Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, and Bad Bunny are leading the 2026 Grammy nominees, with Sabrina Carpenter and Tyler, the Creator also competing in major categories, alongside discussions about notable snubs and surprises including ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ and Justin Bieber, as the full list of contenders for the 68th annual ceremony was announced.

• Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga and Bad Bunny Lead 2026 Grammy Nominees — New York Times Arts -
• Grammys 2026 Snubs and Surprises: ‘KPop Demon Hunters,’ Justin Bieber and More — New York Times Arts -
• Grammy Nominations 2026: See the Full List of Nominees — New York Times Arts -

New book reviews cover titles like **Patti Smith’s ‘Bread of Angels’ and Oyinkan Braithwaite’s ‘Cursed Daughters’, while the legacy of the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck is explored 50 years on, and the passing of author Gillian Tindall is noted alongside the announcement of the Best Illustrated Children’s Books** for 2025.

• Book Review: ‘Bread of Angels,’ by Patti Smith — New York Times Books -
• Book Review: ‘Cursed Daughters,’ by Oyinkan Braithwaite — New York Times Books -
• Book Review: ‘Who Knows You by Heart,’ by C.J. Farley — New York Times Books -

• Book Review: ‘The Silver Book,’ by Olivia Laing — New York Times Books -
• 50 Years Later, the Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald Lives On — New York Times Books -
• Gillian Tindall, 87, Dies; Author Who Probed the Layers of Places — New York Times Arts -
• The 2025 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books — New York Times Books -
• Book Review: ‘Palaver,’ by Bryan Washington — New York Times Books -

This week sees recommendations for children's and horror movies to stream, a look at the critics' top nine new films, a **clip from Oscar Isaac’s ‘Frankenstein’, and an exploration of why Japan exiled the film ‘Mishima’** for four decades.

• 5 Children’s Movies to Stream Now — New York Times Arts -
• Five Horror Movies to Stream Now — New York Times Arts -
• ‘Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk’: An Extraordinary Voice (and Film) — New York Times Arts -

• Watch Oscar Isaac Create Life in ‘Frankenstein’ — New York Times Arts -
• 9 New Movies Our Critics Are Talking About This Week — New York Times Arts -
• Why Japan Exiled a Film About Yukio Mishima for 40 Years — New York Times Arts -
• ‘Frankenstein’ | Anatomy of a Scene — New York Times Arts -

Major museum openings in Benin City for West African Art and the reopening of the Studio Museum in Harlem are highlighted, alongside **Egypt’s Grand Museum’s plea for antiquities repatriation, and news of Sotheby’s acquiring a Marcel Breuer building and the sale of a $10 million gold toilet**.

• MOWAA, the Museum of West African Art, opens in Benin City, Nigeria — New York Times Arts -
• The Studio Museum in Harlem Reopens as a Flagship for Black Art — New York Times Arts -
• Who’s Selling the $10 Million Gold Toilet? Signs Point to the Mets’ Owner. — New York Times Arts -

• Once Hated, Now Loved, a Brutalist Behemoth Gets a Makeover — New York Times Arts -
• Egypt’s Grand Museum Is Finally Open. Now, ‘We Need Our Stuff Back.’ — New York Times Arts -

Playboi Carti thrilled fans in Brooklyn, while an Israeli Orchestra concert in Paris was disrupted, and Japanese Breakfast performed live in the New York Times office, as Rosalía's new album 'Lux' sparks debate on its operatic nature, and James Gaffigan returns to lead the Houston Grand Opera.

• Playboi Carti, Rage Rap’s Goth King, Beckons Brooklyn to the Pit — New York Times Arts -
• 4 Arrested Over Disruption of Israeli Orchestra’s Concert — New York Times Arts -
• Watch Japanese Breakfast Perform in The New York Times Office — New York Times Music -

• Rosalía’s ‘Lux’ Is Operatic. But Is It Opera? — New York Times Arts -
• The American James Gaffigan Comes Home to Lead the Houston Grand Opera — New York Times Arts -

New TV series reviews include **Netflix’s ‘Death by Lightning’ and the enigmatic ‘Pluribus’ from the creator of ‘Breaking Bad’, alongside a preview of the New York Comedy Festival, insights into Ali Larter’s role in ‘Landman’, and how late-night hosts are addressing the government shutdown**.

• ‘Death by Lightning’ Is History as Comedy and Tragedy — New York Times Arts -
• 10 Promising Shows at the New York Comedy Festival — New York Times Arts -
• ‘Pluribus’ Review: From Many, What? — New York Times Arts -

• On ‘Landman,’ Ali Larter Picks a Fight — New York Times Arts -
• Late Night Laments the Effects of the Longest-Ever Government Shutdown — New York Times Arts -

The Kennedy Center is experiencing a 'Trumpian drama', leading to damaging business impacts within the performing arts institution.

• The Kennedy Center Crackup — New York Times Arts -