Claire Voon is a former staff writer for Hyperallergic. Originally from Singapore, she grew up near Washington, D.C. and is now based in Chicago.
![Jordan Bars Lebanese Band from Playing at Roman Amphitheater for Religious Reasons [UPDATED]](/content/images/size/w600/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/04/leb-1.jpg)
News
Jordan's Ministry of Tourism and Antiques has banned a popular Lebanese band, known for its largely politically and sexually charged lyrics, from performing at an ancient Roman theater on religious grounds.
![ISIS Destroys Two Gates in Ancient City of Nineveh [UPDATED]](/content/images/size/w600/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/04/nineveh_mashki_gate_from_west-1.jpg)
News
Members of ISIS have destroyed two large gates in Iraq's ancient city of Nineveh, which once served as the capital of the Neo-Assyrian empire.
In Brief
Heracles is famous for his sexual prowess, but one nude statue of him in a park in France will now largely go phallus-free.
![Iran Forces Jailed Artist to Undergo Virginity and Pregnancy Tests [UPDATED]](/content/images/size/w600/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/04/atena-farghadani-jail-sentence-lede.jpg)
In Brief
The Iranian artist sentenced to 12 years and nine months in prison for her satirical cartoons critical of the Iranian government was forced to repeatedly undergo virginity and pregnancy tests last year.
News
People are up in arms about signs at the Victoria and Albert Museum banning not just photography but also sketching in its latest temporary exhibition, Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear.
Books
From initiation rites to harvest festivals, many traditional African rituals require participants to don masks and elaborate costumes that transform their wearers into spirits, beasts, or ancestral beings.
News
Nearly 23,000 works of state-owned art are missing in France and its overseas territories, lost over time from museums, town halls, and major institutions largely due to poor documentation and even theft.
News
One of the world's oldest Qur'an manuscripts is now online, digitized in full by the British Library. The text dates from the 8th century — making it the oldest of its kind in the institution's collection.
![Damien Hirst's Pickled Animals May Have Leaked Carcinogenic Fumes [UPDATED]](/content/images/size/w600/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/04/hirst-fumes-home.jpg)
In Brief
Damien's Hirst's formaldehyde-filled installations don't just ooze money and pretension — some may also leak potentially dangerous gas.
News
The artist who gave the world a drawing of a nude Donald Trump with a small penis is facing a potential lawsuit from Trump's legal team if the painting sells.
Books
Limp slices of bread smeared with butter, a single sausage lounging in orange soup, a presentation of pork knuckles resembling discarded brains — this is far from the stuff you'd find on the menu of your local farm-to-table eatery filled with upcycled furniture.
Art
Seven months after ISIS destroyed Palmyra’s 1,800-year-old Arch of Triumph, the structure has risen once more — this time 2,800 miles away from the ancient city, in London’s bustling Trafalgar Square.