Latest news with #Marfa
New York Times
04-08-2025
- General
- New York Times
The Quest to Preserve Donald Judd's Marfa
IN THE SUMMER of 1968, a few months after his first retrospective at the Whitney Museum, the artist Donald Judd, then 40, went in search of a dry, open place to escape, as he later wrote in one of his many essays, 'the harsh and glib situation within art in New York.' For three summers he drove through Arizona (which was 'becoming crowded') and New Mexico ('too high and cold') until, in 1971, he found his way to Marfa, Texas, a remote ranch town 60 miles from the Mexican border. Over the next few years, he converted a pair of former airplane hangars and a quartermaster's office, relocated from a decommissioned military base at the edge of town, into living and working quarters, which he enclosed in a nine-foot-high adobe wall. By the end of the decade, he'd partnered with the Dia Art Foundation to buy the base for his and others' permanent art installations. (In 1986, after a falling-out with Dia, Judd established the base as a public arts institution called the Chinati Foundation, named for a nearby mountain range.) Then, from 1989 to 1991, as an economic downturn drove more businesses from Marfa's blocklong Main Street, he bought and restored a cluster of buildings to house his ever-expanding collections of pottery, textiles, rocks, furniture, art and books. An old Safeway became his art studio. An Art Deco bank, its entry hall as symmetrical as a Romanesque basilica, became an architecture and design studio. And in 1990, a two-story brick building — once a grocery, then a uniform shop — became an office where Judd could receive clients for the architecture practice he'd long dreamed of founding. Other than sandblasting a layer of paint from the street-facing walls (abrading an eighth-inch of mortar in the process), Judd left the turn-of-the-century building alone. Original pressed-tin ceilings, double-hung sash windows and longleaf-pine floors made an unusually delicate backdrop for plywood tables and desks — late entries in Judd's decades-long practice of furniture design — and rectilinear chairs in colorful plywood and sheet metal. For four years, until his death in 1994 at 65 from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Judd filled the space with prototypes, technical drawings and site models for his projects, some of them realized, like the exterior cladding for an office complex over a railway station in Basel, Switzerland, and many of them not. The town has since become a place of pilgrimage for art enthusiasts and millionaires, who've driven real estate prices up and many locals out. At the same time, the buildings have become a monument to Judd's legacy. By 2011, though, the Architecture Office's second-floor windows, whose frames had started to rot after two decades of wear and tear, had been boarded up. 'It had a decrepit, forlorn quality,' says Rainer Judd, 55, the artist's daughter and president of the Judd Foundation, which she runs with her 57-year-old brother, Flavin, the foundation's art director. In 2013, the siblings completed a three-year restoration of the cast-iron building at 101 Spring Street in SoHo that Judd bought as a home and studio in 1968 for $68,000. Next, they decided to turn their attention to rehabilitating their father's properties in Marfa; the 5,000-square-foot Architecture Office, modest in scale and structurally stable, seemed a sensible place to start. Beginning in 2018, the foundation replaced the roof, repointed the walls, archived Judd's furniture, models and drawings and designed passive climate systems to protect those objects from Marfa's extreme desert temperatures. The Architecture Office became 'a test case for other projects in Marfa,' says the Houston-based architect Troy Schaum, who collaborated on the first phase of the restoration with Rosalyne Shieh, his partner at the time. Then, just three months before its opening in 2021, the building caught fire late one night. Flames burst up from the ground floor (insurance investigations never determined an exact cause) and spread through the timber trusses, gutting the structure. 'Even though nobody was hurt, even though it was all replaceable, to see all that labor and energy evaporate in 12 hours — I wasn't prepared for how emotional it was,' Schaum recalls. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CBS News
06-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Couple becomes unlikely restaurateurs, opening café to keep tiny Texas town's newspaper afloat
Marfa, Texas — If it's morning in Marfa, Texas, the Sentinel, a local café, is the place to be. There's hot coffee and oversized breakfast tacos. Business is booming, but it's more than just money they're printing. Tucked away in a small corner of the café is the business for which it's named: The Big Bend Sentinel, the area's weekly newspaper keeping watch over this part of West Texas for 99 years. It's a menu that goes beyond restaurant fare, serving scoops to a town hungry for local news. Maisie Crow and Max Kabat moved to Marfa from New York City in 2016 in search of community. Then, in 2019, the paper's owners approached them about buying it. They said they had never considered it before. "A newspaper found us. We didn't go and search out to find the newspaper," Kabat told CBS News. It was a risky move. Since 2005, more than 3,200 print newspapers have shuttered, according to an annual report published in 2024 by the Local News Initiative at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Crow is a documentary filmmaker who worked in local news, so the couple knew it would be tough to keep the paper afloat without another source of revenue. That's when they became unlikely restaurateurs. "We saw an opportunity to engage in the community in a deeper way than we had been, but we also recognized very quickly that we would need to subsidize the newspaper in some sort of way," Crow said. A large portion of their revenue comes from the coffee shop, restaurant and home goods that they sell, Crow said. What started as just four employees — the newspaper workers — is now close to 20 across the business, which is one of Marfa's biggest employers, Crow and Kabat said. While the city of about 2,000 is a tourist destination, its locals — including Presidio County Attorney Blair Park — rely on and support The Sentinel. "The other news outlets don't, you know, they're not really concerned about what's going on in Marfa," Park told CBS News. "So if it wasn't for this newspaper, we wouldn't be seeing our local, community news anywhere."
Arab News
24-05-2025
- Arab News
Where We Are Going Today: ‘Marfa coffee' in Alhobar
If you are searching for a new spot in historic northern Alkhobar to enjoy high-quality coffee while immersing yourself in the local literary and arts scene, look no further than Marfa. Marfa serves up expertly crafted coffees and a variety of freshly prepared pastries and snacks. Yes, they have matcha, too. But your order comes with more than just a drink or a bite — you will get a taste of Alkhobar itself. Tucked away in a quieter part of the city, history buffs will appreciate that the cafe directly overlooks the former site of the beloved Al-Shula Mall, which famously burned down years ago. That storied plot of land is now the view from the cafe's windows. Founded by Saudi entrepreneur Khaled Almsaad, Marfa is quite literally breathing new life into the neighborhood. Almsaad launched his cultural initiative, Tanafs — which roughly translates to 'breath' — during the COVID-19 lockdown. The platform, now based upstairs from the cafe, is dedicated to bridging community and culture. It offers a range of creative activities and guided walking tours (when the weather is pleasant), all designed to encourage residents to explore their city on foot and enrich Alkhobar's cultural fabric. The upstairs space features a large communal table and regularly hosts vibrant events — from literary gatherings to workshops and community meetups. All attendees, of course, enjoy Marfa's signature drinks and snacks. When the weather is cool, the cafe spills out onto the sidewalk with plenty of outdoor seating. But the real charm lies inside. The intimate interior feels more like a cozy home and it is just as welcoming. Check out @marfa_sa on Instagram for more details.
Hindustan Times
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Laad Bazar to Chowmahalla: Hyderabad rolls out red carpet for Miss World contestants
Hyderabad, The contestants of Miss World 2025, representing 109 countries, were given a vibrant welcome on Tuesday as they visited Hyderabad's iconic Charminar and the bustling Laad Bazar , famous for its bangles and pearls. The 400-year-old monument came alive as the beauty queens arrived to a red carpet welcome, accompanied by the beats of Marfa music—a rhythmic, percussion-heavy genre popular in the Old City. The atmosphere turned celebratory as some of the contestants joined in, dancing joyfully to the music. The group attended a special photo shoot with the historic Charminar serving as a stunning backdrop. They also waved to the crowd from a specially-erected stage, drawing cheers from onlookers. As part of a heritage walk through the Old City, the contestants visited Laad Bazar for a curated shopping experience. They witnessed live demonstrations of traditional bangle-making techniques and expressed admiration for the craftsmanship of the local artisans. Shopkeepers at Laad Bazar welcomed the Miss World participants with roses and, in a generous gesture, did not accept money for the purchases, official sources said. They also urged the contestants to speak about the uniqueness of Hyderabad, Charminar, and Laad Bazar in their home countries. Later, the Miss World participants proceeded to the Nizam-era Chowmahalla Palace, also located in the Old City, where a specially-arranged cultural evening was held in their honour. The Telangana government made elaborate arrangements—including tight security and traffic management—to ensure the smooth conduct of the visit. The Miss World 2025 contest began with a glittering ceremony in Hyderabad on May 10 and will continue until May 31. As part of its broader vision, the Telangana government has drawn up an action plan to leverage the global event to enhance the state's international profile and attract investments. During their stay, the contestants will tour several key tourist attractions across the state, including heritage sites from the Nizam era and the UNESCO-listed Ramappa temple in Warangal.
India Today
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
Miss World contestants explore Hyderabad's Charminar, receive gifts from traders
The 400-year-old Charminar came alive with colour, music, and global glamour as Miss World contestants from 109 countries arrived at the iconic monument for a special heritage with traditional Arab-inspired Marfa drum beats, the beauty queens were quick to join the festive spirit, many matching steps with local performers in an impromptu celebration of Hyderabad's cultural vibe. A special photo shoot followed, with the contestants clicking selfies and capturing the architectural marvel on their phones. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Miss World (@missworld)advertisementThe visit was part of a grand Heritage Walk, with the group also exploring the nearby Laad Bazaar. The historic bangle market saw a burst of excitement as the delegates picked up bangles, pearls, and local ornaments. Some paused to watch artisans at work, praising the intricate craft of bangle-making, and the skill that goes into it. In a gesture that melted hearts, Laad Bazaar traders refused to accept money from the contestants. The shopkeepers gifted the items and urged the beauty ambassadors to carry with them a message of Hyderabad's warmth and Miss World 2025 kicked off in Hyderabad with an opening ceremony at the Gachibowli indoor stadium on May the 2024 edition was held in Mumbai, this year's festival is being organised in Telangana's capital, with elaborate arrangements made by the state IN THIS STORY#Telangana#Hyderabad
