He only published one book – and it was hardly noticed. Now his portraits of drag queens, poets and artists are seen as vital documents of a vanished world. As they go on show, the photographer’s favourite subjects recall his genius ‘He made me wear white,” says Fran Lebowitz, down the phone from New York. The writer is talking about the day her close friend, the photographer Peter Hujar, shot her for Portraits in Life and Death, the only book he ever made. “Peter was very specific. It was in my apartment which was the size of, I don’t know, a book. And the light was a big thing – as it was wi ..read more

For the women who pick and prepare Maryland’s famous crab, the once profitable work is far more uncertain – and the climate crisis has had a damaging impact In the evening light, Maribel Malagón stepped outside into a rain storm. It was late October and Malagón, 53, had worked all day picking crab off the eastern shore of Maryland. That night, she and a handful of other seasonal workers walked to a neighbor’s house for an evening of prayer. On the way, Malagón clutched a pendant of St Judas, the patron saint of lost causes, that hung around her neck; she hoped he would hear her prayers for mor ..read more

Academics, artists and curators delve into the background behind Sargent’s glossy society portraits in this polished documentary With impeccable timing, as the show it explores is still running at London’s Tate Britain, here is an appreciation/profile of the American painter most famous for his brilliantly rendered portraits of the late Victorian and Edwardian upper crust and nouveau riche. The art world being what it is, the film takes its cue as much from the similarly themed Sargent exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (with whom the Tate has co-produced the show); an institution ..read more

Ane Freed-Kernis used her pension to build a workshop where she could create the tactile, surprising sculptures of her dreams In 2019, after retiring from her career as a social worker, Ane Freed-Kernis decided to build a home workshop and devote all of her free time to stone carving. “It’s really therapeutic and completely absorbing,” she says. “I might be covered head to toe in dust but I’m happy – it was something I needed more of in my life when I hit 60.” This fascination has its roots in Freed-Kernis’ childhood. Growing up on her father’s farm in Denmark, she used to wander through the f ..read more

A new collection of wildlife photography aims to help understand why people have photographed animals at different points in history and what it means in the present. Huw Lewis-Jones explores the animal in photography through the work of more than 100 photographers in Why We Photograph Animals, supporting the images with thematic essays to provide historical context Photography on display at the Cheltenham science festival 4-9 June 2024 ..read more

The austerity-hit council's decision to stop funding the arts is a calamity for a city whose rich contribution to the UK – from the Rep, the Royal Ballet and Tolkien to heavy metal and the Streets – is such a vital source of civic pride The Birmingham Rep altered the course of Britain’s cultural history. Opened in 1913 by the dramatist Billie Lester, the company’s ambition to champion formally innovative work and new writing attracted the likes of Laurence Olivier, who joined in 1926. The Rep hosted British premieres of works by Anton Chekhov and Leo Tolstoy. The current theatre building is on ..read more

Only in Birmingham could a statue of King Kong be lost twice. The city’s relationship with its cultural history is complicated Why should the people of Birmingham have 100% arts cuts imposed on them? Brummies are quite capable of devaluing their own art without official encouragement. In 2020, the director Michael Cumming and I completed King Rocker (“One of my all time favourite rock docs” – Mark Kermode; “the new gold standard for rockumentaries” – the Scotsman), which interwove the tale of typically self-effacing Birmingham post-punks the Nightingales with that of a giant piece of neglected ..read more

Serpentine South Gallery, London The British-Nigerian artist’s first solo London show in more than two decades is full of his signature beautiful African fabrics subverting familiar colonial figures – just like the last one There is a terrific skit on Henry VIII in Yinka Shonibare’s new show at the Serpentine Gallery. It plays on the familiar outline of the incredible hulk in his feathered hat. His enormous garments are collaged out of printed woodgrain and African batik in brilliant-coloured patterns. His jowls are replaced with a stylised African mask. Snippets of the FTSE index are incorpor ..read more

It has gone from the sidelines of American sport to become a competitive global phenomenon that might one day make the Olympics. We meet the international teams bringing the cheer When photographer Christian Sinibaldi first visited world champion cheerleaders London’s Unity Allstars Black, in January 2020, he had no expectations. In fact, he admits , he had “a few stigmas associated with cheerleaders”. What he learned that day surprised him. “I loved the energy, the connection between people,” he says. It kickstarted a fascination that would take him around the world to capture a sport on the ..read more

Restraint and calm are the guiding lights in this stunningly sparse apartment For couturier Anna Valentine, there is an overwhelming similarity between the principles behind her studio and the way she has designed her London apartment. Yet it is the sense of atmosphere at the core of this home’s refined DNA that leaves the strongest imprint. It is a graceful space, without pretence, where less is definitely more. The first-floor Georgian apartment, which Anna shares with husband Jonathan Berger, who works in film and TV, had been untouched for 30 years when they moved in: “Despite the yellow F ..read more