the Work of this Prolific German Neo-Expressionist

Europe’s celebrated Markus Lüpertz has a huge appetite for creativity. He’s also a poet, writer, set designer and jazz pianist

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