Culture
Open Houses: Monacensia Hildebrandhaus, Munich
Monacensia Hildebrand’s house in Munich was a place for intellectuals, later swept out by the Nazis — it rebounded as the literary memory of the city and a refuge for writers
MUNICH, GERMANY
Culture
Europe
Culture
Paris’s Unlikely Revolutionary: Its Philharmonie
The Philharmonie de Paris has reached places and audiences where other concert halls in their temples have never been before — music is its language for social change
PARIS, FRANCE
Culture
The Gift of Cultural Participation
The nonprofit KulturRaum München enables access to culture for low income residents in Munich – but cultural participation often requires more than a free ticket
MUNICH, GERMANY
Culture
Habibi Kiosk: A Bold Move for Munich’s Main Theater
Culture in Munich is mutating into new perspectives at Habibi Kiosk ; the success at its privileged location addresses difficult questions about the city
MUNICH, GERMANY
Culture
“Uffizi Diffusi”: Gallery Director Eike Schmidt Is Bringing Artworks “Back Into the Community”
How the decentralizing "Uffizi Diffusi" initiative at the Florentine Gallery offers a healthier alternative to overtourism while reinvigorating the greater region
FLORENCE, METROPOLITAN CITY OF FLORENCE, ITALY
Culture
Ukrainian Artists Advocate for Empathy in Kyiv
As Russian bombs fall, Ukrainian artists have produced activist responses at the PinchukArtCentre Prize 2022 exhibition in Kyiv to stir pain empathy
KYIV, UKRAINE
Culture
Pacifism Is a Privilege. What the War in Ukraine Can Teach Us About Cultural Institutions
A Ukrainian curator, art historian and critic on how the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw changes its strategies to the current evils. And how the question of neutrality restrains others.
WARSAW, POLAND
Culture
‘There Is No Culture Without Future’: Reina Sofía Museum’s Distinct Vision
A unique collaboration between the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid and its neighbourhood of Lavapiés questions the role of museums in relation to their physical environment.
MADRID, SPAIN
Culture
Graphic Heritage: The Vanishing Face of Cities’ Colourful History
A grassroots movement in Spanish cities is documenting and safeguarding commercial signs of the most unique mom-and-pop shops and bars. This Graphic Heritage captures a disappearing world.
MADRID, SPAIN
Culture
Clärchens Ballhaus Comeback in Berlin Stands for an Inclusive Cultural Institution
Clärchens Ballhaus will reopen soon in Berlin. Privately owned, it embodies the challenge of future cultural institutions in cities to engage with a diverse crowd.
BERLIN, GERMANY
Culture
Bookstore’s Business Is Culture Towards a More Democratic City
The Tucholsky bookstore in Berlin sells more than just books. Over the years, its owner, Jörg Braunsdorf, has created a community around culture for neighbours and regular customers who meet at the bookstore periodically. Culture has energized a collective force with the civil courage to face up to the far right in their neighbourhood towards ...
BERLIN, GERMANY
US
Culture
A House in Philadelphia and the Truth About US History
Without having to step foot inside, award-winning artist Sonya Clark’s new exhibit at Declaration House in Philadelphia engages passers-by with the entangled legacies of the United States’ founding
PHILADELPHIA, PA, USA
Culture
The Art of Existence: A Palestine Museum in the U.S.
A Palestine Museum in American suburbia sends a message to the world: through art perhaps we could all agree
NEW HAVEN, CT, USA
Culture
Poetry Finds A Home in South Los Angeles
Award-winning poet Chisara Asomugha on the creation of the first library of poetry in Los Angeles and how poetry spaces humanize us
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA
Culture
Esmoa in Los Angeles — a Museum Breaking the Mould of Definition
This museum’s work supports a diversity of thought through art, including a rethinking of the definition of a museum
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA
Cohesion
Guarding the Art: Baltimore Museum Gives a Voice to Its Community
A revolutionary show, curated by security staff, spotlights the commitment of the museum to be more representative of the community it serves.
BALTIMORE, MD, USA
Culture
More Than a Place to Read: Memphis Library’s Innovative Transformation
The Cossitt Library in Memphis might be almost 130 years old; yet, it is one of the most innovative in the US. Its latest renovation will unite the city in ways beyond a dedication to the written word.
MEMPHIS, TN, USA
Cohesion
Artist Lee Mingwei Creates Moments of Change in Cities
Lee Mingwei has transgressed the walls of museums. His participatory art provokes human connectedness among strangers. These moments of change are evidence of how museums could embrace new approaches to advance social value.
NEW YORK, NY, USA
Culture
Saving Jazz to Save the City. From New York to the World
Mitchell Borden, founder of legendary Smalls and Fat Cat clubs, and his wife, jazz musician Rie Yamaguchi-Borden, hold on to the unifying power of music to revive the jazz community and local businesses of New York.
NEW YORK, NY, USA
world
Culture
The Monument Men of Nablus, in the West Bank
Restorers and volunteers have united forces to rescue the An-Nasr Mosque in Nablus in the occupied West Bank, where the destruction of cultural heritage goes with impunity
NABLUS
Culture
The Cultural Ambassadors of Bolgatanga, Ghana
In the town of Bolgatanga in northern Ghana, its local museum is part of the curriculum at schools, and students are cultural ambassadors
BOLGATANGA, GHANA
Culture
The Survival of the City of the Dead in Cairo
Volunteers in Cairo are racing against time to preserve the city's historical memory while bulldozers demolish parts of the City of the Dead to construct new highways
CAIRO, EGYPT
Culture
Resisting the War With the Written Word
Not everything in Yemen is war; in the city of Ta’izz, writers and poets encourage dialogue, understanding and unity through arts
TAIZZ, YEMEN
Culture
Reclaiming Public Libraries for the People of Nairobi
A new generation of literacy activists are decolonizing public libraries in Nairobi – from the space to the language represented on its shelves
NAIROBI, KENYA
Culture
A Jazz Corner to Find the Beat in Havana
Over the years the jazz dancers of Santa Amalia have forged a dancing community in their neighbourhood that has become a philosophy of life in Havana.
HAVANA, CUBA
Culture
Independent and Led by Women, Cinema Akil Renders a Modern Dubai City
The programming at Cinema Akil is meticulously chosen by a strong feminist voice, which uses the impact of media culture to raise awareness on Dubai’s society about worldwide critical issues and human values.
DUBAI - UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Culture
Street Artists Spearhead a Cultural Transition in Muscat
Abdulmalik Sultan Al Maskari, one of Oman’s most recognisable graffiti artist, has been finding legal ways to pursue his passion for street art, which has always been prohibited in public spaces in Muscat. By painting in legal spaces like old busses and old houses he and other street artists are slowly unleashing the street art ...
MUSCAT, OMAN
Culture
Alserkal Avenue: Art and Culture Inspire Future Citizens of Dubai
‘Not all who wander are lost’, reads the display with the maps of the Alserkal Avenue located in Al Quoz neighbourhood in Dubai. Alserkal Avenue was an industrial area that has been converted in 2007 into a cultural district of contemporary art galleries, creative businesses and non-profit organizations spread across 500,000 square feet. Here you ...
DUBAI - UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Culture
A Library on Wheels to Encourage the Culture of Reading in the City
Ali Al-Moussawi’s passion for books goes beyond reading. He has developed the first city library on wheels in Baghdad. His main goal is to revive a love for books and to encourage the culture of reading in the city. Baghdad, once the literary and cultural capital of the Muslim world, is now better known for bombs than poems: “With ...
BAGHDAD, IRAQ