Rob Schmitz is NPR's international correspondent based in Berlin, where he covers the human stories of a vast region reckoning with its past while it tries to guide the world toward a brighter future. From his base in the heart of Europe, Schmitz has covered Germany's levelheaded management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of right-wing nationalist politics in Poland and creeping Chinese government influence inside the Czech Republic.
The University of Arkansas Fine Arts Center reopens April 16 after a $38 million restoration. School of Art director Rachel Debuque reflects on the building's history and its future as a hub for arts education.
Catherine Wallack, architectural records archivist at the U of A, discusses curating the Fine Arts Center's reopening exhibition, the building's landmark 1951 art show and the joy of archival work.
Fayetteville native and U of A jazz pianist Claudia Burson discusses her career, her time studying in the Fine Arts Center, and her upcoming performance at the building's April 16 reopening.