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

Art & Design

Monday

'Artivist' Nikkolas Smith Combines Art And Activism Into A Singular Superpower
Nikkolas Smith

America Reckons With Racial Injustice

'Artivist' Nikkolas Smith Combines Art And Activism Into A Singular Superpower

For the past seven years, the Los Angeles-based artist has celebrated and mourned Black lives in his work. Smith's portraits are sometimes unfinished — a reflection of Black lives cut short.

'Artivist' Nikkolas Smith Combines Art And Activism Into A Singular Superpower

Listen · 4:53
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/883490848/884958718" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

Thursday

'Rumors Of War' In Richmond Marks A Monumentally Unequal America

The name Rumors of War is from a biblical passage Matthew 24:6: "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come." Travis Fullerton/Virginia Museum of Fine Arts hide caption

toggle caption
Travis Fullerton/Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Art Where You're At

'Rumors Of War' In Richmond Marks A Monumentally Unequal America

Kehinde Wiley created this statue — an African American rider sitting valiantly atop a horse — in response to the line of Confederate statues lining Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va.

Thursday

Think These Times Are Surreal? Add A Small Dose Of Dalí To Your Day

The Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Fla., didn't let COVID-19 stop it from showcasing its "Midnight in Paris" exhibition. Above, the Spanish surrealist painter in 1964. Terry Fincher/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Terry Fincher/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Art Where You're At

Think These Times Are Surreal? Add A Small Dose Of Dalí To Your Day

The Salvador Dalí Museum in Florida is still closed as a result of COVID-19, but an online video produced by the museum will transport you to 1929 Paris, a time when surrealism was at a crossroads.

Thursday

Kente Cloth: From Royals To Graduation Ceremonies ... To Congress?

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (right) joins fellow Democrats from the House and Senate to propose new legislation to end excessive use of force by police. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Goats and Soda

Kente Cloth: From Royals To Graduation Ceremonies ... To Congress?

When a group of Democratic legislators donned kente cloth at the unveiling of legislation aimed at police brutality, critics weighed in. Here's a look at kente cloth — and the controversy.

Sunday

Christo, Famous For His Monumental Works Of Art, Dies At 84

Artist Christo Vladimirov Javacheff attends the presentation of his installation The Floating Piers on June 16, 2016, in Sulzano, Italy. He died Sunday at age 84. Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images

Obituaries

Christo, Famous For His Monumental Works Of Art, Dies At 84

The artist known for major outdoor art installations that often involved wrapping buildings and elements of nature in fabric died at his home in New York City on Sunday.

Thursday

Monday

Art Of The New Deal: How Artists Helped Redefine America During The Depression

Boris Deutch painted this 1941 Works Progress Administration mural in the Terminal Annex building in Los Angeles, Calif. Carol M. Highsmith/The Jon B. Lovelace Collection of California Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith's America Project, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division hide caption

toggle caption
Carol M. Highsmith/The Jon B. Lovelace Collection of California Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith's America Project, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division

The Coronavirus Crisis

Art Of The New Deal: How Artists Helped Redefine America During The Depression

When the Roosevelt administration rolled out millions of dollars to fund artists, musicians, writers and actors, it wasn't just about job creation. It was to unite a nation in turmoil.

Monday

No More Watercooler Talk And Other Ways Offices Will Adapt To The Pandemic

The human need to connect means offices will likely survive the pandemic, but in an altered state. Shannon Fagan/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Shannon Fagan/Getty Images

Coronavirus Updates

No More Watercooler Talk And Other Ways Offices Will Adapt To The Pandemic

As stay-at-home orders loosen, people will return to offices transformed by the crisis. Conference rooms, air conditioning, kitchenettes and open-floor plans are all being rethought.

No More Watercooler Talk And Other Ways Offices Will Adapt To The Pandemic

Listen · 4:33
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/857571826/858194830" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
A Collection Of 'Window Views' Takes On New Meaning During The Coronavirus Crisis

Looking out of an adobe window. Salvador, Brazil, 1963. Elliott Erwitt/National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution hide caption

toggle caption
Elliott Erwitt/National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

The Picture Show

A Collection Of 'Window Views' Takes On New Meaning During The Coronavirus Crisis

Visual artists are focusing anew on windows in this age of social isolation. An online array of photos from the Smithsonian shines new light on windows' cultural, artistic and symbolic meaning.

Wednesday

Tuesday

'She's Challenging You': Alison Saar's Sculptures Speak To Race, Beauty, Power

"She's challenging you to sit down in that chair," Los Angeles artist Alison Saar says of her 2019 sculpture, Set to Simmer. Jeff McLane/L.A. Louver hide caption

toggle caption
Jeff McLane/L.A. Louver

Fine Art

'She's Challenging You': Alison Saar's Sculptures Speak To Race, Beauty, Power

Saar says the nude in her 2019 sculpture Set to Simmer has a message for the viewer: "If you want to look at me, don't just give me a sideways glance. Sit down in this chair and know me."

'She's Challenging You': Alison Saar's Sculptures Speak To Race, Beauty, Power

Listen · 3:43
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/851769833/854363963" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Artists Paint A Portrait Of A Pandemic

Right: "Mask Up," a submission to Amplifier, an arts group. Left: "Grandmother's Affection — For Global Health," a submission to the United Nations. Lisa Vollrath; Nubefy Design for All hide caption

toggle caption
Lisa Vollrath; Nubefy Design for All

Goats and Soda

Artists Paint A Portrait Of A Pandemic

The United Nations and Amplifier, an arts group, called on artists to create inspiring and informative posters, graphics and animations around the coronavirus. Here's a selection of submissions.