Elizabeth Egan’s essay about Bridget Jones’ Diary in The New York Times made me think about representation in culture, particularly pop culture and every multicultural dimension. These days people call to be seen and heard on screens big and small. They want their stories to be reflected in Hollywood stories, in magazines and in fashion. People of color. People with disabilities. LGBTQ people. People who hate labels. All kinds of people. Representation matters.

I kept a copy of Bridget Jones Diary in my night table for over a decade. Every time I felt sad or depressed or down, I would open a page, any page, and find solace and even happiness. I felt a kinship with this fictional character I have hardly ever felt with any other person, fictional or otherwise. We understood each other. We liked each other.

I tend to gravitate towards long, deep conversations, something that is increasingly absent in commercial radio and television. Podcasts give their hosts and guests space to breathe and reflect, and in turn we as listeners receive the same privilege. Even if they are talking about one of the many horrors the world is churning up these days, they are doing it with calm, wisdom and maturity – the grown-ups in the modern media universe. The Daily- the very popular New York Times news podcast- is edited in such a way that listeners are given seconds of silence or a particular sound or music, just so they have a moment to reflect on what is being said.

Suddenly, older icons are everywhere. Shortly before dying at 87, writer Joan Didion posed in dark sunglasses for Celine. (The sunglasses sold later in auction for $27,000). Legendary model Carmen Dell’Orefice, who started her career at 15 in 1945, just appeared on the April cover of Vogue Czechoslovakia, photographed by Albert Watson. She is now 91. A few weeks ago Saint Laurent launched a new campaign- “Director’s cut”- with four famous film directors-Abel Ferrara, David Cronenberg, Jim Jarmusch, and Pedro Almodovar-, all in their seventies and eighties, as models of cool and style.

We are living longer and better - and culture is taking notice.

Art at a Time Like This intentionally searches out and shines a light on bold curators and emerging artists showcasing on-line exhibits that address some of the most urgent social issues of the moment: gender equality, climate change, Black Lives Matter, human rights violations, systemic problems within the justice system, the farmer’s revolution in India and the fragility of Democracy in the United States . . . just to mention a few, all created and imagined by a deliberately diverse/international group of artists and curators.

The many angles of Pascal’s story will sound familiar to anyone who, for any reason, has looked to create a life far from home, in a different place, in a different country. Immigration, a word that over a century ago used to have an air of possibility and optimism, has become a politically charged issue and a humanitarian crisis that forces the displacement of millions of people fleeing war, violence, and economic or environmental catastrophe. The fact that Pascal mentioned Pinochet and his parents story in his monologue reveals that, maybe, not even growing up as a regular California kid in California was enough to erase the scars of a forced migration.

A few days ago, Christie’s auctioned around 400 items from the collection of André Leon Talley, the famous Vogue editor at large who passed away in January last year. After stops in Paris and Palm Beach, the items arrived in New York to be exhibited at Christie’s headquarters in Manhattan for a few days during the online sale and before the February 15th live auction. Like bread crumps in the road, many items auctioned in the sale revealed a privileged but complicated life; the life of a fantastic traveler that carried in his Vuitton and Prada bags deep and complex feelings about race, religion and sexuality.

Few people knew about Alvin Baltrop and his work until 2008, when Art Forum published a long article about him. Fashion Designer Joseph Altuzarra read the story and the photographer and his haunting images got his attention.

“What’s Going On” at the Rubell Museum DC, looks to respond “to pressing social and political issues that continue to affect society today” – say Museum officials- through 190 art pieces created by 50 artists, including Natalie Ball, Rashid Johnson, Richard Prince, Sylvia Snowden, Hank Willis Thomas, Carrie Mae Weems, Kehinde Wiley, Kennedy Yanko, and Cajsa von Zeipel, among many others.

In these rapidly changing times, Jackson is particularly fitted to lead the NEA. She grew up in Los Angeles, the daughter of a postal service employee and a teacher, both determined to inculcate an appreciation for creativity and art in their children. Her city allowed her to grow in a diverse, multicultural environment and she is well aware of the power of the arts to create social change.

“ For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it”. Ah, her words! Amanda Gorman is a poet, of course, and uses her writing as a tool to fight for the issues causes she cares about- social justice, racial and gender equality, the protection of Democracy-, which makes her also a powerful activist determined to impact change through her voice.

The beautiful energy of Shantell Martin blew into my universe this spring – we met through dance. Her leap from the page to the stage felt like a natural place for this visual artist to explore – bringing the physicality of her drawing into lyrical movement where musicality, the human form and a playful richness of the performance, the stage set and costuming meld into an alternate universe.