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London, UK

Picasso and Paper

This exhibition brings together more than 300 works on paper spanning the artist’s 80-year career.

For Picasso, paper was both a tool to explore his ideas and a material with limitless possibilities. He spent decades investigating printmaking techniques, sourcing rare and antique paper from as far as Japan – and all without losing his compulsion to draw on every last scrap.

Online

The 10,000 Year Clock

The start of a new year brings forth thoughts of the future and new year resolutions, so why not read about the ambition to build a 10,000-year clock, from the imagination of Danny Hillis, a supercomputer designer. It was a response to a problem that Hillis called “the shrinking future,” or the inability to think beyond one’s own lifetime.

Online

Stella the Talking Dog

Speech-language pathologist Christina Hunger has set up a soundboard that allows her dog to communicate using words.
It's only a few days into 2020, but this could be the most interesting experiment of the year.

Northern hemisphere

The Aurora Borealis in art

And finally, a look to the skies. As the northern hemisphere spins towards longer days, it becomes harder to see the Aurora Borealis. Fortunately, there are years of art created to try and capture the essence ofthis confluence of particles.

London, UK

Picasso and Paper

This exhibition brings together more than 300 works on paper spanning the artist’s 80-year career.

For Picasso, paper was both a tool to explore his ideas and a material with limitless possibilities. He spent decades investigating printmaking techniques, sourcing rare and antique paper from as far as Japan – and all without losing his compulsion to draw on every last scrap.

Online

The 10,000 Year Clock

The start of a new year brings forth thoughts of the future and new year resolutions, so why not read about the ambition to build a 10,000-year clock, from the imagination of Danny Hillis, a supercomputer designer. It was a response to a problem that Hillis called “the shrinking future,” or the inability to think beyond one’s own lifetime.

Online

Stella the Talking Dog

Speech-language pathologist Christina Hunger has set up a soundboard that allows her dog to communicate using words.
It's only a few days into 2020, but this could be the most interesting experiment of the year.

Northern hemisphere

The Aurora Borealis in art

And finally, a look to the skies. As the northern hemisphere spins towards longer days, it becomes harder to see the Aurora Borealis. Fortunately, there are years of art created to try and capture the essence ofthis confluence of particles.

Manchester, UK

The Early Years of Factory Records

This exhibition tells the story of Factory Records'' formative years from 1978 to 1982.

See 50 artefacts from the official Factory catalogue, including creations from Joy Division, New Order and The Durutti Column, as well as graphic designs by Peter Saville, previously unseen items from the Factory archives and objects loaned from the estates of both Tony Wilson and Rob Gretton, the former manager of Joy Division and New Order.

Online

Vacation thrifting

If you''re anything like us you get a thrill searching and thrifting for secondhand wares when travelling... they''re the perfect souvenir (if you can fit them in your luggage).

In this article, there are some great tips for identifying when an item is a lost cause and when other items are easily repaired or fixed, as well as thirift store recommendations for Washington DC, Chicago and Maine.

Texas, USA

Radical: Italian Design 1965-1985

Zao, Japan

Juhyo snow monsters

Winter in the UK has been windy and wet, but not particularly cold, so it''s exciting to see photos of these "ice monsters". They can be viewed in person until mid-March.

The natural phenomena occurs when layers of ice and snow freeze and stick together, shaped by the wind.

Micro interior design

The Dollhouses of Instagram

Those of us still spending most of our time at home may be questioning our interior design choices - even though there''s not much we can do about it. Some Instagram-inspired enthusiasts have found a way to make their interior design dreams real, albeit on a tiny scale.

Maps

Maps of Life Under Lockdown

This ongoing project invites people to draw maps of their world in the time of coronavirus. There are more than 300 interpretative maps charting how homes, neighbourhoods and cities have transformed under social distancing and stay-at-home orders around the world, from daily work routines and "sanity walks," to places that can no longer be visited.

If you''d like to add your own, the submission portal for this project is still open.

Hay Festival

More than books: what it means when libraries are lost to conflict

BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson leads Bettany Hughes, Lord Paul Boateng and Edmund de Waal in a discussion on what it means when libraries become targets during conflict and how individuals and communities are affected.

And if this doesn''t appeal, it''s just one of many literary talks being screened for free as part of Hay Festival Digital, happening from 18-31 May.

Home

Seven serene long reads about our homes

Here are six Curbed long reads, focused on home interiors.

The seventh story is for anyone who is adjusting to the sudden quiet outside their city windows. If you're seeing where you live in a new way right now, perhaps these stories will offer some insight.

Animals

Kitten cam

If you''re finding it hard to focus on doing very much at the moment except refreshing the news, take a look at this live feed of kittens at the Brooklyn Cat Cafe.

These kittens are separated from the other cats as they are too young to be vaccinated. Thankfully for us, they can be followed online.

Italy

La Cultura Non Si Ferma!

Culture never stops! is an initiative of the Italian Cultural Heritage Ministry, offering virtual content from its museums, theatres and other cultural institutions.

You may have to brush up on your Italian, but we''ve found a 360? tour of the Sistine Chapel and free archive streaming at Cineteca Milano, including a restored 1928 silent film, La morte che assolve, featuring images of Milan past.

Afterwork

The Social Gathering

For 21 years, The Social has been somewhere to sit, skive and waste time talking about the important things in life, like records, books, food, art and films.

With social distancing compromising all of our lives so dramatically, The Social has decided to start an online magazine for the duration of the lockdown, which will be regularly updated with stories, features, reviews, book extracts, DJ sets and playlists from artists and friends.

And every day at 6pm (BST!) join their afterwork drinks - ''because no one should drink alone''.

Micro interior design

The Dollhouses of Instagram

Those of us still spending most of our time at home may be questioning our interior design choices - even though there''s not much we can do about it. Some Instagram-inspired enthusiasts have found a way to make their interior design dreams real, albeit on a tiny scale.

Maps

Maps of Life Under Lockdown

This ongoing project invites people to draw maps of their world in the time of coronavirus. There are more than 300 interpretative maps charting how homes, neighbourhoods and cities have transformed under social distancing and stay-at-home orders around the world, from daily work routines and "sanity walks," to places that can no longer be visited.

If you''d like to add your own, the submission portal for this project is still open.

Hay Festival

More than books: what it means when libraries are lost to conflict

BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson leads Bettany Hughes, Lord Paul Boateng and Edmund de Waal in a discussion on what it means when libraries become targets during conflict and how individuals and communities are affected.

And if this doesn''t appeal, it''s just one of many literary talks being screened for free as part of Hay Festival Digital, happening from 18-31 May.