As Disney’s First Creative Chief, Dana Walden Set to Reshape Power After Bob Iger
As Disney pivots beyond Bob Iger, Dana Walden’s new role puts streaming growth and creative cohesion at the center of its future.
One Fine Show: “Nothing Still About Still Lifes” at the Deji Art Museum
The blockbusters on display are incredible and expensive—so much so that walking through the exhibition can feel like going to a really good preview at an auction house.
I Went to a Costa Rican Blue Zone to Reverse Time. My Face—and the Stars—Had Other Ideas
At Hacienda AltaGracia, a Blue Zone-adjacent retreat argues that living longer has less to do with optimization and more to do with tables, air and time.
Business
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Goldman Sachs’ Information Chief Marco Argenti Deepens A.I. Push with Anthropic
Goldman Sachs has been using Anthropic’s A.I. tools internally for six months, Chief Information Officer Marco Argenti revealed. From coding to compliance, the bank is rolling out A.I. agents firmwide in one of Wall Street’s most ambitious automation efforts.
Sam Altman and Dario Amodei Clash Over Ads and the Future of A.I.
What started as a technical arms race between Sam Altman and Dario Amodei has evolved into a public feud over narrative control.
Sara Hooker Raises $50M to Challenge A.I.’s Conventional Wisdom
Sara Hooker’s new startup Adaption Labs is challenging A.I.’s reliance on massive data and compute power with adaptive, real-time learning.
Enrique Lores Takes the Helm at PayPal With a Mandate to Move Fast
PayPal’s chairman Enrique Lores steps in as CEO after Alex Chriss’ exit, facing investor doubts and fierce competition across digital payments.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei Is Winning A.I.’s Trust War
In a shot at OpenAI, the Anthropic head found a creative way to announce that he won’t be introducing ads within Claude anytime soon.
Art
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Rotterdam’s Reopened Photography Museum Celebrates the Medium’s Material Nature
The repurposed six-story cast-iron column structure houses one of the largest museum collections of photography in the world, as well as accoutrements such as vintage cameras, guidebooks, negatives, slides and prints.
At Christie’s, Irene Roosevelt Aitken’s Collection Tests the Market for Old-World Opulence
The dissolution of the prominent philanthropist’s collection will reveal whether the haute billionaire appetite for such ornate fare still holds sway in the era of Mahdavi minimalism.
With “Happy Zoo,” Anita Lam Makes a Case for Artistic Environmentalism
Lam’s curatorial work sits at the intersection of art, ecology, technology and philosophy, but far from being preachy or pessimistic, her approach is playful and, at times, mischievous.
In L.A., Julia Stoschek’s Art Collection Activates a Cinema Landmark
Observer spoke to curator Udo Kittelmann about willfully modifying art world terminology, being firmly anti-black box and the unmistakable constancy of human desires.
Celebrating the Power of Film and the Best of Humanity at Park City’s Last Sundance
Despite the sentimentality that covered Park City more heartily than the snow, films like ‘The Friend’s House Is Here’ reminded us how remarkable good movies can be at capturing our better impulses.
Lifestyle
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Dominique Ansel’s Beauty-Driven Approach to Pastry
Now, the famed pastry chef is gearing up for the debut of a new linzer cookie inspired by nail polish colors.
Miami’s Sushi Scene Is Having a Moment
An influx of omakase counters, Michelin stars and Tokyo-trained chefs is elevating Miami’s sushi scene.
Where to Go Horseback Riding in California, From Wine Country to the Coast
Celebrate the Year of the Horse with a scenic trail ride across California.
The Best Wine Hotels in Oregon’s Willamette Valley
From mountain top inns to cozy retreats on working farms and contemporary city suites, hospitality offerings in the Pacific Northwest have never been better.
The Best Boutique Hotels in Los Angeles, From Hollywood Icons to Eastside Hideaways
From storied Sunset Strip legends to design-forward Eastside inns, these are the intimate L.A. hotels worth booking.
Interviews
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Oscar Murillo Reflects On Building a Body of Work That Resists Linear Time
The artist frames his practice as a form of sedimentation, where ideas, marks and social encounters coexist across different temporal speeds.
Morgan Buck Sees A.I. as a Rare Chance to Reimagine Creativity
“Using A.I. as an artist is pretty much like banging creative heroin: it gets you to the best results without trying. Just instant and effortless. No pain, just gain.”
Larissa De Souza Builds Myth from Memory at Albertz Benda
Self-taught and guided by instinct, she draws on Afro-Brazilian spirituality, personal memory and archetypal symbolism to construct paintings that transcend autobiography.
Filmmakers Andreas Dalsgaard and Christoph Jörg Unpack the Art World’s Biggest Scandal
“How are these deals made? How is the auction house operating in collusion or in collaboration with the art dealers? All of that is just here to see,” Dalsgaard told Observer.
Meet the Collector: John Jonas On Living With Art
“To be able to live with it, embrace it, learn about it and discover the next piece of beauty in the world—it’s incredible,” he tells Observer. “They’re like my children, you know. And I love all my children.”
Power Lists
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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.
100 Leaders Shaping the Future of Artificial Intelligence
They write the script that the rest of us follow.
The Top PR Firms in 2025
This year’s PR Power List celebrates the agencies bold enough to lead the charge and smart enough to reflect the world they’re shaping.
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Painter Helene Schjerfbeck’s Life in Layers at the Met
The silence in her work is tender, delicate and fierce all at once. In a world dominated by men, despite isolation, illness and self-doubt, she carved out her space.
Remembering Harry Haun, Who Bore Witness to Broadway with Wit and Wonder
Connections forged over five decades gave him insider access to everyone from Jessica Chastain and Harvey Fierstein to the late Broadway publicist Susan Schulman and the legendary Lynne Meadow.
10 Exhibitions Not to Miss During Mexico City Art Week
From Surrealist masters to radical contemporary experiments, CDMX Art Week unfolds as a dense, multivocal map of Latin American art spanning museums, galleries and alternative spaces across the city.
Mati Staniszewski and Piotr Dabkowski Triple ElevenLabs’ Valuation to $11B, Solidifying Their Grip on A.I. Voice
The fast-growing startup is still “hungry” for expansion, according to CEO Mati Staniszewski.
Curated, Contextual, Slower and Strategic: A New Blueprint for Art Fairs Emerges in Doha
Blue-chip offerings at six- and seven-figure price points reinforced Art Basel Qatar’s institutional ambitions.
Moltbook and the Humanless Future of Artificial Intelligence
Will Saulsbery, an industry-leading A.I. marketer and strategist, and Mark Minevich, a globally recognized chief A.I. officer and investor, examine Moltbook, an experimental A.I.-only social network that places autonomous agents at the center of its ecosystem. They argue that Moltbook is less a provocation than a signal, highlighting how agentic A.I. is moving beyond human-in-the-loop design toward autonomous coordination. The future of A.I., they contend, will be defined by how effectively organizations govern, integrate and collaborate with increasingly independent systems.
Waymo Valued at $126B as Co-CEOs Accelerate Robotaxi Expansion
Led by co-CEOs Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov, Waymo hits a $126 billion valuation while expanding robotaxis across the U.S. and abroad.
Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman Calls for Global Cooperation as Aid Funding Slumps
The foundation plans to spend down its $86 billion endowment while rallying donors to reverse global aid declines.
Who Is Josh D’Amaro, Disney’s Theme Park Chief and Next CEO?
Josh D’Amaro, head of Disney’s most profitable division, will take over as CEO as the company pushes deeper into streaming.
Jet Set: Winter Skincare Saviors
From a new vanilla hand cream and a trusty sleeping mask favorite to a soon-to-come ultra-luxe eye moisturizer and a face lotion that never fails, here’s what we’re loving and coveting right now.
The Best Books That Foreground Female Friendship
From lifelong confidantes to brand-new allies, the characters in these novels exemplify the way friends can anchor us through change, chaos and joy.
The New York City Restaurants That Get Romance Right
From white-tablecloth French classics to buzzy downtown institutions, these are the New York restaurants that know how to set the mood.