Culture
How Santa Monica Blvd inspired queer classic film Hustler White
Baal — Rick Castro’s new exhibition explores his journey from photographing male sex workers in LA to creating one of the most shocking LGBTQ+ films of all time.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Surreal celeb turns and creeping surveillance: Goodbye 2025’s endless bummer
Huck’s August dispatch — Justin Bieber’s stock up, Lana Del Rey’s down? The Sydney Sweeney jeans fiasco? Newsletter columnist Emma Garland rounds up a strange, psychedelic summer in culture.
Written by: Emma Garland
Psychedelic scenes of America’s Wild West
Frontier — As the artist behind the myth-building Marlboro ads of the ’80s and ’90s, Jim Krantz has spent decades crafting Hollywood worthy cinematic photographs. His new photobook explores his work in shaping the rugged individualism of cowboy imagery.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Heartwarming, harmonious portraits of Istanbul’s street cats
City Cats of Istanbul — Türkiye’s largest metropolis has a symbiotic relationship between humans and felines that dates back millennia. Marcel Heijnen’s new book explores the interaction between space, society and strays.
Written by: Isaac Muk
As Italy’s rave culture faces crackdowns, a cyberpunk citadel fights to survive
Mutonia must stay — Having fled the UK in the face of increasingly oppressive Thatcherite laws, a collective of artists and musicians eventually found a home in an abandoned quarry over three decades ago. Now, they may have to move once again.
Written by: Marco De Vidi
As Washington DC rapidly gentrifies, street dancers refuse to be pushed out
Song of Sons — Go-go and Beat Ya Feet are ingrained into the US capital’s fabric, but as its Black population gets displaced, their presence is increasingly under threat. Nate Langston Palmer’s ongoing project immortalises the culture.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Aram Sabbah: “The whole world is hypocritical”
To a Land Unknown — One of Palestine’s first ever, and most prominent skaters has made his acting debut, playing a refugee in Athens in Mahdi Fleifel’s new feature film. We caught up with him in our culture newsletter to hear about it.
Written by: Isaac Muk
In photos: California’s youth squaring up to an uncertain future
Desperate, Scared, But Social — Amid a tumultuous year in the Golden State, the 2025 California Biennial focuses on those coming of age into an intensifying climate crisis, and widening division and inequality.
Written by: Miss Rosen
“Humanity’s big threat is our disconnect from nature”: Craig Richards and Chris Levine in conversation
Lighting up — With Houghton Festival collaborating with artist Chris Levine in its most recent edition, we sat down with the light artist and the festival’s creative director Craig Richards to chat about their new installations, and the role of art and music in tumultuous times.
Written by: Isaac Muk
Three heart wrenching poems from Gaza
Writings that narrate — With Gaza’s population facing starvation, we are handing over our website to Yahya Alhamarna, a displaced poet and student in Gaza, who shares some of his recent poetry, and explains why writing is so important to him.
Written by: Yahya Alhamarna
