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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

Wednesday

'This has become a sacred alley.' The face of Emad Shargi imprisoned in Iran

"It's not emotionally easy to come by here anymore," Neda Sharghi said of this alley in Washington, D.C. Her brother Emad Shargi, depicted above, remains in Iran's Evin prison. Steve Inskeep/NPR hide caption

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Steve Inskeep/NPR

Middle East

'This has become a sacred alley.' The face of Emad Shargi imprisoned in Iran

A mural in Washington, D.C. depicts Americans wrongfully detained abroad and fades with time to represent passing days. Neda Sharghi's brother Emad imprisoned in Iran is one of those faces.

'This has become a sacred alley.' The face of Emad Shargi imprisoned in Iran

Listen · 6:42
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Tuesday

Lil' Kim's fashion legacy is undeniable

Lil Kim Henny Ray Abrams/Getty Images hide caption

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Henny Ray Abrams/Getty Images

It's Been a Minute

Lil' Kim's fashion legacy is undeniable

Think of the top women rappers of our time: Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Nicki Minaj. They all showcase signature styles that include multicolored wigs, skyscraping heels and designer logos on everything. But that blend of high fashion, femininity and attitude began before any of them joined the game. It was pioneered in the 1990s by the original queen bee: Lil' Kim. Ahead of her time, Kim's ingenuity – and her cementing of the relationship between fashion and hip-hop – has not always been recognized. Host Brittany Luse and fashion journalist Scarlett Newman make the case for why it's time Lil' Kim gets the credit she deserves.

Lil' Kim's fashion legacy is undeniable

Listen · 17:40
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Sunday

Thursday

Why it's OK to judge a book by its cover (and more tips on how to find a great read)
Jerome Tisne/Getty Images

Life Kit

Why it's OK to judge a book by its cover (and more tips on how to find a great read)

Traci Thomas, host of the hit reading podcast The Stacks, explains how she finds books she can read from start to finish. Some of her ideas may surprise you!

Why it's OK to judge a book by its cover (and more tips on how to find a great read)

Listen · 16:58
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Saturday

'Fragile Cargo' chronicles the quest to save China's Forbidden City treasures from war

Fragile Cargo recounts Chinese curators' efforts to rescue priceless artworks ahead of and during war with Japan in the 1930s. It's the first time the story has been told in English. Simon & Schuster hide caption

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Simon & Schuster

World

'Fragile Cargo' chronicles the quest to save China's Forbidden City treasures from war

A book recounts how precious works of art thousands of years old were taken to safety as Japan began its invasion of China in the 1930s — a part of China's history largely unknown outside Asia.

Friday

How DOES your cellphone work? A new exhibition dials into the science

Museum visitors explore Cellphone: Unseen Connections at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. Smithsonian Institution hide caption

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Smithsonian Institution

How DOES your cellphone work? A new exhibition dials into the science

Turns out wireless networks aren't wireless at all. And light pulses in fiber optic cables carry your voice around the world. A new exhibition explains the science you hold in your hand every day.

How DOES your cellphone work? A new exhibition dials into the science

Listen · 3:52
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Wednesday

When Whistler's model didn't show up, his mom stepped in — and made art history

James Abbott McNeill Whistler's famous 1871 oil on canvas was actually conceived as "an experiment in color." It's called Arrangement in Gray and Black No.1: Portrait of the Artist's Mother. Jean Schormans/RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource NY hide caption

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Jean Schormans/RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource NY

Fine Art

When Whistler's model didn't show up, his mom stepped in — and made art history

Susan Stamberg, one of NPR's "founding mothers," pays a visit to a painting of another famous mother at the Philadelphia Museum of Art: James Abbott McNeill Whistler's 1871 oil on canvas.

When Whistler's model didn't show up, his mom stepped in — and made art history

Listen · 2:31
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Thursday

The creator of luxury brand Brother Vellies is fighting for justice in fashion

Wildflower is the new memoir from Aurora James, founder of the luxury accessories brand Brother Vellies as well as the Fifteen Percent Pledge. Penguin Random House hide caption

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Penguin Random House

Culture

The creator of luxury brand Brother Vellies is fighting for justice in fashion

Shoes and accessories designed by Aurora James sell for hundreds, even thousands, of dollars. In Wildflower, James details how hard it was to get here and the imbalanced economics of high fashion.

The creator of luxury brand Brother Vellies is fighting for justice in fashion

Listen · 7:03
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Monday

'It's not over yet': Artists work to keep Iran's protests in view

Mahsa Amini peers out from a mural by Rodrigo Pradel that covers an entire building side in a Washington, D.C. alley. Amini's death in police custody in Iran last year led to protests and a revolutionary movement. Rodrigo Pradel hide caption

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Rodrigo Pradel

Culture

'It's not over yet': Artists work to keep Iran's protests in view

Mahsa Amini's death in the custody of Iranian police sparked protests and a global movement on women's issues. Artists in the U.S. are working to keep it all from fading from view.

Saturday

Vanity Fair's Radhika Jones talks Rupert Murdoch and Little House on the Prairie
MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

Vanity Fair's Radhika Jones talks Rupert Murdoch and Little House on the Prairie

On this week's episode, Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Radhika Jones joins us to talk about Rupert Murdoch, Little House on the Prairie, and the rules of underboob. Plus, Tom Papa, Emmy Blotnick, and Skyler Higley journey into the world of VR.

Vanity Fair's Radhika Jones talks Rupert Murdoch and Little House on the Prairie

Listen · 47:05
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Wednesday

From prison to art gallery, former inmates take center stage

Russell Craig, "Cognitive Thinking," 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Ford Foundation Gallery hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist and Ford Foundation Gallery

Culture

From prison to art gallery, former inmates take center stage

A look inside the Ford Foundation Gallery's exhibition "No Justice Without Love" featuring art by former inmates

From prison to art gallery, former inmates take center stage

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A scientist and musician are collaborating to turn cosmic ray data into art

Particle Shrine, an installation that converts cosmic ray data into music and lighting, at Science Gallery London. Jack Latimer/Science Gallery London hide caption

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Jack Latimer/Science Gallery London

Short Wave

A scientist and musician are collaborating to turn cosmic ray data into art

Teppei Katori loves two things: particle physics and music. Naturally, he combined the two. Today on Short Wave, Teppei talks to host Regina G. Barber about how he and his collaborators convert data from cosmic rays—high energy particles from space that are constantly colliding with Earth—into beautiful sights and sounds.

A scientist and musician are collaborating to turn cosmic ray data into art

Listen · 11:43
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Tuesday

Saturday

An exhibition of Keith Haring's art and activism makes clear: 'Art is for everybody'

Keith Haring at his Pop Shop in SoHo, 1986 Tseng Kwong Chi / Muna Tseng Dance Projects Inc./The Keith Haring Foundation hide caption

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Tseng Kwong Chi / Muna Tseng Dance Projects Inc./The Keith Haring Foundation

Fine Art

An exhibition of Keith Haring's art and activism makes clear: 'Art is for everybody'

In the 1980s, Haring's cartoon-like images were everywhere — his figures of dancers, hearts, babies and dogs remain pop culture motifs. A new exhibition celebrates the artist who died in 1990 at 31.

An exhibition of Keith Haring's art and activism makes clear: 'Art is for everybody'

Listen · 4:19
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