Frankenthaler Climate Initiative Opens Applications for Sixth Grant Cycle
The program has awarded more than $17.5 million to US visual arts organizations pursuing energy efficiency assessments and projects.
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The Strangers’ Case
I don’t normally say this, but if you watch one thing on kottke.org today, this week, this month, make it this speech written by Shakespeare and performed by Sir Ian McKellen on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The segment starts at ~20:00; McKellen sets it up: It’s all
The Murder of ‘The Washington Post’
"Today’s layoffs are the latest attempt to kill what makes the paper special."
A Major Survey in Paris Chronicles Leonora Carrington’s Esoteric Surrealism
An exhibition at the Musée du Luxembourg surveys the artist's eight-decade career. Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article A Major Survey in Paris
Africa’s cultural landmarks: Tsodilo Hills, Botswana
Rising far above the desert, the walls of these magnificent hills carry the ancient story of humanity’s creative spark - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
When Will MoMA Dump Leon Black?
New horrific allegations against the museum trustee, artists push against ICE, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art says goodbye to "PhAM."
Between being and emptiness
In Japanese philosophy, unlike the atomised Western self, we are ‘ningen’ (人間), each enmeshed with other humans and nature - by Takeshi Morisato Read on Aeon
Making it whole
Integrity is the act of being in and of itself, from every angle. As we see the bait-and-switch of the online networks and monopolists, it’s easy to imagine that nothing with integrity stays that way very long. The systems we support almost always end up trading a
The Rohonc Codex: Hungary’s Mysterious Manuscript That No One Can Read
Image by Klaus Schmeh, via Wikimedia Commons Magyar, which is spoken and written in Hungary, ranks among the hardest European languages to learn. (The U.S. Foreign Service Institute puts it in the second-to-highest level, accompanied by the dreaded asterisk labeling it as
Cats in Medieval Manuscripts & Paintings
Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) never saw a rhino himself, but by relying on eyewitness descriptions of the one King Manuel I of Portugal intended as a gift to the Pope, he managed to render a fairly realistic one, all things considered. Medieval artists’
Rockhopper Penguins’ Athleticism Makes Them the Daredevils of the Animal World. Will a Warming Climate Slow Them Down?
"A visit to the Falkland Islands, where the fearless seabirds navigate the rugged topography with tenacious spunk, shows the new challenges they face."
The CIA has deleted the CIA World Factbook (a popular...
The CIA has deleted the CIA World Factbook (a popular almanac about the countries of the world) from the web. Fuck this. All these assholes do is pillage & destroy. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Measles Is Causing Brain Swelling in Children in South...
Measles Is Causing Brain Swelling in Children in South Carolina . 876 measles cases in the state so far, and some children have developed encephalitis. “Among children who get measles encephalitis, 10 to 15 percent die.” 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Philadelphia Museum of Art Says Goodbye to “PhAM”
“There was no good reason to rename it,” Director Daniel Weiss told Hyperallergic about the museum’s decision to backpedal on a controversial new name.
Sleep and the Meaning of Life: Fernando Pessoa on the Existential Dimension of the Horizontal Hours
One of the most important things I have learned about living is that, in any life of purpose and creative vitality, you must be as religious and disciplined about your sleep as about your work. And yet one of the great self-betrayals of our culture is the way it wears the lack
Epstein Files Detail Gruesome Allegations Against Leon Black
Emails and apparent diary entries accuse the billionaire and MoMA trustee of biting and abusing alleged victims.
In Minneapolis, Artists Mobilize to Crush ICE
From screen-printed posters to apparel, beaded earrings, and even spell-casting, the message is clear: Artists want ICE out of Minnesota.
Michelangelo’s First Painting, Made at Age 12
The Torment of Saint Anthony is the earliest surviving work attributed to Michelangelo, painted by him in 1487 or 1488 when he was 12 or 13 years old. This is an intense painting, the kind of thing that would have resulted in Michelangelo’s parents visiting the principal’s
The Tour Down Under’s winner won despite being...
The Tour Down Under’s winner won despite being blasted off his bike by kangaroos. “ Two of them blasted through the peloton when we were doing probably 50 kph and…went left, right, left right, left right and I ended up hitting its backside .” 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
The Pie and Mash Crisis: Can the Original Fast Food Be Saved?
"There used to be hundreds of pie and mash shops in London. Now there are barely more than 30. Can social media attention and a push for protected status ensure their survival?"
“Virginia Oliver, a feisty, salty-tongued lobster...
“Virginia Oliver, a feisty, salty-tongued lobster boat skipper who fished off the New England coast wearing earrings, hot-pink lipstick and an occasional scowl for more than 80 years, until she was 103, died on Jan. 21 in Rockport, Maine. She was 105. ” 💬 Join the discussion on
Outrage Over Israeli Plans to Seize Palestinian Archaeological Site
Residents of Sebastia in the Occupied West Bank say that Israel’s plan to redevelop the area for tourism will cut them off from their history and livelihood.
Remembering Richard Gorman, Seyni Awa Camara, and Björn Roth
This week, we honor an Irish colorist, a Senegalese sculptor, and the steward of a family art dynasty, as well as two Florida Highwaymen.
Shared Claude is a website anyone can change via LLM...
Shared Claude is a website anyone can change via LLM chat. “Text the number below to shape this website in real-time.” (Does anyone remember Metababy ?) 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
The Rubin’s Annual Grant Program Funds Himalayan Art and Research
The 2026 grant cycle opens February 16. Submit a letter of intent by March 6.
Wow, these paper flowers from 11th-century China are...
Wow, these paper flowers from 11th-century China are amazingly well-preserved. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Vote for the 2025 Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award
Cast your vote for your favorite photo until March 18. Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Vote for the 2025 Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s
Astronauts Are Going Back to the Moon For The First Time in Half a Century
"Apollo 8 saved 1968. Artemis II may work similar magic today."
How Do They…?
I was poking around on YouTube for “how to” videos (one of my favorite video genres) the other day when I hit a small jackpot: a bunch of How Do They…? videos from the National Film Board of Canada. A favorite shows how chain link fences are made: You can view all the videos at
Deborah Jack’s Immersive Elegy for Water
The artist critiques the legitimacy of cartography, empire, and ecological adaptation.
An almost 2-hour mashup mix by dk darkly of music from...
An almost 2-hour mashup mix by dk darkly of music from France’s two most well-known electronic duos, Daft Punk and Justice . Also available on Bandcamp . 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
‘Where the World is Melting’ Documents Communities Amid Indelible Changes in the Arctic
"A photograph is only a small piece in the jigsaw that makes up the big picture, but sometimes it is these small pieces that open our eyes." Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as
Carl Jung on Creativity
The question of what it takes to create — to make something of beauty and substance that touches other lives across space and time — is one of the deepest, oldest questions, perhaps because the answer to it is so unbearably simple: everything. We bring everything we are and
A Lovely 3500-Year-Old Drawing of a Sparrow
From the collection of the Met, an Egyptian artist’s sketch of a sparrow circa 1479–1458 BCE. Much of the art that filters down to us from ancient civilizations was used for official purposes (state, religion, commerce); it’s nice to see something simpler like this drawing.
