Culture

Norma Nolan, First Miss Universe from Argentina, Has Passed Away

This is Beirut 22/08 13:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Norma Nolan Miss Universe Argentina Death

A discreet yet iconic figure has passed away in Miami, Florida, at the age of 87: Norma Nolan, the first and only Argentine woman ever to win the Miss Universe crown in 1962, leaves behind a legacy of grace, determination, and inspiration for generations of young women. Born in Venado Tuerto, Argentina, on April 22, 1938, Norma Beatriz Nolan was ...

US R&B Singer Joins Russia’s Intervision Revival in Moscow

This is Beirut 22/08 13:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Eurovision Culture Musique Art

An American R&B artist will take part in Russia's revival of a song contest billed as a rival to Eurovision, which has excluded Russian singers since the Ukraine offensive, organizers said Thursday. Brandon Howard, known professionally as B. Howard, is mostly famous for his resemblance to Michael Jackson—sparking media speculation in the past ...

Adidas Apologizes for Cultural Misstep Over Mexican Sandals

This is Beirut 22/08 10:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Adidas Fashion Culture Art Mexico U.S.

Sportswear giant Adidas apologized to an Indigenous community in Mexico Thursday for using their traditional sandals as inspiration for a new design, after an outcry by officials and President Claudia Sheinbaum. Local authorities had complained that the Oaxaca Slip-On sandals were a reinterpretation of huarache sandals, particularly one found ...

SpotlightAgnès Varda’s Paris: Intimacy, Poetry, and Eternal Street Life

Marie-Christine Tayah 21/08 19:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Exhibition Paris Agnès Varda Culture Art Cinema

Paris’s backdrop transformed into a mirror, a playground, and a living studio for Agnès Varda, where life and art were inseparable. The exhibition Le Paris d’Agnès Varda, de-ci, de-là reveals Varda as a photographer, far from the film set yet already shaped by the eye that made her one of cinema’s boldest pioneers. At the heart of this ...

Vienna Artists Cool Heatwaves With Asphalt Painted Colors

This is Beirut 21/08 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Painting Vienna Art Colors

Equipped with an infrared thermometer, Austrian artist Jonas Griessler measures the sweltering heat in an inner courtyard in the center of Vienna. Thanks to his collective's artwork covering the black asphalt with a multitude of bright colors, the ground temperature has dropped from 31°C to 20°C. Initiated by the museum showing the private ...

SpotlightNeither Man nor Woman? Psychoanalysis and the New Faces of Gender

David Sahyoun 20/08 18:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Psychoanalysis Gender Sexuality Binarity Man Woman

For centuries, gender identity was regarded as self-evident. To be a man or a woman seemed obvious. Biological sex was expected to dictate one’s role, tastes, gestures, clothing, and even destiny. One was born a girl or a boy, and society vigilantly preserved this division. Early psychoanalysis did not escape this binary logic. Freud himself ...

Sweden Moves Iconic Arctic Church Amid Mine Expansion

This is Beirut 20/08 14:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Culture Europe Art Kiruna

A historic red wooden church considered one of Sweden's most beautiful buildings resumed its slow move across the Arctic town of Kiruna on Wednesday, inching toward its new home to allow Europe's biggest underground mine to expand. Kiruna's entire town center is being relocated because of the giant LKAB iron ore mine that dominates the region, ...

Fading Faces: Why Young Hindu Women in Pakistan Are Abandoning Traditional Tattoos

This is Beirut 20/08 10:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Art Culture Índia Tattoo Pakistan

Grinding charcoal with a few drops of goat’s milk, 60-year-old Basran Jogi peers at the faces of two young Pakistani sisters preparing for their first tattoos. The practice of elder women needling delicate shapes onto the faces, hands, and arms of younger generations stretches back centuries in the Hindu villages that dot the southern border ...

WindowVanished Masterpieces: The Art of the Perfect Crime

Bélinda Ibrahim 19/08 18:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Europe Masterpieces Art Heists Mona Lisa Munch

When a masterpiece disappears, a void opens in collective memory. Visitors pause before the empty frame, whispering stories and imagining the audacity of the theft. The moment art slips into shadow, legend takes over. Disappearance grants a fame no peaceful exhibition could ever match. An art theft is never just another crime. It strikes at the ...

'Ketamine Queen' to Plead Guilty in Matthew Perry's Death

This is Beirut 19/08 12:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Matthew Perry Actor Death Culture Art Series

A dealer dubbed the "Ketamine Queen" has agreed to plead guilty to supplying the drugs that killed Friends’ actor Matthew Perry, the US Department of Justice said Monday. Jasveen Sangha, 42, will admit several charges, including one of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury in relation to the late star. Sangha, ...

Downton Abbey Fans Cherish Iconic Props Before Final Farewell

This is Beirut 19/08 10:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Downton Abbey Series TV UK Culture Art

As Downton Abbey draws to a close in September, some fans took solace by getting close to memorable props and costumes from the much-loved British saga as they went on sale Monday. Everyone has their favorite piece, including Charlie Thomas of London's Bonhams auction house which is holding the sale. He had no hesitation in highlighting the ...

From Raves to Roots: Saudi Arabia Spotlights its Heritage

This is Beirut 18/08 17:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Saudi Arabia Culture Heritage Music Concert Art

First, deeply religious Saudi Arabia opened its doors to Western raves and music festivals. Now it's turning to long-neglected Saudi traditions as it seeks to draw tourists and reshape its national identity. In Terhal, a lavish stage show in Riyadh, an actor in a red-and-white headdress gallops on a white horse, exploring the kingdom's heritage ...