13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. CDXCXVIII)

1. Academy Theater, Inglewood California, 1940 Still standing, screened movies from 1933 until it became a church in 1975. It got it’s name “The Academy Theater” because it was originally built to be the home and venue for the Academy Awards (the Oscars). But the plans changed. Photographed by Julius Shulman, found here. 2. ‘Sciopticon’…

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Paris Summer Events & Inspiration Guide

Just when we thought we’d be spending the summer of 2020 suntanning from our windowsills, life has returned to the streets once again and Paris has been liberated. While social distancing measures remain in place for the safety of all Parisians, our beloved restaurants, bars, and museums have been given the go-ahead to reopen. For…

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A Brief Compendium of Amazing African Architecture

You can probably clearly picture the architecture of Europe, Asia, the Middle East and India – but can you say the same for Africa? For thousands of years, Africa helped shape our modern world and yet, so much of it is underrepresented. We spent the day getting to know its architecture better, discovering just how…

Signed with Love: The Hand Painted Posters of NYC’S Cevallos Brothers

Sometimes, you just need a sign. Preferably: one crawling with brilliant fonts, memories of your favourite childhood foods and a few brujas on broomsticks. Such are the delightful creations of NYC’s local legends, the “Cevallos Brothers,” who for almost half-a-century have been hand painting the town’s streets, tortas trucks, bars, and more with our favourite…

Harlem’s Forgotten Fight to Save Africa’s Last Uncolonised Nation from Mussolini

Harlem, New York, the summer of 1935. Years before the United States or even Allied Europe has entered World War II. Large crowds of African Americans are gathering around a registration desk, volunteering to take on a fascist Italian dictator who is soon to become Hitler’s fiercest collaborator. No doubt, Black Americans have enough battles…

For a Year, They Lived Tied Together with 8 Feet of Social Distance

The promise was made on American Independence Day, 1983. “We, Linda Montano and Tehching Hsieh, plan to do a one year performance. We will stay together for one year and never be alone…tied together at [the] waist with an 8 foot rope.” Arguably the most difficult part of this promise? That artists Hsieh and Montano…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. CDXCXVII)

1. A 5 Dollar Jackson Pollock? Teri Horton bought a secondhand painting for $5 and learned that it could be an original Jackson Pollock. She spent years trying to prove it’s authenticity, and was offered $9 million, but refused to sell for any less than $50 million. She had a forensic scientist look at it…

An Introductory Guide to Black Paris

The Black Lives Matter movement has opened our eyes in so many ways. It plays a crucial role in upholding the living history of a different side of Paris. This week, Keyholders joined me on Zoom for an introductory Black History Tour through Paris, – one that belonged to Black America’s own “Lost Generation” of…

Has Coronavirus Killed the Menu? An Ode to the Restaurant Staple

Ah, Paris! Global capital of couture, style, and…menus? As café terraces welcome back patrons post-lockdown, it’s comes to the attention of our Paris team that tangible menus have gone digital across the city. Restaurants are displaying QR barcodes for customers to scan and access menus via their smartphones in order to avoid spreading les microbes.…

The Original 1960s Architects of Dystopian Internet Art

We were supposed to be living on the moon by now – at least, that was our trajectory according to the 1960s. Rockets had landed man on the moon and Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey glamorised high-definition visions of life in space. New worlds were within reach more than ever before, waves of peace and love and…