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Arts & Culture

For "Overboard," artist Andy Yoder created more than 200 Nike Air Jordan sneakers using garbage.

Artist Fashions Nike Air Jordan 5s From Trash

Sculptor Andy Yoder’s latest exhibition is a nod to the Great Shoe Spill of 1990 and the advances in ocean science that came from it

Jennifer Angus, "In the Midnight Garden," 2015.

Smithsonian Voices

Twelve Artworks and the Spooky Movies They Bring to Mind

Undead animals, creepy kitties, cyanotype cemeteries and other ghouls and creepy stuff to be found at the Smithsonian American Art Museum

The liberal arts college is home to the country’s longest continuously operating broomcraft workshop.

Artisan America

This Kentucky College Has Been Making Brooms for 100 Years

Berea College’s broomcraft program carries on an American craft tradition that’s rarely practiced today

The National Native American Veterans Memorial, designed by Cheyenne and Arapaho artist Harvey Pratt, features a steel circle balanced on a carved drum.

Secretary Lonnie Bunch on the New Memorial to Native American Veterans

Located in front of the National Museum of the American Indian, the sculpture reminds us of the true burden of freedom

Why does smaller size, like that of the anteater, benefit species in different environments, wondered one Smithsonian reader.

Why Are South American Animals Smaller Than Those on Other Continents?

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

The classic Turkey red, sported by everyone from Rosie the Riveter to Tupac Shakur.

The Global History of the Bandana

How an Indian export became part of the fabric of American life

Agricultural mechanization resulted in the loss of hedges: In 1946, there were an estimated 500,000 miles of hedgerows in England; by 1993, there were 236,000 miles. A neatly trimmed border hedge in Craigleith, Edinburgh.

How Hedges Became the Unofficial Emblem of Great Britain

A shear celebration of the ubiquitous boxy bushes that have defined the British landscape since the Bronze Age

Student drawings (paint on paper) by Ralph Steadman, circa 1958. The artist attended art school while working as a newspaper cartoonist.

Ralph Steadman’s Earlier Work Shows the Artist’s Abstract Streak

As a student, the future caricaturist tried his hand at a different type of brushwork

The Original Selfie Craze Was the Mirror

Today’s social media obsession has its roots in the development centuries ago of the reflective material

A new form of entertainment and a wandering trainload of frozen turkey triggered a convenience food boom.

A Brief History of the TV Dinner

Thanksgiving’s most unexpected legacy is heating up again

Édouard Dubufe’s portrait of Bonheur, embellished with a bull that Bonheur herself added, is on view in Bonheur’s meticulously preserved studio.

The Trailblazing French Artist Rosa Bonheur Is Finally Getting the Attention She Deserves

She was an international superstar. And then she was ignored. Now one family is working fervently to restore the forgotten genius to greatness

At age 11, Naomi Wadler spoke before a crowd of thousands in 2018 about remembering the lives of black women and girls lost to gun violence.

How Girls Have Brought Political Change to America

The history of activism in young girls, who give voice to important issues in extraordinary ways, is the topic of a new Smithsonian exhibition.

Su Nueva Laundromat in West Lawn, Chicago, is the official polling place for about 700 registered voters.

Eight of America’s Most Unusual Polling Places

To capture democracy in America, photographer Ryan Donnell tracks down polls in surprising locations across the country

Donna Hayashi Smith, a curator, has been in charge of everything from borrowing famous paintings to handling a 19th-century menorah. Here, she holds a French porcelain vase from 1820.

Behind the Scenes With the White House Residence’s Long-Serving Staff

A former first lady salutes the long-serving workers who keep the nation’s foremost home running smoothly

With air temperature at -17 degrees Celsius and water at 1 degree Celsius, Finns take a dip in an unfrozen hole of water after a sauna session in Vaasa, Finland.

Covid-19

What Americans Can Learn From Winter-Loving Cultures

With large indoor gatherings off-limits, the Covid-19 pandemic is giving everyone more reason to stay outside

Xanthia DeBerry, with her daughters Angelica and Aniaya, is part of the seed saving project.

New Project Aims to Revive Ozark Cuisine Through Seeds

St. Louis chef Rob Connoley looks to reconnect black farmers to heritage crops, using records from a 19th century seed store

The Netflix film features Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Bobby Seale and Mark Rylance as lawyer William Kunstler.

The True Story of ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’

Aaron Sorkin’s newest movie dramatizes the clash between protestors on the left and a federal government driven to making an example of them

A new book by Sabrina Vourvoulias, with illustrations by Gloria Félix, is aimed at a young audience, but older readers stand to learn from the significant, and often unrecognized, contributions Latinos have made to the United States.

Why Latino History Is American History

The new children’s book, ‘Nuestra América,’ is chock-full of educators, activists, celebrities and others that make up the American landscape

Wally Koval has transformed his wildly popular Instagram account Accidentally Wes Anderson into a book of the same name.

Ten Places That Could Be Straight Out of a Wes Anderson Film

A new book showcases photographs of quirky and colorful places that aesthetically—and accidentally—match the filmmaker’s style

The second season of "The Spanish Princess" presents a highly dramatized version of the Battle of Flodden. In actuality, the queen (seen here in a c. 1520 portrait) never rode directly into battle.

Based on a True Story

When Catherine of Aragon Led England’s Armies to Victory Over Scotland

In 1513, Henry VIII’s first queen—acting as regent in her husband’s absence—secured a major triumph at the Battle of Flodden

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