UNCSA and the Kenan Institute for the Arts partner with Art Pharmacy to launch social prescribing program - University of North Carolina School of the Arts

UNCSA and the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts (Kenan Arts) at UNCSA present “Johnny Loves Johann,” a new work led by Grammy-winning violinist and 2024 MacArthur Fellow Johnny Gandelsman. The work unfolds as a vibrant and intimate conversation with Johann Sebastian Bach’s

ALEXEY DANILIN CONCEIVES ‘hope’ CERAMIC TABLE LAMP for MAYTONIDesigned by Alexey Danilin for German lighting brand Maytoni, Hope is a table lamp composed almost entirely of natural ceramic. Conceived for mass production within technical and budgetary parameters, the design replaces conventional fabric or metal shades with a split ceramic envelope, allowing approximately 90% of the fixture’s mass to remain recyclable at the end of its lifecycle. Hope table lamp was designed by Alexey Danilin for German lighting manufacturer Maytoni | image ©Sebastian KruthofferLED MODULES PROJECT REFLECTED LIGHT THROUGH SLIT OF SPLIT VOLUMESFor the lamp’s sculptural silhouette, designer Alexey Danilin draws inspiration from classical Roman statuary and traditional pottery forms, pairing curved, arching geometries with contemporary product design. Internally, integrated LED boards are oriented to direct illumination outward through the central gap separating the two ceramic halves, utilizing surface reflection to soften light output. A central vertical stem fastens the two ceramic elements, capped by a small metal sphere at the top.

Tens of thousands gathered at Place d’Italie in Paris for a march led in part by culture-sector coalitions demanding a better life for artists. Artists, art students, and cultural workers joined hundreds of thousands of protesters marching across France on October 24, 2026. (photo Nicolas Tucat / AFP via Getty Images)

flash forest plants for life after wildfiresAcross the blackened forests of northern Quebec, drones fly above the remains of burned trees, launching small, seed-filled capsules into the earth. Each carries the beginnings of a new tree, packed with ingredients intended to help it grow in damaged soil. The system is developed by Canadian company Flash Forest, which is using aerial technology to replant landscapes devastated by wildfire, including remote areas that are difficult to reach on foot. The work follows Quebec’s devastating 2023 wildfire season, when around 4.5 million hectares of forest burned across the province. Flash Forest has since expanded its planting operations across Canada. According to its latest impact report, the company planted 686,147 trees across five sites in 2025, covering 429 hectares of burned forest. The technology allows large areas to be seeded quickly while keeping heavy planting equipment off the forest floor.

If you were on the internet in 2015, you likely followed the twisty tale of the Wu-Tang Clan‘s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. The Staten Island hip-hop titans conceived of the album as a conceptual artwork, a protest against the cheapening of music in the age of widespread piracy. Rather than release the music to the general public, the work was sold at auction for a reported $2 million to a then-anonymous American buyer, seemingly proving that music could sell at the level of Picasso and Warhol. It proved a Pyrrhic victory when the buyer was revealed to be the hated “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli. The episode was a bitter lesson for the group, resulting in resentment and division. Even Clan member Method Man said, “Fuck that album. … When music can’t be music and y’all turning it into something else, fuck that. Give it to the people, if they want to hear the shit, let them have it. Give it away free.” (He somewhat softened his stance recently, on finally hearing the album.)