Meet Dvir Bar, Editor in Chief of F.O.D., Tel Aviv’s man loving magazine After the Gay Times readers voted Tel Aviv as the best gay city of the world it was just a question of time when will the White City introduce it’s very own gay magazine. While the in the UK, France and States [...]

Keith Haring is perhaps one of the greatest contemporary artist of our time. His timeless doodles embody the spirit of the 80′s, which inhabited the ever changing subway ad spaces. Haring took art that was at the time a luxury for the elect and made it public. People of many different walks of life got [...]

The latest choreography ‘Obsolescence’ by the young dance company Opinion Public is definitely worth checking out. The group of engaged and conscientious dancers (Etienne Béchard, Johann Clapson, Sidonie Fossé, Victor Launay and Arthur Louarti) draws inspiration from their personal and professional experience in the Béjart Ballet Lausanne and has for the seventh time come up [...]

To present Joel-Peter Witkin’s photographs to someone who has never seen or heard of it without scarring him/her away could be consider a tricky task. Well-known for using corpses or physically deformed persons as models for his work, the Brooklyn-born artist has been controversial for a while. Saying his idea of beauty does not exactly [...]

Some films are made to raise issues, and french director Mathieu Kassovitz’s La Haine (Hate) is one them. Unfolding over a 24-hour period, the film follows three character in the blighted suburbs of Paris. The night before, during riots, a friend of theirs is arrested and beaten up by police, leaving Vinz, Said and Hubert [...]

For all the media coverage on the 100th anniversary of the Titanic tragedy over the past week, it is surprising that many publications have failed to draw attention to Lady Lucile Duff-Gordon, a noteworthy survivor on board the doomed liner, which sank on her maiden voyage. Known amongst the many elite passengers on the Titanic [...]

Two hours outside of the city of New York lay a sleepy little town known as Hudson. Situated just on the edge of the Hudson River, with the Catskill Mountains as a backdrop. This town is home to some of the best antiquing, salvaged industrial finds and seemingly every friendly person the state of New [...]

The real boarder of girlhood and womanhood is something that, as a 24 year old, I can relate to. College is over and parents minimize or take away their financial support. What next? Money needs to made, but how? What do I love? Can I even make money doing what I love? On top of [...]

A little more than thirty years ago, the sovereign Arab state of Qatar was merely a secluded corner perched on the Persian Gulf. The territory struck gold with the discovery of oil and natural gas reserves, which led to it becoming one of the wealthiest states within the Arabian Peninsula. Having been ruled under the [...]

From March 22nd to April 3rd, the Cinéma du réel international documentary film festival is taking place at the Centre Pompidou, Paris, for its 34th edition. 200 films are selected, divided in four categories. This year’s avant-garde section, exploring documentary, pays tribute to filmmakers as Warriors, those using lethal weapons, those using cameras, those using [...]

The Western Sahara does not often frequent our thoughts, but in this mysterious desert, there lives a group of exiles under military occupation. The Sahara International Film Festival, or FiSahara, might be the world’s only film exhibition held in a refugee camp, bringing entertainment, culture and education to the Saharawi people. After Spanish colonists withdrew [...]

The documentary Waste Land follows the journey of artist Vik Muniz to his native Brazil in documenting the lives of a group of catadores – ‘self designated pickers of recyclable material’ – who had until this point existed unacknowledged by the society in which they live. The story begins with Muniz’s initial trepidation in the investigation of Jardim Gramacho, the largest [...]

Brooklyn-based photographer and writer Paul Kwiatkowski’s book, …And Everyday was Overcast is an upcoming novel and photo essay about coming of age in what he refers to as “the creep show of swamps and strip malls that is South Florida.” “Making it through adolescence in a small town in South Florida is like being raised [...]

If Iran’s environmental art movement has escaped your radar or is a phenomenon that you are not currently aware of, sculptor Ahmad Nadalian has made it his mission to build a bridge between the paradise of his homeland and ecological circumstances we all should know about. I met Professor Nadalian during his last visit to the United [...]

The annual Hong Kong Rugby Sevens is part of a series of international rugby tournaments hosted under the IRB Sevens World Series. The 3-day event, held during the last weekend of March every year, was first established in 1976 and took place in the city this past weekend. Sponsored by HSBC and coordinated by the [...]

Street style columns are everywhere now. Bloggers like Scott Schuman (The Sartorialist), Yvan Rodic (Facehunter) and Phil Oh (Street Peeper) have worked from the ground up to make huge successes of themselves; they now regularly shoot campaigns for high-end fashion brands and collaborate with international chains. With the advent of camera phones and digital photography, [...]

The photography of Francesca Woodman is at once haunting and simply beautiful, much like the artist behind the camera. Black-and-white images of women, usually nude and often Woodman herself, appear almost delicate and quiet at first glance but take a closer look to find a raw, almost lurid sensibility. Woodman, who tragically took her own [...]

“People think money is like magic, that it can change everything, but it can’t.” JK Rowling told Oprah Winfrey in her 2010 interview. Maybe money can’t change everything, but the Harry Potter author has given so much that she has been knocked off the Forbes billionaire’s list – a rumored $160m in donations to date. [...]

Photos by Atiba T. Edwards, FOKUS. In the novice mind, vegetarian restaurants might still be associated with tofu and a sometimes an excessive boho feeling, but yet another initiative to prove us wrong. Maimonide of Brooklyn is a vegetarian restaurant with a very personal take on a “plant-eating only” menu. Rich in nuts and elaborate [...]

The craze for the Keep Calm and Carry On slogan initially began in Britain in 2000, when a poster containing the message, originally created in 1939 prior to the beginning of the Second World War, was rediscovered in a small second-hand bookshop in North East England. The phrase was part of the British government’s efforts [...]

Born from the impulse of two incredible women, the Ama Project aims to help the women of Minami Sanriku in the tsunami-stricken Northeast Japan. When Ritsuko Nishimae and Kasumiko Murakami arrive on location, right after the apocalyptic earthquake, they are shocked by the scale of the disaster that hit the Miyagi Prefecture almost one year [...]

East London, particularly the increasingly popular Dalston area, is a source of new trends and continues to impress me. “I did not hear my phone ring,” a friend said at 11 a.m. while I was ready to wander the trendy part of the city, looking for a venue to hire for a birthday. But I [...]

In the tech-savvy city of Hong Kong, most people are fortunate enough to be in possession of a Smartphone with top-quality camera lenses. The film director, cinematographer and photographer Yat-Nam Lai has compiled a series of candid images of passengers on the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) – Hong Kong’s metropolitan subway system – captured on [...]

The ancient Chinese tradition of ‘villain hitting’ is a spritual ritual popular in Southern China. Also known as Da Siu Yan in Cantonese, the phrase translates literally as ‘hitting of the little people’. A ceremony that originated from the Spring and Autumn Period of Imperial China, circa 771 BC, villain hitting is usually performed in [...]

The news of The Eastman Kodak Company filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy late last month has not only been lamented by filmmakers and photographers alike, but also triggered a wave of collective memory amongst the masses. Founded by George Eastman in 1889, the photographic equipment company – with over a hundred years of history and [...]

Cristobal Jodorowsky presents his expo “Mas Alla del Cuerpo” (Beyond the Body) in Mexico City’s FIFTY24MX art gallery. There, Cristobal presented his brightly colored paintings, as well as a poetry reading and a web cam performance. Son of Alejandro Jodorowsky, Cristobal is a multi-medium artist, with also a profound passion for shamanism and an avid [...]

The district of Wu Kai Sa is an area long been known for its outstanding natural beauty, as well as the presence of various historic villages dating back hundreds of years – both rarities amidst the concrete jungle that is Hong Kong. Over the years, it has attracted many tourists and locals alike, seeking a [...]

At a time when the last thing on most minds is food, particularly anything other than the quick bite while racing to the next show, Elettra Wiedemann comes to the rescue. Most know Elettra as the face of Lancôme and daughter of Isabella Rossellini, however she is much more than a model of special pedigree. For the second [...]

The Saamlung Gallery Hong Kong is currently hosting a solo exhibition on the works of Tsang Tsou Choi (1921-2007), the infamous street graffiti and outsider artist. Tsang, who first gained notoriety in the late 1950’s through his distinctive ink brush calligraphy, became well known for his execution of a unique form of street art all [...]

Time has elapsed since the former image of Marseille as a poor and dodgy town. The second city of France is currently experiencing a new area made of culture, art and creativity with a fresh blood of young and talented designers, music lovers and art aficionados. Designated European Capital of Culture in 2013, the melting [...]

Eiko Ishioka, renowned Japanese costume designer, artistic director and creator of visual character, passed away this past Saturday. Ishioka was a master of formulating costumes so visceral that they outshone reality, as if the creation of each work was a flamboyant rejection of all the mundane qualities of life. Her designs traversed the creative gamut; [...]

Short films come in different forms, and lately, they all have one thing in common–attention to aesthetics (aesthetics that won’t steal the spotlight from the film’s star, of course). The incredibly talented Walis Ahluwalia appears in front of the lens guarded by a stellar battalion that includes actors Agyness Deyn, Jason Schwartzman and Tilda Switon. [...]

Beyond the smoke and beneath the rubble Libya’s Landscape is changing rapidly. With a recent revolution as a result from the spring uprising the long struggle to release the shackles has resulted in the nation’s stifled voice to be united and finally emancipated. Photo courtesy of Sarah Elliot In recent months the North African nation [...]

Swedish director Tomas Alfredson is no stranger to adaptations. His 2008 film, Let The Right One In (2008), based on John Ajvide Lindqvist’s novel of the same name, was a formidable success both domestically and internationally, even sparking a Hollywood re-make (Let Me In, 2010). His latest effort Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is based on [...]

Ron Mueck’s life-like sculptures are haunting, morbid and lonely. For the past five months, the hyperrealist sculptor from Australia has exhibited nine of his pieces in Mexico City’s Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, an ex-convent and first-stop museum for international artists. Mueck’s creations are made out of silicone and fiberglass, some not even a foot-long, [...]

Fondation Cartier in Paris is housed in a light-filled glass building which encompasses gallery spaces as well as an elegantly landscaped interior garden. Designed by Jean Nouvel, the magnificence of this structure both inside and out is reason enough to visit. But the caliber of exhibitions within the Fondation is equally impressive, as we can [...]

Traveling around Italy you will inevitably come across gorgeous medieval manuscripts, exquisite Renaissance frescoes and opulently decorated Baroque churches but one of the most intriguing destinations is the contemporary, surrealistic folly at La Scarzuola, Montegiove in Umbria. Situated between Rome and Florence this hidden gem of architectural splendor is one of Umbria’s best-kept secrets. At [...]

A beam of white light streams through the glass front doors of Maccarone, the effect of a strategically placed installation that induces curiosity even before stepping inside the West Village gallery. Projection, by David Lamelas, is comprised of two projectors, one casting the aforementioned spotlight on visitors as they enter, the other projecting a blank [...]

Movie of the End of the Weekend, numéro 4, January 22nd 2012 Angels in the Dust (2007) – Director: Louise Hogarth Filmmaker Louise Hogarth’s documentary Angels in the Dust chronicles one of the most uplifting yet unsung stories of our time: that of the Botshabelo Orphanage outside of Johannesburg, South Africa. Founded by Marion and [...]

Sunday January 22 at 5pm, or Tuesday night, our Parisian readers could take their car to Suresne, 10 min south east of the city to discover the latest choreography by Angelin Preljocaj, titled Royaume Uni. The Suresnes Cité Danse festival reaches its 20th birthday this year. A large number of different dance styles will be [...]

The feature documentary follows The Joneses family along their courageous pursuit of love. Trevor is a 34 year old virgin, Brad was born with brain damage, and Jheri Rae Jones was formerly their father. Now, as three single adults living under one trailer park roof in small town Mississippi, they are each ready to embark [...]

Prevailing beliefs acknowledge communication in terms of the spoken or written word, and rarely are ideas wittingly traded outside of this realm. German choreographer Pina Bausch paid no heed to such restraints, and as one can see in Wim Wenders’ new documentary Pina, she championed communication through dramatic movement. In fact, it is mused upon [...]

Movie of the End of the Weekend, numéro 3, January 15th 2012 The China Syndrome (1979) – Director: James Bridges After talking about Network last week, let’s stay in that same area and topic with another icon of the seventies, Jane Fonda.  This time it’s a thriller, with the tension building slowly over the course [...]

Those were the days, the salad days, a time of wrinkle-free innocence marked with the enthusiasm and idealism which too often fades with age. The leafy green expression is the title of Tara Sinn‘s new show at Family, probably the best indie bookstore-cum-gallery in Los Angeles. New York-based Sinn, a multimedia artist well versed in [...]

Movie of the End of the Weekend, numéro 2, January 8th 2012 Network (1976) – Director:Sidney Lumet For our second week, let’s have a look at the movie that offered gorgeous Faye Dunaway her Academy Award. Here she is, amazingly stylish, the day after receiving her Oscar. While watching Network, (not to be confused with [...]

Love Before Intimacy, Lola Montes Schnabel’s first New York solo exhibition is now on view at The Hole Gallery. Schnabel is  the daughter of the famed painter and film maker Julian Schnabel; and graduated from Cooper Union in 2008. The exhibition is comprised of five large scale figurative paintings depicting scenes of a youthful romance. [...]

A 30 year survey of artist Sherrie Levine is currently on view at the Whitney. The show, entitled  Mayhem, is  not an official retrospective, but a chance for work from the breadth of Levine’s career to be juxtaposed and seen together. Levine was a member of the notorious group of  ’80s appropriationalists known as  ‘The [...]

Movie of the End of the Weekend, numéro 1,  January 1st 2012 The Black Power Mixtape 1967 1975, (2011) – Director: Göran Olsson What best on an evening after the usual festivities and for some of us a late night, early morning home, then staying in watching a movie? Tucked under the warmth of a [...]

The joyous holiday season has become less jolly after the discovery of the untimely death of James Rizzi, one of Brooklyn’s finest artists. He was found on December 26th in his SoHo apartment, resting peacefully in his sleep. The curious artist was 61 years young. If your ears are not familiar with his name, then [...]