A shimmering dream on the Nile has inspired creativity from the Harlem Renaissance to Kara Walker to Beyoncé. But how much can you play with the past?

And Caichiolo hopes that when visitors come to her latest exhibition, “Back to the Roots,” now on display at the Manhattan Beach Arts Center until Dec. 29, they’ll connect with their roots, too.

Between figuration and expressionism, Snowden’s paintings lead us on a road to nowhere ...