· March, 2010

Stories about Arts & Culture from March, 2010

Japan: The Strange Country

  31 March 2010

Kenichi realized an “info-graphic, motion piece” (which is his final thesis) with the aim of making Japanese people think about their country, that, the Japanese videomaker says, “isn't that normal”. Unfortunately, the English version is no longer available.

Singapore: TwestivalSG 2010

  31 March 2010

Hundreds of people participated in this year's Twestival Singapore to raise funds for the education of millions of out-of-school children around the world.

Indonesia: Anti-Porn Law

  31 March 2010

Province officials of Bali and Papua in Indonesia are planning not to implement the recently passed Anti-Pornography Law by claiming that the law would “stifle traditional Balinese and Papuan culture.”

Suriname: Art as a Beacon

  29 March 2010

At Paramaribo SPAN, Nicholas Laughlin blogs about artist Sri Irodikromo’s “monumentally scaled batik panel”, which, on the night of SPAN's recent exhibition opening, “served as a beacon, drawing visitors to the far end of the DSB Bank garden”. He suggests that the piece “might also be seen as another kind...

Russia: Theatre Play Based on Online Conference

RuNet Echo  29 March 2010

Theatre director Pavel Rudnev proposed to stage a play based on the questions of bloggers to the Russian State Duma's Speaker Boris Gryzlov during an online-press conference. Rudnev admits not only high number but also inexhaustible wit of venomous questions asked by Russian netizens.

Japan: Cherry Blossom Viewing 101

  27 March 2010

Legonjapan made a video [en, ja] to explain the abc of Hanami, or flower viewing. The animation teaches the related terms and the etiquette to follow during the parties, usually held under the pink flowers in full bloom (around the end of March or the beginning of April).

The Virtual Choir: Technology, Collaboration and Music

  27 March 2010

Composer Eric Whitacre , after seeing a Youtube video of a young soprano singing his song "Sleep" wondered: What if he could get people, regardless of where they were in the world, to record themselves signing all the other parts of his a capella choir piece? So he did, and following, you will be able to see the various results of this great experiment of online collaboration with the Virtual Choir.

Barbados, Jamaica: Dancehall Show Cancelled

  26 March 2010

Barbados’ Boyce Voice blogs about “the On again, Off again, On again, Off again Show AKA Vybz Kartel Movado Show”, saying: “I feel for the event promoters…they were…bullied by the authorities”; while Barbados Free Press is proud of the “unequivocal message” delivered by the Prime Minister: “We the people of...

Russia: One of the Top Bloggers Dies

RuNet Echo  26 March 2010

Dmitry Gorchev (aka LJ user dimkin), a writer and artist (some of his translations are here), died today in his house leaving about 13,000 readers mourn, openspace.ru reported. Gorchev was one of the first bloggers on RuNet with his Livejournal account registered in 2001.

Bhutan: Sex And Society

  25 March 2010

Freedom In Bhutan writes about the reservations of the Hindu community to talk about sex issues in the context that “the Hindu tradition is full of sex”.

India: Not A Culture Or An Idea, But An Experience

  25 March 2010

Sometimes people ask what India is – a country, an idea or a culture? According to Supriyo Chaudhuri “India is an experience. It is greater than the country, more diverse than just the idea and more dynamic than what is understood to be its culture;” as described in his blog...

Fashionalism in the Philippines

  25 March 2010

Andang Juan blogs on “fashionalism,” a term invented by a Filipino fashion designer from the words “fashion” and “nationalism,” as a means by which capitalists translate the abstract concept of nationalism into the logic of consumerism and profit.