Arts

Arts

That arresting image was made from a tiny portrait of the artist's brother, expanded to monumental public proportions, that announced the Met's "Witnessing Humanity" exhibit, a Wilson retrospective that continues through February 8. In the picture, the brother's brow is steadfast, his gaze grave and alert, mouth and chin resolutely composed; perhaps no Black face has ever so effectively stared down the self-regard of Manhattan's Museum Mile.

Since the 1990s, has been a constant presence in the creative pulse of San Francisco. His imagery, populated by hybrid figures, spiritual bonds between humans and animals, and emotionally charged atmospheres, was shaped within the same ecosystem that gave rise to much of the city's underground culture. From Upper Playground to global collaborations with brands like Nike and Adidas, his path has always been defined by a deeply personal drive for exploration.

9:30 am Free Legion of Honor Museum Day for Bay Area Residents (Every Saturday) FREE* *Free general admission to Bay Area residents. Valid ID or proof of residency required. This offer applies only to the permanent collection galleries. Timed advanced tickets required 9:30 am Free de Young Museum Day for Bay Area Residents (Every Saturday) FREE* *Free general admission to Bay Area residents. Valid ID or proof of residency required. This offer applies only to the permanent collection galleries. Advanced timed tickets required.

In a new letter, the Trump White House has reignited its threat to pull funding from the Smithsonian Institution amid a probe of the federally funded organization's programming, budgets, and forthcoming commemorations for the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. Dated December 18, the letter addressed to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III underscored that the institution has yet to provide the majority of the documents requested in August, including "current exhibition descriptions, draft plans for upcoming shows, upcoming programming materials, and internal guidelines used in exhibition development."

In fact, the Chilean artist even believed she would die in obscurity, although she told EL PAIS that the lack of external recognition never deterred her from dedicating her life to art. I remember reading a children's biography of Mozart, a genius who reached the point of despair out of going hungry, and the idea stuck with me that sublime art wasn't related to recognition, value, or money, she confessed.

Outside an abandoned building in New Zealand's second-biggest city, a sign reads slightly haunted but manageable. In the middle of a busy shopping strip, pedestrians are warned to keep to a 2.83km/h walking speed. In another part of the Christchurch, one piece of signage declares simply don't. The baffling boards are not an overzealous new council initiative, but a piece of art designed to play with the way we take authority and signage so seriously.

His exhibitions were titled 'Normal Life' and his paintings were titled 'Untitled'. There were a few exceptions with small subtitles, but the pattern was mostly consistent. This may seem simple at rst glance, but it comes from his intention to step back and keep a certain distance from his work. This attitude also appears in the way he paints gures without tying them to specic people, allowing anyone to see themselves in them.

I Can Do That! Performing Arts Center begins 2026 with the high-energy show Newsies, the Musical, Jan. 16-25 at Walnut Creek's Del Valle Theatre on 1963 Tice Valley Blvd. Inspired by the real-life newsboys' strike of 1899, Newsies features music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Jack Feldman and book by Harvey Fierstein. Set in turn-of-the-century New York City, the show follows Jack Kelly and a band of young newspaper sellers who rally together to stand up against powerful publishers and fight for what's right.

Tony Hawk, the skateboarding legend synonymous with daring tricks and modern skate culture, over the weekend faced an experience "WAY outside" his comfort zone: performing in a ballet. The San Diego native and "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater" namesake, 57, made his ballet debut Saturday skating on stage for Golden State Ballet's production of "The Nutcracker." During the one-of-a-kind showing at San Diego's Civic Theatre, Hawk appeared in multiple scenes of the beloved holiday ballet, entertaining audiences with tricks while in costume.

I started dancing when I was three years old, after asking my mom for ballet lessons as we walked past a studio. From then on, all I wanted to do was dance. That love eventually led me somewhere I, as an introvert, never expected: Hong Kong Disneyland. It started in 2017, when Hong Kong Disneyland held an audition at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore, where I was studying for my diploma in dance.

MarieEve Proteau is a Canadian painter based in Austria, known for dreamy, surreal portraits of women whose faces and bodies are partially hidden by plants, hair, veils or patterned shadows. After earlier experiments painting on unconventional supports like retro TV sets, she now focuses on acrylic on canvas and wood panels, using soft gradients, tropical foliage, snakes, tattoos and reflections to explore identity, vulnerability and the parts of ourselves we conceal.

When Marjorie Prime premiered a decade ago, its technology felt abstract and futuristic. Today, it feels incremental. Artificial intelligence is no longer a novelty; it is fluent, responsive, and embedded in daily life. What once played as a cautionary what if now lands as a question of habit: not whether we would use such technology, but why we already do.

The returns, announced by the Manhattan District Attorney's office, follow multiple criminal investigations into international trafficking networks. According to the DA's office, traffickers exploited periods of instability and weak oversight to plunder sites such as Bubon, routing objects through Switzerland, the UK and the US. Once in New York, prosecutors say, dealers allegedly fabricated provenance records that allowed looted artefacts to be exhibited, published, and sold.

Based in France, Roberto Ricci is a self-taught comic artist who works in publishing, video games and movies, as well as in teaching. He's particularly inspired by Metal Hurlant authors, and his latest clients include Dark Horse Comics and Activision. He works in a wide variety of mediums, but particularly likes traditional mediums like ink, watercolour, acrylic and gouache. Below he shares three examples of his work.

Walking along the quayside and crossing the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, they pointed out landmarks to Phoebe as they went: the Tyne Bridge, the Glasshouse International Centre for Music. They arrived, eventually, at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, where Harold Offeh's exhibition The Mothership Collective 2.0 was showing (it's on until 18 January). The show is described as a sci-fi playscape for collaborative encounters and made up of different zones.

Deep in the forest of Salta, Argentina, I watch a group of women in long floral skirts expertly wield machetes. Metal blades as long as my torso whizz through the dry air to make a clearing among the treacherous spiked palo borracho trees, and colossal cacti with finger-length needles. Slowly, methodically, they wrangle the chaguar, another perilous plant, and peel the sharp spines from its sword-shaped leaves with their bare hands.

It was a white-glove Christmas auction of singer and actor Bing Crosby's personal collection, which made a 100% sell-through rate and $6.7m at Sotheby's in New York last night against an estimate of $3.9m to $6.3m (totals include buyer's premium; estimates do not). Among the most festive lots were the musical arrangements for Crosby's 1954 hit musical film, White Christmas, which flew six times over the low estimate to fetch $19,050.

As you remake New York into a better home for all those forgotten by the politics of our city, a place where working people and immigrants truly feel the power that belongs in their hands, remember this: Arts and culture are the very vehicles through which we express the power to shape our destinies. We must ensure that every member of our communities can actively participate in artistic and cultural creation and access affordable, local arts programs.