Oklahoma Contemporary’s new building, designed by Rand Elliott Architects Bright Golden Haze, the inaugural exhibition at the new Oklahoma Contemporary, explores the ways artists use light to create a sense of place. This illuminating group show featu…
Amid Lockdown, Optimistic Photos Show Dolphins and Swans Return to Venice
Venice, Italy (Patrik Andersson/Flickr) Italy is under lockdown while COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the country and claim more lives. According to reports today, March 18, about 475 people in Italy died from the virus in the last 24 hours, ra…
In search of junub, the hippie spirit of Iran’s south
Muhammad sings and dances for a crowd of Iranian tourists. Photographer Mykolas Juodele captures the relaxed atmosphere of Iran’s Persian Gulf islands Main image: Muhammad sings and dances for a crowd of Iranian tourists. Among Iranian youths, junub c…
In Cairo, Artists Use Pixels, Cyborgs, and More to Examine Technology and Belief
Bahia Shebab, “We love Life” (2019) (image courtesy of the artist) CAIRO — Near the entrance of Glitch, a group exhibition featuring the work of 13 international artists at the American University of Cairo’s Tahrir Cultural Center, is Egyptian a…
The iconic Buenos Aires art form that almost disappeared
Take a walk along Buenos Aires’ cobblestone streets and you will likely encounter one of the city’s most iconic trademarks: the fileteado porteño. Characterised by its colourful swirls – filetes – artistic lettering and flowery motifs, this pop…
The last town in Sovietland – in pictures
The town, once home to a thriving coal mining industry, is full of abandoned buildings that the government does not have funds to repair. The extremes in temperature (in winter it can get as cold as -40C) make the buildings unstable and liable to collap…
The mysterious inverted tower steeped in Templar myth
Near the manicured gardens and hilltop villas of Sintra, Portugal, lies the fairytale estate of Quinta da Regaleira. Protected within a Unesco World Heritage landscape, Quinta da Regaleira is a postcard-perfect mix of Gothic, Egyptian, Moorish and Renai…
Restorers making headway in rehabilitation of Erbil Citadel
Walking up the steeply graded hill that leads to the entrance of the Erbil Citadel is … a reporter noticed a woman walking down toward the historic bazaar. … Erbil Citadel Cultural Centre, which hosts performances and art exhibitions.
Explore Ancient Athens 3D, a Digital Reconstruction of the Greek City-State at the Height of Its Influence
Today any of us can go Athens, a city with flavorful food, pleasant weather, a picturesque setting, reasonable prices, and a decent subway system. That is to say, we can enjoy Athens as it is, but what about Athens as it was? As one of the oldest cities…
Does Tristan da Cunha have the world’s weirdest place names?
Tristan da Cunha is the world’s most isolated inhabited island It also has some of the world’s weirdest place names Is there a link? Maybe, if we stretch Darwin’s theory from biology to topography Thriving in isolation As Darwin predic…
The shocking, forgotten history of cretinism
Until about a century ago, ‘cretinism’ was endemic throughout large parts of the Alps. Sufferers often had a visibly enlarged thyroid gland, and in the worst cases were severely retarded. Although ‘goiter belts’ in North America …
The shocking, forgotten history of cretinism
Until about a century ago, ‘cretinism’ was endemic throughout large parts of the Alps. Sufferers often had a visibly enlarged thyroid gland, and in the worst cases were severely retarded. Although ‘goiter belts’ in North America …
Why Trump’s Palestine map is important
Trump’s Middle East plan is the first U.S. proposal to contain a map of a two-state solution. Considering Israel’s close involvement, this map represents a Palestine ‘Israel can live with’. But Palestinians are unlikely to agree …
Can’t find the Middle East on a map? Here’s why
If the Middle East is easier to find in the news than on the map, there’s a good reason for that. The term is a fairly recent invention, with myriad definitions and applications. In some versions, it extends further west that Ireland, and as far n…
The joy of French, in a dozen maps
Isogloss maps show what most cartography doesn’t: the diversity of language. This baker’s dozen charts the richness and humour of French. France is more than French alone: There’s Breton and German, too – and more. Most maps show phy…
‘Charcoal Australia’: This viral image isn’t the full story
A viral photo shows Australia smoldering like a piece of charcoal about to ignite. The composite image shows all fires over an entire month, which is not the same as all fires raging at the same time. That’s not to say the devastation isn’t …
One map to translate them all
Google lets you translate text into one language at a time. This translator shows you one word in all languages – on one handy map. It’s simple, instructive, and fun (a.k.a. móka, Spaß and zábava). Whose booze? The optimist expects the best, …
Cyclist draws festive reindeer on map of London
Anthony Hoyte practises ‘Strava art’ – he uses the fitness app to draw pictures on maps. Two years ago, he started drawing festive images for the Christmas season. This year’s effort, a giant reindeer sprawled across London, took 9 h…
The utopian 1920s scheme for five global superstates
Unity is strength: This 1920s map divides the world among just five superstates. The map was produced by count Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi, who devoted his life to European unity. This utopian map may have inspired George Orwell’s dystopian wor…
‘Squeaky Curtain’ divides Europe’s Eastern and Western mice
The house mouse diverged into two subspecies depending on which humans they followed. The Western and Eastern European house mice can interbreed, but the results are, well, mixed. The continent remains divided between Eastern and Western mice except for…