UNESCO’s A.I. Report Considers How Technology Can Serve Culture
The organization’s investigation into A.I. and culture frames artificially intelligent technologies as both an opportunity and a threat.
Bloomberg CTO Shawn Edwards Is Rebuilding the Terminal Into an A.I. That Can’t Bluff
Shawn Edwards has spent decades building the infrastructure of Wall Street. Now he’s trying to teach it to think—without letting it lie.
Artificial Intelligence Is Rewriting the Rules of Art Valuation
Art advisors and insurers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to assess prices, manage risk and bring greater precision to valuations.
Weekly Features
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In DATALAND, Refik Anadol Has Built a Museum That Learns From Its Audience
While you watch the artwork, the artwork watches you.
Where to Eat in Silicon Valley, According to the Local Chefs Who Cook There
Local chefs from some of Silicon Valley’s most notable restaurants reveal their favorite South Bay spots, from Vietnamese noodles to fine dining and family-friendly pizza.
When the Future Came to City Hall: The Forgotten Blueprint for A.I. Governance
MIT Museum’s Michael John Gorman revists the landmark 1976 Cambridge recombinant DNA debate to argue that today’s A.I. governance challenges are less unprecedented than they seem. Gorman contends that democratic deliberation is the missing ingredient in governing transformative technologies.
Inside the Art Schools Building Courses Around A.I.’s Creative Potential
As BFA and MFA programs experiment with emerging technologies, they are subtly redefining what it means to train as a contemporary artist.
At Sun Valley, A.I. Isn’t the Only Competitive Advantage That Matters
Leadership and talent pipelines experts Tania Lennon and Ric Roi examine why the conversation unfolding at Sun Valley should extend beyond A.I. itself to the future of human expertise.
Business
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The FIFA World Cup and the Rise of Experience Rights
On Location’s Paul Caine explores why the economics of live sports are shifting beyond tickets and media rights toward premium hospitality and immersive experiences. Caine argues that as A.I. makes digital content increasingly abundant, the greatest competitive advantage will come from creating live moments that can’t be replicated.
Sun Valley’s Big Question: What Does Hollywood Need to Buy Next?
At this year’s Sun Valley gathering, the industry’s biggest question is not whether consolidation will continue, but which kinds of assets still create real value.
Why Wimbledon Is the Ultimate Test of Trusted Sports Data
Stats Perform’s Louise Beltrame-Bawden explores how Wimbledon demonstrates that the future of A.I. in sport will be defined less by the sophistication of algorithms than by the quality, context and trustworthiness of the data behind them.
Sportradar’s Head of Fan Engagement On Wimbledon, A.I. and the New Economics of Sports Data
While Wimbledon remains synonymous with tradition, the tournament has quietly become a proving ground for A.I.-powered sports data. Patrick Mostboeck, who leads fan engagement at Sportradar, explains why the next battle for tennis will be over the data that shapes how every match is watched, understood and monetized.
A.I. Leaders at Sun Valley 2026—Alongside Old Friends and New Alliances
Allen & Co. allows a small group of journalists to photograph attendees only outside the main venue, as they move about the resort. So we are left to read as much as possible into these images—especially the group shots and sometimes the absence of familiar faces—for clues of friendship, rivalry, complicated alliances and possible business synergies.
Art
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Faig Ahmed Weaves Azerbaijan’s Past Into Its Future in Venice
For the country’s national pavilion, the artist reimagines the carpet as a living technology, bridging centuries-old craft, mysticism, neuroscience and quantum physics.
At the Grand Palais, Laure Prouvost Translates Quantum Physics Into Something You Can Feel
“Nous, frissons d’étoiles” turns quantum physics into a poetic, bodily experience that asks visitors to engage with entanglement, uncertainty and the continuity between humans, nature and matter.
For Collector Marie-Cécile Zinsou, Building a Museum in Benin Was Just the Beginning
Her unflinching drive has helped shift the general attitude toward the arts in the West African country and create an active scene.
At Lisson Gallery, Kelly Akashi Gives Resilience Form
In “Heirloom,” the artist transforms mallow weeds, lace, quartz, Corten steel and cast glass into fragile but forceful meditations on memory, inheritance and regeneration.
One Fine Show: “Deep Cuts, Block Printing Across Cultures” at LACMA
With everything from Japanese prayer scrolls printed in 764 to a rare 1906 Brücke Manifesto to Alison Saar’s woodcuts, the exhibition presents block printing as the most underestimated way of making a picture.
Lifestyle
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Mykonos Beyond the Mayhem: An Insider’s Guide to the Greek Island
The island may be famous for its excess, but regulars know Mykonos is at its best in family-run tavernas, quieter beaches, sharp hotels and long lunches that slip into sunset.
An Insider’s Guide to Putney’s Riverfront London Life
A guide to Putney’s restaurants, pubs, coffee shops and independent stores, from riverfront institutions to side-street neighborhood favorites.
The British Cars That Command the Most Reverence—and the Highest Prices
At auction houses around the world, a handful of marques have consistently attracted devoted collectors and record-breaking bids.
The Most Memorable On-Court Style Moments in Wimbledon History
The All England Club insists on white, but the tournament’s best-dressed players have turned that narrow dress code into some of the sport’s most lasting style moments.
The Original ‘It Girl’ of Tennis Played Drunk, Undressed and Undefeated
Before there was a “cool girl” athlete archetype to subvert, there was Suzanne Lenglen: a French teenager who beat her own father at tennis three months after learning to play, then spent the next two decades dismantling the sport’s stuffiest conventions. This is the story of the woman who made winning look like the least interesting part of being great.
Interviews
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The Future Perfect’s Laura Young Makes the Case for Design as the Next Collecting Frontier
She reflects on collectors, craft, functionality and why the sofa should no longer be an afterthought.
Curator Samantha Katz and Architect Alan Paukman’s Festival Blueprint for the Post-Spectatorship Era
“Art has been put on a pedestal that makes people feel like it is untouchable, inapproachable. Anything we can do to remove that narrative and invite people into the process in a more participatory and accessible way benefits us all.”
At Ebbio, the Parisian Art Consultancy IDA Offers Artists the Luxury of Unstructured Time
Florence Marmiesse and Camilla D’Alfonso’s two-week-long Italian residency prioritizes both research and rest.
Kingsley Ng and Angel Hui’s “Fermata” Brings the Rhythms of Hong Kong to Venice
The exhibition builds a visual and sonic bridge between two cities shaped by water and strong maritime histories.
Marilyn Minter Reflects On Four Decades of Beauty, Grit and Banishing Shame
Exaggerated commercial aesthetics have always been this artist’s most subversive tool.
Power Lists
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Observer New Media Power List: Call for Submissions
Nominations are open for Observer’s 2026 New Media Power List
The 50 Most Powerful PR Firms of 2026
This year’s honorees are emblematic of a notable shift in public relations from responsive publicity to proactive leadership in the moments that matter most.
Wall-to-Wall Cultural Capital: Inside Observer’s Art Power Index Party
Under the dim lights of the Lower East Side’s Maison Nur, art world luminaries gathered to celebrate Observer’s Art Power Index—and each other. From the impassioned speeches to the sharp tailoring and Damien Hirst over the bar, the evening embodied our legacy of chronicling power with style.
2025 Nightlife & Dining Power Index
Humanity is still the most vital ingredient in hospitality, and that isn’t changing anytime soon.
Observer’s 2025 Art Power Index: The Art Market’s Most Influential People
Their acquisitions, affinities and approbations move the needle on valuation and redefine how art is made, shown and sold.
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Stanford’s A.I. Hiring Study Exposes a Human Problem
Findem’s Tina Shah Paikeday examines new research from the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI showing how widely used hiring tools can reinforce bias. Paikeday argues that responsible A.I. depends on the governance, accountability and human judgment guiding the technology’s design and evaluation.
One Fine Show: “Pierre Huyghe” at Fondation Beyeler
Huyghe makes art that implies our current moment is a little too stupid to be engaged with, unless through several layers of substances, technology and irony.
Phillips’s CEO Martin Wilson On What the House’s $507 Million Spring Reveals About the Market
From priority bidding to record watch sales and a 40 percent new-buyer rate, the auction house’s spring season tells a story about where the auction market is heading.
The Most Valuable Tennis Memorabilia Ever Sold at Auction
From Djokovic’s record-smashing Australian Open racquet to Federer’s pristine Wimbledon whites, Grand Slam history now routinely sells in the six-digit range.
Old Hollywood Glamour Meets High-Altitude Adventure: How to Summer in Sun Valley
From gold mine thrifting to golfing, high-country trail rides to hiking the iconic peaks, here’s how to spend the sunniest season in Idaho’s premier mountain town.
The London Members’ Clubs Worth Knowing
From old-guard Mayfair institutions to new-school Soho hideaways, these are the London members’ clubs where access still comes with a certain amount of theater.
Media and Corporate Moguls Touch Down in Sun Valley for ‘Billionaire Summer Camp’
Media moguls, tech executives and billionaires arrive in Sun Valley for a week of networking, signaling deals, alliances and industry shifts.
Zohran Mamdani’s Culture Budget Is Historic, But New York Needs a Broader Plan for Protecting Artists and the Arts
The question now is whether the city can port cultural funding into a strategy for urban development, artistic resilience and civic capability.
Meet the A.I. Ph.D. Who Took Human Error Out of the World’s Biggest Games
Andre Agassi once described Paul Hawkins’ A.I. as “the biggest thing to happen in tennis for 40 years.” The system was first introduced to professional tennis at the 2006 Miami Masters, ushering in electronic line-calling and improving accuracy.
How the Wimbledon Foundation Became Tennis’s Quiet Philanthropic Force
Since 2013, the Wimbledon Foundation has turned tennis proceeds into grants for homelessness, youth sports, health and local nonprofits.
Positioned for Growth, Riga Contemporary Is Small by Design and Serious About Staying That Way
Maintaining an intimate scale—and refusing to aspire to be a massive event in the long term—draws, perhaps, just a small portion of the population, but an audience large enough to feel like a viable alternative.
The Tennis Memoirs That Go Beyond the Game
These books are less about winning and losing than they are about identity, ambition, obsession and what the game demands of the people who play it.