Culture

SpotlightGiotto, Padua, Jerusalem: The First Kiss in Art History

Bélinda Ibrahim 05/08 18:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Within the sacred dimness of the Scrovegni Chapel, this scene immediately draws the eye with its unexpected tenderness. Two faces nearly touch, two foreheads gently meet and two lips reach for each other. This is neither Romeo and Juliet nor Tristan and Isolde, but Joachim and Anne, the biblical couple and parents of Mary, the future mother of ...

Chopin’s Spirit Fills Polish Mountain Town at Festival

This is Beirut 05/08 12:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Chopin Festival Music Art Piano Culture

A few hundred people gather in front of a large white tent in the peaceful spa town of Duszniki-Zdroj, nestled on the Polish-Czech border. Inside, the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra is preparing to open the 80th edition of the International Chopin Piano Festival. "I've loved Chopin for so many years!" said Erin Gao, a 33-year-old from ...

$Rodin’s \$

Rodin’s "Thinker" Submerged in Plastic as UN Talks on Pollution Open

This is Beirut 05/08 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Arts Environment Plastic UN Switzerland Culture

A replica of Auguste Rodin's famous sculpture The Thinker outside the United Nations headquarters was slowly submerged in plastic rubbish Monday as countries gathered in a bid to finalize a global treaty on plastic pollution. The sculpture will slowly disappear under layer upon layer of bottles, toys, fishing nets and other garbage during the 10 ...

InterviewsFrom Beirut’s August 4 Tragedy to 'Blooming Joy' by Rana Hatem Slim

Marie-Christine Tayah 04/08 19:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Painting August 4 Beirut Culture Art Beirut

Gemspace Art Gallery, tucked in the heart of Beirut, is hosting the solo exhibition of artist Rana Hatem Slim. Titled Blooming Joy, the collection invites visitors into a luminous, sensory world where color and emotion intertwine to celebrate joy in all its forms. Rana Hatem Slim spoke to This is Beirut about her work. In the gentle chaos of ...

Italy’s Fast Fashion Hub Turns Into Chinese Mafia Crime Battleground

This is Beirut 04/08 13:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Fashion Italy China Culture Art Fast-fashion

When Zhang Dayong lay in a pool of blood on a sidewalk in Rome after being shot six times, few suspected a link to Italy's storied textile hub of Prato. But a "hanger war" is raging in the city near Florence — turning Europe's largest apparel manufacturing center and a pillar of Made in Italy production into a battleground for warring Chinese ...

'Fantastic Four' Holds Box Office Lead for Second Weekend

This is Beirut 04/08 10:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Cinema Film Box Office Culture Art

The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Disney’s debut of the rebooted Marvel Comics franchise, continued to outperform the competition for a second straight weekend at the North American box office, industry estimates showed Sunday. Actor-of-the-moment Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Emmy-winner Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn star as the titular ...

SpotlightClothing the Silence: Widows' Attires Around the World

Bélinda Ibrahim 03/08 18:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Widows Dresses World Rituals Mourning

The death of a husband never left women untouched in terms of dress. From Victorian black crepe to Hindu white saris, a widow’s clothing is a signal. It embodies absence. It draws a line between before and after. It imposes on the female body a way of existing in the world, between pain, modesty and sometimes submission. And while mourning is ...

Word of the weekMicro-influencer: Trust Over Fame

Sana Richa Choucair 03/08 15:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

In the ever-evolving landscape of social media, a new type of influencer has emerged: not the celebrity with millions of followers, but the relatable figure with a smaller, more engaged audience: the “micro-influencer.” The rise of this term says a lot about how influence is being redefined in the digital age. What Does “Micro-influencer” ...

Indian Filmmakers Rush to Cash In on Cross-Border Conflict

This is Beirut 03/08 10:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Cinema India FIlms Pakistan Culture Art

Indian filmmakers are locking up the rights to movie titles that can profit from the patriotism fanned by a four-day conflict with Pakistan, which killed more than 70 people. The nuclear-armed rivals exchanged artillery, drone, and air strikes in May, after India blamed Pakistan for an armed attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. The ...

Taylor Swift’s Madame Tussauds Wax Glamour Dazzles in Zuhair Murad

This is Beirut 02/08 14:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Fashion Luxury Zuhair Murad Music Taylor Swift Culture

Madame Tussauds celebrates Taylor Swift’s iconic career with its most ambitious project to date: a historic simultaneous launch of 13 wax figures, across four continents, each capturing a unique era. In New York, the Midnights era figure takes center stage, all dressed up in a custom Zuhair Murad design recreated with couture precision. The wax ...

Archaeological Surprise: 1,000-Year-Old Mummy Discovered in Peru’s Capital

This is Beirut 02/08 11:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Archaeology Discovery Mummy History Peru Culture

A crew of workers accidentally discovered a mummy more than 1,000 years old while installing gas pipes in Peru's capital Lima, their employer and archaeologists said Thursday. The mummy was found last week in a tomb underneath a street north of Lima, said archaeologist Jesus Bahamonde. The mummy was covered in a shroud in a seated position, arms ...

SpotlightAugust 4: Families Revive Memory With Olive Trees

Bélinda Ibrahim 01/08 18:25 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

August 4 Port of Beirut Beirut Blast Lebanon Olive Trees Lebanon

When justice falters, memory remains. A memory planted with bare hands into a soil still shaken by anger and silence. For five years, families of August 4, 2020 explosion victims have waited in vain, expecting answers, accountability, and convictions. But waiting led nowhere. So, some have stopped waiting. Not out of vengeance, but to stand their ...