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Artists

Trending Today

Artist Geocaches His Work Throughout Central Park

Brad Troemel’s Freecaching is a tongue-in-cheek response to New York’s high rent and a new way to “store” artwork

The Santa Fe Railyard

The New Art Scene Transforming Santa Fe

The city’s image as a mecca of Southwestern-themed art and folksy spiritualism has begun to evolve, thanks to artists and entrepreneurs

Tens of thousands of sticky notes were used to create the communal artwork/therapy session.

Cool Finds

New Yorkers’ Post-Election Post-its Will Be Preserved

Subway Therapy captured a city’s outpouring of emotion. Now, the notes New Yorkers left behind will be archived

New York's shrine to the performing arts has never seen a dancer quite like this.

Cool Finds

A Huge Bronze Hippo in a Tutu Is Coming to Lincoln Center

Her name is Hippo Ballerina, and she’s sure to make theatergoers do a double-take

This Christmas, St. Peter's Square has a tree, a nativity scene and a message about refugees.

Trending Today

Pope’s New Nativity Scene Raises Awareness of Worldwide Refugee Crisis

It’s a lavish display complete with a plea for racial tolerance

"An open line of communication and mutual exchange can ensure that grassroots operations are able to thrive in increasingly challenging urban arenas."

Commentary

In the Aftermath of Oakland’s Tragedy, How Museums Can Better Serve Local Arts and DIY Venues

One Smithsonian curator weighs in on new best practices for outreach

The new work is nearly 21 feet tall and weights almost 900 pounds.

Evoking a Ship’s Rippling Sail, This New Sculpture Aims to Make Global Connections

The African Art Museum at its first award ceremony recognizes two international artists who have overcome personal hardships to excel

The Raft, May 2004, Video/sound installation

Keep an Eye on These Portraits Because They Move

Noted visual artist Bill Viola is subject of the first all-video exhibition in one of D.C.’s oldest buildings.

“Current” would turn the entire stretch of the river into a dynamic, multi-colored piece of art.

Cool Finds

Ambitious New Public Art Project Will Turn the Thames Into an Illuminated Canvas

When Illuminated River launches in 2018, it will be the biggest such project ever undertaken

Sonny Assu Uses Graffiti to Reassert Native Culture

The 41-year-old artist mashes decades-old depictions of indigenous peoples with modern-day style

James Welch is featured on today's Google home page in honor of his birthday.

Google Makes Ledger Art to Celebrate Legendary Native American Author James Welch

In an exclusive interview with Smithsonian.com, artist Sophie Diao talks about what inspired today’s Google Doodle

Argentinians look on as Marta Minují's 1983 Parthenon of books is removed with a crane. The artist will recreate her installation on a grander scale in Germany next year.

Cool Finds

An Artist Is Building a Parthenon of Banned Books

More than 100,000 books will become a monument to intellectual freedom in Germany next year

A visitor to the Andy Warhol Museum experiences a Warhol print of a Coca-Cola bottle with the help of an audio app and a tactile 3D reproduction.

Cool Finds

Visually Impaired People Can Now Explore Andy Warhol’s Work With Their Ears and Fingers

“Out Loud” adds depth to an artist obsessed with the surface of things

Dish with copper-red glaze, and a Xuande mark in cobalt oxide on the base, China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen Ming Dynasty, Xuande reign (1426-1435)

What a Mark Rothko Painting Has in Common With a Ming Dynasty Dish

This one vibrant color, rich in symbolism, unites two works across five centuries

Woman in E by Ragnar Kjartansson, 2016

Why a Woman Is Playing the Same Guitar Chord Over and Over Again at the Hirshhorn

The absurdly comedic work of Iceland’s top performance artist Ragnar Kjartansson

In her new book, the acclaimed Thunder & Lightning: Weather, Past, Present and Future, Lauren Redniss is intrigued by how people have coped with, survived, or failed in extreme weather situations.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

How the 2016 MacArthur Genius Award Recipient Lauren Redniss Is Rethinking Biography

The visual biographer of Marie and Pierre Curie turns to her next subject, weather, lightning and climate change

Iggy Pop Life Class by Jeremy Deller

Iggy Pop Bares More Than Abs in New Art Exhibition About Masculinity

Punk meets pencil in an art show that examines the portrayal of masculinity throughout the centuries

Weeping Window will travel throughout the U.K. through 2018.

Europe

How the Poppy Came to Symbolize World War I

Red blooms help the world commemorate a bloody war

The Curious George series has sold 10,000 times the initial print run.

When Curious George Made a Daring Escape From the Nazis

The authors of the children’s book series fled wartime France with the manuscript tied to their bikes

Marina Abramović, The Artist is Present, Performance, 3 months, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, 2010

What to Make of Marina Abramović, the Godmother of Performance Art

Is her body of work art, magic, theater or masochism?

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