For the first time in the 127-year history of the Venice Biennale, the world’s oldest and most important contemporary art fair features a majority of female and gender non-conforming artists, under the curatorial direction of Cecilia Alemani. The result is a Biennale that puts the spotlight on artists who have been long overlooked despite prolific…

Verdant landscapes, stylized portraits of peasant women, curved sculptures — an exhibition in Baghdad is allowing art aficionados to rediscover the pioneers of contemporary Iraqi art. Around 100 items are on display in the capital, returned and restored nearly two decades after they were looted. Many of the works, including pieces by renowned artists Jawad…

The Buenos Aires design and architecture firm Estudio Normal is honoring Argentina’s iconic butterfly chair in a towering art installation at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California. From the festival, Genia Dulot has the story. Camera: Genia Dulot  …

Onstage, they dance through hoops and perform acrobatics with smiles on their faces. Off it, they hold anguished phone calls with family back in Ukraine. Dancers Anna and Olga have found a sense of calm performing in a circus near New York, but they are still living the war they fled thousands of miles away.…

Miguel Cabrera’s pursuit of a rare baseball feat — a 3,000th career hit — remained on hold Thursday, with the New York Yankees taking heat for intentionally walking the Detroit Tigers slugger.  Cabrera needs one hit to become just the 33rd player in Major League Baseball history to reach the 3,000-hit milestone, and Tigers fans…

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought changes to the lives of many people, and for some, new jobs.  Mike O’Sullivan spoke with Max Miller, whose love for history and food led to a post-pandemic career as YouTube creator. …

Cristiano Ronaldo took to social media on Monday to say one of his newborn twins has died.  “It is with our deepest sadness we have to announce that our baby boy has passed away,” the Manchester United striker wrote in a post also signed by his partner, Georgina Rodriguez.  “It is the greatest pain that…

Picasso ceramics, old masters works, and a fur coat are among the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s artworks and personal items to be auctioned off near Washington this month.  Proceeds from the sale will go to the U.S. capital’s Washington National Opera to support an art form close to the iconic Supreme…

It’s a convergence that happens only rarely. Coinciding with Judaism’s Passover, Western Christianity’s Easter and Islam’s holy month of Ramadan, Buddhists, Baha’is, Sikhs, Jains and Hindus also are celebrating their holy days in April. The springtime collision of religious holidays is inspiring a range of interfaith events. In Chicago, there’s the Interfaith Trolley Tour coming…

Gilbert Gottfried, the actor and legendary standup comic known for his raw, scorched voice and crude jokes, has died. He was 67. Gottfried died from a rare genetic muscle disease that can trigger a dangerously abnormal heartbeat, his publicist and longtime friend Glenn Schwartz said in a statement. “In addition to being the most iconic…

Sultry musical “Cabaret” and fantastical literary adaptation “Life of Pi” were among the winners Sunday at British theater’s Olivier Awards, which returned with a live ceremony and a black-tie crowd after a three-year gap imposed by COVID-19. The celebration of London theater, opera and dance came back to London’s Royal Albert Hall for the first…

“Sonic the Hedgehog 2” sped to the top of the charts in its opening weekend, earning an impressive $71 million according to studio estimates Sunday. Paramount’s PG-rated sequel easily bested the weekend’s other major newcomer, Michael Bay’s “Ambulance,” which faltered in theaters. “Sonic 2,” which brings back the first film’s director, writers and cast, including…

The motion picture academy on Friday banned Will Smith from attending the Oscars or any other academy event for 10 years following his slap of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards.  The move came after a meeting of the academy’s Board of Governors to discuss a response to Smith’s actions.  “The 94th Oscars were meant…

Grammy Award-winning songwriter Ed Sheeran won a U.K. copyright battle over his 2017 hit “Shape of You” on Wednesday, then slammed what he described as a “culture” of baseless lawsuits intended to squeeze money out of artists eager to avoid the expense of a trial. The British pop star and his co-writers, Snow Patrol’s John…

The boxes weren’t flying off the shelves. They weren’t even making it onto the shelves.  The Masters has gone gnome-mad.  Yes. Gnomes. The must-have item at the Masters this year isn’t any of the shirts or pullovers or caps with the tournament’s logo that can only be bought by those who are lucky enough to…

Tiger Woods says, for now anyway, he’s planning to play this week in the Masters, a little more than a year after nearly losing a leg in a car crash. The five-time champion at Augusta National made the announcement Tuesday morning. He will play nine more practice holes on Wednesday before making a final decision,…

The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) is holding talks with the British government on the participation of players from Russia and Belarus at this year’s Wimbledon, saying on Tuesday that it hopes to announce a decision in mid-May. Russian and Belarusian players have been allowed to compete on the regular ATP and WTA Tours…

LAS VEGAS — Multi-genre artist Jon Batiste won album of the year and R&B duo Silk Sonic took two of the top honors on Sunday at a Grammy awards ceremony that featured a surprise appeal for support from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine.  Batiste, who leads the band on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,”…

LAS VEGAS — The Grammy awards, the highest honors in the music industry, were out at a live ceremony in Las Vegas on Sunday.  Below is a list of winners in key categories.  ALBUM OF THE YEAR  “We Are” — Jon Batiste  RECORD OF THE YEAR  “Leave The Door Open” — Silk Sonic   SONG OF…

The friendship of Ukrainian musician Valeriya Sholokhova and Russian musician Nikita Morozov transcends the fighting between their countries. For VOA News, Iacopo Luzi has the story. Camera: Iacopo Luzi …

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan — a time when Muslims abstain from food, drink, smoking and other activities from dusk to dawn daily, begins at sundown Saturday in most parts of the world At sunset, Muslims break the daily fast with the iftar, a meal shared with family and friends. Ramadan is the ninth…

Will Smith resigned Friday from the motion picture academy following his Oscars night slap of Chris Rock and said he would accept any further punishment the organization imposed.  Smith in a statement released Friday afternoon said he would “fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation…

The Cambodian artist Morn Chear is having something of a moment in the art world, with exhibits in his country’s capital, Phnom Penh, and the U.S. cities of Seattle and Denver. On canvass and with block prints, he is challenging prejudices against people with disabilities. VOA’s Scott Stearns has our story from Colorado, with VOA…

A Russian opera said Thursday it had canceled a concert by Russian superstar soprano Anna Netrebko over her comments on Moscow’s military operation in neighboring Ukraine. The 50-year-old singer who lives in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Wednesday “condemned” the operation, after she and other Russian artists in Europe and the United States came…

Bruce Willis is stepping away from acting after a diagnosis of aphasia, a condition that causes loss of the ability to understand or express speech, his family said Wednesday. In a statement posted on Willis’ Instagram page, the 67-year-old actor’s family announced that Willis was recently diagnosed with aphasia and that it is impacting his…

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences on Wednesday said that Will Smith was asked to leave Sunday’s Oscar ceremony after hitting Chris Rock but refused to do so.  The academy’s board of governors met Wednesday to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Smith for violations against the group’s standards of conduct. The academy said disciplinary…

Washington celebrates 110 years of cherry blossoms in a festival not only marking the beginning of spring but also commemorating the birth of an international tourist destination and marking the ties between the United States and Japan.  Each year, the National Cherry Blossom Festival draws more than 1.5 million admirers of the fluffy pink trees.…

The phenomenal box-office success of a new film set in 1990s Kashmir has sharpened political divisions in India and prompted a re-examination of a violent campaign against Hindus in the Muslim-majority region three decades ago. “The Kashmir Files,” directed by Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, depicts the flight of Kashmiri Hindus, known as “Pandits,” from the region…