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Art & Design NPR explores the visual arts including design, photography, sculpture, and architecture. Interviews, commentary, and audio. Subscribe to the RSS feed.

Art & Design

Saturday

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Thursday

At the Rothko Chapel, Tyshawn Sorey explores sound — and silence

Composer, conductor and multi-instrumentalist Tyshawn Sorey leads a rehearsal of his Monochromatic Light (Afterlife) at the Rothko Chapel in Houston on Feb. 18. Scott Dalton/DACAMERA hide caption

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Scott Dalton/DACAMERA

Deceptive Cadence

At the Rothko Chapel, Tyshawn Sorey explores sound — and silence

Invited to write a new work for Houston's Rothko Chapel, the composer and multi-instrumentalist Tyshawn Sorey created a work that is both intimate and vast, like those Mark Rothko paintings.

At the Rothko Chapel, Tyshawn Sorey explores sound — and silence

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Wednesday

Meet the security guards moonlighting as curators at the Baltimore Museum of Art

Elise Tensley, Kellen Johnson and Traci Archable-Frederick are three of the 17 security guards who curated Guarding the Art. Christopher Myers/Courtesy of the Baltimore Museum of Art hide caption

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Christopher Myers/Courtesy of the Baltimore Museum of Art

Art Where You're At

Meet the security guards moonlighting as curators at the Baltimore Museum of Art

The museum invited their security officers to curate an exhibition of their own. The result is a show filled with art from the sixth to the 21st century.

Meet the security guards moonlighting as curators at the Baltimore Museum of Art

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Saturday

Wednesday

Tuesday

An oral history of the Nike Cortez, 50 years after its release

Various versions of the Nike Cortez. Illustration by Catie Dull/Photos by Nike hide caption

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Illustration by Catie Dull/Photos by Nike

An oral history of the Nike Cortez, 50 years after its release

Or, how the Nike Cortez — named after a conquistador — became a staple of Chicano streetwear.

An oral history of the Nike Cortez, 50 years after its release

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Monday

'Ghostbusters' director and 'Animal House' producer Ivan Reitman has died

Ivan Reitman died over the weekend, his family said. The director is seen here last year at the premiere for Ghostbusters: Afterlife, a sequel to his 1984 film. Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Sony Pictures hide caption

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Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Sony Pictures

Movies

'Ghostbusters' director and 'Animal House' producer Ivan Reitman has died

Reitman has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His movies often blended elements of comedy, horror and drama — a mix that was tricky to perfect.

Sunday

Forgot to get a fancy Valentine's bouquet? Fret not! Things can still come up roses

Holley Simmons, owner of the flower shop She Loves Me based in Washington, D.C., displays the grocery store-bought bouquet. Kelsey Snell/NPR hide caption

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Kelsey Snell/NPR

Forgot to get a fancy Valentine's bouquet? Fret not! Things can still come up roses

Roses are red, violets are blue, you forgot to order Valentine's Day flowers, didn't you? This article can help. A florist breaks down the dos and don'ts of DIY store-bought bouquets.

Forgot to get a fancy Valentine's bouquet? Fret not! Things can still come up roses

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Saturday

Artwork from the Black Lives Matter memorial has a new home: the Library of Congress

Banners and signs are hung on a fence at Lafayette Square near the White House, during ongoing protests against police brutality and racism in June 2020. The Library of Congress has digitized some of the pieces of artwork, signs and photographs once displayed on the fence. JOSE LUIS MAGANA/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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JOSE LUIS MAGANA/AFP via Getty Images

Black History Month 2022

Artwork from the Black Lives Matter memorial has a new home: the Library of Congress

The artwork that once served as a memorial to the movement is being displayed in a new online exhibit at the Library of Congress. So far, 33 pieces are posted.

Friday

How Three Fashion Icons Shaped The Industry 'Beyond The Dress Or The Belt'

(L-R) Andre Leon Talley on March 29, 2017 in New York City; Virgil Abloh at the Brooklyn Museum of Art on June 03, 2019 in New York City; French fashion designer Thierry Mugler on October 10, 2014 in Friedrichstadt-Palace theater in Berlin. Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images; Britta Pedersen/DPA/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images; Britta Pedersen/DPA/AFP/Getty Images

Consider This from NPR

How Three Fashion Icons Shaped The Industry 'Beyond The Dress Or The Belt'

The fashion world has recently lost three of its greats - Andre Leon Talley, Thierry Mugler and Virgil Abloh. Each man was a pioneer in his own way: Mugler and Abloh pushed boundaries as designers, Talley was a Black editor at a time when they were few and far between.

How Three Fashion Icons Shaped The Industry 'Beyond The Dress Or The Belt'

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Wednesday

Humor, poetry and romance on Code Switch Live

Clockwise from top left: Paul Tran, Ayesha Roscoe, Hari Kondabolu and Denice Frohman. NPR hide caption

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NPR

Code Switch

Humor, poetry and romance on Code Switch Live

Live from your computer screens, it's Code Switch! Guest hosts Ayesha Rascoe and Denice Frohman joined us to talk poetry and humor with special guests Paul Tran and Hari Kondabolu. Then, Ayesha and Denice answered your questions about race and love.

Humor, poetry and romance on Code Switch Live

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Saturday