Stories about Arts & Culture from May, 2012
Bangladesh: Economic of Marriage payments
“There are two kinds of marriage payments — dowry and brideprice, with significant differences among their prevalences in time and across societies,” – informs J. Rahman at Mukti.
Costa Rica: The Circus that Saves Children's Lives
To the south of Costa Rica lies the town of Perez Zeledon, home to the Fantazztico Circus that is giving children and youth in the region a chance to stay out of drugs and trouble while opening doors to international travel.
Pakistan: Partition Era Writer Saadat Hasan Manto Lives On
Saadat Hasan Manto (1912-1955) was a short-story writer, a dramatist and also a translator from Punjab. Today his centenary birth anniversary is being celebrated across Pakistan and also in India.
Iran: Cartoonist Eludes Sentence of 25 Lashes for Drawing Politician
An Iranian cartoonist, Mahmoud Shokraye, was sentenced to 25 lashes for drawing a cartoon of former conservative member of parliament, Ahmad Lotfi Ashtyani in the Arak region. A campaign to support the cartoonist was launched online.
Spain: Arts Also Blossom in the Global Spring
The arts have also flourished with the 15M movement. To commemorate the 15M's first anniversary, the 12M--15M events, and to invite everyone to take to the streets again, the blog # Acampadasol has published a series of amazing posters that reveal many of the reasons behind the protests.
Venezuela: Street Art on the Internet
Artists and musicians broaden their audience when they come into contact with citizen media. Here we show some citizen videos of artists in the streets of Venezuela.
Nagorno Karabakh: Cultural Destruction and Preservation in the Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict
During the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, hundreds of thousands of ethnic Azeris and Armenians were displaced. With hundreds of settlements also razed, and thousands of monuments destroyed, Conflict Voices looks at the issue of cemeteries, some of which were destroyed, but also...
Egypt: Historical Arabic Manuscripts Put Online
Egypt's Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the Wellcome Library and King’s College London Digital Humanities Department have recently launched the Wellcome Arabic Manuscript Cataloguing Partnership (WAMCP). The manuscripts collection comprises around 1000 manuscript books and fragments relating to the history of medicine. All content is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC 2.0).
Bhutan: The King's Birthday Celebration
Sabrina from USA is visiting Bhutan and she is in love with the country. She blogs about her adventures and here is one post in which she describes how the birthday of the King of Bhutan is celebrated.
Iran: Calls for killing of ‘apostate’ rap artist
Several bloggers announced their support to Shahin Najafi, Europe based Iran singer.A Shi’ite cleric, has issued a death sentence against rap artist Shahin Najafi for apostasy. The sentence was issued after Najafi released a controversial song called “Naqi” (a Shi'ite saint).
Afghanistan: How to Use an Afghan Box Camera
The Presurfer shares a small video documentary of one of the only two remaining Afghan box photographers left in Kabul, and how he takes pictures and processes them inside a small black box.
Video: Robot Shows us How to Stay Safe Online
Online security is a complex issue that is sometimes hard to understand or to know how to face. Using a lovable animated robot, the Tactical Tech Collective is trying to get more people aware on how to stay safe online through short online video animations.
Greece: Olympic Flame Lit in Ancient Olympia
Following the traditional ceremony, the Olympic flame was lit at the Hera Temple of Ancient Olympia. The high-priestess, Ino Menegaki, delivered the flame to the first runner, world champion Greek swimmer Spyros Giannotis. The Flame will travel to London for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
Bangladesh: Movie Theaters Are Dying
Movie theaters are dying in Bangladesh and shopping malls are taking their place. In the past decade hundreds of cinema halls have been closed down.
Colombia: A Visit to Karmata Rua Indigenous Reserve
Multimedia web channel TodoLoQueHay[es] (All There Is) from Colombia recently posted a short visual journey in the Emberá-Chamí indigenous reserve previously known as Christendom, whose inhabitants are now trying to make known by its ancestral name instead: Karmata Rua.
Mali: Ansar Dine Islamists Wish to Salvage School Year in Gao
Aissata Ahmadou wrote [fr] on Maliweb.net: “The students remaining at Gao will not lose their school year. The Ansar Dine Islamists, in collaboration with a few important figures and teachers on site, have decided to organize the end-of-year exams and allow various students preparing for their Fundamental Studies Diploma and...
Jamaica: Better to Give
“The Bobo Shanti youth are well spoken and have a serene gentleness about them…[they] are excellent ambassadors of Rastafari”: Jamaian litblogger Geoffrey Philp finds himself “drawn to how they greet each other and me with the words: ‘Blessed Love.'”
Nepal: Shristi Shrestha Crowned Miss Nepal 2012
Discussions about Miss Nepal echoed in all social media channels recently as organizers crowned Shristi Shrestha as Miss Nepal in the Grand Finale of the beauty pageant of this year. Like other beauty pageant events it did not fail to be controversial.
Spain: Historic Battle of Almansa Remembered in Valencia
Valencian netizens enthusiastically used the internet to take part in an annual remembrance of April 25, 1707: the day that Valencia lost its political autonomy to the Kingdom of Spain.
Video: Adobe Youth Voices Aspire Awards Voting Open
Young underprivileged youth learning multi-media tools are showcasing their work through The Adobe Youth Voices Aspire Awards. Entries include documentaries, music videos, poetry, audio, graphic design, narrative, animation and photography.
Martinique: “Think Like A Man”, Just Not in France
The cancellation of the release of American movie “Think Like A Man” in movie theaters is being discussed by French of African descent. Read on to find out how an American movie finds a place in the French social debate.
