The Christian Science Monitor | Artshttps://www.csmonitor.comThe Christian Science Monitor's coverage of the arts.The Christian Science Monitor | Artshttps://images.csmonitor.com/csm/2024/04/1172291_2_csmlogo_feed_250x30_standard.pnghttps://www.csmonitor.comChristian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.300en-usFri, 17 Apr 2026 02:00:13 EDTAn enslaved potter left messages for the future, inscribed in clayhttps://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Arts/2026/0302/reparations-slavery-dave-the-potter?icid=rss862698adc2f6cdc42609e90232305c32Several groups lay claim to artisan David Drake: a museum, a county, and his descendants. His work serves to illuminate America’s fractured past.Mon, 02 Mar 2026 14:18:43 ESTKen MakinEnglish painter John Constable captured the rhythms of rural lifehttps://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2026/0226/john-constable-landscape-painting?icid=rssd66251e74137d3d4a7d32eaa2f326723The farms and fields of Constable’s native Suffolk county provided rich material and spiritual sustenance.Thu, 26 Feb 2026 14:02:58 ESTHeller McAlpinThis Nigerian educator gave a river a voice. The next generation is listening.https://www.csmonitor.com/Perspectives/Making-a-difference/2026/0211/nigeria-ogun-river-children?icid=rss7a69c3b8d35627f1adedbb76a0c999c7Solomon Ekundayo wrote the storybook “The Loud Cry of Ogun River” to explain a river’s decline in terms children can absorb.Wed, 11 Feb 2026 12:28:49 ESTOgar MondayAI can write songs, plays, and novels. What does that mean for human creativity?https://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Arts/2026/0211/ai-music-creativity-llm-jobs?icid=rsseb45b859ca8b6e483b0957776a2ae98fThe age of AI-generated music and AI-aided fiction has arrived. Will “canned” art push musicians, writers, and others out of jobs?Wed, 11 Feb 2026 05:00:10 ESTLaurent BelsieMelanie Stetson FreemanIn Oscar-nominated ‘One Battle After Another,’ a message for a troubled America?https://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Arts/2026/0124/oscar-one-battle-after-another-extremism?icid=rss27436cc19a28f35a338aa5a44ee3bf37In “One Battle After Another,” nominated for best picture, the risks of political extremism come to the fore in a film that might feel uncomfortably close to the current news cycle.Sat, 24 Jan 2026 05:00:16 ESTStephen Humphries‘This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine.’ How two murderers found grace performing Shakespeare.https://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Arts/2025/1010/shakespeare-stage-prison-play-murder-grace-redemption?icid=rssb16d8900f32128f1c7ddaa65fa896c6fPerforming Shakespeare in prison helped two murderers rediscover their humanity and find redemption. They vow to “be wise hereafter and seek for grace.”Fri, 10 Oct 2025 10:46:14 EDTStephen HumphriesHow a hippo and an octopus brought joy to this Boston neighborhoodhttps://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Arts/2025/0903/boston-charlestown-tobin-bridge-public-art?icid=rssc0ef9cc4ce366dc5e17276c5591f4439A new sculpture exhibition under the Tobin Bridge was designed to revitalize the oldest neighborhood in Massachusetts. Wed, 03 Sep 2025 05:00:09 EDTHannah GoekeShould art be ‘patriotic’? Artist pulls her Smithsonian show, citing censorship.https://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Arts/2025/0802/amy-sherald-smithsonian-censorship-trump?icid=rssae694e59df0152ef661df0355479ca49Artist Amy Sherald pulled her show from the National Portrait Gallery, citing efforts to censor her work. The decision comes as the Trump administration has railed against “wokeness” in federally funded museums and slashed funding for local cultural institutions.Sat, 02 Aug 2025 05:00:08 EDTKen MakinCaitlin BabcockDavid Hockney’s world vibrates in living colorhttps://www.csmonitor.com/Books/2025/0731/david-hockney-25-exhibition-catalog?icid=rss4c7eb52538181e0b910ce32b05014570In “David Hockney,” the artist’s work jumps off the page, pulsing with life. A retrospective and a book capture his vitality and inventiveness.Thu, 31 Jul 2025 18:10:45 EDTHeller McAlpin‘The city becomes a canvas for storytelling.’ How Baltimore is honoring Freddie Gray.https://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Arts/2025/0717/baltimore-freddie-gray-black-lives-matter?icid=rss5f38087100cdffe57a16cf4e31f289feTo honor Freddie Gray, Baltimore artists took to canvas and sculpture this summer to commemorate his life and memory. Part of an occasional series.Thu, 17 Jul 2025 05:00:14 EDTIra Porter