For our latest mission, we put a Carnegie Hall orchestra in the middle of New York City and placed an empty podium in front of the musicians with a sign that read, “Conduct Us.” Random New Yorkers who accepted the challenge were given the opportunity to conduct this world-class orchestra. The orchestra responded to the conductors, altering their tempo and performance accordingly. This project was a collaboration with Carnegie Hall and Ensemble ACJW.

Every year in Fairbanks, Alaska, the World Ice Art Championships takes place, and it is no cute little side hobby. Praised as one of the world’s largest ice sculpting competitions and exhibitions, the World Ice Art Championships has grown into a month-long event featuring more than 70 teams from around the world. The works are stunning and often massive in both size and visual appeal.

Photographer Howard Schatz had an idea: place actors in a series of roles and dramatic situations to reveal the essence of their characters. Such was the premise behind his book, In Character: Actors Acting, which captures some of Hollywood’s most emotive stars in the act of, well, making faces. Luckily for us, he continued the tradition for Vanity Fair. Here are some of the best.

Dried and shrivelled corpses, some fully clothed and some in coffins, line the wall of a vault of the Pantheon Cemetery on the summit of Cerro del Trozado in Mexico. They were removed from the crypts because of non-payment of cemetery fees. The hot dry air stopped the bodies from rotting. Most of them were placed here between the turn of the century and WW I. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1955

Belarussian villagers perform during a celebration of the “Tsary” rite in the village of Semezhevo, Belarus January 13, 2016. This unique rite originated from the 18th century, and now takes place only in this village marking the New Year, according to the Julian calendar, on January 13. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

A reveller wearing a mask and a period costume takes part in the Venice Carnival on February 24, 2019 in Venice, Italy. The carnival in Venice takes place until March 5, 2019. (Photo by Alberto Pizzoli/AFP Photo)

Women sing and dance as children gather in the background during the so-called parade of children's troops in Rostov-on-Don, southern Russia, May 14, 2015. About 500 children aged from 4 to 10, members of youth military patriotic clubs, honor guards and paratroopers took part in the event, which was organized under the guidance of Commander of Southern Military District Colonel-General Alexander Galkin and was held to honor World War Two veterans and mark the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, according to local media. (Photo by Eduard Korniyenko/Reuters)