Arts and Culture

Van Gogh painting sells for over 7 million euros: auction house

PARIS, France (AFP) — A painting by a young Vincent Van Gogh was sold at an auction in Paris Monday for more than seven million euros ($8.2 million), the Artcurial auction house said. “Raccommodeuses de filets dans les dunes” (Women mending nets in the fields) dates from 1882 and was bought by an American collector in a hot bidding battle that boosted the selling price far above the estimated value of between three to five million euros. […]

Look: Major Tolkien exhibition opens in Oxford

(AFP) — A new exhibition on ‘Lord of the Rings’ author J.R.R. Tolkien opens at Oxford University’s Bodleian Library, bringing together manuscripts usually held in the US alongside Oxford’s own collection. The exhibition will travel to New York and Paris next year. https://youtu.be/P_t12haL9pw

A Bob Dylan guitar fetches $495,000 at auction

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A guitar that played a key role in Bob Dylan’s artistic evolution from folk music to rock fetched a half million at auction on Saturday. The guitar, a 1965 Fender Telecaster that belonged to Robbie Robertson, Dylan’s guitarist, was used by Dylan, Eric Clapton and George Harrison, Julien’s Auctions said Saturday. It had been expected to fetch between $400,000 and $600,000. The guitar marked the singer’s path from folk […]

Philippines takes home top two awards at Embassy Chef Challenge 2018 in Washington DC

WASHINGTON DC (Eagle News) – Chef Abie Sincioco-Mateo’s name was called not once but twice and not for second or third but for first place for the two most coveted awards sought out by more than two dozen international chefs competing in the Embassy Chef Challenge 2018 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in the U.S. Capital. Sincioco-Mateo along with Chef Jessie C. Sincioco accepted the Judge’s Choice Award and the People’s […]

Rockefeller Collection sold for record-smashing $832 million

  NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — In what was billed as the “sale of the century,” the art collection of Peggy and David Rockefeller, comprising 1,500 pieces, sold at auction for a record-breaking $832.5 million, Christie’s said Friday. The figure eclipsed the previous record held by the collection of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge which sold for $484 million in 2009. Coming after the extraordinary $450 million sale last November of Leonardo da Vinci’s […]

Thessaloniki subway dig unearths secrets of ‘city under the city’

  by John Hadoulis / Vassilis Kyriakoulis  © Agence France-Presse THESSALONIKI, Greece (AFP) — Shovels and brooms in hand, some two dozen workmen trudge around the remains of an ancient villa, deep beneath the bustle of modern-day Thessaloniki. Suddenly, one of them breaks away to deliver the latest find — a small clay head of a hook-nosed, bearded man with an ugly grin. “Probably a votive offering,” notes the junior archaeologist on duty. A 15-year subway […]

Lego superheroes land at Paris exhibition

PARIS, France (AFP) — More than 120 artworks of superheroes and villains assemble at ‘The Art of the Brick’, a Paris exhibition celebrating characters from the DC comics, all built entirely with Lego bricks. https://youtu.be/3CcTZeCZEsw

The UK dance company putting a new spin on the art

by Antoine Pollez Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Whether in a wheelchair, on crutches or without any disability at all, performers from the Candoco company are giving London audiences a fresh twist on contemporary dance. “It makes you very aware of your own body, as well as others, and how extraordinary that can be on the stage,” said David Clarke, a London silversmith who has come to Sadler’s Wells Theatre for a […]

NY’s Met museum recreates a vivid taste of Versailles

  NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A new exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York seeks to recreate some of the grandeur of the Versailles royal palace in France. At first, the idea was to create a book based on the accounts of people who visited the palace, such as diplomats and nobles. But Danielle Kisluk-Grosheide, in charge of decorative art and sculpture at the Met, and Bertrand Rondot, chief curator at […]

‘Burning man’ image wins AFP top prize at World Press Photo

  by Jan Hennop Agence France-Presse NETHERLANDS (AFP) — Agence France-Presse photographer Ronaldo Schemidt won the prestigious 2018 World Press Photo of the Year Award Thursday with a fiery image of a masked Venezuelan protester which judges said symbolised a country “burning.” Schemidt’s photo, taken during violent clashes with riot police and protesters demonstrating against President Nicolas Maduro’s regime in Caracas last year, invoked an instant emotion, the judges said. AFP also scooped other awards, […]

Tampa’s PhilFest highlights Filipino Beauty Pageant winners

TAMPA, FL (Eagle News) — The state of Florida showcased the best of Filipino culture, in its annual event called PhilFest. Held at the Philippine Cultural Enrichment Complex in Tampa, entertainment and performances included the Philippine Choral Group and the Musikong Kawayan Bamboo Ensemble. The most anticipated part of the event, however, was the Philippine Beauty Pageant, otherwise known as Ms./Mrs. Philfest. Hundreds of visitors came early to indulge in Filipino food and to watch […]