In Basel, a Cautious But Committed Market Rediscovers Its Nerve
“Art Basel remains the most important fair of the year… It starts strong, and it stays strong.”
“Climate Clock” in Oulu Reckons With a Warming World
Curator Alice Sharp describes the project as an attempt to step outside the ordinary tyranny of clock time and into something else: a space “between the tick and the tock,” where new worlds can be imagined.
Andaz One Bangkok Finds Calm Above the City’s Electric Chaos
Set above Wireless Road, the new hotel balances Bangkok’s street-level rush with warm design, sharp dining, custom tea cocktails and skyline-facing calm.
Business
See All
With Roku, Murdoch’s Fox May Have Found the Smarter Way to Win Streaming
Fox sat out much of the costly content arms race, and Roku now gives it a way to monetize the platforms where that battle plays out.
Lachlan Murdoch Pushes Fox Deeper Into Streaming With $22B Roku Deal
Murdoch is betting on Roku to accelerate Fox’s next phase of streaming growth. The Roku acquisition would unlock user data, expand reach and position the company as a leader in the fast-growing CTV ad market.
How Chess.com Co-Founder Danny Rensch Turned a Centuries-Old Game Into a Media Empire
Danny Rensch helped transform Chess.com from an online playing platform into a media, subscription and creator economy business. As Netflix, streaming and A.I. reshape chess’s cultural profile, Rensch has become one of the game’s most visible executives.
Why Cutting Humans Too Fast Could Backfire in the A.I. Era
Drawing past corporate efficiency revolutions, from outsourcing to open-office culture, Patty Azzarello examines why so many companies are approaching A.I. as a labor-reduction strategy rather than a leadership challenge.
Sun Valley 2026 Guest List: A Mix of Familiar Moguls and Newer Names
This year’s Sun Valley gathering is expected to bring together tech CEOs, media moguls, A.I. founders, investors and journalists for another week of dealmaking and power-watching.
Art
See All
Middle Node and What It Takes to Build an Art Scene Outside New York and L.A.
There are plenty of exhibitions in the Rust Belt; the challenge has always been finding them.
Michael Gallagher’s ‘The Leader’ Drops the Ball Dramatically
The film, which screened at Tribeca, is shockingly dull for a tale of people so impassioned that they were willing to kill themselves based on misguided beliefs about the world and about themselves.
Performa’s Broadway Benefit Brought Fresh Magic to an Old Format
Fifty artists gathered at New York’s Town Hall theater for one unforgettable vaudeville-inspired evening of live performance art.
‘Giant’ and the Seduction of Certainty
Director and playwright Moisés Kaufman sees the play’s power not in its denouncement of antisemitism but in its depiction of how antisemitism persists.
At Liste Basel, Market Trends Give Way to Explorations of Contemporary Anxiety
While the usual sense of urgency was lacking, dealers reported that collector response on opening day was solid.
Lifestyle
See All
Lisa Vanderpump’s Vegas Hotel Is Campy, Clever and Somehow Good
Lisa Vanderpump’s first hotel turns reality-TV spectacle into a surprisingly persuasive Vegas stay.
The Insider’s Guide to Athens, Beyond the Greek Island Stopover
The city most travelers once rushed through now makes a better case for lingering, with serious hotels, ambitious kitchens, late-night bars and enough energy to make the islands feel almost optional.
The 10 Most Exciting Restaurants Opening in New York City This June
From a bar on a boat to the long-awaited unveiling of a food hall in a historic space, June’s openings are built for summer.
The Best Rosé Wines to Sip This Summer
Whether you’re poolside lounging or gathering with friends for a backyard BBQ, rosé shines as the ultimate summer sipper.
€3.5 Million Raised in 20 Minutes: Inside the American Friends of Versailles Gala
Among the elegant evening’s auction lots were luxury excursions, fine art and a diamond bracelet that became the lively paddle round’s most coveted piece.
Interviews
See All
Ho Jae Kim’s Civil Art Returns to Christie’s With a Million-Dollar Milestone in Sight
What began as a fundraiser has become a nonprofit ecosystem connecting artists, institutions, galleries and community organizations.
Francesca Mollett’s Architecture of Abstraction
In “Buried Shadow” at GRIMM, she transforms memory, matter and perception into tableau vivants in which light, color and form shift under the eye.
MOCAD’s Co-Directors On What a Museum Owes a Changing City
“Meaningful cultural work doesn’t happen in isolation—it’s built through listening, collaboration, adaptability and trust,” artistic director Jova Lynn told Observer.
The Essentials With Carley Fortune: “Off Campus,” Tofino and All Things Barry’s Bay
The bestselling novelist shares the settings, shows, skincare and travel staples she returns to, from Barry’s Bay nostalgia to Tofino’s foggy coastline.
Sébastien Léon’s Material Exploration
“I’m interested in imagining a different physical world, almost a parallel set of conditions where matter follows a slightly altered logic,” the artist told Observer.
Power Lists
See All
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.
Latest
All Latest
New York’s Design Sales Offered a Clearer Picture of What Serious Collectors Want
From French postwar design and American studio craft to ceramics, Tiffany lamps and contemporary collectibles, buyers at Sotheby’s and Phillips pursued rarity in all its forms.
For David Hockney, Looking Was Living
He was born in Yorkshire, died in London and never lost his flat Northern accent. Something else he never lost in his 88 years on earth was his love of looking and using whatever tool felt right to capture what he saw.
What the Cultural Sector Got Wrong About the Philadelphia Museum of Art Rebrand
Arts institutions may now think twice before touching their brands, but MiresBall principal and creative director John Ball says it’s short-sighted to assume a rebrand is always the wrong move.
Our Favorite Looks from the Frick Collection Spring Garden Party
The see-and-be-seen set leaned hard into stunning seasonal pastels and flouncy floral motifs.
Crypto Won in Washington, But Mainstream Users Still Aren’t Buying
Paybis’ Innokenty Isers unpacks why crypto’s long-awaited mainstream breakthrough still hasn’t arrived. As regulators soften their stance and crypto-friendly legislation advances in Washington, Isers argues that the industry’s biggest challenge is consumer trust.
How Can Philanthropy Help the Arts? By Fully Supporting Innovators
As cultural organizations across the country face a deepening financial crisis, Remuseum founding director Stephen Reily and Doris Duke Charitable Foundation president and CEO Samsher (Sam) Singh Gill believe foundations and funders need to actively back not just new ideas but also the innovators brave enough to see them through.
The Future-Facing Museum Exhibitions Not to Miss in Basel
This year’s strongest Art Basel-adjacent shows are asking big questions about our future, with artists using digital worlds, living systems, petrochemicals, machines and ritual to consider what might come next.
The Best New L.A. Restaurants to Try in June
L.A.’s culinary scene is heating up this month, including Enrique Olvera’s latest opening and a second location of one of the city’s buzziest pizzerias.
The First-Time Visitor’s Guide to Shanghai: Shikumen Lanes, Listening Bars and Unforgettable Dumplings
From futuristic skyscrapers and historic houses to world-class museums and elite dumplings, here’s how to experience the dynamic city for the first time.
One Fine Show: “Zurbarán” at the National Gallery in London
This artist looked life square in the face, and painted it in all its beauty and viscerality.
Essential Queer Reading for Pride Month and Beyond
These eight titles prove that L.G.B.T.Q.+ stories are as varied, vital and necessary as ever.
No Car, No Problem: The Best Summer Train Trips From L.A.
The Pacific Surfliner train makes a proper summer escape surprisingly easy, with coastal views, walkable stops and no need to negotiate traffic on the way home.