The Darkness and the Light in Photographer Sante D’Orazio
He has no shortage of entertainingly salacious stories, but he’s surprisingly quick to open up about his personal battles.
At Cocktail Omakase, Fast-Paced Drinks and Bold Flavors Take Center Stage
A new Lower East Side bar reimagines the Japanese omakase tradition, offering an expertly curated sequence of cocktails and bites.
How Larry Ellison is Quietly Shaping the Future of A.I., Social Media and Hollywood
As Oracle’s co-founder and CTO, Larry Ellison’s $190 billion fortune propels A.I. infrastructure in the U.S., safeguards TikTok and secures his son’s massive Hollywood acquisition.
Business
See All
Sam Altman Resets OpenAI and Personal Priorities Ahead of High-Stakes IPO
A series of decisive moves shows Altman narrowing OpenAI’s focus as it pivots toward enterprise growth and public markets.
The Security Gap Hiding Inside Pharma’s A.I. Revolution
As pharmaceutical companies lean more heavily on A.I. to accelerate drug discovery, model biological interactions and optimize clinical trial design, QuantHealth’s Siwar El Assad argues that the compliance frameworks most organizations rely on to signal security maturity were built for a technological era that A.I. has already left behind.
Bret Taylor Leads OpenAI Foundation’s $1B Drive for A.I. Safety and Health
The OpenAI Foundation, under OpenAI chair Bret Taylor, embarks on an ambitious $1 billion plan for A.I. safety, health and societal resilience in 2026.
Tokenization Has a Wall Street Story. It Still Needs a Main Street One.
As the House Financial Services Committee holds its hearing on tokenization, Paybis’ Innokenty Isers argues that the industry has appealed to institutions and lawmakers, it has largely ignored retail investors. Whether tokenization benefits ordinary investors or merely enhances existing systems will determine whether this market grows beyond Wall Street.
Apple at 50: the Diverging Paths of Steve Jobs’ Two Co-Founders
As Apple marks its 50th anniversary, Steve Wozniak remains a tech evangelist while Ronald Wayne lives quietly after selling his stake for just $800.
Art
See All
In Dubai, Efie Gallery Is Rewriting the Map of Contemporary African Art
“Often when people say African artists are new, they neglect that African artists have been a part of the story forever,” cofounder Kwame Mintah tells Observer.
Observer’s Guide to the Best Art in Istanbul
The city’s contemporary art scene tends to go overlooked, despite the world-class museum, a cluster of ambitious galleries and unexpected art encounters scattered across its many neighborhoods.
Robert Wiesenberger On Thinking Relationally and Brooklyn’s Art World Ambitions
“I don’t think it’s provincial to look to collect more world-class artists who call Brooklyn home.”
Art Central Is Still Hong Kong’s Most Vital Discovery Fair
With its sharp focus on pop-inflected visual languages and regionally rooted sensibilities, this year’s edition rewards serious looking.
An Anti-Art Fair Is Taking Root in the Mojave Desert
The founders of the High Desert Art Fair wanted to create a fun, inclusive environment that would bring a more diverse audience into the fold. By all measures, they’ve succeeded.
Lifestyle
See All
Gabriela Cámara Brings a Fresh Take on Surf and Turf to Cantina Contramar in Las Vegas
Cámara’s new Las Vegas outpost brings a menu of Mexican classics and innovative surf-and-turf creations to the Strip.
The 15 Best Independent Coffee Shops in New York City to Visit Now
From East Village stalwarts to Bushwick micro-roasters, these single-location cafes are where New Yorkers linger over their coffee.
A Local’s Guide to the Best Spots for a Glass (or Bottle) of Wine in Cannes
Avoid tourist traps on the crowded La Croisette and grab a glass at one of these unexpected gems instead.
Dry-Aged Fish Pioneer Liwei Liao Unveils Joint Seafood’s Next Chapter With a VIP Party
Liwei Liao marks a new era for Joint Seafood in L.A., offering premium dry-aged fish, retail and omakase all in one spot.
The Essentials With Micaela Erlanger: Home Lasers, J.Crew Jeans and Luxury Cruises
From under-eye patches to Chanel blazers, celebrity stylist Micaela Erlanger shares her current favorites.
Interviews
See All
Gemini G.E.L.’s 60th Anniversary Show Is a Love Letter to L.A.
“It figures as a subject in artwork in a very real way that we don’t often think of a city as a subject,” curator Susan Dackerman tells Observer.
Serakai Studio Launches a New Cross-Disciplinary Cultural Lab in Hong Kong’s Wong Chuk Hang
GOLD dissolves boundaries between art, design and commerce to test new, more sustainable models for cultural production.
In L.A., Christina Quarles Confronts the Tension Between Body, Space and Identity
“I think right now, everyone is reaching this crisis moment. All these bodies I’m portraying in my works are struggling to still fit within it. My work is about confronting all those tensions we are experiencing.”
Inside M+’s Mission to Shape Asia’s Art Canon, With Chief Curator Doryun Chong
“The success we are seeing in terms of visitor numbers is undeniable. But the formula, if there even is one, is something no one really knows yet. And that’s actually a very interesting space to be in.”
XPrize’s Peter Diamandis Funds Films to Challenge Hollywood’s Dystopian Narrative
The XPrize founder is inviting filmmakers to pitch optimistic sci-fi worlds, one of which will be turned into a feature film.
Power Lists
See All
Observer New Media Power List: Call for Submissions
Nominations are open for Observer’s 2026 New Media Power List
The 50 Most Powerful PR Firms of 2026
This year’s honorees are emblematic of a notable shift in public relations from responsive publicity to proactive leadership in the moments that matter most.
Wall-to-Wall Cultural Capital: Inside Observer’s Art Power Index Party
Under the dim lights of the Lower East Side’s Maison Nur, art world luminaries gathered to celebrate Observer’s Art Power Index—and each other. From the impassioned speeches to the sharp tailoring and Damien Hirst over the bar, the evening embodied our legacy of chronicling power with style.
2025 Nightlife & Dining Power Index
Humanity is still the most vital ingredient in hospitality, and that isn’t changing anytime soon.
Observer’s 2025 Art Power Index: The Art Market’s Most Influential People
Their acquisitions, affinities and approbations move the needle on valuation and redefine how art is made, shown and sold.
Latest
All Latest
Screening at SXSW: Boots Riley’s ‘I Love Boosters’
Down with the bourgeoisie? Absolutely. But must the revolution be so sloppy?
At Art Basel Hong Kong, More Collectors Are Buying With Purpose
While the energy is lively and the optimism palpable, dealers report the atmosphere is more measured than in previous years.
One Fine Show: “Edmonia Lewis, Said in Stone” at the Peabody Essex Museum
The sculptor found her audience with political memorabilia and rose to international fame in her own lifetime
Author Adam Steiner’s Essential Reading List for Those Ready to Reinvent Themselves
These books offer not only an escape from the day-to-day grind but also proof that circumstances can change if you’re willing to put in the work.
Are Hong Kong and Mainland China Poised for an Art Market Rebound?
After years of decline, Mainland China and Hong Kong have seen renewed Asian bidding, stronger luxury collectible sales and growing institutional interest in historically validated artists.
The Funding Era That Built Most Nonprofits Is Over
With pandemic-era emergency funding drying up, investors tying grants to measurable milestones and federal contracts restructured around quantifiable outcomes, Love & War’s Kriston Rucker argues that the nonprofits best equipped to survive are the ones that have built the operational infrastructure to substantiate them.
As Permitting Rules Loosen, Ontario’s Water Faces New Risk
Headwaters Community Coalition’s Jeanette McFarlane brings a ground-level urgency to one of the province’s most consequential and least-covered policy failures. While governments across North America race to streamline development approvals, McFarlane argues that Ontario is dismantling the only oversight mechanisms standing between its most hydrologically sensitive land and irreversible aquifer contamination.
Observer’s April 2026 Art Fair Calendar (Updated)
Here’s (almost) everything happening on the art fair circuit this April.
Block CFO Amrita Ahuja Defends Jack Dorsey’s A.I.-Driven Layoffs
Ahuja argues that internal A.I. tools like Goose have boosted developer productivity by 40 percent, giving Block the “confidence” to shrink headcount and still grow. After cutting 4,000 roles, Amrita Ahuja says peers are “coming out of the woodwork” to study Block’s cost-cutting strategy.
Meet the Collector: Dwight Cleveland On Turning Hollywood Ephemera into Museum-Worthy History
Over five decades, he built—and then shared—a one-of-a-kind cultural archive.
When the Hotel Is the Destination: Luxury Standouts Across the U.S.
Whether you’re looking to unwind poolside at Montage’s flagship property in Laguna Beach or want to enjoy a historic stay on Michigan’s Mackinac Island, we’ve rounded up the eight most destination-defining hotels in the United States.
New Alternative Fairs Kick Off Hong Kong Art Week With Fresh Energy
A growing network of independent, dealer-led initiatives is challenging the traditional fair model during Art Basel Hong Kong.
