Latest news with #culture
New York Times
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Chanel Looks to Build Cultural Capital With Arts Magazine
Over a century after Coco Chanel founded her label in Paris, the French fashion house is making a foray into the boutique print media sphere by starting its first glossy arts magazine. Chanel's new annual tome, Arts & Culture, was released this week, with the first issue devoted to chronicling the practice and lives of contemporary artists (alongside plenty of promotional Chanel editorial content). It features cultural essays about artists like Tracey Emin, Lu Yang and Tomás Saraceno. There's an interview with the photographer Stephen Shore and a report on A.I. art by the curator Hans Ulrich Obrist. The cover depicts a bust of Ms. Chanel that was made by the sculptor Jacques Lipchitz in 1921. 'This is Chanel's first arts and culture magazine and you can feel Gabrielle Chanel's legacy in its pages,' said Yana Peel, the brand's president of arts, culture and heritage, using Ms. Chanel's birth name. 'She was a voracious reader and was known for surrounding herself with a network of audacious creatives. We're trying to extend that legacy through physical print media.' 'We're seeing a resurgence of interest in independent magazines and in independent bookstores,' Ms. Peel added. 'We want to give this moment the amplification that we can through the global stage Chanel has.' The magazine also unabashedly promotes the Chanel universe. It features figures who have professionally collaborated with the brand, like the actress Tilda Swinton and the architect Peter Marino, alongside stories that celebrate Chanel's history. Among them is an essay by the art historian RoseLee Goldberg titled 'A Life of Performance: Gabrielle Chanel and the Avant-Garde,' and a lengthy visual essay by the photographer Roe Ethridge, who captured an array of Ms. Chanel's personal belongings, like selections of her jewelry and a handwritten letter to her from Jean Cocteau. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Secret mountain paradise has become a surprising boomtown as the rest of the region becomes unbearable
As summers in the south get too hot to handle, savvy residents have found an escape nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains that stays 20 degrees cooler than the low country. Southerners love to stay in Boone, North Carolina, a mountain town filled with culture and crisp breezes, and escape from the heatwaves that blaze across southern states like South Carolina and Florida during June, July and August.
CTV News
16 hours ago
- General
- CTV News
First at Five: Multiculturalism Day
Atlantic Watch Maritimers come together to celebrate the diverse communities that make up the country.
The Guardian
21 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Thomas Neurath obituary
In 1967, when still in his 20s, Thomas Neurath became managing director of Thames & Hudson, the illustrated book publishers founded by his father and stepmother in 1949. He led the firm for half a century, continuing his parents' aim of bringing authoritative scholarship on the world of art and culture to a wide readership. Neurath, who has died aged 84 of cancer, developed the bedrock World of Art series, which had launched in 1958, to encompass some 300 titles covering the history of art; more than a million copies of the books have now been sold. 'I can't remember ever wanting to be a publisher,' Neurath said in a 2011 interview with Livres Hebdo, the weekly bible of the French book trade. 'And then one day I was.' It would have been a difficult fate to avoid. As the photography historian Philippe Garner, said, Neurath 'carried European history in his DNA'. His father's stepfather, Arthur Stemmer, a noted collector of Egon Schiele, had fled Vienna for London after the Anschluss; Thomas's parents, Walter, a publisher and gallery owner, and Marianne (nee Müller), a schoolteacher, had also escaped to England from Austria in 1938. Thames & Hudson became part of that injection of continental culture into postwar Britain that would include everyone from Ernst Gombrich to Oskar Kokoschka. Thomas joined the family business as an editor in 1961, his life changing completely when his father died six years later. He became responsible for the day to day running of Thames & Hudson – his sister, Constance, took over design – and he would remain the company's managing director until 2005, and chairman until 2021. It was a daunting inheritance. In Vienna, Walter had, among much else, taught at the equivalent of the Workers' Educational Association, and Thames & Hudson was shaped by the Fabian ideal of providing high quality books at affordable prices, particularly to students. Thomas felt duty bound to continue 'the heritage and socialist ideals of my parents'. At the same time, he had no intention of allowing the company to go bust by preserving it in aspic. 'In my father's view, only painting, architecture and sculpture counted as art in their own right,' Neurath said. 'He thought of photography as lacking in seriousness and fashion as frivolous.' Both of these were now added to the T&H lists, while definitions of the fine arts were broadened and modernised. In 1984, the company became the first to publish a book on graffiti, in the form of Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant's Subway Art. Others followed on such non-Eurocentric subjects as Buddhist and Aboriginal Australian art. Neurath, a child of the 60s, also introduced titles on what he called 'archetypal psychology', including John Michell's deeply kooky 1969 book View Over Atlantis. All these appeared alongside the heavyweight works of scholarship his father had favoured, together with exhibition catalogues for galleries and museums around the world. If Neurath broadened the company's cultural reach, he also set about globalising its business. Like many refugees from Nazism, the Neuraths had been eager to assimilate. One of the books on Thames & Hudson's first list in 1950 was Geoffrey Grigson's English Cathedrals. Before studying at Cambridge, Thomas had been sent to Charterhouse, a leading public school. But for all his parents' efforts, he never seemed entirely English. Royalty puzzled him: when T&H produced a book on the photographs of Cecil Beaton, Neurath was heard to moan, 'But who is the Duchess of Gloucester?' He was prone, without thinking, to assume that all his editors could read German. As well as building on the World of Art, with titles now translated into 16 languages, he opened T&H offshoots abroad. The company's original two-river name had anticipated operations in London and New York, both of them English-speaking cities. In 1989, Neurath set up Éditions Thames & Hudson in Paris, the World of Art series becoming L'Univers de l'Art. 'I loved being there,' he said. 'It had always been a dream of mine to have an office in Paris.' For all his insistence on guarding his parents' socialist principles, Neurath was a skilful businessman. The suggestion that Thames & Hudson might be in some way a philanthropic concern made him bristle. His genius for forming allegiances with foreign publishing houses helped the company flourish at a time when other publishers were going to the wall. Neurath was born in Brackley, Northamptonshire, after his parents found wartime refuge in Britain. His father worked for a publishing company called Adprint and, following Marianne's death in 1950 aged 40, married Eva Feuchtwang (nee Itzig), a colleague and fellow refugee with whom he set up Thames & Hudson. After leaving school, and a short spell with a publisher in Israel, which he hated, Thomas was sent to Paris, to work as an intern at the French house Éditions Arthaud. Moving into the so-called Beat Hotel in rue Gît-le-Cœur – a fleapit whose residents included Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs – the 18-year-old found himself caught up in the glory days of the Left Bank. Photographs of the time show him beaming widely and, invariably, smoking. From there, he left to read archaeology and anthropology at St John's College, Cambridge – he hated this, too, and dropped out – joining Thames & Hudson in 1961. The firm remained, above all, a family affair. Neurath's two daughters followed him into the business, becoming T&H directors. More broadly, employees were treated as though they were family, occasionally alarmingly so. Neurath's fits of temper were famous: Thames & Hudson mythology includes the story of him throwing a shoe at a startled archaeology editor. But loyalty was bred on both sides. The company's employees tended to stay, sometimes for their entire careers. Beneath his chain-smoking bearishness, Neurath was a shy man. Unlike his stepmother, Eva, who was driven to the office every day in a chauffeured Bentley, he shunned public life, preferring the company of his children and grandchildren in his book-filled north London house. This, too, retained a faint air of prewar Vienna. 'I grew up in a house where we talked a lot about culture and literature,' Neurath said. He is survived by his wife, Gun Thor, a jewellery designer, whom he married in 1962, their daughters Johanna and Susanna, and his sister, Constance. Thomas Neurath, publisher, born 7 October 1940; died 13 June 2025
Zawya
a day ago
- Business
- Zawya
A CEO's role in shaping, living, and amplifying the employer brand
It's no surprise that the most successful employer brands are led by CEOs who drive from the top. They bring a compelling business strategy - but just as importantly, they recognise that it's the people strategy that delivers the objectives. What sets them apart is how they lead by example - through presence, visibility, and clarity of message. True leadership isn't about directing from a distance - it's about co-creating with those on the ground. When CEOs invite people into the vision, they give permission for ownership, autonomy, and pride in building the business together. - Leadership action: The most trusted CEOs create space for shared ownership by spending time on the ground - asking questions, listening without agenda, and inviting input. These moments often lead to surprising sparks of innovation and even unlock your next best business idea. More than just strategy: It's about presence Having worked closely with startups and scaling SMEs, I've seen how the tone of an organisation is often set by its founder or CEO. Even without meeting them, you can sense their presence in how employees behave, speak, and engage with one another. The way people describe their leaders - how they talk about values, workplace culture, and 'how things are done around here' - reflects just how personally invested the CEO is in the people agenda. Culture isn't hidden. It's lived. And it starts at the top. - Leadership action: CEOs who host regular townhalls, CEO Connects, or informal video broadcasts create rhythm and relevance around culture. Their communication lands because it feels two-way - personal, present, and grounded in real context. From startups to SMEs: The CEO's influence on employer brand power In startups, SMEs, and high-growth companies - particularly across emerging markets - the CEO isn't just a figurehead. They're a visible influencer, a culture carrier, and a deciding factor in whether someone joins or stays. They show up as they expect others to. They lead by example. For the emerging generations especially, working with a visionary, people-focused CEO is part of the value exchange. These are the leaders people want to learn from - or walk away from. They'll research the CEO before applying. Check Glassdoor. Scan LinkedIn. A CEO's presence - or absence - tells a story. - Leadership action: Credible CEOs treat LinkedIn as an extension of the employer brand - updating their profiles to reflect current strategy and culture, and sharing short, human stories that reinforce internal truth through external visibility. Tick-box leadership vs. cultural stewardship It's easy to spot when a CEO is 'doing employer branding' because they have to. The language is polished but disconnected. The culture feels staged - more like routine than real. By contrast, when a CEO genuinely lives the brand - when they share stories, show vulnerability with honesty, and actively support their people - it resonates. The difference is felt in how values are modelled, not just mentioned. And in whether the people agenda is owned at the top or delegated as a task. This is why, when embarking on any talent brand or culture journey, the belief, commitment, and visible sponsorship must come from the CEO. Without it, these initiatives won't stick. - Leadership action: Forward-thinking CEOs prioritise regular check-in conversations with CHROs and talent leads - not just to track metrics, but to understand what people are feeling and where the culture and heartbeat need calibration. Why the CEO's brand is the employer brand The employer brand lives in daily moments - and the CEO plays a central role in shaping those moments. In smaller, founder-led businesses, the CEO is not just the strategic driver - they're often the emotional heartbeat. Employees respond to leaders who don't just show up, but show they care. When CEOs share reflections, celebrate team wins, or communicate directly through informal videos, they build real trust. It's in these small, consistent moments that culture becomes tangible. - Leadership action: Some of the most resonant leadership moments come from short, unscripted CEO messages - recorded in the moment, without polish. These simple, direct touchpoints help employees experience the brand through the person leading it. Closing reflection If you're a founder, CEO, or visionary leader - someone whose heart, passion, and emotional connection is tied to the brand - here's the truth: - People don't just join organisations - they join the people shaping them. - Culture doesn't scale unless it's embodied by those at the top. - And credibility isn't claimed - it's experienced through how leaders consistently show up. If your brand carries your heartbeat, make sure people feel it - first-hand. Because in today's world, especially for Gen Z and emerging talent, a personal brand isn't separate from the employer brand. And for the CEO, that truth matters even more. All rights reserved. © 2022. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
