Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) in the 2016 hit La La Land

‘La La Land,’ an Homage to Hollywood, Is Coming to Broadway

A stage adaptation of the hit 2016 movie musical is officially in the works

Owen Wilson as Carl Nargle in Paint

Owen Wilson Brings Bob Ross Energy to ‘Paint’

The comedy follows a fictional TV painter who bears a striking resemblance to Ross

Untitled (Ship in a Storm) by Sabri Al Qurashi, 2010

Pentagon Releases Guantánamo Bay Prisoners’ Art

Since 2017, detainees have been barred from taking their art out of the prison

The artists compete in a series of weekly competitions in "The Exhibit."

Hirshhorn and Smithsonian Channel Team Up for New Reality Show

In “The Exhibit,” a group of seven promising creators compete to become the “next great artist”

Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch in the 1962 film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird

Gregory Peck’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ Script Goes to Auction

Also for sale are gifts from Harper Lee, who remained close with the Peck family for years

A moment from Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, which premiered last month at Sundance Film Festival 

Michael J. Fox Reflects on Rise to Fame and Life with Parkinson’s

A new documentary offers an intimate look at the actor and activist’s story

AMC's announcement comes amid ongoing concerns about movie theaters' financial future.

AMC Theaters Will Start Charging Based on Where You Sit

Coveted spots in the middle of the theater will cost more than front-row seats

First lady Jill Biden presenting the Best Song For Social Change award to singer Shervin Hajipour

Iranian Protest Anthem That Led to Singer’s Arrest Wins a Grammy

First lady Jill Biden presented the inaugural Best Song For Social Change award

Sacha Jafri's We Rise Together—With the Light of the Moon is designed to endure on the moon’s surface.

Art Meets Science

One Small Step for Space Art

A new artwork by Sacha Jafri could travel to the moon next month

Beyoncé accepts the Best Dance/Electronic Music Album award for Renaissance during the 65th Grammy Awards.

Beyoncé Just Became the Most Awarded Artist in Grammy History

With 32 wins, the superstar has surpassed the record held by conductor Georg Solti

Artist Anish Kapoor's sculpture at 56 Leonard Street in Manhattan

Manhattan’s Mini-Bean Is Finally Complete

The sculpture, based on the famous Chicago landmark, had been under construction for years

Acclaimed director Jafar Panahi was arrested after asking about the arrests of two fellow filmmakers.

Iranian Director Jafar Panahi Released From Prison After Declaring Hunger Strike

The renowned filmmaker had been arrested in July when authorities reactivated a 2010 sentence

A little boy (Jorge Vega) who looks up to Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield) in the 2014 movie The Amazing Spider-Man 2

To Spider-Man, With Love

A new exhibition features letters children sent to the superhero’s address in Queens, where a real-life Parker family lived for decades

The Gordon Strong Automobile Objective at night

Hundreds of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Designs Were Never Built. Here’s What They Might Have Looked Like

So far, David Romero has digitally reconstructed more than 20 of the famous architect’s unrealized projects

The gold pendant likely dates to around 1521.

Cool Finds

Metal Detectorist Discovers Rare Gold Pendant Celebrating Henry VIII’s First Marriage

The heart-shaped accessory features the entwined initials of the Tudor king and Catherine of Aragon

Lisa Loring as Wednesday Addams in "The Addams Family," along with Ken Weatherwax as Pugsley Addams

Lisa Loring, the Original Wednesday Addams, Dies at 64

Loring introduced audiences to the iconic character on “The Addams Family” in 1964

The New York Public Library has acquired the papers of the late literary couple Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne.

New York Public Library Acquires Joan Didion’s Letters, Drafts and Notes

The archive includes 240 linear feet of papers from Didion and her husband, John Gregory Dunne

McCartney took the images on a 35-millimeter camera in New York, Washington, London, Liverpool, Miami and Paris.

Never-Before-Seen Photos by Paul McCartney Take You Inside Beatlemania

Hundreds of images from 1963 and 1964 are going on display at London’s National Portrait Gallery

A soldier standing guard over the Odesa Opera and Ballet Theater in March 2022

UNESCO Adds Odesa to List of World Heritage in Danger

The new designation is intended to offer additional protection and resources to the historic port city

Researchers have been studying the 37-inch-long de Brécy Tondo for decades.

Art Meets Science

Artificial Intelligence Identifies Long-Overlooked Raphael Masterpiece

A facial recognition analysis found that the faces in a mysterious painting are virtually identical to those in the artist’s “Sistine Madonna”

Page 68 of 286