Unsung Heroes

Author

Vanessa Grall
January 27, 2026

Sick of winter? Tell it to the African American who made it to the North Pole first, only to be forgotten by the world.

When the internet feels like a bit of a dystopian nightmare, post some art that you think might help. The kind that reminds you why humans are worth believing in. Curate your own small virtual galleries of hope—and help make the internet a more visually nourishing place.

Bravery, after all, is just as contagious as fear. Fear thrives on fearmongering, but heroism is born from witnessing other heroes. That’s why it matters who—and what—we surround ourselves with: everyday courage in our communities, in books, in art, in cinema, and online.

Let’s continue sharing the stories of those quiet, unsung heroes our history books left behind —whether by accident or design.

But also: Get some fresh air. Take a walk. Log off. Talk to your neighbours instead of strangers on the internet.

And if you’re in town, stroll by our vitrine at Messy Nessy’s Cabinet. Catch us installing our new window featuring giant versions of handcrafted pocket shrines — spiritual objects once carried to keep the faith (and perhaps a little much-needed faith in humanity). We hope they might even inspire a DIY project of your own.

Stay curious,

Nessy

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 583)

1. How Marc Chagall made the Paris Opera House Fresco Ceiling in the summer of 1964 (and should it be kept there?)

www.messynessychic.com/2026/01/23/13-things-i-found-on-the-internet-today-vol-583

How to Make an American Anti-Hero

They crusaded with horns sprouting from their heads, and rifles slung across their backs. Legend has it they decreed the virtues of the Holy Bible in one hand, and a torch in the other. They were known as the "Bald Knobbers," and for a period of time in the lawless Ozark Mountains of a post-Civil War midwest, their name was synonymous with 'Sticking it to the Man' — but who were they really?

www.messynessychic.com/2018/08/28/how-to-make-an-american-anti-hero

The Enchanted Cities Hiding Inside Theatres

For some lucky theatregoers, a trip to see the latest B-Movie at their local picture house also means a trip across space and time.

www.messynessychic.com/2023/10/19/the-enchanted-cities-hiding-in-movie-theatres

What’s New in the Cabinet

Handmade in Paris by artist Maïssa Toulet, these whimsical shell figure blend natural found objects with vintage doll limbs to create surreal, poetic characters. Each piece is a tiny theatre of imagination: part sculpture, part dream. One of a kind. Entirely handmade. Quietly enchanting.

shop.messynessychic.com/products/surreal-shell-people-by-maissa-toulet-set-iii

Rent is Still $1 a Year at the World’s Oldest and Most Beautiful Social Housing Project

If you’re reading this from your high-rise, high-priced city shoebox with each limb touching a wall, apologies in advance. In a world where subsidised housing blocks are labelled eye sores, and the architecturally attractive projects of the past are privatised and no longer available to those who need them the most, this Bavarian fairytale town proves another world is still possible. For the world’s oldest housing complex – still in use – almost everything is the same as it was when it opened 500 years ago, including the annual rent (the equivalent of less than $1) which you probably have hiding under your bed in loose change. Welcome to “the Fuggerei”.

www.messynessychic.com/2021/02/23/rent-is-still-1-a-year-at-the-worlds-oldest-and-most-beautiful-social-housing-project

The First Man to Reach the North Pole was an African American Desk Clerk the World Forgot

“I think I’m the first man to sit on top of the world,” is not something many people can boast, especially if they lead perfectly normal lives, say, working a desk job in the city in relative anonymity. But for many years, that was the truth of Matthew Henson.

www.messynessychic.com/2020/02/28/the-first-man-to-reach-the-north-pole-was-an-african-american-desk-clerk-the-world-forgot

How to Introduce Agnès Varda to the Next Generation

Agnès Varda throughout her career was seen as belonging to the older generation. A pioneering photographer, writer, filmmaker and artist, at the beginning of her career and at barely 30 years old, she became known as the “grandmother of the New Wave.”

www.messynessychic.com/2023/11/30/how-to-introduce-agnes-varda-to-the-next-generation

The Many Faces of a Forgotten Androgynous Hero

Who was Claude Cahun? As ambiguous as an empty page, a radical and an indefinable surrealist who traversed social construct; artist, performer, photographer, sculptor, writer, WWII resistance fighter, female, male, other; Claude Cahun was all of these things, or none of these things. As a largely unknown early pioneer of queer culture, Claude found later notoriety with Dior and David Bowie, who cited them as an influence. The uncelebrated outsider who never sought fame and is only now gaining a cult following, led a life filled with contradictions…

www.messynessychic.com/2022/10/20/the-many-faces-of-a-forgotten-gender-neutral-hero-in-art-war