In one of the latest developments in a brutal civil war, "rebels from Ethiopia’s Tigray region have reportedly seized the town of Lalibela, home to UNESCO-protected 12th- and 13th-century rock-hewn churches." - Hyperallergic
"Across southern Europe, large wildfires have so far killed eight people and caused mass evacuations while also threatening to damage ancient cultural sites. In Greece, authorities have partially closed the Acropolis and other major archaeological sites while battling with dozens of conflagrations around Athens." - Hyperallergic
Residents of Lalibela, a UNESCO World Heritage site that's home to 11 landmark 13th-century churches and a major pilgrimage destination for Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, have fled — along with government troops — as soldiers from the Tigray People's Liberation Front march in. - Yahoo! (AFP)
“Are you really telling the Bay Area that you spent the last year and a half forging diversity, equity and inclusion committees, to then eliminate the three most diverse and accessible programs that foster a sense of connection and support for local artists?” - Los Angeles Times
Paris is not the only city to struggle when trying to create a memorable logo. The history of Olympic logos shows it’s not easy to strike the tricky balance between capturing the spirit of the Games and that of the host city. - The Conversation
The museum is within a marine protected area about 200 metres from Pernera beach and in water between eight and 10 metres deep, so is accessible to snorkellers, scuba divers and free divers. - The Guardian
Roskomnadzor, the country's communications regulator, "said it had sent 145 requests to DeviantArt to remove unlawful content from its site since 2019, saying certain pages contained child pornography, pro-drug and pro-Nazi content, as well as other prohibited images." - Reuters
The Gesture, an 82-foot sculpture by Nadim Karam, is made of steel debris from last year's catastrophe and stands at the blast site itself. While some Beirutis have welcomed it, others say it's too soon for such a memorial, especially at what one calls "a crime scene." - Artnet
The resulting totemic structures, biomorphic forms, and sleek stacked shapes against drab gray backgrounds have a strange, mass-produced patina, as vaguely similar as Ikea furniture. - Hyperallergic
If one really wants to see an example of how a colour can come to denote an entire system of values and beliefs, look no further than green. - Literary Review
"Three architects, three journalists and two designers gathered over Zoom to make a list of the most influential and lasting buildings that have been erected — or cleverly updated — since World War II. Here are the results." - T — The New York Times Style Magazine
"Customers scroll through a selection of artwork and click the designs they like. … Then, the user clicks a button reading 'Make My Art,' Artifly becomes familiar with your selections — and … in about a minute, it creates a brand-new personalized artwork." - Artnet
"They're employing advances like liquid fingerprinting nanotechnology and tiny rare-earth magnets — as well as futuristic tech that's to persuade thieves and looters to leave art where it is, or to recover stolen items before they disappear for good." - Artnet
