Art & Culture Archive

The artistic director of Balenciaga continually reveals himself in his daring, culture-altering work, even as he occasionally tries to disappear.

The Queen has experienced significant societal change over her 70 years in power, as well as previously unimaginable scientific and technological advances and – unavoidably – the development, decline, and reemergence of innumerable fashion fads.

Nina Murray talked about the country’s literature. “There’s a long-standing humorous tradition [in Lviv], because it’s always been a mixed city where different classes of people made fun of each other. But also the Jewish writer Sholem Aleichem is from Lviv and he was a great humorist. I’m biased because I’m from there [too]!”

Writing from Ukraine that focuses on the current wars According to Dralyuk, Lyuba Yakimchuk is one of the country’s most important modern poets – “was a refugee from Donbas, from the war zone, and she has written very movingly about that experience”. Her 2016 poem Crow, Wheels highlights the apparent never-ending escalation of conflict: “When the city was destroyed, / they started fighting over the cemetery.”

According to John Self, the history of Ukrainian literature shows the nation’s tragic conflicts, its diverse population, and its unique sense of humor.

“Kalev,” directed by Ove Musting, has been chosen by a jury assembled by the Estonian Film Institute (EFI) for the Academy Award for Best International Feature. Additionally, Sander Joone’s “Sierra,” which he both wrote and directed, is a competitor in the short animation division.

Museum lovers will be introduced to three unusual museums in Lithuania. It’s worth visiting!

For the second installment of BBC Culture’s Banned Books series, Nicholas Barrett writes that Vasily Grossman’s Life and Fate painted an image of the Soviet Union during World War II that highlighted “the grand sweep of history alongside the granular detail within”.

The Latvian National Museum of Art and the Riga Bourse Art Museum are the two museums that every art enthusiast in Riga must see. Both museums’ buildings are works of art in architecture. The most significant works by Latvian painters are on display at the Latvian National Museum of Art, which has recently undergone an outstanding refurbishment and frequently holds exhibitions of contemporary art.