Incoming Art Basel Miami Beach director Bridgit Finn opens her first edition of the fair.

Bridget Finn, the new director of Art Basel Miami Beach, brings her experience as a former gallery owner and dealer to lead the prestigious blue chip art fair, which features 286 global exhibitors this year. Amid challenges like rising costs and an oversaturated art market, she has emphasized building relationships and fostering long-term success for galleries, including emerging talent. 

A ban on social media use for children under 16 passed in Australia’s Parliament.

Australia has enacted a groundbreaking law prohibiting social media platforms from including children under 16 among their user base, with hefty fines for non-compliance. While supporters argue the legislation protects children from online harm, critics warn it could isolate vulnerable youth, compromise privacy, and hinder digital safety advancements. 

After five years of restoration and repair, Notre Dame Cathedral has been unveiled.

Ahead of Notre Dame Cathedral’s December reopening, nearly six years after a devastating fire caused extensive damage. French President Emmanuel Macron praised the restoration effort, which involved more than 1,200 artisans and $1 billion in donations to rebuild the roof, clean the stonework, and restore key features like the spire and Grand Organ.

ARO creates a mass-timber visitor center at Frederic Church’s former landscape center.

The Frederic Church Center for Art and Landscape at Olana, designed by Architecture Research Office, introduces a contemporary gateway to Frederic Church’s historic estate in New York’s Hudson Valley. This 4,500-square-foot, sustainably built visitors center enhances the site’s focus on Church’s vision of integrated architecture and landscape, and offers modern amenities while guiding visitors toward the estate’s main attractions. 

Possibly carcinogenic gamma radiation has been detected at a Bay Area sculpture park.

A state investigation at the Albany Bulb, a former landfill-turned-sculpture park in the Bay Area, uncovered elevated gamma radiation levels in 10 areas. Triggered by archival evidence of industrial waste disposal in the mid-20th century, the findings suggest potential risks from buried radioactive material, although officials describe the overall threat to visitors as low.

Today’s attractive distractions:

An editor extols the virtues of leather and its place in Munich’s fashion.

Apple’s rumored TV launch is setting tech types abuzz with grievances.

Balenciaga announces its Lamborghini collaboration with iPhone pics. 

Parts from vintage Vespas are finding new life as…swiveling task chairs?