Featured stories about Arts & Culture
Stories about Arts & Culture
9 November 2019
What the door knockers in Colombia's Cartagena de Indias tell us about the city's history
Add beautiful door knockers to your list of reasons to visit Cartagena de Indias in Colombia.
8 November 2019
Was this Nigerian English language film too English for an Oscar nomination?
Lionheart, Nigeria's first-ever Oscar submission for best international feature film was disqualified by award organizers because it has too much dialogue in English.
7 November 2019
‘Hypersensitive’ or ‘horror'? Trinidad church mired in fashion show controversy
"Even though the church might promote the positive aspects of the culture [...] due care must be taken to ensure that participants do not cross the line into negativity and...
6 November 2019
#iamrabipirzada campaign supports Pakistani actress Rabi Pirzada after nude photos leaked
The Rabi Pirzada incident shows how people are personally attacked for their freedom of expression in Pakistan.
3 November 2019
‘Everybody is looking for authenticity': A conversation with South African artist Siwa Mgoboza
South African multidisciplinary visual artist Siwa Mgoboza is one of the most dynamic emerging artists in the African art scene.
2 November 2019
For the first time ever, a doctoral dissertation was defended in the Quechua language in Peru
"In 468 years, no one had defended a doctoral dissertation in any indigenous language in our country. Roxana Quispe did it this year. She wants promote Quechua in academia."
30 October 2019
Zanzibar zooms in on the future of visual arts in Africa
Visual Arts Festival Zanzibar brought together artists from Zanzibar and across Africa for a week of conversations, workshops and panels on the current state of visual arts.
25 October 2019
The struggle of the Bolivian feminist chola is now online
Yolanda Mamani, a feminist chola who started fighting for her rights as a child domestic worker, now take her talkative style to her radio show, blog and YouTube channel.
24 October 2019
Kanye West's use of Jamaican symbols sparks national dialogue on ‘branding’
"Successive political administrations have never fully appreciated the economic value of the brand ‘Jamaica’ nor the symbols that [represent] that brand including its flag and its coat of arms..."
Portuguese rapper causes controversy for portraying domestic violence in music video
Dozens of women's rights associations criticized the rapper Valete, who responded saying the controversy was "empty".
21 October 2019
First Thai female Theravada monk named one of BBC’s 100 most influential women
Dhammananda’s efforts to re-establish the Theravada bhikkhuni (female monastic) lineage in Thailand have been met with resistance from both the laity and monks who are against ordaining women.
20 October 2019
Tweeting South Asian art
“Positive representation of Desi artists is incredibly necessary to create a progressive, culturally evolving society.”
12 October 2019
Arts festival caught in the crosshairs of Azerbaijan's ‘national mentality’
One mural depicting the body of a transgender person drew so much attention that it was painted over once the festival ended — in a not so artistically-friendly way.
9 October 2019
A burqa controversy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
The government needs to come out of the thinking covering women in an abaya or chadar will protect them from harassers.
2 October 2019
Bearing witness to Putin's rise to power
Interview with Vitaly Mansky, a former film director with Russia's state TV, about his latest documentary — on Putin's rise to power, exactly 20 years ago.
27 September 2019
The little-known beauty of rice sheaf artistry from India and Nepal
The tradition of decorating houses with rice sheaves woven into beautiful forms is slowly disappearing.
18 September 2019
Popular Twitter thread highlights dozens of examples of Japan's ‘Bubble-era’ PoMo architecture
Every corner of Japan features examples of postmodern architecture.
Once hotbeds of political resistance, Czech secondhand bookstores are slowly disappearing
The few surviving "antikvariat" have turned into nostalgia museums.
17 September 2019
Rediscovering the riches of St Petersburg's Muslim heritage
"Muslims are not just guests in this city, but were once its masters and some of its earliest inhabitants."
16 September 2019
Street-side vendors of Zanzibar’s iconic ‘kanga’ textiles forced to close up shop after 30 years
Kanga sellers in Stone Town, Zanzibar, were told their street-side stalls are "unauthorized informal businesses" that clutter passageways, impinge on Stone Town's original charm and reduces its value.
