What will we remember about 2022, a year that simultaneously felt like a decade and seemed to fly by like a viral TikTok? It was a strange one. Many of us had been cooped up for over two years, forgetting what it was like to do the things we used to take for granted, like going to movies, plays, or concerts. This year, we tentatively reconnected with some of these experiences, reminding ourselves that culture doesn’t just come through our phones or via a streaming platform.

As we look back at 2022, the items found here are the cultural moments from California and the West that we’ll remember. We’re calling these favorite picks our Rosebuds, in tribute to Charles Foster Kane’s feverish deathbed remembrance in Citizen Kane. Think of them as a few things we may recall one day far in the future. Each selection is also, in a way, the first bud of what we hope is a flourishing of books, art, movies, shows, and experiences to come.•


rosebud awards, 2022, art
Red Nose Studio

Best Art

A new gallery and its inaugural exhibition celebrate artists without borders.

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rosebud awards, 2022, design
Red Nose Studio; James Corner Field Operations

Best Design

Above one of San Francisco’s busiest roads rests an urban oasis.

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rosebud awards, 2022, documentary
Red Nose Studio; Showtime

Best Documentary

We need to talk about this docuseries.

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rosebud awards, 2022, experience
Red Nose Studio; Getty Images

Best Experience

This bookfair on steroids is a reader’s paradise.

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rosebud awards, 2022, fiction
Red Nose Studio; W.W. Norton

Best Fiction Book

A technologically inclined thriller.

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rosebud awards, 2022, food
Red Nose Studio; Oceanview Diner

Best Food

Empowered restaurant employees made our mouths water this year.

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rosebud awards, the believer
Red Nose Studio; The Believer

Best Magazine

2022’s top magazine was also the year’s best comeback.

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alta journal, rosebud awards, best movie
Red Nose Studio; A24

Best Movie

A genre-bending everything bagel of a movie.

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rosebud awards, 2022, music
Red Nose Studio

Best Music

Kendrick Lamar’s sixth studio album makes art out of big personal steps.

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rosebud awards, 2022, nonfiction
Red Nose Studio

Best Nonfiction Book

The physical and emotional weight of the Sierra.

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rosebud awards, 2022, podcast
Red Nose Studio

Best Podcast

A positively sexy podcast for our unsexy times.

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rosebud awards, poetry book, ada limon, hurting king
Red Nose Studio

Best Poetry Book

2022’s poet laureate holds tight to our very recent history.

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alta journal, rosebud awards, tv show
RED NOSE STUDIO; HULU

Best TV Show

Not another teen show.

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