Culture

Plymouth’s the Box wins 2026 Art Fund museum of the year award

‘Ambitious and welcoming’ venue that opened in 2020 praised for ‘reimagining what being a museum can mean’

Bad Bunny sparks UK’s Latino moment as 100,000 fans line up to see him perform

Rapping in Spanish used to be a hard sell to Britons – but the Puerto Rican star is making the Latin American community visible

Writers’ festivals are the new raves – and as a born-again book reader I couldn’t be happier about the upsurge in collectivism

From local book clubs to group sessions with authors, what’s driving people back to wood pulp and ink? I have a few ideas

“People like me needed Sinéad O’Connor”: how the singer and activist inspired a new dance work

Tony-winning choreographer Sonya Tayeh was ‘broken up’ when she heard about the Irish singer-songwriter’s death three years ago. Now she and a group of over-40s female dancers are paying homage: ‘People love her, people need her’

‘The beauty of the useless’: Spain’s super-thin restaurant napkins are throwaway art treasures

Forever flimsy and ineffective at cleaning greasy fingers, the servilletas of the Iberian peninsula resist the relentless ‘optimisation’ of our age. A new photo book recognises them as cultural treasures in miniature

An Underrated Sitcom That’s a Fire Hose of Funny

Culture and entertainment recommendations including Stath Lets Flats, zombie films, a vintage Paddington Bear, and more

Did the iPhone cause a baby bust?

In Focus delivers deeper coverage of the political, cultural, and ideological issues shaping America. Published daily by senior writers and experts, these in-depth pieces go beyond the headlines to give readers the full picture. You can find our full list of In Focus pieces here.

‘David Hockney changed the world just by looking at it’: a tribute to the artist whose work was a feast of visual pleasures

He was subversive and bold, yet also playful and accepting – putting the fun into pop art and finding freedom and fulfilment amid the blue skies and pools of California. David Hockney, who has died aged 88, lived and painted the truth David Hockney – a life in pictures David Hockney, revolutionary British artist, dies aged 88

‘I’m hoping to meet a river goddess’: a wild journey through Britain’s mythic waterways

Follow the folklore and you will discover a landscape full of wonder and powerful women – from a fearsome Scottish warrioress to the first queen of a united England

America 250: How the US took over the world's jukebox

In Focus delivers deeper coverage of the political, cultural, and ideological issues shaping America. Published daily by senior writers and experts, these in-depth pieces go beyond the headlines to give readers the full picture. You can find our full list of In Focus pieces here.

Oi! You in the stalls! Put that phone away and surrender to the art

As Rosamund Pike found out recently on stage, many people now experience the arts simply as content to be documented for likes and shares

From Cape Fear to Zoh Amba: the week in rave reviews

Javier Bardem is at his menacing best in a wild remake of the psychological thriller, and the jazz sax maven surprises with raw country rock spirituality. Here’s the pick of the week’s culture, taken from the Guardian’s best-rated reviews