Culture

Amazigh Facial Tattoos in Morocco Vanish Amid Shifting Religious Attitudes
Amazigh Facial Tattoos in Morocco Vanish Amid Shifting Religious Attitudes

As a young girl growing up in the Atlas Mountains, Hannou Mouloud's family took her to have her chin tattooed with the cherished lines that generations of Moroccan Amazigh tribeswomen wore.  "When I was six, they told me tattoos were pretty adornments," recalled the 67-year-old from Imilchil village, referring to the once-common practice among ...

Glenn Close Stars in ‘The Summer Book’ Film Adaptation
Glenn Close Stars in ‘The Summer Book’ Film Adaptation

American director Charlie McDowell got the idea to adapt The Summer Book, the novel by Finnish author Tove Jansson, for the screen during the height of the COVID pandemic. He wanted to highlight what truly matters in life: love, grief, aging, and nature.  This book, a classic of international literature, was published in 1972 and tells the story ...

Tribute Bands Bring Legendary Music Icons Back to Life
Tribute Bands Bring Legendary Music Icons Back to Life

Immortal, or almost: Queen, Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Abba, and other legendary artists are brought back to life through “tributes,” these acts that let audiences relive “something impossible” by taking them back in time and through hit songs. “Freddie, I love you!” shouts a Mercury fan, as “We Are the Champions” echoes through ...

Hope Amidst the Ruins: Baghdad's Cultural Renaissance
Hope Amidst the Ruins: Baghdad's Cultural Renaissance

In a striking revival of Baghdad’s cultural landscape, an Iraqi professor led a group of students on a walking tour of the city's historic center, highlighting centuries-old landmarks once deemed unsafe to visit. The tour paused at a formidable stone wall built to protect the city from Mongol invaders, a testament to Baghdad's rich ...

Dutch Museum Displays Andy Warhol's Queens in \
Dutch Museum Displays Andy Warhol's Queens in "Royal Edition" Exhibition

A Dutch museum recently unveiled a rare collection of prints by Andy Warhol, depicting female royalty, crafted shortly before the pop art icon's untimely death 36 years ago. Titled Royal Edition, the exhibition at the stately Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn showcases 16 prints of reigning queens. The portraits include that of the former Dutch queen, ...

Crowned with the Nobel Prize in Literature: Han Kang, Anatomist of the Soul
Crowned with the Nobel Prize in Literature: Han Kang, Anatomist of the Soul

Born on November 27, 1970, in Gwangju, Han Kang is the daughter of writer Han Seung-won. Her childhood and writing have been forever marked by the bloody suppression of the Gwangju Uprising in her hometown in 1980, when she was just 9 years old. Although her family had moved to Seoul just before the tragedy, her accidental discovery of photos of ...

Pharrell Williams and Lewis Hamilton to Co-Chair Met Gala 2025 Celebrating Black Dandyism
Pharrell Williams and Lewis Hamilton to Co-Chair Met Gala 2025 Celebrating Black Dandyism

Pharrell Williams and F1 driver Lewis Hamilton will co-chair the next Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of New York, which will focus on the history of fashion through black diasporas, the museum announced on Wednesday. Five years after the massive anti-racist protests of the "Black Lives Matter" movement, which led many American cultural ...

Donald Trump's Tumultuous Past Explored in New Biopic 'The Apprentice' Released Before Elections
Donald Trump's Tumultuous Past Explored in New Biopic 'The Apprentice' Released Before Elections

The explosive Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice will debut in US theaters this Friday. Filmmakers are betting it will attract audiences in a nation deeply divided, just weeks before Trump faces Kamala Harris in a crucial electoral showdown. The film, spotlighting the Republican candidate’s early years, has elicited legal threats from Trump’s ...

Han Kang Awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature
Han Kang Awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature

On October 10, 2024, the Swedish Academy announced Han Kang as the laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature. This distinction marks a pivotal moment for the international recognition of contemporary South Korean literature. Born on November 27, 1970, in Gwangju, Han Kang has established herself as a prominent figure in South Korean letters. Her ...

Blitz: A Child's Journey Through War and Resilience
Blitz: A Child's Journey Through War and Resilience

Steve McQueen's new film Blitz, which premiered at the London Film Festival, serves as a stark reminder of the harsh realities of war, especially as people increasingly tend to “look away.” The Oscar-winning director, who also penned the screenplay, focuses on the effects of the Nazis' relentless bombing of Britain during World War II through ...

Impressionism Lights Its 150 Candles at the Van Gogh Museum
Impressionism Lights Its 150 Candles at the Van Gogh Museum

In celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Impressionist movement, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is preparing to host a retrospective titled “Vive l'impressionnisme!” (“Long Live Impressionism!”) This exhibition will showcase nearly a hundred works by great masters such as Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and Paul Cézanne, offering ...

 Talking About War with Your Children: A Necessity, Not an Option
Talking About War with Your Children: A Necessity, Not an Option

War has taken hold of our country, and it seems likely to go on, with its devastating consequences both collectively and individually. Our environment is saturated with the rumble of bombings, shell explosions, sonic booms and other terrifying sounds.  Everyone, whether near or far from the war zones, is experiencing the exhausting effects of ...