CULTURE

Can a dance performance become a matter of international policy? At first glance, the question seems improbable. Dance belongs to the realm of beauty, music, movement, and artistic expression. Governments negotiate treaties, impose sanctions, and debate legislation. Rarely do the worlds of choreography and geopolitics appear to intersect. Yet on Capitol Hill this summer, lawmakers, artists, journalists, and policy experts gathered around precisely that question, suggesting th

America's greatest museums were not built overnight. Nor were they created solely through public commissions or royal patronage, as was often the case in Europe. Their foundations were laid by a remarkable generation of industrialists who looked across the Atlantic and saw more than beautiful paintings and magnificent furniture. They saw civilization itself. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as the United States emerged as the world's foremost industri

France has never regarded its museums as mere repositories of beautiful objects. They are, instead, guardians of memory. Within their galleries rest not only paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, tapestries, archaeological treasures, and decorative arts, but the accumulated story of civilizations that continue to shape the modern world. A Greek marble, a medieval tapestry, an Impressionist masterpiece, or an Egyptian sarcophagus each represents far more than artistic achievemen

Some journeys begin with a plane ticket. Others begin with a painting. Every year, museums around the world unveil exhibitions that become destinations in their own right, inspiring travelers to plan an entire itinerary around a single masterpiece or artist. Summer and Fall 2026 are proving to be particularly rewarding for art lovers. From Paris to Los Angeles, San Francisco to St. Louis, museums are inviting us to see familiar artists through fresh eyes while introducing ext