Featured stories about Arts & Culture
Stories about Arts & Culture
14 July 2018
What's the story behind the samurai walking a cat, anyway?
The image depicting a shoeless samurai walking an armored cat pops up on social media from time to time.
7 July 2018
Censorship in Uzbekistan: The more things change, the more they stay the same?
We last spoke with Umida Akhmedova before Uzbek dictator Islam Karimov died in 2016. Is life any easier for artists now he is gone?
29 June 2018
Q'eswachaka, the last Inca bridge that keeps communities together
Every year in June, four Peruvian rural communities from Cusco get together to renew Q’eswachaka, the last Inca bridge.
28 June 2018
Simone Veil, the Immortal: A conversation with author Pascal Bresson on Veil's human rights legacy
"Beyond her image of rectitude and honesty, Simone Veil was, first and foremost, a woman who embodied her era and her struggle."
15 June 2018
This digital novel narrates the violence against ethnic Chinese during the 1998 riots in Indonesia
"20 years on, 1998 is barely acknowledged. There [are] a lot of things to be done in terms of healing, to obtain some forms of justice."
11 June 2018
Russian journalist forced to resign for criticizing pro-Putin propaganda on Instagram
"We wish the Earth could live in peace, but if our commander in chief Beckons to fight the final battle, we are with you, Uncle Vova!"
9 June 2018
Japan's Hirokazu Kore'eda wins big at Cannes. Here's a short selection of his films.
"I have never made a film to praise or to criticize something. That kind of filmmaking is nothing but propaganda."
7 June 2018
Sorry, I don't speak English. I speak Photography.
"There is nothing that couldn't be photographed, nothing that does not warrant the telling of a new story."
5 June 2018
Boycott against Argentinian musician in France sparks debate on cultural appropriation
The cancellation of Argentinian reggaeton singer Romina Bernardo by Black French activists open the door to discussions about appropriation that had so far had little space online.
27 May 2018
‘Bocamandja': The theatrical adventure strengthening Equatorial Guinean culture
"When the actors and actresses have spent some time working you realise that they have an interior defiance which makes them face things head on."
15 May 2018
Trinidadian photographer Maria Nunes pays tribute to ‘Carnival dreamers and makers’ in new book
"For me it’s about immersion. It’s about going all out, no half way business. Also, as a photographer I see myself as a participant too, not a spectator."
Georgia's protests pit nightlife against nationalists
"We were on the cusp of civil confrontation!"
14 May 2018
Serbia remains silent on cultural heritage devastation by its populist regimes
Serbian art historian Živko Brković has been targeted by threats and suffered burglaries after he demanded accountability from the current Serbian regime in regards to mishandling state-owned artworks.
9 May 2018
Hijabs and mini-skirts: What not to wear in Tajikistan
Tajikistan issued a pictorial guide showing the "recommended" dress for women, and promised to do the same for men as well.
7 May 2018
Tweeting out Japan's idiosyncratic folk customs
Fish heads, jumping frogs and conjugal foxes: one Twitter account takes a look at arcane folk traditions from every corner of Japan.
5 May 2018
‘Peppa Pig’ has gotten too naughty for China's censors
A subculture connecting the cartoon character “Peppa Pig” with “Shehuiren”, a term that refers to organized crime syndicates, has resulted in a muddy puddle for the popular porker.
28 April 2018
‘Mixing isn't new, it isn't modern, it isn't cool. It simply is, has been, and will be.’
In the second part of our interview, journalist Lucía Asué Mbomío Rubio discusses her writings about racism in Spain.
Why pilgrims from India and Nepal throng to see an orchid that blooms in April
According to local legend and tradition, the Salahesh Fulbari garden in eastern Nepal is the place to be on the Nepali New Year's Day.
14 April 2018
Jamaican Dancehall Star Buju Banton's Impending Release from Prison Sparks Renewed Controversy
"If Banton[...]retracted his hideous views on homosexuality and sought to amend the damage he has done to men and women across the Caribbean, he would be worthy of a platform."
11 April 2018
Confrontation and Disruption in a New Exhibition by Chinese-American Artist Xiaoze Xie
"Subjects with conflicts, struggles, and some intensity always compel me to paint, because I think they are important."
