Basle remains the world's most prestigious contemporary-art fair, drawing 50, 000 visitors, despite competition from similar annual displays in Paris, New York and Chicago.

ECONOMIST: Basle art fair

Crowd-funding, like crowd-sourcing, is the art of drawing a large group of people together to contribute to a common goal, in this case to raise money for a work of fiction or non-fiction.

FORBES: Want to write a book? Crowd-fund it!

In the first-ever Apprentice-style program about art, aired over four one-hour episodes, a panel of four judges winnows a field of thousands down to a group of six, who then get put through reality-show-like challenges, including life drawing and creating a work of public art at the British seaside.

FORBES: Smart Collecting

Largely a nation of immigrants and their descendants, we are eclectic assimilators, drawing upon cherished long-held world-wide traditions and inspirational references evidenced in art, architecture, literature, music, theater, diet, and science.

FORBES: In Reflection, With Resolve, Rediscovering American Exceptionalism