Critics have hailed Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal of Hamlet as "victorious" whilst branding the show an "anti-climax".

British researchers believe they have unlocked the mystery of the Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile - by analysing another, recently discovered masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci.

A seaside "bemusement park" unveiled by Banksy has sparked controversy by featuring a Cinderella pumpkin crash sculpture which echos Princess Diana's death.

The three choreographers contributing state of the art pieces for this ground-breaking season with the New Zealand Dance Company were given the brief of "light, illumination, space, image and movement" by the company's artistic director Shona McCullagh.

Always creative, it took a while for Man Booker nominee Anna Smaill to find the perfect medium for her message.

Benedict Cumberbatch shouted expletives after a series of mishaps during his performance in Hamlet.

South African scientists have discovered that 400-year-old tobacco pipes excavated from the garden of William Shakespeare contained cannabis, suggesting the playwright might have written some of his....

Portraits of Audrey Hepburn and Charlie Chaplin, views of Venetian canals or a growling lion, these artworks all have something in common outside hefty price tags - they're edible.

For more than 50 years Yoko Ono has been campaigning - for peace, for feminism, and gun control. This tireless activism, she tells Alex Needham, is at the heart of her work as an artist.

A Finland artist has reimagined what he thinks well-known Disney princes would look like if they were real humans. Swoon.

Struggling artists and authors with writer's block may soon be offered help from an imagination app.

A new take on portraits is helping connect today's generation of Maori to their ancestral past - and people from around the world are wanting in on it too.

Soldiers Rd Portraits is giving people the opportunity to feature in their own historic vintage photos.

On stage, she's the leader of a sex strike, aimed at ending a 20-year-old war. Off stage, Amanda Billing can't fathom such a drastic move.

Australian highway dominated by nine-metre-tall metallic gnome from the same Kiwi sculptor behind the Auckland art work that many thought looked like a penis.

One of the most anticipated books in the past decade will be released in New Zealand and around the world today.

After a 12-month hiatus, the country's premier book awards will return in 2016 with a new structure and an annual fiction prize of $50,000. Do you have a favourite novel by a New Zealand writer?

Rain is predicted, so we can legitimately head indoors for some winter treats.

A meandering, ever-changing river is the analogy Rangihiroa Panoho uses for his overview of Maori art

Public galleries are often in close touch with their immediate communities. The festival of Matariki is supported by exhibitions at three galleries.

This Canterbury artist and designer keeps a close eye on the images beamed in from the far reaches of our galaxy and beyond.

In a carpark next to the SuperValue in Hall Ave, under a sturdy marquee, locals line up to puff and blow under the instructions of master glassmakers.

Sean Plunket's comments describing Eleanor Catton as an "ungrateful hua" and a "traitor" were not in breach of broadcasting standards.

After five years of lighting up Auckland's Western Park, Art in the Dark will not go ahead this year due to a lack of funding.

Don't know what to do with yourself this weekend? We've handpicked the top five things to do around Auckland.