Stories about Arts & Culture from December, 2019
A journey through Uzbek national identity on the Tashkent metro
In the Uzbek capital of Tashkent, the metro is much more than just a means of transportation — it's an open history textbook.
Comics fans in southern Europe celebrated the triple anniversary of cult publications in 2019
Comics fans in several southern European countries celebrated three golden jubilees in 2019: the 50th-anniversary publication of Italian comics series Alan Ford, the ‘Yugoslav Asterix’ Dikan, and Serbian magazine Stripoteka
All I want for Christmas is a free Hong Kong: How activists used festive cards to get the word out
People volunteered to translate holiday greetings into different languages and write letter templates for people of different backgrounds.
A look at the 2020 Taiwan presidential election through an online poster design challenge
As the election nears, netizens are election posters through the hashtag #GraphicDesignForDemocracy.
From Kenya to Ethiopia, these men received divine dream ‘maps’ to carve caves
Throughout history, many have questioned the veracity of divine intervention through dreams, but prophets from Islam, Judaism and Christianity have all testified to messages from God through dreams for millennia.
Latest offering from Russian cult novelist Pelevin divides and confuses critics
Viktor Pelevin's latest novel, a tale of 'weapons-grade memes', is creative but widely seen as overambitious.
After costume controversy at Miss Universe, Jamaicans celebrate Miss World win
The furore surrounding a Miss Universe national costume that played up the horrors of slavery is assuaged by the #BlackGirlMagic of Toni-Ann Singh copping the 2019 Miss World title for Jamaica.
Cultures clash after release of Trinidadian soca music video featuring cricketer Ali Khan
“In ‘Me Gusta’, Destra is trying to represent something global, and other cultures are reading it in different ways.”
Global Voices quinceañera: Spotlight on Caribbean women's stories
From public breastfeeding to fighting period poverty, here are some of the ways Caribbean women stood up for themselves in 2019. Part 2 of 5.
In the frenzy over the new $100 bill, Trinidad & Tobago's banking sector reveals its disrespect for an age-old practice
As Trinidad and Tobago makes the changeover to a new $100 bill, the country's Banking Association president declares the age-old cultural practice of "sou-sou" to be illegitimate, provoking an outcry.
2019: A year of flipping scripts and changing narratives in Africa
2019, a year of changing narratives in Africa: Revolutions. Internet shutdowns. Tree-planting. Migration. Feminist songs. Media crackdowns. Cyclones and climate change. Opposition rising. Cultural icons dying. Illness, cures, and healing.
The intertwined origins of ‘kawaii’ and Japanese queer culture
"A major part of Rune's work that's rarely discussed is the work he did for the magazine Barazoku [...],the first mass-market magazine that catered to same-sex attracted men in Japan.
Interview with Aleksandra Lun, a Polish native who became a celebrated Spanish-language writer
"A language is simply a world that you choose to live in. If you live in that world, you own its language."
A 1990s Macedonian film set in 2019 foreshadows a xenophobic future
Like other sci-fi before it, it imagined the present year as a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
‘Creating Suspension Between Contradictory States': An interview with artist Parastou Forouhar
"I try to create the potential for suspension between contradictory states that will emotionally and psychologically engage viewers and make them ask questions."
Popular ‘Nausicaä’ animated movie from Japan performed as kabuki play
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, one of Japan's most popular animated films, will be performed as a kabuki play in December, 2019 in Tokyo.
Morna, a music style from Cabo Verde, recognized as World Heritage
Cesária Évora was one of the genre's best-known interpreters.
Astrophysicists in Ethiopia hop on ‘astrobus’ tour of cosmic possibilities
A team of 24 astrophysicists, scientists, artists, and innovators will hop on "Astrobus Ethiopia" and tour eight cities in northern Ethiopia to teach hands-on workshops in science and the arts.
Encounters with devils, angels and saints on the streets of the Czech Republic
On the evening of December 5, streets and squares of the Czech Republic fill with unusual characters: devils, angels and saints wearing tall hats.
Hong Kong protest artwork: Yellow Objects
"The exhibition 'Yellow Objects' is a mockery of the brutal and ruthless authority that refers to human being as objects, and a reminder to defend and uphold human dignity."
Why the often deadly Nepalese custom of ‘Chhaupadi’ needs to end
A number of women and girls in Nepal’s mid and far-western regions continue to die because of a centuries-old stigma against menstruation and the practice of banishment during periods.
