culture

Women Revitalize and Redefine Traditional English Morris Dancing

Rain might be falling outside on the promenade in the English seaside resort of Blackpool but the inside of the Tower Ballroom - billed as "the UK's most spectacular" - is bathed in light, sequins, pompoms and music. Dozens of women and girls are warming up before the end-of-season Carnival Morris dancing championships, which combines traditional ...

Laurent Schwarz, Three Years Old, the New Painting Prodigy

Laurent Schwarz, only three, has quickly risen to fame on Instagram and within the art world, despite still being in diapers. Some media outlets have already dubbed him the "mini-Picasso." In a corner of their family home in Neubeuern, Bavaria, his parents have set up a small studio where this young German talent paints large abstract and ...

Coqlico: Combining Tradition and Modernity to Honor Lebanese Artistic Heritage

Lebanese startup Coqlico was born from a clear mission: to preserve and promote the rich cultural heritage of the Orient by modernizing traditional designs. Its flagship product, the finjan chaffeh, has been reimagined with new proportions and functions, creating artisanal pieces that celebrate craftsmanship while evoking a sense of nostalgia and ...

Raina Kabaivanska: Nurturing the Next Generation of Opera Stars

Raina Kabaivanska, one of the greatest sopranos of her generation and arguably the finest Tosca after Maria Callas, remains a formidable force in opera at 89. Although it has been a decade since her last stage performance, her influence endures through the young stars she mentors at her annual masterclass in Sofia. "When my career ended, I felt a ...

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 ...

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 "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, ...

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

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 ...

Stories and Highlights from the Lebanese Film Festival of France

The 4th edition of the Lebanese Film Festival of France (FFLF) will open on October 13 at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, showcasing the diversity and relevance of themes explored in Lebanese cinema, particularly regarding the portrayal of war and its aftermath. Festival Highlights Through a mix of documentaries and fictional works, the ...

Nancy Black Raps for the Romani Language and Against Racism in Austria

In Austria, Gilda-Nancy Horvath uses her rap to bring the Romani language to life and confront racists, echoing a new generation of Romani artists across Europe. Her calling is rooted in politics, "to expose the lies of the far right," which is well-established in the Alpine country where the FPÖ party recently topped the polls in the legislative ...

French Museums Enter Prisons: ‘ The Mona Lisa’ at Fleury-Mérogis

In the classroom of the school center at Fleury-Mérogis prison, Barbara Beautier, head of the “Micro-Folies” digital museums in Île-de-France, projects The Mona Lisa on a giant screen in front of four inmates.  “What strikes you about this painting?” asks the young woman, zooming in on Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece.  “Her ...