The Marina Abramovic Institute has announced its latest project; a 24-hour reading of the 2004 fantasy novel The City of Dreaming Books, by Walter Moers, set for November 23rd at the Basilica Hudson.  This is Abramovic’s second entry in her marathon reading series, after an 8-hour reading of Stanislaw Lem’s Solaris.  “The Basilica has a very dramatic and industrial atmosphere that calls for one-of-a-kind and extreme events like this marathon reading,” Basilica Hudson creative director Melissa Auf der Maur said. “Marina and her team dreamed up this event, and naturally we opened our doors to them.” (more…)

A drawing stored in a locked cupboard at the University of Reading has been rediscovered as an original work by 17th century artist Peter Paul Rubens.  The work, a depiction of Queen Marie de’ Medici of France, was originally thought to have been made by a follower of Rubens, until a conservation effort revealed telltale signs that the work was made by the Renaissance master.  “It was bought as a so-called Rubens, attributed to Rubens,” said Reading professor Anna Gruetzner Robins. “But we didn’t take it seriously.” (more…)