Arts & Culture Writing

Alfredo Arreguín, Painter of Myth and Memory, Dies at 88. The Mexican-American artist sampled from the jungles of his childhood and the lush landscapes of his adult life to create dreamlike canvases. (Hyperallergic)

The Crucifixion by Thomas Eakins is briefly hanging in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, offering a glimpse into his complicated legacy. The artist called the eight-foot-tall painting of Jesus on the cross one of his "very best." The New Yorker called it “his single truly bad painting.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

James McNeill Whistler’s portrait of his mother is back in Philadelphia after a century. Whistler painted his mother when his model didn't show up at his London studio. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Henri Matisse’s caretaker, muse and studio manager stars in Philadelphia show. Lydia Delectorskaya managed Matisse’s studio and cared for him in his final years. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Alex Da Corte’s ‘The Street’ is a love letter to Philadelphia. As we take a conceptual walk down “The Street,” we are immersed in Da Corte’s memories, footnotes, and creative tools. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Ellsworth Kelly always lifted his work from the world around him, from what he called “fragments of vision.” These fragments came from staircases, walls, window frames, and views from trains. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

A Life in Computing: In a visual obituary, we retrace the remarkable life of Paul Allen through the technology that made it possible. (University of Washington Magazine)

A tour of contemporary Chinese art at the Philadelphia Art Museum (Philadelphia Inquirer)

“Rising Sun” asks 20 contemporary artists about the state of American democracy (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Marilyn, Freud, Einstein, and Kafka are all at the National Museum of Jewish History (Philadelphia Inquirer)

The Berman Museum of Art’s new show puts in the work (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Islamic ornate window shades on display at the Museum for Art in Wood (Philadelphia Inquirer)

A snapshot of America, in 18 portraits. A conversation with art historian Juliet Sperling about the sociopolitical meaning of 18 works of American art (University of Washington Magazine)

How to make fine art from your kitchen during a pandemic. A professor designed a popular new class during the coronavirus pandemic, stamping out doubt about how effective remote learning can be. (University of Washington Magazine)

Surveying the Native art of the Pacific Northwest. Here's what it’s like to be a virtual student in the University of Washington’s class about Indigenous art. (University of Washington Magazine)

On Substack

A Closer Look at Henri Matisse’s Favorite Pose

Thoughts on the Forgotten War of 1898: Coming to Terms with American History Through Art (from 2024)

Editor’s Letters

“A Roman Holiday,” Expedition Magazine (Issue 67-2, Fall 2025)

“The Message Inside a Monument,” Expedition Magazine (Issue 66-2, Winter 2024)

“Making Memories in a Museum,” Expedition Magazine (Issue 65-2, Winter 2023)

“Fish Skin is Always in Fashion,” Expedition Magazine (Issue 67-1, Summer 2025)

“New Word, Ancient World,” Expedition Magazine (Issue 65-1, Fall 2023)

“The People are the Stories,” Expedition Magazine (Issue 66-1, Summer 2024)

Q&A’s

What it’s like to have dinner with chef Melissa Miranda. Her new restaurant Musang gives Seattle a taste of what the Philippines means to her.

Rehashing history with pop culture critic Chuck Klosterman

Thanks, Professor Banks: ‘The Father of Multicultural Education’ is retiring after 50 years. A candid conversation about race, faith and legacy.

Life after prison: Reclaiming identity through photographic portraiture and first person narratives. I moderate a conversation about visual imagery and America’s prison system.

A down-to-earth conversation with astrophysicist Tom Quinn. He made the list of the “World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds.”

How to spot an urban owl in a park near you. Wildlife photographer Paul Bannick walks us through the woods to find the nocturnal predator.

As Project Editor

FILIPINO FOOD GUIDE We surveyed the best places to eat Filipino food in Seattle. Along the way, we asked Filipino-Americans to review a dish at each place.

AFTER PRISON Omari Amili spent time in prison before earning three degrees from the University of Washington. For this project, he interviewed 10 other people who graduated after they got out.

IDENTITY SOLUTION A new elementary school in Indianapolis believes identity and civic engagement could transform the educational landscape, especially for students of color.

Health & Medicine

For VICE: Rebuilding a Planned Parenthood after a domestic terrorist attack. The Planned Parenthood in Pullman was firebombed—even though it doesn't offer abortion services.

Corpse Values: Inside the University of Washington’s Willed Body Program. Donated bodies become the classrooms of future doctors, dentists, nurses, and other health care professionals.

Awaiting transplant, family rallies with hope. A story about a beloved professor’s search for a new kidney. “Ask yourself not just why you want to live, but what do you want to do that day in the world? Look beyond yourself.”

Broken hearts are a public health epidemic. A whopping 1-in-4 Americans will die from cardiovascular disease, whether it be an event like a heart attack or a condition like congestive heart failure.

‘We came here to contribute.’ As an undocumented immigrant, Antonio Lopez-Ibarra dreaded going to the dentist as a child. Now he's a dentist who goes the extra mile to put his patients at ease.

More From the Archives

Catching up with bestselling author and provocateur David Shields “I try to use sports as a reflecting pool to get at American culture and human nature. I see it as a good way to expose my own nerve endings, American culture’s confusion on race, and indelible truths about human nature.”

‘Yes, I am a boy’: How Kevin Ninh went from bullied teen to social media star. Beyond the laughs and beneath the eyeliner, a subversive storyteller is carving out a space for himself and others.

Busting BS: Two professors designed a course to train students to catch—and call out—fake news and falsehoods.

The tavern that provided refuge after a deadly mudslide. Everyone in the Red Top Tavern that night was affected by the slide. In some way, the mud had reached them all. (The Everett Herald)

Classmates, cousins hold missing boy close to their hearts. 14-year-old Denver Harris went missing in the Oso mudslide. He was later found to have died in his family’s home. (The Everett Herald)

With spoken word and hip-hop, a new generation of poets has taken the stage. Rooted in a rich legacy, a new class of poets compose verses that channel their cultures and challenge the status quo.

What if your class schedule put you in the same room as all of the best teachers? An imagined account, written from the student perspective, about the winners of the University of Washington’s Distinguished Teaching Award. (University of Washington Magazine)

A sanctuary for 190 cast-off pigs: Judy Woods has been sheltering homeless hogs for more than two decades. (The Everett Herald)