arts

The offbeat thriller has won six BAFTAs, including best film and best director for Paul Thomas Anderson.

The dark comedy One Battle After Another has swept the United Kingdom’s top film honours, picking up six BAFTA awards, including best film and best director for Paul Thomas Anderson.

The film beat the Shakespearean family tragedy Hamnet, and the vampire thriller Sinners, to take the top prizes at Sunday evening’s ceremony.

The UK prizes, officially called the EE BAFTA Film Awards, often provide hints about who will win at Hollywood’s Academy Awards, held this year on March 15.

One Battle After Another, an explosive film about a group of revolutionaries in chaotic conflict with the state, won awards for directing, adapted screenplay, cinematography, and editing, as well as for Sean Penn’s supporting performance as an obsessed military officer.

“This is very overwhelming and wonderful,” Anderson said as he accepted the directing prize. “We have a line from Nina Simone that we used in our film: ‘I know what freedom is: It’s no fear’,” the director said. “Let’s keep making things without fear. It’s a good idea.”

Sinners, which has a record 16 Oscar nods, won best original screenplay for writer and director Ryan Coogler, best supporting actress for Wunmi Mosaku, and best original score.

The gothic horror story Frankenstein won three awards each, while Hamnet won two, including best British film.

The documentary about Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, The Voice of Hind Rajab, was among the top contenders for BAFTA’s best director and non-English language film categories. But the film Sentimental Value won in the non-English language category.

The biggest surprise of the night was Robert Aramayo winning the best actor category for his performance in I Swear, a fact-based British indie drama about a campaigner for people with Tourette syndrome.

The 33-year-old British actor beat Timothee Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael B Jordan, Ethan Hawke and Jesse Plemons for the honour.

“I absolutely can’t believe this,” he said. “Everyone in this category blows me away.”

Jessie Buckley won best actress for playing Agnes, the wife of William Shakespeare, in Hamnet, based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell and directed by previous Oscar winner Chloe Zhao.

The best documentary prize went to Mr Nobody Against Putin, about a Russian teacher who documented the propaganda imposed on Russian schools after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The film’s American director, David Borenstein, said that teacher Pavel Talankin had shown that “whether it’s in Russia or the streets of Minneapolis, we always face a moral choice”, referring to the protests against US immigration enforcement in Minnesota.

“We need more Mr Nobodies,” he said.

It beat documentaries including Mstyslav Chernov’s harrowing Ukraine war portrait, 2000 Meters to Andriivka, co-produced by The Associated Press and Frontline PBS.

The guests of honour at the awards were Prince William and Princess Kate. The event, hosted by Alan Cumming, was the first joint engagement for the pair since William’s uncle, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was arrested on Thursday.

William, the president of the film academy, presented the BAFTA Fellowship to Donna Langley, studio head at NBC Universal.

More than 7,000 languages are spoken around the world today and at least 3,000 of them, or 40 percent, are endangered.

English is the most widely spoken language, with approximately 1.5 billion speakers in 186 countries. Two out of every 10 English speakers are native, while the remaining 80 percent speak English as their second, third or higher language, according to Ethnologue, a database which catalogues the world’s languages.

Mandarin Chinese is the second most spoken language with almost 1.2 billion speakers. However, when accounting for native speakers, it is the largest language in the world, owing to China’s large population.

Hindi comes in third at 609 million speakers, followed by Spanish (559 million), and Standard Arabic (335 million).

Scripts in the world’s most popular languages

There are 293 known scripts – sets of graphic characters used to write a language – according to The World’s Writing Systems, a reference book about global scripts.

More than 156 scripts are still in use today, while more than 137 historical scripts, including Egyptian Hieroglyphs and Aztec pictograms, are no longer in use.

The Latin script, which is used to write English, French, Spanish, German and more, is used in at least 305 of the world’s 7,139 known living human languages. More than 70 percent of the world’s population use it.

Which are the most endangered languages?

Of the 7,159 languages spoken worldwide, 3,193 (44 percent) are endangered, 3,479 (49 percent) are stable, and 487 (7 percent) are institutional, meaning they are used by governments, schools and the media.

A language becomes endangered when its users begin to pass on a more dominant language to the children in the community. Many are used as second languages.

According to Ethnologue, some 337 languages are said to be dormant while 454 are extinct.

Dormant languages are those that no longer have proficient speakers, but the language still has social uses and the language is part of the identity of an ethnic community. Extinct languages are those that have no speakers and no social uses or groups that claim it as part of their heritage or identity.

According to Ethnologue, 88.1 million people speak an endangered language as their mother tongue. There are:

• 1,431 languages with fewer than 1,000 first-language speakers
• 463 with fewer than 100 speakers
• 110 with fewer than 10 speakers

Just 25 countries are home to some 80 percent of the world’s endangered languages. Oceania has the most endangered languages, followed by Asia, Africa and the Americas.

Some endangered languages include:

Oceania 

In Australia, Yugambeh, an endangered Aboriginal language, is spoken by the Yugambeh people, primarily across the Gold Coast, Scenic Rim and Logan in eastern Australia.

In recent years, a strong community-led revitalisation programme and the use of learning apps have made the language more accessible to younger generations.

Asia 

Japan’s Ainu (Ainu Itak) is a critically endangered language. According to UNESCO, it can’t be linked with certainty to any family of languages. The exact number of Ainu speakers is unknown, however a 2006 survey showed that out of 23,782 Ainu, 304 know the language.

Africa

In Ethiopia, Ongota is a critically endangered language.

It was spoken by a community on the west bank of the Weito River in southwest Ethiopia. There are only about 400 members of the community left, with a handful of elders speaking the language.

Americas

In North and Central America, almost all Indigenous languages are endangered. Louisiana Creole, a French-based creole with African and Indigenous influences, is a seriously endangered language in the United States, with it mostly spoken by elders.

Leco is an endangered Indigenous language spoken in Bolivia and is considered an isolated language – one that has no genetic relationship to other languages. The language is only now spoken by elders with a Leco ethnic population of only about 13,500.

Europe

Cornish (Kernewek), spoken in southwest England, was marked as an extinct language by UNESCO, until it was revived and in 2010 changed to an endangered language. It is spoken as a first language by 563 people according to the 2021 England and Wales census.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, a panel made up of President Trump’s appointees, on Thursday approved his proposal to build a ballroom larger than the White House itself where the East Wing once stood.

The seven-member panel is one of two federal agencies that must approve Trump’s plans for the ballroom. The National Capital Planning Commission, which has jurisdiction over construction and major renovation to government buildings in the region, is also reviewing the project.

Members of the fine arts commission originally had been scheduled to discuss and vote on the design after a follow-up presentation by the architect, and had planned to vote on final approval at next month’s meeting. But after the 6-0 vote on the design, the panel’s chairman, Rodney Mims Cook Jr., unexpectedly made another motion to vote on final approval.

Six of the seven commissioners — all appointed by the Republican president in January — voted once more in favor. Commissioner James McCrery did not participate in the discussion or the votes because he was the initial architect on the project before Trump replaced him.

The ballroom will be built on the site of the former East Wing, which Trump had demolished in October with little public notice. That drew an outcry from lawmakers, historians and preservationists who argued that the president should not have taken that step until the two federal agencies and Congress had reviewed and approved the project, and the public had a chance to provide comment.

The 90,000-square-foot ballroom would be nearly twice the size of the White House, which is 55,000-square-feet, and would accommodate about 1,000 people, Trump has said. The East Room, currently the largest room in the White House, can fit just over 200 people at most.

Commissioners offered mostly complimentary comments before the votes.

Cook echoed one of Trump’s main arguments for adding a larger entertaining space to the White House: It would end the long-standing practice of erecting temporary structures on the South Lawn that Trump describes as tents to host visiting dignitaries for state dinners and other functions.

“Our sitting president has actually designed a very beautiful structure,” Cook said. “The United States just should not be entertaining the world in tents.”

The panel received mainly negative comments from the public

Members of the public were asked to submit written comment by a Wednesday afternoon deadline. Thomas Leubke, the panel’s secretary, said “over 99%” of the more than 2,000 messages it received in the past week from around the country were in opposition to the project.

Leubke tried to summarize the comments for the commissioners.

Some comments cited concerns about Trump’s decision to unilaterally tear down the East Wing, as well as the lack of transparency about who is paying for the ballroom or how contracts were awarded, Leubke said. Comments in support referenced concerns for the image of the United States on the world stage and the need for a larger entertaining space at the White House.

Trump has defended the ballroom in a recent series of social media posts that included drawings of the building. He said in one January post that most of the material needed to build it had been ordered “and there is no practical or reasonable way to go back. IT IS TOO LATE!”

The commission met Thursday over Zoom and heard from Shalom Baranes, the lead architect, and Rick Parisi, the landscape architect. Both described a series of images and sketches of the ballroom and the grounds as they would appear after the project is completed.

Trump has said the ballroom would cost about $400 million and be paid for with private donations. To date, the White House has only released an incomplete list of donors.

A lawsuit against the project is still pending

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has sued in federal court to halt construction. A ruling in the case is pending.

In comments it submitted to the commission, the privately funded group recommended that the size of the ballroom be reduced to “accommodate and respect the primary historic importance of the original Executive Residence.”

At the commission’s January meeting, some commissioners had questioned Baranes, Trump’s architect, about the “immense” design and scale of the project even as they broadly endorsed Trump’s vision. On Thursday, Baranes described changes he has since made to the design, and the commissioners said they welcomed the adjustments.

The ballroom project is scheduled for additional discussion at a March 5 meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission, which is led by a top White House aide. This panel heard an initial presentation about the project in January.

Superville writes for the Associated Press.

Feb. 19 (UPI) — The Commission of Fine Arts has unanimously approved plans for President Donald Trump‘s almost 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom plans, the first hurdle in starting the building project.

The commission, whose members were all appointed by Trump, including his executive assistant, Chamberlain Harris, 26. The original architect of the ballroom recused himself from the vote. Trump fired all the previous members in October.

But now, the project must win approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, which could vote on March 5.

“This is a facility that is desperately needed for over 150 years, and it’s beautiful,” The Washington Post reported Commission Chair Rodney Mims Cook Jr. said.

But the CFA’s secretary said comments have been negative.

“In two decades of casework here, I’ve never seen as much public engagement on this. We’ve literally gotten, in the past week or so, more than 2,000 various messages,” said Thomas Luebke, CFA secretary, CBS News reported. “The vast, vast majority is negative, in general.”

Trump initially said the construction would cost $200 million and would be funded by private donations. He later said the project could cost twice that amount, but donors would pay for it. Officials from the National Trust for Historic Preservation challenged the construction in federal court and sought an injunction to stop the build. The judge refused the injunction but ordered the administration to undergo a review process.

The Capital Planning Commission is led by Will Scharf, a White House staff secretary appointed by Trump. Two other White House officials — James Blair and Stuart Levenbach — are also on the commission.

Luebke read a summary of the comments to commissioners, CBS reported. He cited demolition without permits or oversight, a scale that will “dwarf the White House,” lack of transparency in funding and contracts and a “fundamental miscarriage of democratic principles.”

“The ballroom seems to shout power,” one commenter wrote, Luebke said.

Harris responded, “This is sort of like the greatest country in the world. It’s the greatest house in the world and we want it to be the greatest ballroom in the world.”

The public comments, Luebke said, were “overwhelmingly in opposition — over 99%.”

Rousey will return to MMA for the first time in nearly a decade when she challenges ⁠Carano on ⁠May 16 in California.

Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano will end their lengthy retirements from mixed martial arts (MMA) to fight each other on May 16 at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.

The two pioneering fighters announced their returns on Tuesday for a bout that will be staged by Most Valuable Promotions, the combat sports promotion established by influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul and his business partner, Nakisa Bidarian. The show will be broadcast on Netflix.

The 39-year-old Rousey hasn’t fought since 2016, while the 43-year-old Carano’s eight-bout MMA career ended in 2009. They’ll fight at 145lb (66kg) for five five-minute rounds.

Despite their lengthy absences, Rousey and Carano remain two of the most iconic fighters in MMA history for their trailblazing careers. Carano led their once-outlawed sport into the mainstream of broadcast television, while Rousey secured the enthusiastic acceptance of women’s MMA by Dana White and the UFC.

Rousey (12-2) rose to become arguably the biggest athlete in all of MMA after winning an Olympic medal in judo in 2008. Her armbar finishes and cage charisma single-handedly prompted White to begin the promotion of women’s MMA, with Rousey at the centre of his plans.

Rousey won the UFC’s first-ever women’s bout in 2013 to claim the bantamweight title belt, and she still holds the promotion’s record with six title defences.

After ending 11 of her first 12 fights in the first round, her career abruptly stalled when she lost back-to-back bouts to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes, prompting her to move on to acting, professional wrestling and motherhood.

“Been waiting so long to announce this: Me and Gina Carano are gonna throw down in the biggest super fight in women’s combat sport history!” Rousey said. “This is for all MMA fans past, present and future.”

Carano (7-1) fought in the first Nevada-sanctioned MMA bout between women in 2006, and she won a series of fights that made her a network television draw in the sport’s early days. She was stopped by Cris “Cyborg” Justino in her most recent fight in August 2009, and she moved on to an acting career despite repeated rumours of a return to the cage.

“Ronda came to me and said there is only one person she would make a comeback for, and it has been her dream to make this fight happen between us,” Carano said.

“She thanked me for opening up doors for her in her career and was respectful in asking for this fight to happen. This is an honour. I believe I will walk out of this fight with the win, and I anticipate it will not come easy, which I welcome. This is as much for Ronda and me as it is for the fans and mixed martial arts community.”

Carano, who turns 44 in April, landed several prominent film roles and became a cast member of Disney’s “The Mandalorian” before her contract failed to be renewed in 2021, after she expressed controversial right-wing views in a series of social media posts.

Carano settled a lawsuit last year against Lucasfilm and The Walt Disney Company over her claim that she was fired for the posts.

The legendary US actor was nominated for seven Oscars and won for his role as a washed-up country singer in Tender Mercies.

Oscar-winning actor Robert Duvall, best known for his work in The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, has died aged 95, his wife has announced in a Facebook post.

“For each of his many roles, Bob gave everything to his characters and to the truth of the human spirit they represented,” Luciana Duvall said in a statement on Monday.

Duvall was best known for playing forceful roles such as his depiction of Tom Hagen, consigliere to the Corleone Mafia family in The Godfather.

He also played Lieutenant Colonel Bull Meechum in The Great Santini and the title character in Stalin, as well as broken-down and fallen characters in Tender Mercies and The Apostle.

Duvall, the son of a US Navy admiral and an amateur actress, grew up in Annapolis, Maryland in the United States. After graduating from Principia College in Illinois and serving in the US Army, he moved to New York City, where he roomed with Dustin Hoffman and befriended Gene Hackman when the three were struggling acting students.

After working on a variety of television shows, Duvall made a strong impression in his first forays onto the big screen, such as his first movie part as the mysterious recluse Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Duvall got the part at the suggestion of the film’s screenwriter, Horton Foote, who had liked Duvall’s work in one of his plays. Foote later wrote Tender Mercies, a 1983 film for which Duvall won the Academy Award for best actor as a washed-up country singer.

Duvall was nominated for another six Oscars, including for his work in Frances Ford Coppola’s 1979 Vietnam epic Apocalypse Now. Duvall played the off-kilter, surfing-obsessed Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore.

The character’s famous line, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning”, became legendary.

In all, Duvall appeared in almost 100 movies. And when he grew weary of Hollywood, he made his own films. He wrote, directed and won an Oscar acting nomination for The Apostle, the story of a conflicted preacher.

Duvall did the same with Assassination Tango, a movie that allowed him to exhibit his passion for the tango and Argentina, where he met his fourth wife, Luciana Pedraza.

In later life, Duvall split his time between Los Angeles, Argentina and a farm in Virginia, where he converted the barn into a tango dance hall.

Thousands of fishermen converged on the milky waters of the Matan Fadan river, a UNESCO heritage site, winding through verdant landscape in northwestern Nigeria’s Argungu.

President Bola Tinubu joined thousands of spectators on Saturday, cheering competitors vying to catch the largest fish, despite security concerns deterring some attendance.

Participants employed only traditional methods, including hand-woven nets and calabash gourds, with some demonstrating their prowess using bare hands. The Kebbi State waterway teemed with woven nets and canoes as fishermen waded through.

This year’s champion landed a 59kg (130-pound) croaker fish, winning a cash prize. Other participants sell their catch, stimulating the local economy.

The river remains closed throughout the year, overseen by a titled authority known as Sarkin Ruwa, the water chief.

The fishing contest marked the pinnacle of the annual international fishing festival, which showcased cultural displays, including traditional wrestling and musical performances.

“I thank God that I got something to take home to my family to eat. I am very happy that I came,” Aliyu Muhammadu, a 63-year-old fisherman who participated in the competition, told The Associated Press news agency.

The festival originated in 1934, marking peace between the extensive Sokoto Caliphate – a vast 19th-century Islamic empire spanning from Nigeria into parts of modern-day Burkina Faso – and the previously resistant Argungu emirate.

Considered a symbol of unity, the festival ran continuously for decades until 2010, when infrastructure problems and growing northern Nigerian insecurity forced its suspension. It briefly resumed in 2020 before pausing again until this year.

Nigeria faces complex security challenges, particularly in the north, where thousands of people have been killed in attacks over the years.

While Tinubu characterised the festival’s return as a sign of stability, for many, it represents restored community pride.

“Our challenge now is that people are scared of coming. A lot of people don’t attend the event like before because of insecurity,” said Hussein Mukwashe, the Sarkin Ruwa of Argungu.

When the Justice Department released an additional 3 million pages of documents related to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein at the end of January, ARTnews unearthed and published excerpts from dozens of emails between Epstein and David A. Ross, a former director of the Whitney Museum of American Art who started his career in the 1970s as deputy director and curator of video art at the Long Beach Museum of Art.

Ross, who served as the chair of the MFA art practice program at New York’s School of Visual Arts since 2009, promptly resigned.

If the emails had been less damning, the revelation of Ross’ connection to Epstein might have played out differently, but that was not the case. In one letter, dated Oct. 1, 2009, Epstein wrote to Ross that Roman Polanski’s attorney was coming to see him and that he was considering funding an exhibit titled, “Statutory.”

“Girls and boys ages 14 – 25, where they look nothing like their true ages,” Epstein wrote. “Juvenile mug shots, photo shop, make up. Some people go to prison because they can’t tell true age. Controversial. Fun. Maybe it should be a web page with hits, tallied.”

“You are incredible,” Ross wrote back. “This would be a very [sic] owerful and freaky book. Do you know that total porno commercial kiddie picture of Brooke Sheilds that Richard Prince appropriated for an exhibition in the early 1980’s?”

Epstein replied in the affirmative to Ross’ reference to a Prince photo titled, “Spiritual America,” which appropriated a 1976 photo of a naked, 10-year-old Shields taken by commercial photographer Gary Gross.

“They closed it off in the London show,” Epstein noted.

Ross also expressed sympathy for Epstein’s legal travails in 2009 following a 13-month sentence he served in Florida after pleading guilty to reduced state charges of procuring a minor for prostitution.

“Glad the nightmare is over, Jeffrey,” Ross wrote. “It was an undeserved punishment foisted upon you by jealous creeps.”

In an email to ARTnews, Ross expressed remorse that he “fell for” Epstein’s lies.

“Like many he supported with arts and education patronage, I profoundly regret that I was taken in by his story,” Ross wrote. “I continue to be appalled by his crimes and remain deeply concerned for its many victims.”

Ross noted that he first met Epstein when he was director of the Whitney in the mid-1990s. Ross also served as director of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston.

“I knew him as a wealthy patron and a collector, and it was part of my job to befriend people who had the capacity and interest in supporting the museum,” Ross wrote, adding that when Epstein was jailed in 2008, he told Ross that it was a political “frame-up” resulting from his support for former President Bill Clinton. Ross said he believed him.

It seems lots of men believed Epstein. Meanwhile, behind all the power lunches, private plane rides and callous late-night emails, far too many women and girls suffered.

I’m Arts editor Jessica Gelt with your arts and culture news for the week.

On our radar

Michael Feinstein and the Carnegie Hall Ensemble will perform Valentine’s Day at Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa.

(Segerstrom Center for the Arts)

Michael Feinstein: A Broadway Valentine
The singer, musician, conductor and stalwart proponent of the Great American Songbook celebrates the holiday of the heart with the Carnegie Hall Ensemble. Timeless love songs and lush orchestrations seem like a perfect way to spend the evening.
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Segerstrom Hall, 300 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. scfta.org

A detail of miniature “sportraits” from Lyndon J. Barrois, Sr.’s exhibit, “Fútbol Is Life,” at LACMA.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Fútbol Is Life: Animated Sportraits
GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAL! Ahead of this summer’s World Cup, with L.A. as one of 16 host cities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, arrives this unique exhibition celebrating the beautiful game. Portraying transcendent moments in men’s and women’s soccer, award‑winning animator and visual effects artist Lyndon  J. Barrois, Sr. fashions engrossing scenes in miniature from gum wrappers, glue, paint and other materials. The handmade sculptures and stop-motion animations on display bring together the visual and emotional elements that make it the world’s most popular sport. Jasmine Mendez spoke to Barrois about his process and Times photographer Allen J. Schaben provides more marvelous images.
Sunday through July 12. LACMA Resnick Pavilion, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. lacma.org

The Academy Museum’s exhibition “Studio Ghibli’s Ponyo” opens Saturday.

(Nibariki-GNDHDDT)

Studio Ghibli’s Ponyo
A deep dive into Hayao Miyazaki’s 2008 animated film about a goldfish who longs to be human honors the traditional hand-drawn animation processes used by its creators. The exhibition includes more than a hundred items handpicked by Studio Ghibli: art boards, posters, a Studio Ghibli animation desk and original hand drawings by Miyazaki and others. “Because writer-director Miyazaki very much follows his own star when it comes to story, narratives like ‘Ponyo’ remind you of no one else’s tales,” wrote Times film critic Kenneth Turan upon the film’s U.S. release. “Not only do they offer up fantastical images, like Ponyo running on the crests of waves, they make deep connections to our emotions without following conventional paths, using the logic of dreams to excellent effect.”
Screening 2:30 p.m. Saturday; exhibition, Saturday through Jan. 10. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org

The week ahead: A curated calendar

FRIDAY
Nitrate Festival
The American Cinematheque’s annual tribute to the beautiful, if highly volatile, film format that was used from the 1890s until the 1950s, offers audiences the rare opportunity to see this work on the big screen. The festival opens with the 1947 noir “Dead Reckoning,” starring Humphrey Bogart and directed by John Cromwell, and continues with William Wyler’s “The Good Fairy” (1935), Gregory La Cava’s “My Man Godfrey” (1936), William Wellman’s “Nothing Sacred” (1937), Mikio Naruse’s “Wife! Be Like A Rose!” (1935), David Lean’s “Blithe Spirit” (1945) and Cecil B. DeMille’s “Samson and Delilah” (1949).
7 p.m. Friday, through Feb. 22. Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. americancinematheque.com

Foursome
Matthew Scott Montgomery, Adrián Javier, Jimin Moon and Calvin Seabrooks star in Montgomery’s comedy about a quartet of queer friends who reunite for an emotionally fraught, desire-filled weekend at a cabin. Directed by Tom DeTrinis.
Through March 23. Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave. iamatheatre.com

Guards at the Taj
Two sentries at the Taj Mahal have their friendship, faith and sense of duty challenged in Rajiv Joseph’s play set centuries in the past with contemporary resonance. Behzad Dabu and Kausar Mohammed star. Directed by Behzad Dabu.
8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays, through Feb. 22
El Portal Theatre, 5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood elportaltheatre.com

Alfredo Rodriguez, left, and Pedrito Martinez will perform Friday at the Nimoy.

(Anna Webber)

Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedrito Martinez
Pianist Rodriguez and percussionist-vocalist Martinez perform traditional Cuban songs, original compositions and some surprises.
8 p.m. UCLA Nimoy Theater, 1262 Westwood Blvd. cap.ucla.edu

Incitation To The Dance
A young man upends an older gay couple’s relationship in the world premiere of writer-director Michael Van Duzer’s dark comedy.
Through March 15. Theatre West, 3333 Cahuenga Blvd. https://theatrewest.org/on-stage/incitation-to-the-dance

Roksana Pirouzmand
The Iranian-born, L.A.-based multidisciplinary artist’s solo exhibition “everything was once something else” explores the contrasting properties forged by earth and fire through clay and metal works.
Through April 11. Oxy Arts, 4757 York Blvd. oxyarts.oxy.edu

SATURDAY
Attune 1.0
A free public light- and sound-art experience happens simultaneously across L.A. County locations presented by NXT Art Foundations with community support.
4:30-7:30 p.m. Barnsdall Park, East Hollywood; Sycamore Grove Park, Northeast Los Angeles ; Jessie Brewer Jr. Park, Exposition Park; Jane and Bert Boeckmann Park, Porter Ranch; Hansen Dam, Lake View Terrace; Leimert Park, South Los Angeles; Wende Museum, Culver City; Promenade Square Park, Long Beach; Tongva Park, Santa Monica and Loma Alta Park, Altadena. nowartpublic.com

Desert Dreams and Coastal Currents
The exhibition tracks the concurrent emergent of artistic hubs in Southern California and the Southwest, featuring work by artists in areas such as Laguna Beach, and Taos and Santa Fe, N.M.
The Autry, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park. theautry.org

Wally Hedrick
“Sex Politics Religion” is a two-venue retrospective of the Pasadena-born artist, who established himself in the burgeoning post-war San Francisco art scene. Hedrick eschewed “style” in favor of pursuing a vision including welded assemblage junk sculptures, Bauhausian abstraction, black monochromes, gestural figuration, graphic signage, pictographic diagrams and near-photorealism.
Through April 4. Parker Gallery, 6700 Melrose Ave.; The Box
805 Traction Ave., downtown L.A. parkergallery.com

Honour
The Ruskin’s grand opening on the Kaplan Stage features Joanna Murray-Smith’s drama on the precariousness of marriage, directed by Max Mayer and starring Marcia Cross, Matt Letscher, Ariana Afradi and Jude Mayer.
8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays, through March 22. Ruskin Group Theatre, 2800 Airport Ave., Santa Monica.

Artist Takashi Murakami.

(Shin Suzuki)

Takashi Murakami
The new solo exhibition “Hark Back to Ukiyo-e: Tracing Superflat to Japonisme’s Genesis” features 24 paintings by the Japanese artist.
4-7 p.m. opening, free and open to the public; exhibition continues through March 14. Perrotin, 5036. W Pico Blvd. perrotin.com

Mythical Creatures: The Stories We Carry
Immigrant narratives and pan-Asian mythology infuse this immersive exhibition featuring contemporary artists including Dinh Q. Lê, Dominique Fung, Lily Honglei, Greg Ito, Wendy Park, Momoko Schafer, Kyungmi Shin, Sanjay Vora and Lauren YS. Conceived by L.A.-based Korean American artist and muralist Dave Young Kim.
Through Sept. 6. USC Pacific Asia Museum, 46 N. Los Robles Ave. Pasadena. pacificasiamuseum.usc.edu

PASSION + MYSTERY
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, led by conductor Jaime Martín, celebrate Valentine’s Day weekend with Fauré’s “Pelléas et Mélisande” and Gernot Wolfgang‘s “Desert Wind,” and are joined by pianist Fazıl Say for Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No. 3.”
7:30 p.m. Saturday. Colburn School, Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A.; 4 p.m. Sunday, The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. laco.org

Red Harlem
Four Black actors in 1932 Harlem are recruited by the Communist Party to make a film in the Soviet Union in Kimba Henderson’s drama based on true events. Directed by Bernadette Speakes.
Through March 15. Company of Angels, 1350 San Pablo St. companyofangels.org

Retro Romantics: An Academy Film Archive Trailer Show in 35mm
Vintage cinematic love stories unspool in their original abridged glory, seductively beckoning you to the movies.
7:30 p.m. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org

SUNDAY
Black History Month at The Ebell
Soprano Gertrude Bradley performs a tribute to Joel Graham, accompanied by pianist Greg Schreiner in an African Americans for LA Opera recital; and Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (ICYOLA) salutes the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in “I, Too, Sing America,” a nod to the Langston Hughes poem.
AALAO Recital, 12:30 p.m. Sunday; LA Voices: ICYOLA, 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Ebell of Los Angeles, 743 S. Lucerne Blvd. https://www.ebellofla.org/

Isidore String Quartet
The group performs “Brahms: the Admirer,” an exploration of the composer’s work alongside complementary pieces by Bach and Beethoven.
3:30 p.m. Caltech Beckman Auditorium, 332 S. Michigan Ave. Pasadena. colemanchambermusic.org

What Happened to Flamenco
Clap your hands as dancer and choreographer Fanny Ara brings the folkloric tradition to life.
7 p.m. Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave. fountaintheatre.com

TUESDAY
Seth MacFarlane
The erstwhile animator, writer, producer, director, actor and comedian picks up the mic, backed by an orchestra, for a program dedicated to the music of Frank Sinatra.
8 p.m. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com/events

WEDNESDAY
I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change
Barry Pearl directs the long-running off-Broadway musical comedy revue on modern love, featuring book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music by Jimmy Roberts to open ICT’s 41st season.
Through March 8. International City Theatre, 330 E. Seaside Way, Long Beach. ictlongbeach.org

Patti LuPone
The Broadway star marks the 25th anniversary of her “Matters of the Heart,” which ran on Broadway and London’s West End and toured the globe.
8 p.m. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Segerstrom Hall, 300 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. scfta.org

Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Can’t get to New Orleans for Mardi Gras? The Soraya brings it to the Valley via the deep roots of this legendary French Quarter ensemble.
8 p.m. The Saroya, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge. thesoraya.org

Emma Elizabeth Smith as Catherine of Aragon in The North American touring company of “Six.”

(Segerstrom Center for the Arts)

Six
The national tour of the Broadway musical by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, a modern pop take on the sextet of women who were the wives of Henry VIII.
Through March 9. Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd.; March 10-15. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 300 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa. sixonbroadway.com

THURSDAY
Compagnie Hervé Koubi: Sol Invictus
The French-Algerian choreographer’s dance troupe performs “Sol Invictus,” with a score featuring music by Swedish composer Mikael Karlsson, minimalist composer Steve Reich and digital composer Maxime Bodson.
7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. February 19 – 21, 2026 The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd. Beverly Hills. thewallis.org

Culture news and the SoCal scene

The cast of “Brassroots District” performs on Sunday.

(Gabriella Angotti-Jones/For The Times)

Features columnist Todd Martens checked out “Brassroots District: LA ’74,” a piece of immersive theater he describes as “part concert, part participatory theater and part experiment, attempting to intermix an evening of dancing and jubilation with high-stakes drama. How it plays out is up to each audience member. Follow the cast, and uncover war tales and visions of how the underground music scene became a refuge for the LGBTQ+ community. Watch the band, and witness a concert almost torn apart as a group on the verge of releasing its debut album weighs community versus cold commerce. Or ignore it all to play dress-up and get a groove on to the music that never stops.”

The UCLA Hammer Museum has announced the winner of the $100,000 Mohn Award.

(Eric Staudenmaier)

Artist Ali Eyal, who grew up in Baghdad in the late 1990s and early 2000s during U.S. military operations in Iraq, is the recipient of the $100,000 Mohn Award, which honors artistic excellence, in conjunction with the Hammer Museum’s Made in L.A. 2025. In addition to the award money, the Hammer will produce a publication for Eyal. The Hammer also announced that sculptor Carl Cheng has been given the $25,000 Career Achievement Award; and that painter Greg Breda won the $25,000 Public Recognition Award.

The news out of the Kennedy Center continues to be grim. This week, Trump-appointed center president Richard Grenell sent an email to staffers informing them that significant cuts would be implemented when the center closes for renovations, beginning July 4. “Over the next few months, department heads and I will be evaluating the needs and making the decisions as to what these skeletal teams left in place during the facility closure and construction phase will look like,” Grenell wrote in the email obtained by The Times.

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

Want a giant stuffed mochi? So do I.

From the ostentatious baroque square of Quattro Canti all the way up to the Teatro Massimo, Palermo’s Via Maqueda is thick with tourists. Pomegranate juice sellers are setting up pyramids of fruit on their carts at gaps in the crowd and waiters are trying to reel in passersby with happy hour prices for Aperol spritzes. Amid the noise and movement, it’s easy to walk straight past number 206, whose arched doorway features a stone cross stained black with dirt – a clue to the building’s former use.

Convento dei Crociferi was abandoned for 30 years, until Sicilian power couple Andrea Bartoli and Florinda Saievi took over and transformed it into Palermo’s newest arts space, the Museum of World Cities, due to open at the end of February. Inside, a cloister with high, scalloped porticoes frames a verdant courtyard filled with palms and banana trees. Bartoli comes to meet me and enthusiastically pumps my hand before leading me up to the grand, marble-floored rooms on the first floor, which have been given over to a rather self-referential exhibition on urban change.