Ellis Gallagher is a native New Yorker who creates chalk etchings of shadows of everyday, urban street objects.

It’s really damn hard to make a documentary about something important that is also a compelling narrative and beautifully told. Two recent docs about Darfur and consumer culture tried — and failed. Read more…

Jean Nouvel is the recipient of this year’s Pritzker Prize, the highest award in architecture. Charlie Rose interviewed Nouvel, plus a number of former Pritzer winners, watch here….

Canny mayors are finally catching up to the fact that healthy cultural scenes — fostered in part by sweeping public art displays — are often linked to healthy economic returns. Read more…

Eight synchronized Yamaha Disklavier player pianos plus an automated ensemble of 2 xylophones, 4 bass drums, tamtam, siren, 7 bells and 3 airplane propellers. If you’re thinking this is a composition perhaps written last week or earlier this year, you’re in the wrong century entirely. Read more…

Last week, the short films on Reel 13 featured a Japanese super heroine, a master of passive-aggression, and a creepy OCD case. You voted, now find out which film won.

An-My Lê’s photographs and films examine the impact, consequences, and representation of war. Over at Art:21’s blog, Lê discusses how she came to be an artist after originally planning to become a doctor. Watch the interview.

Long before turning his attention to architecture, David Rockwell harbored a fascination with staged environments. “Storytelling is at the basis of all the design that we do,” Rockwell says. Watch this video about Rockwell’s recent projects.

Take Your Time is the first major exhibit in the U.S. of works by Olafur Eliasson, whose installations use multicolored light projections, mirrors, and water, stone, and moss to shift the viewer’s perception of place and self. See a video about the exhibits….

For Theater Talk’s upcoming Tony special (12:30pm Wednesday, June 11), Heidi Rodewald and Stew, the writer/performers of Broadway musical “Passing Strange” stopped by to perform. Tune in next week for the full program, or watch the performance here….