Artists Are Occupying Museums to Protest Big Pharma, VIce

Amid an opioid epidemic that kills more than 115 Americans on average every day, artists like Swoon are wielding their craft to combat addiction. They range from muralists to photographers to sculptors, and they’re using their art to treat trauma, offer reprieve to others, and hold powerful entities accountable.

Do Animals Appreciate Art? VICE

Science saw the world through different lenses when Jane Goodall first arrived at Cambridge University in the early 1960s. Astronomers were still searching for the Big Bang's cosmic fingerprint, genomes were decades away from being decoded, and Goodall herself hadn't yet revealed the complex social lives of chimpanzees. Back then, humans were seen as a completely different kind from the animal kingdom.

"Science and some religions were desperate to define ways in which we were different — self recognition, consciousness, and so on," Goodall says. "One by one, these barriers between us and them were knocked down."

Meet the Artists Representing Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria, VICE

Six months before Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc in the Caribbean, a group of Puerto Rican artists were invited to participate in a residency program in Miami by local art organizations. The artists were offered abandoned storefronts-turned-studios at a historic downtown mall, where they’d exhibit their work during Miami Art Week in December to engage an art world that often overlooks the island territory. When Maria struck and knocked the entire island offline, Puerto Rico was suddenly on everyone’s radar. And the residency, Focus on Puerto Rico, became more vital and more timely than ever.

Art Basel Miami Beach Sales Threatened by Zika, Construction, and an Art Market Crash, Miami New Times

America's greatest art fair is entering its 15th year with a host of challenges. The Miami Beach Convention Center is still undergoing renovations. The CDC labeled Miami Beach a Zika hot spot. And perhaps most devastating, prices in the art market plummeted this summer, leaving many analysts to question the health of the industry. It's a perfect storm of poor luck — one that could make persuading art buyers to attend and spend at Art Basel Miami Beach a difficult task.

North Korean Defector's Art Blends Disney and Communism, Vice

It's been two decades since artist Sun Mu defected from North Korea, and his depictions of the country he left behind have only become more provocative with time. Once trained as a propagandist for the communist regime, the artist fled to South Korea and adopted the alias Sun Mu, an amalgam of Korean words translating as "no borders," to protect his family. His political pop art style is both a nod and a middle finger to the regime he once adored.

In ‘Close,’ Techno Legend Richie Hawtin Bears It All Between Machines, Miami New Times

Richie Hawtin’s new live performance begins in pitch darkness. Hawtin can’t be seen, but he can be sensed behind a droning bass line that undulates at a frequency felt deep in the chest. A flurry of chirps follows and rises in pitch until the sound seems to hover over the crowd like a UFO about to abduct them. The audience whistles and cheers in anticipation.

As if summoned by bass, Hawtin's figure appears onstage in silhouette, standing between two control panels, arms outstretched, fiddling knobs. An array of cameras and lamps hangs overhead and subtly illuminates his movements while a recognizable rhythm develops.

In the Summer, Lindstrom's Biggest Enemies are Strawberries and Sunshine, Miami New Times

It's morning in Oslo, Norway, and Hans-Peter Lindstrøm wakes ups, climbs out of bed, drags himself to the coffee pot in the kitchen, pours a cup, takes a sip, and closes his eyes for a moment before silently admitting it will soon be noon and he better get to the studio.