Stories about Arts & Culture from July, 2011
Turkey: Protest Against Kurdish Singer Prompts Strong Social Media Response
Aynur Doğan, a Kurdish-Turkish singer, was jeered by part of the audience during an open air concert in the Istanbul Jazz Festival because she sang a song in Kurdish. Part of the audience sang the Turkish National Anthem in protest, while others in the audience supported the singer.
Ghana: Creativity at Chale Wote Street Festival
Nana blogs about the Chale Wote Street Festival in James Town in Ghana: “Creativity is gradually finding its voice again in Ghana. Yesterday was proof. Poets, Musicians, Artists, performers, cyclists and all sorts of creatives stormed this ancient part of Accra and breathed fresh life into it.”
Russia/Belarus: Two More ‘Revolutionary’ Initiatives Appear Online
Ukraine-based Looo.ch launches [ru] street-art initiative called “Belarus Front of Street Art,” which idea is to spray word “Скоро” (“Soon”) on the streets of Belarus thus inspiring people to oppose the regime of Alexander Lukashenko. In Russia, the community “Crayon Revolution” [ru] calls people to draw “This government should resign”...
Puerto Rico: Remembering Ricardo Alegría
Writer Mayra Santos Febres honors the memory of Ricardo Alegría [es], the famous Puerto Rican scholar, cultural anthropologist and archaeologist.
Puerto Rico: DJ Marcos Boricua in Madrid
El Punto Es [es] publishes an interesting interview with the Puerto Rican DJ Marcos Flores, who lives in Madrid, Spain.
Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico at the Biennale
Melanie Pérez Ortiz comments on the fact that the artists [es] representing the United States at the art Biennale in Venice are based in Puerto Rico: Jennifer Allora, from the United States, and Guillermo Calzadilla, who was born in Cuba.
Trinidad & Tobago: Impressionistic Art
Woman of Color blogs about a new artist who paints impressionistic landscapes.
Germany: Rocking the Wall of the GDR
James Shingler at The View East writes about East German rock and pop music and its subvertive role in changing society during the 1970s and 1980s.
East Timor: Arts and Creative Industries in Focus
With the main purpose of launching the future Academy of Arts and Creative Industries of East Timor, a series of cultural events and an international conference are taking place in Dili until the 17th of July. The organization's website Tatoli ba Kultura includes a media map featuring unique works by Timorese...
Bolivia: Fighting Cholitas in the Spotlight
Female wrestling in El Alto, Bolivia has captured the attention of locals and visitors for more than ten years. These women add a bit of tradition to this popular sport: where else would you see colorful skirts with petticoats, fringed shawls, thick braids and bowler hats battling it out in a ring?
Russia: Putin-Stolypin Liberalism
Sean's Russia Blog writes about Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin inaugurating a monument to his early 20th century predecessor Pjotr Stolypin, and discusses how this link serves the interests of advancing a specific type of Russian liberalism.
Japan: Indie Music Rocks the Nukes
With a spreading nuclear crisis and related issues such as radiation fears, new energy policies on the horizon and an uncertain future for the operating reactors, Japanese netizens have started a revival of music videos with a clear anti-nuclear message.
Kazkahstan: The Sting of Criticism
KZBlog reports that famous singer Sting, who was scheduled to play for the Kazakh president's birthday and the Day of Astana (capital of Kazakhstan) festivities, cancelled his engagement after Amnesty International apprised him of the situation with human rights situation in Kazakhstan.
Russia: Lasting Legacy of Landladies
Natalia Antonova writes about her Moscow landlady as an example of the constant problems lasting Soviet mentality creates in everyday life.
Venezuela: Caracas ‘At Its Best’ Thanks to Citizen Initiatives
Mirelis Morales Tovar in her blog Caracas Ciudad de la Furia [es] argues that Caracas is “at its best” thanks to citizen-led initiatives that aim to improve the city. She reviews three of these projects.
Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago: Fire Festival
Havana Times blogs about Santiago de Cuba's exciting Fire Festival, saying: “This year was the festival’s 31st edition and was dedicated to Trinidad and Tobago.”
Russia: Popular Curse Temporarily Becomes a Worldwide Twitter Trend
#хуи [ru], Russian swearword for penis (plural), for a few hours became a global trend. Lenta.ru notes [ru] that the sudden appearance of this hashtag marks the launch of Cyrillic hashtag functionality.
Russia: Banksy-Style Graffiti at Child Charity Organization
Dmitry Markov, photoblogger who works for Pskov child charity organization “Rostok,” [ru] publishes [ru] pictures of Banksy-style graffiti at the walls of the organization's building. The graffiti were created by the kids that “Rostok” takes care of together with Markov. Instead of dull white walls, now there are rainbows and silhouettes...
Venezuela: 200 Years of Independence
During the week of July 5, Venezuela celebrated 200 years of independence from Spain. Diverse participation was seen online; congratulations, cheerful comments and videos of dances, parades and concerts were shown. Nevertheless, the division of political opinions continued, and many bloggers took to the occasion to share reflections about history and identity.
Sao Tome and Principe: Saving a Cultural Crossroads
The celebration of Sao Tome and Principe's 36th anniversary of independence, on July 12, involves cultural and traditional events being held throughout the country. The country has been a cultural crossroads for centuries, absorbing various traditions into a unique blend. Bloggers help document dance traditions, and express regret that not enough is being done to preserve them for future generations.
Bolivia: Images of Everyday Life in El Alto
Pablo Andrés Rivero shares [es] a slideshow by photographer Patricio Cooker with music by rapper Ukamau y Ke: “The pictures reflect everyday life in El Alto, one of the most sui generis cities in Latin America, because of its rapid growth and its peculiar social, economic, and political dynamics.”
