World Cup Fever

As people around the globe get swept up in the joy of the Beautiful Game, we thought we’d join in on the fun. We stopped by the first 2026 World Cup match hosted at the New York New Jersey Stadium (renamed for the occasion) to witness Brazil take on Morocco in a thrilling contest for football glory.

With the teams’ respective supporters showing out in full force with coordinating colors to mirror their nations’ flag, and splendid chants echoing throughout the stadium, this event has been a bright celebration of both national unity and international diversity. Beyond the stadium, decorations on local businesses and residences continue to bring a celebratory atmosphere to the city, and everyone is buzzing in anticipation.

Although the match ended in a draw, we are soaking in the festive energy brought by our friends from all over the world and can’t wait to see the coming matches and meet more international fans!

Juneteenth at “To Be A Place”

In celebration of Juneteenth, we headed uptown to visit the Studio Museum in Harlem, which exhibits work reflecting the African diaspora. The Museum, founded in 1968, is rich with history and showcases a stunning collection of art, from icons like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Kehinde Wiley to up-and-coming names supported by their Artists-in-Residence program. On display right now as part of the “To Be A Place” exhibit, is “African-American Flag” by David Hammons, an artist known for his use of political symbolism throughout multimedia practice. Another flag made by Hammons, this one untitled, is proudly hoisted in front of the museum. Together, the works stand as symbols of joy, resilience, and history, reflecting the rich cultural legacy of Harlem’s Black community and inspiring audiences far beyond the neighborhood.

The New Museum Gets a Sci-Fi Makeover

After a hiatus, the doors of the New Museum on the Lower East Side of Manhattan have reopened to the public to showcase a brand-new and expansive exhibit called New Humans: Memories of the Future.  We recently visited the museum during its beloved Thursday late night hours, where we found the multistoried space chock-full of other guests taking in the eclectic creations on display. Leading with the quote, “Nothing is stranger to humans than their own image,” from Czech writer Karel Čapek, the exhibit presents artistic work at the intersection of humanity and technology. Visitors can glimpse mind-bending paintings layered with collage, mechanically driven devices, floating drones overhead, and dangling humanoid figures, all of which range from endearing and engaging to grotesque and uncanny. As we perused narrow hallways, wide galleries, and secret staircases, we could hear the clicking of an automated typewriter, the rattling of an unexplained jar of crystal shards, and the lilting music of a short film. The exhibit is a love letter to science fiction and the strange, while explicating the real and sometimes harrowing cultural roots of each artist, movement, and reference featured. One imposing construction by artist Tau Lewis, a colossal human frame built from an assortment of textiles, found objects, and fragments of shell, bone, and pearl, bears the unsettling proverb “When the axe came into the forest, the trees said, ‘the handle is one of us.” As a jellyfish-like robot whirs overhead, piloted by unseen engineers behind a gallery wall, the figure opens its arms in an embrace, a fusion of organic materials and steel with a human form. Perhaps it asks us, how much are we made of nature? How much are we made of technology? And how much does it matter?