Culture

Harry Blitzstein, the tireless L.A. painter who ran the Blitzstein Museum of Art on Fairfax Avenue, has died. He was 87. His death was confirmed on Instagram by his daughter, Andrea Blitzstein, who wrote, “He was an artist who truly loved what he did and continued creating until the very end.”

Blitzstein was a true Los Angeles character and a beloved member of the neighborhood, having opened his storefront museum across from Canter’s Deli three decades ago to exclusively show his own art. The space quickly gained a reputation for being a welcoming, colorful venue that held a particular fascination for young artists inspired by Blitzstein’s pure joy for the act of creation, critics and sales be damned.

In interviews, Blitzstein often noted that the difficulties of getting gallery shows, and the disappointments that often followed, led him to open the space, which he stocked with an ever-growing hodge-podge of his surreal, imaginative, sometimes dark, often playful, paintings.

“Cuteness exaggerated to the point that it becomes savagely funny and horror so overwhelming it explodes with hysterical laughter are the order of the day here,” reads an 1986 L.A. Times review of a 25-year retrospective of Blitzstein’s work. “Blitzstein blends the unbridled dementia of Ralph L. Steadman, the evil fleshiness of Hieronymous Bosch and the anarchistic intelligence of Bunuel in his sendups of art history classics and the American way.”

Harry Blitzstein was born in 1938 at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital and raised in Boyle Heights, where his father operated a shoe store called Fair Shoes. In the mid-1950s, Bitzstein’s dad moved the shop to the same Fairfax storefront that Blitztein later used for his museum. After graduating from Los Angeles High School, Blitzstein attended UCLA for a year, before transferring to Pomona College. He later earned an MFA at Claremont Graduate School.

He soon began painting in earnest.

“I had 9 wonderful one-man shows in Los Angeles and finally opened up my own gallery on Fairfax Avenue 32 years ago,” Blitzstein said in a 2023 interview in Voyage L.A. magazine. “I have been painting for approximately 70 years and would like to go for another year or two.”

Blitzstein did just that.

“There’s LACMA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and this is my little museum,” Blitzstein said in a short film made in August by Josh Polon and Philip Hodges, for the “Life in a Day” documentary. “I’ve been painting for over 50 years, still trying to receive a recognition that I have not achieved … all I have to do is put on Bob Dylan and get the rhythm going, and the paint going, and the tears are rolling. You’re feeling and you just start painting.”

Andrea Blitzstein announced that she will be at the Blitzstein Museum of Art (428 N. Fairfax Ave., L.A., at 4 p.m. Saturday to share memories, laughter and tears with friends and fans.

I’m arts editor Jessica Gelt reminding myself that creating art is a lifelong pursuit and should never be inhibited by a lack of traditional success. The true measure of success is the work itself — and your love for it. Blitzstein’s life and work prove that.

On our radar

Debbie Allen will participate in “Dancing in the Light: Healing With the Arts” on Sunday.

(Debbie Allen Dance Academy)

“Dancing in the Light: Healing With the Arts”
In support of those affected by last year’s fires and other members of the community, Debbie Allen, DADA Master teachers and world-class choreographers offer this free, daylong dance class in a variety of genres. Register online in advance; all abilities and levels of experience, ages 9 and up, are welcome.
1-5 p.m. Sunday. Debbie Allen Dance Academy, 1850 S. Manhattan Place, Los Angeles. debbieallendanceacademy.wufoo.com

“North Wall” by Norman Zammitt, 1976. Acrylic on canvas. 96 1/4 by 168 1/8 inches.

(Heather Rasmussen / © Estate of Norman Zammitt and Karma)

Norman Zammitt
The underappreciated Southland artist, who died in 2007, was known for his mural-size paintings and exacting use of color. The exhibition “A Degree of Light” focuses on two of his most important bodies of work, a series of laminated-acrylic pole sculptures and the abstract Band Paintings, which reflect his use of mathematical, formal and spiritual inquiries, then-groundbreaking industrial and computer technologies, and embrace of the poetics of experience.
Opening reception, 6-8 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, through Feb. 14. Karma, 7351 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. karmakarma.org

Eddie Izzard in “The Tragedy of Hamlet.”

(Carol Rosegg)

Izzard: The Tragedy of Hamlet
As one might expect from such a singular performer, this is not your usual take on Shakespeare’s notorious Danish prince. Adapted by Mark Izzard and directed by Selina Cadell, this solo performance entails the comic Eddie Izzard playing 23 characters, ranging from gravedigger to royalty, putting her years of marathon training to a true test.
7 p.m. Thursday and Jan. 29; 8 p.m. Jan. 23-24, Jan. 30-31; 3 p.m. Jan. 25. The Montalban Theatre 1615 Vine St. eddieizzardhamlet.com

The week ahead: A curated calendar

SATURDAY
Lunar New Year at the Wallis
It’s the Year of the Horse — energetic, free-spirited and intelligent. Celebrate it with two events: the free Family Fest, featuring immersive arts and crafts, traditional foods and performances and presentations by Qing Wei Lion and Dragon Dance Cultural Troupe, Cold Tofu Improv Comedy Troupe, East Wind Foundation, Gamin Music, Beverly Hills Public Library, City of Beverly Hills Community Services Department, and DJ Moni Vargas; and Honolulu Theatre for Youth’s production of “The Great Race,” the story of the Chinese Zodiac, written and directed by Reiko Ho (two ticketed performances at the Lovelace Studio Theatre, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.)
11 a.m.-2 p.m. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. thewallis.org

A Grand Baroque Salon
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is joined by harpsichordist Pierre Hantaï, violinists Margaret Batjer and Josefina Vergara and flutist Sandy Hughes for a program featuring J.S. Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto, No. 5,” plus works by Rameau, LeClair and C.P.O. Bach (Johann Sebastain’s son).
7:30 p.m. Saturday. The Huntington, Rothenberg Hall, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino; 4 p.m. Sunday. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. laco.org

Scott Dunn conducts the Scott Dunn Orchestra in rehearsal. The group performs Saturday night at the Wallis.

(Kevin Parry)

Monsters, Murders, Spies and Space
The Scott Dunn Orchestra fêtes “Those Fabulous Films of the Seventies,” performing memorable scores by Lalo Schifrin, Miklós Rósza, Ennio Morricone, Jerry Goldsmith, Michel Legrand, Marvin Hamlisch, David Shire, Richard Rodney Bennett, Johnny Mandel, Nino Rota and John Williams.
7:30 p.m. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. thewallis.org

Busoni Piano Concerto
Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and pianist Igor Levit team up with the L.A. Philharmonic and Los Angeles Master Chorale for this mammoth piece in five movements requiring more than 100 musicians.
8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

The Peking Acrobats will perform at the Carpenter Center in Long Beach on Saturday.

(Tom Meinhold Photography)

The Peking Acrobats
The internationally renowned troupe performs daring feats of balance, strength, grace and contortion.
Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. Carpenter Center, 6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach. carpenterarts.org

Goodfellas
Producer Irwin Winkler and co-screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi join the American Cinematheque for a 35th anniversary screening of Martin Scorsese’s gangster epic starring Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, the latter of whom won an Oscar for supporting actor for his role as gangster Tommy DeVito. 7 p.m. Saturday. Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. americancinematheque.com

MONDAY

Laura Dern and Nicolas Cage in David Lynch’s “Wild at Heart,” screening Jan. 26 at the Academy Museum.

(Samuel Goldwyn Co.)

Wild at Heart and Weird on Top: A Tribute to David Lynch
The Academy Museum marks the one-year anniversary of the visionary filmmaker’s death with a five-film series highlighted by appearances from actors Kyle MacLachlan (“Blue Velvet”) and Laura Dern (“Inland Empire” and “Wild at Heart”).
“Blue Velvet,” 7:30 p.m. Monday; “Lost Highway,” 7:30 p.m. Jan. 23; “Mulholland Drive,” 7:30 p.m. Jan. 24; “Inland Empire,” 6:30 p.m. Jan. 25; “Wild at Heart,” 7:30 p.m. Jan.26. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org

THURSDAY
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Windy City ensemble’s director emeritus Riccardo Solti conducts the group in a repertoire that includes Brahms, Ravel, Stravinsky, Hindemith and Johann Strauss Jr. on a two-week western states tour that includes Southern California stops:
7:30 p.m. Wednesday at McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert; 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Soraya, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge; 7:30 p.m. Jan. 23. at the Granada, 1214 State St., Santa Barbara; and 8 p.m. Jan. 24 at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 300 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. cso.org

More Miracles
The Actors’ Gang presents original one-act plays: “Nun Fight” by Willa Fossum; “16 Summers” by Ayindé Howell; and “In Recovery” by Mary Eileen O’Donnell.
8 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays, through Feb. 21; 8 p.m. Jan. 23; 2 p.m. Jan. 25, Feb. 8 and 15. The Actors’ Gang, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City. theactorsgang.com

Culture news and the SoCal scene

Theater seats.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Report cards for L.A. theaters’ artistic directors
Times theater critic Charles McNulty took the start of a new year as an opportunity to assess the accomplishments of the artistic leaders of three of the city’s most influential theater companies: Center Theatre Group’s Snehal Desai; Geffen Playhouse’s Tarell Alvin McCraney; and Pasadena Playhouse’s Danny Feldman. Spoiler alert: Nobody scored lower that a B, which speaks to the strength of theater in L.A., but McNulty did issue some advice and gentle criticism that could help inform the group’s decision-making moving forward. “Theaters across America are holding on for dear life, so it might not seem fair to evaluate the artistic records of these leaders when the primary goal right now is survival. But there are better and worse ways of staying alive. And a reckoning with trade-offs can help clarify the values driving decision-making,” McNulty writes.

People enjoy the newly reopened Noah’s Ark exhibit at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

(Dania Maxwell/For The Times)

Two-by-two
I had the pleasure of taking my daughter to the Skirball Cultural Center to try out its newly renovated Noah’s Ark exhibit, as well as its new Bloom Garden. The 18-year-old exhibit just reopened after closing down for three months for updates that included theatrical lighting, new interactive components such as a giant olive tree and an ancillary garden filled with edible fruit trees and herbs. “The goal is not to change the story, but to bring forward a chapter that’s always been there — that moment after the storm, when the work begins,” said Rachel Stark, vice president of education and family programs at the Skirball.

Tina Packer

(Shakespeare & Company)

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come …
Tina Packer, the founding artistic director of Shakespeare & Company, has died. She was 87. Packer was born in 1938 in Wolverhampton, England, and raised in Nottingham. She trained in acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and later worked as an associate artist at the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as appearing in a variety of TV shows including “David Copperfield” and “Doctor Who.” Packer moved to the Berkshires in Massachusetts, where in 1978 she co-founded Shakespeare & Company with fellow actor, director and writer Dennis Krausnick — whom she would later marry. The celebrated acting teacher Kristin Linklater, and a number of other theater artists also helped establish the company, which claimed Edith Wharton’s home in Lenox, Mass., as its first venue.

Call it an art tariff
The Louvre, which has had a string of bad luck lately, including news of severely deteriorating infrastructure and a notorious broad-daylight heist, has announced that it is raising ticket prices for non-EU visitors by 45% — charging 32 euros instead of 22 euros with the goal of boosting much-needed revenue. (Hopefully, it’s still free the first Friday of the month after 6 p.m., except in July and August.)

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

The Times just released this fun, informative and engrossing list of the 101 best Los Angeles movies. Did we miss something? Please let us know!

Director of Adelaide Writers’ Week steps down amid wave of speaker withdrawals and board resignations.

The director of a top writers’ festival in Australia has stepped down amid controversy over the cancellation of a scheduled appearance by a prominent Australian Palestinian activist and author.

Louise Adler, the director of Adelaide Writers’ Week, said in an op-ed published on Tuesday that Randa Abdel-Fattah had been disinvited by the festival’s board despite her “strongest opposition”.

Writing in The Guardian, Adler called Abdel-Fattah’s removal from the festival lineup a blow to free expression and a “harbinger of a less free nation”.

“Now religious leaders are to be policed, universities monitored, the public broadcaster scrutinised and the arts starved,” Adler wrote.

“Are you or have you ever been a critic of Israel? Joe McCarthy would be cheering on the inheritors of his tactics,” she added, citing a figure in Cold War history commonly associated with censorship.

Adler’s resignation is the latest blow to the beleaguered event, which has experienced a wave of speaker withdrawals and board resignations in protest of Abdel-Fattah’s cancellation.

The festival’s board announced last week that it had decided to disinvite Abdel-Fattah, a well-known Palestinian advocate and vocal critic of Israel, after determining that her appearance would not be “culturally sensitive” in the wake of a mass shooting at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach.

Fifteen people were killed in the December 14 attack, which targeted a beachside Hanukkah celebration. Authorities have said the two gunmen were inspired by ISIL (ISIS).

Abdel-Fattah has called her removal “a blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism” and a “despicable attempt to associate me with the Bondi massacre”.

On Monday, New Zealand’s former prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, announced that she would not go ahead with her scheduled appearance at the festival, adding her name to a boycott that has swelled to some 180 writers, including former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis and award-winning novelist Zadie Smith.

But Peter Malinauskas, the premier of the state of South Australia, as well as several federal politicians and a number of Jewish groups have backed the revocation of Abdel-Fattah’s invitation.

Abdel-Fattah’s critics have pointed to statements critical of Israel to argue that her views are beyond the pale.

She has, for instance, said that her “goal is decolonisation and the end of this murderous Zionist colony”, and that Zionists “have no claim or right to cultural safety”.

In her op-ed on Tuesday, Adler said pro-Israel lobbyists are using “increasingly extreme and repressive” tactics, resulting in a chilling effect on speech in Australia.

“The new mantra ‘Bondi changed everything’ has offered this lobby, its stenographers in the media and a spineless political class yet another coercive weapon,” she wrote.

“Hence, in 2026, the board, in an atmosphere of intense political pressure, has issued an edict that an author is to be cancelled.”

Separately on Tuesday, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the country would hold a national day of mourning on January 22 to honour the victims of the Bondi Beach attack.

Albanese said the day would be a “gathering of unity and remembrance”, with flags to be flown at half-mast on all Commonwealth buildings.

Jan. 2 (Asia Today) — South Korean President Lee Jae-myung will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday during a four-day visit to China aimed at advancing talks on Korean Peninsula peace, economic cooperation and issues including restrictions on Korean cultural content in China, the presidential office said Friday.

National Security Office Director Wi Sung-lac told a briefing at the Blue House that Lee will travel to China from Sunday through Wednesday at Xi’s invitation, visiting Beijing and Shanghai.

Wi said the summit on Monday will include talks, a signing ceremony for nearly 10 memorandums of understanding and a state banquet. He said the main agenda will center on peace and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

“People’s livelihoods and peace cannot be separated,” Wi said, adding that both countries share an interest in peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia. He said Seoul plans to strengthen strategic communication with Beijing and urge China to play a constructive role in helping address Korean Peninsula issues.

Wi said the two sides will also seek progress on what South Korea calls China’s restrictions on Korean cultural content. He said China’s official position is that no such ban exists but that South Korea sees it differently and will pursue broader consensus on cultural exchanges.

Wi said Lee’s team will also raise concerns about Chinese structures in the West Sea, also known as the Yellow Sea. He said the issue was discussed during a South Korea-China summit in Gyeongju in November and working-level consultations have continued.

A K-pop concert that had been discussed in connection with the trip is unlikely to take place this time, Wi said.

Lee will attend a South Korea-China business forum on Monday, the presidential office said. On Tuesday, he is scheduled to have lunch with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and meet Zhao Leji, the chairman of China’s national legislature.

On Wednesday, Lee plans to visit the former Shanghai headquarters of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. Wi said the visit will mark the 150th anniversary of independence activist Kim Gu’s birth and the 100th anniversary of the Shanghai provisional government building, and is intended to honor the independence movement and the countries’ shared historical experience.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

It’s the second day of a brand new year, and I’d like to take a moment to look back at some of the towering talent we lost in 2025 through the appreciations and obituaries written by the arts staff.

A caveat: The Times strives to acknowledge significant figures in arts and culture when they die, but due to the fast-paced nature of daily news, we often miss people we wish we hadn’t, so this list is far from inclusive.

“Appreciation: Frank Gehry was the architect who changed music,” Times classical music critic Mark Swed on the unique way that Gehry’s designs interacted with — and elevated — sound.

“Diane Keaton, film legend, fashion trendsetter and champion of L.A.’s past, dead at 79,” Keaton, who appeared on Broadway in “Hair” and “Play It Again, Sam” before becoming a movie star, didn’t consider herself an artist, but she was a patron and published several books that captured her longtime interest in photography and collage-making.

“Appreciation: Richard Foreman, an auteur of consciousness, did things his way,” writes Times theater critic Charles McNulty of the experimental playwright.

“Playwright Richard Greenberg, the Mozart of verbal arias, brought an exquisite fluency to the American stage,” an appreciation by McNulty.

“Appreciation: Tom Stoppard reinvigorated the comedy of ideas,” McNulty on the genius of the playwright.

“Elizabeth Franz, Tony-winning ‘Death of a Salesman’ actor, dies at 84,” an obituary of the prolific stage actor whose career spanned more than five decades.

“Appreciation: Playwright Athol Fugard proved the pen could be mightier than the sword,” McNulty on the 92-year-old dramatist’s career and its deep impact on South Africa.

“Appreciation: Joe Goode beautifully blurred the lines of the art world,” Times art critic Christopher Knight on how the artist helped establish the vibrant Los Angeles art scene of the 1960s.

“Appreciation: Robert Wilson, who changed everything he touched, was the most influential theater artist of our time,” Swed on the lasting importance of the avante-garde theater maker who collaborated closely with Philip Glass.

“The lasting legacy of L.A.-born ceramicist Michael Frimkess,” a look at the legacy of the Boyle Heights-born artist who died at 88.

I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt inviting you to join me on a journey of remembrance. Here’s your arts and culture news for the week.

The year in pictures

Cynthia Erivo, April 14, 2025, in Los Angeles.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

We recently shared The Times’ best entertainment photos of 2025 and the year in news photography. Here are some of the most interesting images we’ve captured this year in the arts world.

A preview of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Geffen Galleries, June 26, 2025.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Singer Angelique Kidjo performs with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Aug. 28, 2025, at the Hollywood Bowl.

(Hon Wing Chiu / For The Times)

The cast of “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”: Bisserat Tseggai, left, Jordan Rice, Victoire Charles and Claudia Logan, Oct. 1, 2025, in Los Angeles.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Edward V. Valentine’s “Jefferson Davis,” at the “MONUMENTS” exhibit at MOCA, Oct. 10, 2025, in Los Angeles.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Gustavo Dudamel conducts Youth Orchestra Los Angeles, Oct. 11, 2025, in Inglewood.

(Etienne Laurent / For The Times)

June Squibb, Nov. 4, 2025, in New York City.

(Evelyn Freja / For The Times)

Ben Platt, Dec. 4, 2025, in Los Angeles.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

The SoCal scene

The exhibition floor at the LA Art Show in 2022.

(LA Art Show)

Art for 2026
The first big art event of the new year kicks off Wednesday when the 31st edition of the LA Art Show opens downtown. Galleries and institutions from around the world will exhibit art across the vast spaces of the Los Angeles Convention Center. This year’s program includes the debut of an invitation-only Latin American Pavilion, curated by Marisa Caichiolo, who also curates the DIVERSEartLA program. Among the other featured presentations are works by Israeli artist Yigal Ozeri and South African artist Esther Mahlangu, plus a solo exhibition of abstract paintings by Sylvester Stallone. The show continues through Jan. 11.

Culture news

Idris Elba arriving at the 2004 Primetime Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theater.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

That’s Sir Idris to you

Actors Idris Elba and Cynthia Erivo were among the more than 1,100 people on King Charles III’s annual New Year Honours List released this week. The British tradition recognizes people who have “made achievements in public life” and “committed themselves to serving and helping the UK.” Elba, known for television roles in “The Wire” and “Luther” and movies including “Beasts of No Nation” and “Thor,” was knighted for services to young people. “Wicked” star Erivo, a Tony and Grammy winner and three-time Oscar nominee, received a Member of the Order of the British Empire, or MBE, for services to music and drama.

Freedom from fascism
On a recent fall day, Catherine Rampell of the Bulwark was given a guided tour of the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass., by the artist’s granddaughter Daisy Rockwell. In an article published this week, “The MAGAfication of Norman Rockwell,” Daisy expressed her displeasure with the Trump administration’s misappropriation of her grandfather’s work to promote the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s anti-immigrant operations. “Norman Rockwell was antifa,” Daisy told Rampell. “They used [the paintings] … as though his work aligned with their values, i.e., promoting this segregationist vision of America. And so of course we were upset by this, because Norman Rockwell was really very clearly anti-segregationist.” Through most of Rockwell’s career, he depicted American life largely through a white lens, but eventually came to a reckoning with some of his own views, chronicling some of the most significant moments of the civil rights movement. In November, the Rockwell family published a letter in USA Today detailing how the artist’s “efforts to eradicate prejudices both within himself and others led him to explore issues of racism, violence and segregation well into his 70s.”

Russia reopens Mariupol theater where hundreds died
In March 2022, a Russian air strike killed more than 600 civilians sheltering inside a historic theater in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. This week, the Associated Press reported that Moscow-installed authorities in the now occupied region reopened the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theater with a gala concert on the building’s newly rebuilt main stage. Russian state media outlets shared images of the building’s marbled pillars and staircases as dancers, wearing kokoshniks, traditional Russian headdresses, performed. Mariupol’s Ukrainian city council, which left the city when it became occupied, denounced the “restoration,” calling it “a cynical attempt to conceal the traces of a war crime” in a statement on Telegram.

— Kevin Crust

And last but not least

“Twelfth Night,” with Moses Sumney, left, Kapil Talwalkar, Junior Nyong’o and Lupita Nyong’o at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, which was broadcast on PBS’ “Great Performances” in November and is available to stream via PBS Passport.

(Joseph Sinnott)

Times television critic Robert Lloyd wrapped his year with an essay, “6 ways public broadcasting will improve your life. And that’s a promise.” One suggestion is to make a tax-deductible $5-a-month donation to PBS. That gifts gets you “PBS Passport,” public television’s all-access streaming platform, which offers an endless bounty of quality programming. Key among the offerings of interest to readers of this newsletter are programs such as “Great Performances,” “Austin City Limits” and “Artbound,” plus a rabbit hole of regional arts programming with something for every taste. As Lloyd wrote, “If you can’t find something to watch or listen to here, you are simply an incurious person.”

A floating community sauna on frozen Lake Oulu seemed as good a place as any to ask Finnish locals what they think of the European Capital of Culture bandwagon that will be rolling into their city in 2026. Two women sweltering on the top bench seemed to sweat more over my question than over the clouds of sauna steam – the result of a beefy Finn ladling water on the wood-fired coals with a grim determination to broil us all.

“Hmmm, yes, it will bring people to Oulu, which is good, but we don’t really know much about it,” said one of the women. “We know it’s happening, but we haven’t had many details.”

Outside, queueing for the pleasure of a dip in the frozen lake, the question elicited the sort of shrug rarely seen outside France. “We know it’s happening because the posters and signs are everywhere and people are talking about it, but we don’t know exactly what is happening,” said another woman, steaming in the sub-zero air.

There are many reasons to visit the Finnish city of Oulu, which sits on the eastern edge of the Baltic Sea: it hosts the Air Guitar world championships; is home to the world’s only Screaming Men’s Choir (20-40 suited, shouty men); and holds the annual Polar Bear Pitching event, where would-be business leaders pitch money-spinning ideas while standing in icy water. The presentations tend to be brief.

Oulu, Finland’s fifth most populous city, is 100 miles south of the Arctic Circle. It is a short drive from huskies and sled rides; it offers sea, rivers, rapids, lakes, woods, nature trails and reserves; and there is cross-country skiing as well as almost 600 miles of cycle lanes. You can see the midnight sun in summer and the northern lights in winter. It is a leading light in solar power and renewable energy – and it has saunas. Saunas on lakes and on rafts, saunas in hotels, free saunas by the roadside and in most homes. A century ago, 95% of all children were born at home, often in the sauna. Today, most parents-to-be choose a hospital but introduce their offspring to the sauna at an average age of 4.5 months.

Plus, the Oululainens have a cheery disposition, as do most Finns according to a survey that declared Finland the world’s happiest country for the eighth successive year.

These are all positives to attract visitors to this northern Nordic city that began as a settlement on Sami land in the 1600s, then became a trading site for wood tar, salmon and Nokia phones, and is now a European digital hub and a “living laboratory” (where innovations are tested in a real-world environment) for new technologies.

Sadly, few of these esoteric attractions featured on a trip organised by the city’s Oulu 2026 culture committee, which chose highbrow over the shouty men and pretend guitarists.

The city’s diverse €50m Capital of Culture programme, spread across 39 sites and four counties, is aiming to attract up to 2.5 million visitors – 20% up on an average year – with the theme “Cultural Climate Change”. Highlights include a free Frozen People electronic music festival, held on the iced-over Bothnian Bay – provided it is frozen next year. Also on the calendar is the Lumo Art & Tech festival, plus the Arctic Food Lab, celebrating local cuisine (wild fish, berries, mushrooms), and a Sami opera, Ovllá, about the Indigenous people of Sápmi – the local word for Lapland – which covers northern Finland, Norway, Sweden and Russia’s Kola Peninsula.

“Its a unique opportunity for Oulu,” said Piia Rantala-Korhonen, chief executive officer of Oulu 2026, who estimates that for every euro spent, there will be a €5 return for the city. “Climate change is already happening and is a big concern here: the ice and snow are disappearing. Last year, we had to cancel the skiing marathon for only the second time in 100 years because there was no snow,” she said.

Out on Oulu’s unseasonably slushy streets, most locals are cheerfully enthusiastic about 2026. “It will be nice to have people come here and discover our city,” said Matti, a student at one of Oulu’s two universities. “I am looking forward to it.”

Thirty meters under the city, you can find the Kivisydän (“stone heart”), a vast state-of-the-art car park that diverts vehicles away from the centre and doubles as a walkway when it rains and an emergency bomb shelter. It is a reminder of Finland’s proximity to Russia and the increasing alarm over its aggressive neighbour since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Behind the Kivisydän’s steel doors, a vast red stone column stands like a beating heart. The car park could house the entire city, our guide told us.

But does it have a sauna? I asked.

“I don’t think so, but we’re Finns. If necessary, we can build one in a couple of days,” he said.

Were I a publicist for Oulu 2026, I would have hired Finland’s best air guitarist to accompany the screaming men with a few riffs while standing in an icy lake. Instead, after a traditional salmon soup dinner hosted by the city – followed by a sauna – we were treated to a cosy Norse tale. When 19th-century Oulu sailors became drunk and rowdy on merchant ships carrying tar to Liverpool, local legend has it that the Liverpudlian landlord would urge them to “keep peace”. This is now a popular toast.

As we raised glasses of local schnapps, I can think of many exclamations a scouse pub owner might make to an inebriated Finn. “Keep peace” is not one of them. Still, surrounded by the world’s happiest people, it seemed churlish to argue.

Then it was off to the sauna.

The trip was provided by Oulu 2026

Horsemen from across Afghanistan converged for the dramatic final match of the nation’s prestigious annual buzkashi tournament on Kabul’s outskirts, attracting crowds that included high-ranking Taliban officials witnessing this centuries-old sporting tradition.

Buzkashi, Afghanistan’s national equestrian competition, showcases elite riders who must carry a leather-wrapped bundle – historically a goat carcass but now a weighted facsimile – across a designated goal line to earn points.

Amid swirling dust clouds kicked up by galloping horses, a victor ultimately prevailed. The winning team took a celebratory circuit around the field, proudly displaying their flag in triumph.

Afghanistan’s cherished buzkashi tournament maintains its status as a traditional sport characterised by limited formal rules and fierce physical competition.

In its classic format, two teams compete to score using what was traditionally a goat carcass, though contemporary matches utilise a leather-and-rope substitute filled with straw to replicate the weight of an animal.

Competitors – with 12 riders on each side – demonstrate extraordinary horsemanship, stretching dangerously from their mounts to retrieve the bundle from the ground before racing towards the goal while pursued by opposing riders.

Though prohibited during the Taliban’s earlier governance in the 1990s, buzkashi experienced a revival following their removal and has continued since their return to power in 2021, with government officials now attending competitions.

In this week’s championship, northern Sar-e-Pul province overwhelmed northeastern Badakhshan with a commanding 7-0 victory, concluding the 11-day national tournament. Baghlan claimed third place, while Kunduz finished fourth among the 11 provincial teams competing.

The competition featured eight international participants from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, according to Atal Mashwani, spokesman for Afghanistan’s General Directorate of Physical Education and Sports.

Corporate sponsorship from a petrol company funded the tournament, providing automobiles as prizes for the top four teams, alongside trophies, medals, and certificates.

Thousands of male spectators filled the stands at the central Kabul venue, with enthusiastic fans even climbing nearby trees and electricity pylons to gain better vantage points of the action.