Smart News Arts & Culture

The Mayor, a crested gecko, takes a feet-on approach to appreciating art.

Covid-19

Miniature Gecko Art Gallery Premieres on the Heels of Viral London Gerbil Museum

The creator behind the reptilian repertoire hopes many more pet museums are in the works

Capitol Hill Books is one of several independent bookstores selling "mystery bags."

Covid-19

Local Bookstores Offer 'Mystery Bags' of Quarantine Reading

Buyers can ask for a mix of their favorite genre or seek booksellers’ recommendations

Health care workers at Stanford and the University of Massachusetts who have placed smiling portraits of themselves on the outside of their protective gear

Covid-19

Portrait Project Reveals the Faces Behind Health Care Workers' Protective Gear

Doctors and nurses are attaching smiling photos of themselves to the outside of their protective gear to maintain connections with patients

"[W]e again have the collective opportunity to reduce usage of scarce items—both for the community at large and particularly for those on the frontline of this crisis," says curator Lora Vogt.

Covid-19

Cook These Quarantine-Friendly World War I Recipes

An online exhibition from the National WWI Museum and Memorial features recipes detailed in 1918 cookbook

An art installation by Raul Walch, created for the "Life, art, pandemic and proximity" project, is seen in Berlin on April 12, 2020.

Covid-19

Berlin Artists Turn Their Balconies Into Mini Galleries

Some 50 artists around the Prenzlauer Berg district displayed works of art for passersby to enjoy

"A Peep into the Life of a Data Scientist"

Poo-Sniffing Peeps, Miss Ameripeep and More Emerge Victorious in #PeepYourScience 2020 Competition

Blending marshmallows with scientific rigor, the contest offers levity during a difficult time

MoMA visitors walk around a sculpture by Barnett Newman titled Broken Obelisk.

Education During Coronavirus

The Museum of Modern Art Now Offers Free Online Classes

The nine classes span contemporary art, fashion and photography

The Puratos Sourdough Library in St. Vith, Belgium, uses refrigerated cabinets to slow the starters' fermentation process in order to preserve their original flavor.

Virtual Travel

Take a Virtual Tour of This Belgian Sourdough Library

Sourdough librarian Karl De Smedt has traveled the world to gather more than 120 jars of starters

Shel Silverstein's houseboat, Evil Eye, is up for sale.

Shel Silverstein's Historic Sausalito Houseboat Is Now on Sale

The children's book author and illustrator purchased the repurposed World War II vessel in 1967

A team of researchers has discovered carefully buried Iron Age chicken and hare bones that show no signs of butchery.

New Research

Hares and Chickens Were Revered as Gods—Not Food—in Ancient Britain

New research indicates that Iron Age Britons venerated brown hares and chickens long before modern Easter celebrations

The House With the Garden, seen here, is one of two excavated sites featured in the new video tour.

Virtual Travel

Take a Virtual Tour of Two Recently Excavated Homes in Pompeii

Pompeii Archaeological Park Director Massimo Osanna narrates stunning drone footage of preserved daily life in the ancient city

The deadline to submit a haiku for the "Social Distancing, Haiku and You" project is April 16.

Covid-19

This Sound Artist Is Asking People to Record COVID-19 Haikus

Called "Social Distancing, Haiku and You," Alan Nakagawa's project will result in a sound collage that interweaves a multitude of voices

Decorated eggs from the Isis Tomb, Vulci, Italy, on display in the British Museum

Ornately Decorated Eggs Have Been Traded Worldwide for Thousands of Years

A new analysis of ancient ostrich eggs at the British Museum underscores the interconnectedness of the ancient world

This week's feature is a 2012 adaptation of Jesus Christ Superstar starring Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm as Mary Magdalene and Ben Forster as Jesus.

Covid-19

The Show Must Go On(line): Watch Free Broadway Musicals Every Friday

Select Andrew Lloyd Webber productions will stream on YouTube for 48 hours at a time

Artist Shing Yin Khor is recreating famous works of art, including Marina Abramovic's The Artist Is Present, in "Animal Crossing."

Virtual Travel

Meet the Artist Behind Animal Crossing's Art Museum Island

The art within Shing Yin Khor's virtual world represents a sassy response to the game's built-in natural history museum

This miniature room design by Julie Dumas Rose is a finalist in Eny Lee Parker's Clay Play challenge.

These Artists Used Clay to Build Their Dream Homes in Miniature

Ceramics artist Eny Lee Parker hosted a contest that asked quarantined creators to imagine their ideal rooms

A gallery assistant poses with Andy Warhol's Elvis 1 and 2 1963-4 during a press preview for Tate Modern's retrospective on March 10, 2020.

Virtual Travel

Take a Virtual Tour of Tate Modern's Andy Warhol Exhibition

The show ran for just five days before the London museum closed due to COVID-19

1796 portrait miniature of Mary Pearson by William Wood

Cool Finds

Newly Discovered Portrait Depicts Woman Who May Have Inspired Jane Austen Character

Mary Pearson, who was briefly engaged to the writer's brother, may be the real-life counterpart of Lydia Bennet from "Pride and Prejudice"

London-based couple Filippo Lorenzin and Marianna Benetti built a miniature museum for their pet gerbils.

Covid-19

Quarantined Couple Builds Art Museum to Entertain Pet Gerbils

The story of two bored art lovers who found a way to "a-mouse" themselves

Ta-Kr-Hb was likely an ancient Egyptian princess or priestess.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Paintings of Goddess in 3,000-Year-Old Mummy's Coffin

Researchers lifted the ancient Egyptian mummy out of her coffin for the first time in 100 years and, to their surprise, uncovered the ancient artworks

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