Culture

Jafar Panahi Accelerates Awards Campaign Amid Global Political Constraints

This is Beirut 18:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Cinema Jafar Panahi Iran Cannes Culture Art

After years of being banned from leaving Iran, filmmaker Jafar Panahi is enjoying his tour of the United States — visiting Los Angeles, New York and Telluride — as he promotes his Oscar-hopeful It Was Just an Accident. The film, which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, has been selected by France as its official nomination for the Academy Awards, ...

VideosMiss Mexico Wins Miss Universe Crown After Intense Pageant Turmoil

This is Beirut 15:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Miss Universe Art Culture Mexico US Contest

Miss Mexico was crowned Miss Universe in Thailand on Friday, strutting to victory after several dramatic missteps before the final round, including staging a walkout when an organizer of the beauty pageant chastised her. Contestants from Ivory Coast, the Philippines, Thailand and Venezuela also made it to the final stage, selected from more than ...

Nigeria’s Bronze Masters Preserve Ancient Craft Amid Modern Pressures

This is Beirut 14:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Nigeria Africa Craftsmanship Culture Art Heritage

Using long iron tongs, Victor Uinmwen Aduwe and Matthew Mathias pick a blazing pot from a fire and pour a thick golden liquid into a partly buried mold, using a centuries-old technique that still flourishes in Nigeria's south. After a short cooling period, the mold is dug up and opened, revealing three small bronze heads fashioned after an ancient ...

'El Sueño': Frida Kahlo Sets Historic Auction Record With Iconic Painting

This is Beirut 12:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Painting Frida Kahlo Auction Art Culture NYC

A self-portrait by legendary Mexican artist Frida Kahlo sold for $54.66 million in New York on Thursday, setting a new record for the price of a painting by a woman, the auction house Sotheby's said. The sale of Kahlo's 1940 artwork, titled El sueño (La cama) — which translates to The Dream (The Bed) — breaks the previous record in this ...

Warner Music Enters Licensing Deal With AI Music Startup

This is Beirut 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Music AI Warner Copyright Patent US Culture

Warner Music Group and AI startup Udio announced on Wednesday they have settled a US copyright lawsuit and struck a deal to cooperate on a licensed artificial intelligence music creation service. The landmark agreement resolves litigation between the major label and Udio, while establishing what the companies described as a "clear framework" for ...

I Didn’t Choose to Love Fayrouz

Yara Germany 08:00 - Reading : 7 minute(s)

Lebanon Damascus USA

I didn’t choose my name, and I didn’t choose to love Fayrouz. In our home, loving Fayrouz was a heritage, a love passed down like a family secret. My name, borrowed from one of her songs—as my father proudly reminded me—bound me to her in a way I couldn’t escape. And I knew it from the very start, from the moment I could speak: “I am ...

Lebanon Hosts World Week of Italian Cuisine

Hala Abdallah 20/11 22:45 - Reading : less than a minute

Italy Italian Cuisine food

Lebanon celebrated the 10th World Week of Italian Cuisine with masterclasses, tastings, and a celebration of shared Mediterranean flavors from 17 to 21 November. What’s your favorite Italian dish?

‘Beggars Belief’: Londoners Baffled by Bizarre Christmas Mural

This is Beirut 20/11 17:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Christmas AI Mural Britain Culture

People in London were left baffled Wednesday by what appeared to be a botched AI-generated Christmas mural showing a Santa-like figure with a half-orange beard and revelers with disfigured faces. The display in posh Kingston upon Thames in southwest London at first glance seems to depict a jolly crowd enjoying the festive season. But closer ...

Something for Moi? Miss Piggy’s Shoes Go Under the Hammer

This is Beirut 20/11 15:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Entairtainment Auction Muppets US Culture Jim Henson

Some of Jim Henson's most memorable creations go under the hammer in California next week, with the first US auction of puppets and memorabilia from the late entertainer's decades-long career. Highlights include a pair of shoes worn by the domineering Miss Piggy in a "Muppets" movie, as well as puppets from "Fraggle Rock" and characters from the ...

Princess Diana enters Paris waxwork museum

This is Beirut 20/11 12:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Royals Princess Diana Museum Grevin Britain France Culture

The Grevin waxwork museum in Paris unveiled a new star attraction on Thursday: Princess Diana in the "revenge dress" she wore after public revelations about her then-husband, Prince Charles's, infidelity. The Grevin Museum in central Paris, similar to Madame Tussauds in London, already has models of Charles, who is now King Charles III, and his ...

Fondation Cartier Unveils its Bold New Home at the Heart of Paris

Marie-Christine Tayah 20/11 11:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Fondation Cartier Contemporary Art Paris Culture Exhibition Architecture

The Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain is turning a page and stepping into a bold future as it leaves boulevard Raspail for 2, Place du Palais-Royal. Moving into the former Louvre des antiquaires—a Haussmann-era building revived by Jean Nouvel, who also designed its previous home—the Fondation embraces a transformed vision of what an ...

Klimt Portrait Achieves Historic Price in Record-Breaking Auction

This is Beirut 19/11 19:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Klimt Painting Culture Art NYC Auction

A portrait by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt fetched $236.4 million in New York on Tuesday, becoming the second most expensive artwork ever sold at auction. Six bidders battled for 20 minutes over the Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, which Klimt painted between 1914 and 1916. The piece depicts the daughter of Klimt's main patron dressed in a white ...