For centuries model-makers and artists have played with the challenge of building a ship in a bottle, and in May 2010, British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare MBE erected the largest to date for the Fourth Plinth commission in Trafalgar Square. On view for the past 18 months, the five-meter-long bottle is not only a historical tribute to the location it serves, but it is also a significant engineering feat, packing 37 large sails inside and featuring a beautifully robust glass exterior that has held up to the blustery London weather.

Looking back on ...

Timed to launch for today's Cyber Monday online shopping extravaganza, the new service OneReceipt provides a solution to keep track of all your proofs of purchase. Whether you have receipts from Black Friday, plan to accrue some more over the holidays or simply have an overflow of receipts and confirmations in your inbox dating back a couple years, you probably wish you had a better organization system.

We've been testing a beta version of OneReceipt, but at 12pm EST the free service goes live for the public. Simply "reserve your name" ...

For its 15th anniversary Paris Photo will celebrate African photography with a unique anthology of emerging and established photographers at the Grand Palais. The sweeping four-day exhibition, dubbed "From Bamako to Capetown," offers real insight into the continent's diverse range of cultures, from fast-growing capitals in the northwest to post-apartheid South Africa.

Curator Okwui Enwezor culled some of Africa's most iconic works from the private collection of Germany's Artur Walther, spanning portraits by 1950s Bamakoise photographer Seydou Keita to the contemporary collages by Congolese ...

Step into a Wagamama restaurant and you expect friendly service served alongside contemporary Asian dishes. U.K. visitors to the chain will now get a taste of nine emerging English artists too. Working with Moniker Projects, the new program goes by the name Art and Eat.

With Moniker, Wagamama started placing installations in their restaurants last month, also splashing the art on placemats and bookmarks that come with your check. The upshot is an initiative that both supports U.K. ...

When a mutual friend connected me with filmmaker Sebastian Lindstrom, he mentioned something about camel milk. A little research brought up several amusing web domains, including a site about camels, BeTheCheese.org, and one about where Lindstrom sleeps, WhatAreWeDoingNowThatWeAreHere.com. But when I met Lindstrom in Manhattan recently and he pulled a bottle of pasteurized camel milk from Kenya from his suitcase, nothing had quite prepared me for the experience.

Heavy and with a taste that transported me to a farm far from the tall city buildings, the beverage is the subject of the Swedish director's latest project as part of the organization he cofounded What Took You So Long. The Nairobi, Kenya-based team's mission is to raise questions and awareness about unnoticed issues around the world by telling those stories through documentaries, having already covered thousands of miles in their pursuits. Led by Lindstrom, who's former Swedish Special Forces, the grassroots bunch crossed the African continent on local transport and trekked through Papua New Guinea.

The camel cheese (and milk) project started in Africa, but has taken the team to 18 countries in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Currently being edited into a feature film, "Hot Chocolate for Bedouins," portions have also been used to spark discussion and debate in local communities around the world.

Why camel milk you may ask? Even drinkable for lactose-intolerant people, the drink is also allegedly extremely healthy, boosting peoples' immune systems to help fight the effects of many diseases like diabetes, anemia, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. With the help of WTYSL, the word is spreading, more advocates are popping up around the world for our humped-back friends, and you might just find camel milk next to the two-percent someday soon.

Check out the above exclusive clip for a taste, or Londoners can see "Hot Chocolate for Bedouins", a 30-minute preview of the forthcoming documentary, at the School for Oriental and African Studies' Camel Conference. RSVP for free here.

To follow Lindstrom's team, check their Facebook Page and Twitter updates.

Far from the days when it was just Pandora and Last.fm competing for internet radio space, today there seem to be as many music streaming sites as there are mashups that helped drive the phenomenon. Whether you regard the remix as a modern artform or scourge of the entertainment industry, hour-plus-long club mixtapes, musical performances like Girl Talk and many other copyright-flaunting forms are here to stay. Enter Dubset, a new online venture not concerned with just promoting the art of the mix, but being the first legal site to feature the work of DJs.

Dubset uses their own digital tool, MixScan, to pick out all the songs in every DJ's mixtape. When someone listens to a mix in the Dubset library, Dubset logs that play so that artists within the mix can be compensated. Constantly updated by DJs, the free library is available from the website or from an iPhone with an app.

Browse through Dubset's site and you'll find the expected DJ profiles, as well as options to follow your favorites and browse through all the mixtapes by "venue" and "genre." If you're the type to bootleg favorite club soundtracks on your phone or dig up the obscure file posted in the cloud the next day, you can now legally relive your favorite nights, right from your computer.

Five years ago, Shane Zucker and Steven Peterman, fed up with the challenge of making a living as artists, founded Art House as a student project. Now, the active online community has over 50,000 users and an art library that is traveling the United States.

Art House's beginnings go back to Atlanta College of Art (SCAD since bought it), where Shane was studying graphic design and Steven, printmaking. Seeing their friends daunted by the task of getting into galleries as a daunting task, the two rented a space and held their own pay-to-play exhibit, charging artists enough to show so that it covered their overhead.

Shane's father mentioned sketchbooks—what if people from all over the world paid to submit sketchbooks to be displayed? Between April and November of 2010, 28,000 people signed up to be a part of the Sketchbook Project and 10,000 of the sketchbooks sent out to people in 94 countries were sent back. The collection is now touring nine U.S.cities and you can even get a library card to check them out.

Shane sat down with me and a new member of the Art House team, Eli Dvorkin, recently to explain the power of community.

What is the meaning of paying to be part of an art project?

Eli: We're not telling anyone that they are going to suddenly become famous through this. Also, we don't sell any of the work. There's no financial benefit to anyone here. If you think about the resources that go into this tour and having a permanent space in Brooklyn, it adds up to a lot of money and time. As five people or even 100 of your closest friends, you could never do this, but when 10,000 people come together, you can actually do it.
Shane: For a lot of galleries, art is a means of commerce. They make money. That's just not us.

How would you describe the typical participant?

S: Serious artists. Scrapbookers. Moms. There's a huge range of people who do the Sketchbook Project. There are teachers that have their students do it and then there are senior citizens who are just bored.

Is there any sense that you're reigniting peoples' involvement in art?

E: People have written exactly that to us. People say, "This is essentially my one outlet a year for my artistic impulses." Overtime they sit down with the sketchbook and it's with them for a good chunk of the year. We get little life stories. Like 10,000 lives on shelves. Only a small subsection is any formal study. It's cathartic.

When you check out a book, you choose a theme. What's with that?

S: Steve came up with most of the themes. My favorite is "Science Project Gone Wrong."
E: I think I'd have to go with "Mystery Maps" even though I devised it. The themes are not rules, but it's interesting to see how a teenager in Singapore and a senior in Canada interpret "Science Project Gone Wrong."

What's next?

E: We're starting to collect a lot more information about the participants. When you check out a sketchbook, the artist has the option to be notified by SMS and eventually you'll be able to get in touch through our website.
S: We're going to relaunch the site and will be scanning most of the sketchbooks so that people can start tagging individual pages of books. You"ll be able to search "Photography" and "China" and find results. But what's really cool is that we don't have to do that, because the community is dying to get involved.

Any personal projects?

E: Shane, you better not!
S: No, this has been pretty full time. I haven't even made a sketchbook. Steve started one, but I don't know if he finished it.
E: We have a lot going on at Art House though. Soon we'll be launching our own notebook collection. The names will co-ordinate to the sizes, like "Back Pocket," "Messenger Bag," etc.
S: And of course there's the tour and soon we'll start sending out the 2011 sketchbooks to participants!

The 2010 Sketchbook Project began in April, so stay tuned for this year's launch. Also, to see the library in person, check out the 17,900-mile tour or the permanent location in Brooklyn.

Photography by Aaron Kohn

Whether traveling the world, making documentaries or just pretending you're Jason Bourne, we put together a few special-ops tools to enhance any photographer or filmmaker's on-the-go lifestyle and resulting images.

POV.HD

Mounted to a helmet or vest, POV cameras offer an exciting—if not slightly frightening—first-person perspective. For skiing down a mountain or hunting down targets, this type of camera keeps you hands-free and makes for astonishing imagery. Marquette, MI-based developer V.I.O. recently released POV.HD, a high-def model that means you can play back your latest mission on a massive flat screen TV at full resolution, if that's your thing.

Features on the new camera that make it easier to shoot include a convenient wireless remote for controlling start/stop as well as tagging clips so you can watch favorite moments over again individually and a unique looping option for continuous recording (which also allows for tagging of clips when something happens to only save the last few minutes and thus conserving card memory). A great device for documentary filmmakers, pre-order the POV.HD from V.I.O. for $600.

SeV Vest

With the host of film production applications geared for the iPad, having one on set has become a key component of many shoots. Out of Sun Valley, ID, the travel label SeV created a collection of vest and jackets for storing iPads and other gadgets when they're not in use. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is both a fan and SeV board adviser, offering input on features including a Weight Management System, which evenly balances the weight of items stored in its plethora of pockets, and a patented Personal Area Network, which lets you run your earbud cables through a hidden channel in the fabric. The SeV collection spans $20-450 and sells online.

Maglite XL100

The Maglite XL100 packs a mighty punch in a small device. Not only can it emit an SOS signal if you find yourself deserted from your crew on a late-night shoot, but it also has a built-in motion sensor that turns the light on in case you need to grab it in a hurry. Also ideal for when you're rooting through your bag to find that extra SD card, with a simple twist the torch will remain off in a locked position. With a light range of about 440 feet into the distance, the Maglite XL100 is an essential expedition item and sells online or from most hardware stores for $40.

Zaggsparq 2.0

An extended shoot may keep you from an outlet for a few days, so keep all your gear charged with Zaggsparq. Fitted with two USB ports, the Zaggsparq will give you four full charges on most items like iPhones or GPS devices before it needs to be plugged in again. Pick it up online for $100.

IsatPhone Pro

Because you never know where your next assignment will lead you, a phone with full coverage keeps you connected in the most remote areas. A sensibly-sized satellite phone, Inmarsat's newest addition—the IsatPhone Pro—works with their extensive global network and offers new features like text messaging, email and GPS information. The phone sells for $700, check the Inmarsat site for a convenient service provider.

Retrospective 30 Bag

With a bag full of expensive lenses and gear, keeping contents on the DL could save you both money and trouble when traveling. For photojournalists or camera nerds, Think Tank Photo offers a quality bag in a subtle gray or black colorway. The Retrospective 30 style can carry up to two professional size DSLRs and three to six lenses. Combined with their "No Rhetoric" warranty, the Think Tank messenger is an attractive way to transport all of your photo paraphernalia. It sells online for $180, where you can also check out smaller models.