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Arts & Culture

Untitled from the series "Witness 1979" by Hengameh Golestan, March 11 1979

Viewing Iran and Its Complexities Through the Eyes of Visual Artists

Compelling works from six female photographers tell stories of revolution, displacement and longing for home

Hauschka performed at the 35th Munich Filmfest on June 27, 2017, in Munich, Germany.

Hitting the High Notes: A Smithsonian Year of Music

How Composer John Cage Transformed the Piano—With the Help of Some Household Objects

With screws and bolts placed between its strings, the ‘prepared piano’ offers up a wide range of sounds

The Evidence Room represents thousands of pages of testimony that was assembled by Robert Jan van Pelt, an architectural historian and the main expert witness in a British lawsuit brought by a Holocaust denier.

Using Art to Talk About the Holocaust in ‘The Evidence Room’

Museum staff discuss the reception of a difficult work that showed the vivid and painful documentation of a Nazi death camp

“We call ourselves the Great Convener,” says the new Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, “but really we’re a Great Legitimizer. And I want the Smithsonian to legitimize important issues."

Lonnie Bunch Sizes Up His Past and Future at the Smithsonian

Bunch’s new memoir details the tireless work it took to build NMAAHC and offers insights into his priorities as Smithsonian Secretary

The mostly retired singer-Songwriter Paul Simon told financier and philanthropist David M. Rubenstein that a recent dream has prompted him to work on a new extended piece of music.

Paul Simon Has 50 Ways to Charm an Audience

As the 2019 recipient of the Smithsonian’s Great Americans Medal, the musician divulged he still has one more song to write

In Northern California, purple sea urchins are decimating kelp forests. Though the species of urchin causing problems may vary by region, the damage is the same.

Could Eating Sea Urchins Help Revive Kelp Forests?

A Norwegian ‘urchin ranching’ company wants to take the echinoderms from the wild, fatten them up and sell them to restaurants

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How Lonnie Bunch Built a Museum Dream Team

An exclusive excerpt from the Smithsonian Secretary’s new book, ‘A Fool’s Errand’

The artist says he paints to music, improvising his brushstrokes in the manner of a jazz soloist.

How Peter Wayne Lewis Infuses His Artwork With the Spirit of Jazz

A new exhibit explores bebop and the Buddha

In "Choose Your Own Adventure" books, the readers dictate the plot's twists and turns.

Is the Future of Entertainment the 40-Years-Old ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ Series?

Forty years ago, a beloved paperback series set the stage for today’s obsession with interactive entertainment

Photo Contest Featured Photographer

From Skinning Coconuts to Tire Recycling, This Photographer Captures Vietnam at Work

Huynh Thanh Huy presents a striking portrait of a nation undergoing a dramatic shift from agriculture to manufacturing

“All evidence suggests that this was the first cloud guitar ever built for Prince,” says John Troutman, curator of American music at the National Museum of American History.

Hitting the High Notes: A Smithsonian Year of Music

Here’s the Guitar That Prince Revolutionized Music With in ‘Purple Rain’

The artist gave the “cloud” guitar to the Smithsonian in 1993, but only now do we know it’s the same instrument used in the iconic movie

Sochan, a relative of the sunflower, can grow up to ten feet tall. Packed with vitamins and minerals, it rivals kale as a nutritional powerhouse.

Cherokee Indians Can Now Harvest Sochan Within a National Park

For the first time, the indigenous community is allowed to gather the cherished plant on protected land

More than 50,000 empty plastic bottles were used to construct Panama's Plastic Bottle Village.

From Bottles to Newspapers, These Five Homes Were Built Using Everyday Objects

Open for visitors, these houses model upcycling at its finest

A rooftop view with gargoyles on the left and other statuary, circa 1860.

A Hymn to Notre-Dame

In which the renowned author of thrillers and mysteries praises the Gothic beauty, damaged by fire but destined to inspire again

The Randall Park Mall in Ohio, photographed here in 2014, was opened in 1971 and abandoned in 2009. Amazon has built a new distribution center on the site.

The Rise of the Zombie Mall

Hundreds of big retail centers have gone under, but the shop-til-you drop lifestyle isn’t dead yet

When she learned to play the theremin, Dorit Chrysler was struck by its emotional expressiveness.

A Century Ago, This Eerie-Sounding Instrument Ushered in Electronic Music

Now, the theremin—a strange little invention that translates hand gestures into pitch and volume—could make a comeback

The process of coloring the test objects took between 15 and 40 minutes.

This New Dye Changes Color When Exposed to UV Light

Color-change shoes, jewelry, cars, furniture and more could be possible with this new MIT technology

People gathered to watch a giant peach as it is moved through the center of Cardiff in September 2016—part of a celebration of the 100th anniversary of Roald Dahl's birth.

Exploring Roald Dahl’s Wondrous Wales

Follow in the footsteps of the beloved children’s book author by visiting these four locales in the United Kingdom

Fishless filets are on the rise.

Move Over Fake Meat, It’s Time for Veggie Seafood

Here are six companies bringing you animal-free fish products, from tomato-based sushi to “Fysh Sauce”

Starlit Stratus rendering, by Sunggi Park

Art Meets Science

These Wild Sculptures Could Bring Sustainable Energy to the Desert

Winners of this year’s Land Art Generator Initiative competition proposed beautiful, power-generating works of public art for Abu Dhabi

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