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The Cultural Frontline

109 Episodes

28 minutes | Jul 2, 2022
Hong Kong: 25 years on
Twenty-five years since the handover of Hong Kong from the British back to China, journalist and former BBC Hong Kong correspondent Juliana Liu explores the cultural impact in Hong Kong itself and in the diaspora. Billy Tang is the new Executive Director and curator of Para Site, one of the oldest and most active independent art institutions in Asia. He tells us about the appeal of working in and shaping the culture of Hong Kong. Arts and culture journalist Vivienne Chow explores what’s happening in the Hong Kong cultural scene, from the revival of Cantopop, to the decision of some artists to leave the city. Samson Young is a Hong Kong based artist and composer with a fascination for sound and experimentation. He represented Hong Kong in the 2017 Venice Biennale and the energy, intensity and history of the city has influenced him and his work. He describes his latest project and what it’s like to make art in Hong Kong today. With the introduction of the National Security law and last year, the film censorship law, many artists have chosen to leave Hong Kong. Filmmakers Ka Leung Ng and Ching Wong first met making the dystopian speculative fiction film Ten Years, which won Best Film at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2016.They’ve now come together again, and earlier this year created the first Hong Kong Film Festival UK. They explained why they felt it was important to show films that are no longer able to screen in their native Hong Kong. (Photo: A poster celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover. Credit: China News Service/Getty Images)
28 minutes | Jun 25, 2022
Simu Liu: Making heroes for us
With scores of superhero films due for release, from Spiderman, to Batgirl, Thor and Black Panther, and a global comic book market predicted to grow to $12 billion a year by 2028, we go behind the mask of these larger than life characters, to look at the role Superheroes play in different societies and cultures around the world, and ask, do we need them more than ever today? Canadian Chinese actor Simu Liu discusses becoming the first Asian superhero in a Marvel Universe film, Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings. He tells reporter Anna Bailey how his path to acting wasn’t always easy or a career his parents originally approved of, as penned in his new memoir We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story. Pakistani illustrator, comic artist and writer Umair Najeeb Khan discusses his new comic book generation of heroes, the Paak Legion, with Tina Daheley. It includes Samaa, born with the ability to manipulate the wind, Afsoon, the Protector of the Mountains and Haajar, a mother of three, fighting crime on the streets of Lahore. Growing up in Pakistan, he couldn’t see himself represented in this world, so he designed a set of Pakistani superheroes of his own. And reporter Paul Waters visits the Superheroes, Orphans & Origins exhibition of comic art at London’s Foundling Museum and talks to comic artists Woodrow Phoenix and Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom about their work exploring the psyche of superheroes. Producers: Andrea Kidd and Simon Richardson (Photo: Simu Liu in Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings. Credit: Marvel Studios)
27 minutes | Jun 18, 2022
What next for Afrofuturism?
This week we’re exploring Afrofuturism, the movement that blends fantasy, folklore and technology, to imagine a new future for African nations and people of African heritage. Four years after the smash hit movie Black Panther turned Afrofuturism into an unstoppable artistic force globally we’re asking: what’s next? We meet the next generation of Afrofuturism-inspired artists, with Congolese-Rwandan-Belgian rapper Lous and the Yakuza, who’s just been signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label and Nigerian fashion designer Adebayo Oke Lawal who recently dressed the new Doctor Who actor Ncuti Gatwa in Afrofuturist couture. Plus filmmakers Sharon Lewis and Dimeji Ajibola on the challenges of making Afrofuturist movies in Canada and Nigeria. And American poet Gary Jackson discusses the recent anthology of ‘superhero poetry’ he has co-edited called The Future of Black, showcasing a new literary sub-genre inspired by Afrofuturism’s love for comic book stories. Presenter: Tina Daheley Producers: Simon Richardson and Laura Northedge (Photo: Lous and the Yakuza. Credit: Charlotte Wales)
28 minutes | Jun 11, 2022
Disabled musicians turning up the volume
Making it as a musician can be a tough gig, but if you have a disability, things can get even more complicated. Inaccessible venues, negative attitudes and lack of representation in the industry are common challenges people have to contend with. Despite this, disabled musicians are making their voices heard. Award winning Nigerian-American Electronic Dance star Lachi has seven albums and millions of streams to her name. As a visually impaired musician, Lachi campaigns for the inclusion of disabled artists. As well as consulting on disability inclusion, including at the White House, this year she’s launched RAMPD, Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities. Popular playback singer and producer Ritika Sahni formed Pehli Baarish, an inclusive band of disabled and non-disabled musicians in 2014. They perform in venues including hospitals, orphanages and drug rehabilitation centres, in order to change the perception of disability in Indian society. Ritika talks to Tina Daheley, along with one of its members, blind keyboard player Sarfaraz Qureshi. Babsy Mlangeni is a celebrated South African musician, who lost his sight shortly after he was born. He started one of the first black-owned record label in South Africa and he now runs a foundation that inspires blind children to build up resilience and pursue their dreams. Babsy spoke to reporter Mpho Lakaje about his life and work. British singer songwriter Ruth Lyon cut her teeth fronting her rock band Holy Moly & The Crackers. She shares her experiences with The Cultural Frontline about how being a wheelchair user has impacted her career and driven her activism Producers: Kevin Satizabal Carrascal, Andrea Kidd and Laura Northedge (Photo: Lachi. Credit: Lachi Music LLC)
27 minutes | Jun 4, 2022
Celebrating Commonwealth writing with HRH The Duchess of Cornwall
The Commonwealth is an association of 54 countries from across the world. It’s home to a third of the world’s population including from Australia, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Kenya to the UK, Canada and many island nations in between. The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition is the world’s oldest international writing competition for schools. Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall talks to Tina Daheley about the competition. She also shares her passion for books and how her father instilled in her a love of reading. The Duchess is also joined by two competition winners, Ethan Charles Mufuma from Uganda, Hiya Chowdhury from India. We hear from Nigerian novelist Chigozie Obioma, author of The Fishermen and An Orchestra of Minorities. He’s in conversation with the Jamaican writer of Here comes the Sun, and Patsy, Nicole Dennis-Benn. Both novelists explore the peoples and culture of their respective countries in their work and encourage the next generation of writers. Shehan Karunatilaka is a Sri Lankan writer best known for his cricketing novel Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew, which won the 2012 Commonwealth Book Prize and was recently chosen by the BBC as one of its Big Jubilee Reads, celebrating 70 books from across the Commonwealth. He told us about the work of art that has inspired him - the 1985 track 'Russians' by UK popstar Sting, about the Cold War threat of nuclear attack, a song that continues to carry a very human message. Producer: Andrea Kidd
28 minutes | May 28, 2022
Is comedy a risky business?
In the last few months two renowned comedians have experienced violence on stage. Chris Rock was slapped during the Oscar’s ceremony and Dave Chapelle was attacked during one of his shows by a member of the public. In this week’s The Cultural Frontline we explore the risks and challenges of performing comedy today. Indonesian comedian Sakdiyah Ma’ruf and US comic Gastor Almonte discuss the current situation for comedians and what can and cannot be said on stage. Ukrainian comedian Anna Kochegura lives in Kyiv and has been performing stand-up for the past five years. Like many comedians, she bases her work on her daily life. However since the Russian invasion in February, her daily life has turned 180 degrees on its head. She tells us about the role of comedy during a time of war. Sharul Channa is a rare thing in Singapore – a full time female comedian. Despite opposition she’s now a popular comic, determined to bring female topics to the stage and prove that women can be laugh out loud funny. Presenter Tina Daheley Producers Constanza Hola and Laura Northedge (Photo: Sakdiyah Ma’ruf. Credit: Goh Chai Hin/AFP via Getty Images)
28 minutes | May 21, 2022
Breaking the boundaries of fiction
How novelists working across popular genres like crime, horror and fantasy are overcoming literary snobbery to get their work the credit it deserves and broaden the definition of what makes truly great writing. South Korean horror writer Bora Chung, shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize, tells us what it means to see her work, a type of fiction often dismissed in her country as commercial and not ‘pure literature,’ nominated for the prestigious award. Crime novelists from two very different countries, Deon Meyer in South Africa and Awais Khan in Pakistan, discuss with Tina Daheley why theirs is a misunderstood genre, one with the capacity to offer a social critique, and even change society for the better, all in the process of telling a great story. Critically acclaimed New Zealand fantasy novelist Elizabeth Knox shares the magic of imagining fantastical new worlds, and how writing and reading fantasy can help us come to terms with traumatic experiences. Producer: Simon Richardson (Photo: Bora Chung)
28 minutes | May 14, 2022
The art of memory
Lola Arias is a well-known and influential Latin American theatre director, writer and filmmaker. Her powerful stage pieces are created from real life testimony. She gathers material for these works by talking to and workshopping with people who have witnessed, or been part of a particular, sometimes traumatic, shared experience. These people then become her actors, performing their lives in the theatre. She tells Tina Daheley about her working methods and her works including ‘Minefield’, where she brought together British and Argentinian veterans from the 1982 Falklands war, ‘The Day I Was Born’ which included people from different political sides during the Chilean dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet and her latest piece, Lengua Madre, Mother Tongue, exploring motherhood in the 21st Century. This year Kaunas, Lithuania’s second largest city, is one of the three European Capitals of Culture 2022. It’s a place with a troubled past and one the topics being explored during this year of Culture is its forgotten or suppressed history. One of the artists who’s exhibiting there is William Kentridge. His family emigrated to South Africa from Lithuania more than a century ago to escape antisemitism and the pogroms. For years, the internationally acclaimed artist admits he was reluctant to visit the land of his ancestors. Kentridge, who combines his trademark charcoal drawings with animation and sculpture, is well known for tackling difficult subjects such as racial and financial inequality. Lucy Ash met him at the National Art Museum in Kaunas at his exhibition called That Which We Do Not Remember. Sophie Jai’s debut novel Wild Fires is set on the Caribbean island of Trinidad. When her main character Cassandra returns home from abroad for the funeral of her cousin Chevy, she’s confronted by her intergenerational family, all living in different parts of the same house, together but separate, and the family secrets and hidden memories that have dominated their lives for decades. Sophie Jai herself was born and spent her early childhood in Trinidad until moving to Canada and she explains what drew her back to writing about Trinidad and the memories of her childhood. (Photo: An image from Lola Arias' Minefield. Credit: Tristram Kenton)
28 minutes | May 7, 2022
How is the arts world responding to the Ukraine conflict?
Sanctions, boycotts, bans, cancellations: from the Bolshoi to Eurovision - how the international arts world is responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the tension when arts meets politics. From world leading classical music, opera and ballet, to art, funding, film, pop concerts and streaming - how the international arts world has acted both inside and outside Russia. Peter Gelb of New York’s Metropolitan Opera on the institution’s decision to respond to the conflict. The Eurovision Song Contest: with Russia now banned, and Ukraine performing as favourites – we look at Ukraine and Russia at the world’s biggest televised song contest. We speak to Kalush Orchestra - the all-male band given permission to leave Ukraine to represent their country in Italy – and to Dr Dean Vuletic, leading academic expert on the history of Eurovision. Plus BBC Russian Service Arts and Culture Correspondent Alexander Kan explains the far-reaching scope of measures, and the push against bans. (Photo: The Ukrainian flag outside The Metropolitan Opera. Credit: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty)
29 minutes | Apr 30, 2022
Making ballet a stage for all
Mamela Nyamza has been called a movement maverick and is one of South Africa’s most celebrated dancers. She speaks to Tina Daheley about how she uses dance to tackle the continuing inequality and social division in the Rainbow Nation. French Algerian ballerina Chloe Lopes Gomes made history by becoming the first black female dancer at the Staatsballet Berlin ballet company. In 2020 she spoke out about the racism she experienced, after she says, being told to ‘white up’ and ‘blend in’. Chloe speaks to Anna Bailey about the challenges of making the ballet world more inclusive. When the celebrated Chilean dancer César Morales was a young child, a school excursion changed his life. César was taken to see the ballet Giselle at the Municipal Theatre of Santiago in Chile and he immediately fell in love with the art form. He speaks to us about defying the expectations of his traditional Chilean family by taking up ballet not football. (Photo: Chloe Lopes Gomes. Credit: Dean Barucija)
28 minutes | Apr 23, 2022
New global art at the Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale was created in 1895 as an international art exhibition and after a year’s delay due to Covid, it’s just re-opened. Artists from across the globe have descended on the enchanting Italian city of canals and churches. There are over 1400 works on display, as well as the Pavilions from 80 countries, which will become part of the landscape of Venice over the next seven months. Finnish performance artist Pilvi Takala has impersonated a wellness consultant, a trainee at a global accountancy firm and even Snow White for her documentary style videos. For her Venice Biennale commission, Close Watch, Pilvi worked undercover for several months as a guard at one of Finland’s largest shopping malls and she explained the thinking behind her project to Lucy Ash. There are 5 countries participating for the first time at the Venice art Biennale - Cameroon, Namibia, Oman, Uganda and Nepal and one of the artists who’s representing Cameroon is photographer Angèle Etoundi Essamba. Angèle tells Anu Anand how she challenges the stereotypes of African women in her work and why it’s important for Cameroonian artists to be part of this Biennale. In the Patagonian region which covers Chile and Argentina are peatlands, a specific type of wetland that’s shaped one of the most remote landscapes in the world. Architect Alfredo Thiermann and filmmaker Dominga Sotomayor are two of the artists who’ve been collaborating on the Chilean Pavilion and working with the descendants of the Selk’nam people, the ancient indigenous group that inhabited that land many years ago. Their immersive video and sound installation “Turba Tol Hol-Hol Tol,” reflects the relationship between this ancestral culture and the landscapes that surrounds it, as they told reporter Constanza Hola. Like Cameroon, Nepal also has its first ever pavilion this year and the artist representing that country is Tsherin Sherpa. The title of the Pavilion is Tales of Muted Spirits – Dispersed Threads – Twisted Shangri-La, created to help dispel misconceptions about the country and to give Nepali artists and the entire country, a new voice in the world. Paul Waters went to meet Tsherin to hear more about his own work as well as the Nepali art scene. Producer: Andrea Kidd Photo: Dominga Sotomayor and Alfredo Thiermann finalising their immersive instillation. Credit: Dominga Sotomayor and Alfredo Thiermann)
28 minutes | Apr 16, 2022
What does history sound like?
Indigenous cultures have been suppressed since Europeans first arrived in Mexico. But increasingly, modern Mexicans want some sort of connection with their indigenous past. At its height, the ancient Mexican city of Teotihuacan had 100,000 citizens and was the largest city in the Western Hemisphere. But the civilisation had no written language, and the sudden disappearance of its population is largely unexplained. Luckily, the civilisation left behind the remains of instruments. Adje Both and Osvaldo Perez are an academic and a potter that are part of a global network of musicians, instrument makers and archaeologists that are piecing these instruments back together and recreating them. In doing so, they can breathe life back into these lost instruments and rediscover the sounds of these ancient cultures. But for the indigenous cultures of Mexico, who are still oppressed, dispossessed and marginalised, these instruments take on a more significant meaning. Xiuhtezcatl is based in LA, but his father is Mexica - an indigenous group that used to rule the Aztec empire - and the instruments are a visceral link to his ancestors. Using the work of Adje and Osvaldo and matching it with digital manipulation, Xiuhtezcatl goes back in time and tries to discover what history sounds like. Image: A collection of instruments (Credit: Tolly Robinson)
27 minutes | Apr 9, 2022
Sudan: Art and political change
Despite Sudan once being at the forefront of African cinema, only eight feature films have been made in the last 70 years. Now a new generation of film-makers has emerged, winning acclaim from audiences and awards at film festivals around the world. You Will Die at Twenty, about a young Sudanese boy, was written and directed by Amjad Abu Alala and became the country’s first Oscar entry. Suzannah Mirghani’s short film Al-Sit follows the 15-year-old Nafisa facing an arranged marriage. They tell us why it was important for them to make their films in Sudan, telling Sudanese stories and of the issues they faced. In April 2019 President Al Bashir was overthrown and then in October last year there was a military coup in Sudan. People have been protesting on the streets and this remains a fragile time for the country. Professor of African and African Diaspora Art History at Cornell University in New York and head of the Africa Institute in the UAE, Salah M Hassan, gives us an overview of the situation and its impact on artistic and cultural life. Artist Reem Aljeally is known for her colourful acrylic works, which unusually for Sudanese artists, sensually depict the female form. As a self-taught artist and with few places to display work, she started the Muse Multi Studios and Beit Al Nissa in Khartoum to encourage other young people, especially women, to take up art and be creative. Since the revolution of 2019 music has started to flourish again in Sudan, including traditional instruments such as the Oud and the 78-stringed qanan. One organisation that is helping young people learn to play, perform and even make these instruments is Beit Al Oud. With one of their videos going viral, qanan player Wafa Mustafa explains why they hope it will be the start of a new era in Sudanese music on the world stage. Presenter: Leila Latif Producer: Andrea Kidd Photo: A still from You Will Die at Twenty. Credit: New Wave Films)
28 minutes | Apr 2, 2022
Ukrainian artists’ response to the war
Over a month into the Ukraine conflict, Anu Anand speaks to its artistic community and hears their personal stories. As ballet dancers join the front line, sculptors build road blocks and galleries protect their art, we hear from Darya Bassel, Film Producer and industry head at Kyiv’s Docudays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival about how filmmakers have been turning their lenses to the frontline. One of Ukraine’s greatest writers Andrey Kurkov reflects on life in war-torn Ukraine. Like so many others he has had to leave his home with his family and Andrey has written a personal account for the BBC of what it means to become a refugee in his own homeland and of his new routine living in a country at war. Conceptual artist Pavlo Makov is representing Ukraine at this year’s Venice Art Biennale. He explains how he got part of his work, The Fountain of Exhaustion, quickly got out of the country and how the piece, which started as a local idea, became a global statement about the exhaustion of humanity and a democratic world. And the story behind the viral violin orchestra video of the old Ukrainian folk song, Verbovaya Doschechka, that starts with a single player in his basement shelter. Illia Bondarenko tells us why it was important for him to be part of this project and how it was recorded between the bombing and the sirens. (Photo: Andrey Kurkov)
28 minutes | Mar 26, 2022
Afroitalian beats
Nigerian-born rapper Tommy Kuti travels across northern Italy to meet second generation artists who use music to highlight social issues and celebrate their multicultural identities. Milan, Brescia and Verona: it’s in the industrial heart of the country that new musical talents are born. They are influenced by the rich Italian tradition of singers and songwriters and by the sounds of the black diaspora. From the delicate notes of soul singer Anna Bassy to the hip hop rhythms of Mosè Cov; from the defiant attitude of trap artists like The Slings to David Blank’s dancing vibes. These emerging artists have one thing in common: they are the sons and daughters of African migrants who came to Italy looking for better job opportunities. Their music tells a universal tale of longing and belonging, shining a light on the day-to-day struggles of young generations who find themselves living in between cultures, in Europe and beyond. Producer: Alice Gioia Actor: Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong (Photo: (L), Anna Bassy, credit: Boredom studio, (C), Tommy Kuti, credit: Marco Montanari, (R) David Blank, credit: Michael Yohanes)
28 minutes | Mar 19, 2022
Theatre masterclass special
Playwright Mark Ravenhill celebrates the power and process of theatre, talking to some of its leading global voices. He’s joined by Indian playwright and director Abhishek Majumdar, James Ngcobo, Artistic Director of the Market Theatre in Johannesburg, South Africa, Lauren Gunderson, who’s been called America’s most produced living playwright and Chilean director Manuela Infante. There is behind the scenes insights, sharing their top tips for creating exciting, innovative theatre. They discuss the impact that theatre can have and their hopes for the future after the devastating impact of the pandemic. They are also joined by other inspiring theatre makers who discuss their own experiences, as well as answering questions posed by our virtual audience. Producers: Andrea Kidd and Lucy Collingwood (Photo: Mark Ravenhill. Credit: Scott Campbell/Getty Images)
28 minutes | Mar 12, 2022
Two years of Covid: The arts reflect
Two years on from the start of the global Covid pandemic, we reflect on artistic reflections from across the arts, and the power of human resilience. On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation declared Covid-19 a pandemic, and since then over six million lives have been lost. The world as we knew it has changed. Documentary-maker Matthew Heineman reflects on filming the unfolding health crisis. In March 2020, as New York shut down, he embedded himself in one of America’s hardest-hit hospitals, and for four months filmed medical staff, essential worker patients, and families as they battled with the virus. His Oscar shortlisted film, The First Wave, documents the harsh realities of the early pandemic, and the terrible inequalities - but also the incredible strength of the human spirit. Hollywood’s Andrew Garfield on an actor’s life silenced during lockdown. The pandemic has had a huge impact on the arts: bringing productions to a halt, closing theatres, cinemas, and live music, and leaving artists without means to perform. It closed down film productions, including Oscar-nominated tick, tick…BOOM! Days into filming, lead actor - the award-winning British-American Andrew Garfield - suddenly found himself alone, without cast or crew to play to. Andrew talks to the BBC’s Anna Bailey about how he kept going in those quiet times, got back into filming, and is now up for an Oscar. Plus, writer Ilaria Bernardini considers the Italian people’s cultural response. Italy was the first country in Europe to be overwhelmed by the virus, the first in the world to shut down, and one of the slowest to reopen. During those first weeks of lockdown, the people of Italy united to keep their spirits up, and moving musical performances from balconies went viral. Two years on - from her home in Milan and with Italy still in a State of Emergency - writer Ilaria Bernardini reflects on life under strict lockdown, how artists brought hope in those uncertain times, and the changes she’s seen since. And the Zimbabwean artist sharing health messages through his sculptures. When the pandemic hit, artist, sculptor, and lawyer David Ngwerume decided he could help - through art. He tells us about his stone sculptures of people wearing masks and having vaccines - sculptures he hopes can help stem the spread of Covid, in a part of the world where vaccination rates are low. Producer: Emma Wallace (Photo: A still from Matthew Heineman’s documentary The First Wave: Dr Nathalie Dougé participating in protest. Credit: National Geographic)
27 minutes | Mar 5, 2022
International women in film: Jane Campion, Ari Wegner, Dina Amer and Leah Purcell
In the 93 year history of the Oscars, only seven women have been nominated in the Best Director category and just two have won. Ahead of this year’s Academy Awards, Anu Anand talks to director Jane Campion and cinematographer Ari Wegner about their film The Power of the Dog. A Western set in 1920s Montana starring Benedict Cumberbatch, it has received 12 Oscar nominations – more than any other film this year and importantly, this includes history-making nominations for women in a very male-dominated film industry. Campion is now the first woman to have been nominated twice as Best Director – an otherwise all-male category – while Wegner is the only woman nominated as Best Cinematographer, only the second ever to be nominated. Dina Amer is an award-winning Egyptian-American journalist. She tells us about her debut film, You Resemble Me, which explores the troubled childhood and search for identity of a young French woman of Moroccan heritage, Hasna Aït Boulahcen, who was initially thought to be Europe’s first female suicide bomber. And Australian actor, playwright, novelist and director Leah Purcell on her film The Drover’s Wife: The Legend Of Molly Johnson. Set in the harsh Australian bush in 1893, Molly Johnson is desperate to keep her children safe at any cost and the film powerfully tackles themes of domestic violence and racism. The Drover’s Wife was originally a short story by the 19th century writer Henry Lawson. Leah explains why this story had such an impact on her and why it was important to represent strong First Nations women in film. (Photo: Ari Wegner and Jane Campion. Credit: Netflix)
28 minutes | Feb 26, 2022
Digital reshaping art: Refik Anadol, the KAWS gallery in Fortnite
Turkish, LA-based media artist Refik Anadol who uses data and AI to make new types of artwork, rethink art spaces, and visualise computer ‘dreams’. In his studio, he describes his work – which creates NFTs, 'data paintings' and 'sculptures', and digital immersive galleries, and is now moving to the metaverse. Plus, the gallery in the metaverse: the KAWS street art exhibition where art lovers are joined by virtual cartoon visitors – and which is now the first art show in Fortnite. And we hear from the women and non-binary creatives who want to make NFTs more diverse to improve representation in art. Producer: Emma Wallace (Photo: KAWS, SEEING, 2022, augmented reality sculpture at Serpentine North Gallery. Credit: KAWS and Acute Art)
27 minutes | Feb 19, 2022
Landscapes
On this week’s The Cultural Frontline Nawal Al-Mughafi explores how artists are responding to the landscape around them. Saudi artist Dana Awartani tells us about her latest piece, Where the Dwellers Lay, part of Desert X AlUla, which has been inspired by the desert landscape of the AlUla region of north west Saudi Arabia. She also discusses the role of female artists on the flourishing art scene in country. How we look at the landscape around us depends very much on our own relationship with it, whether it’s where generations of our family have taken root, or a place we intend to exploit. And that’s something explored by Zimbabwean author Blessing Musariri in her first adult novel, Only This Once Are We Immaculate. We invited fellow Zimbabwean author Ignatius Mabasa to talk to Blessing about her book. Although Blessing and Ignatius live in the capital Harare, but are both fascinated with the natural world beyond the cities. Highlighting light pollution and preserving natural darkness is an important subject for conceptual artist Rafael Y. Herman. For his upcoming exhibition called ‘ESSE’ in Palermo, he’s been making his way around the Mediterranean island of Sicily and its surrounding archipelagos, carrying only essential supplies and a camera to capture the most stunning and isolated parts of the Italian region, showcasing its natural beauty without lights, flashes or post-production. And we hear from the award-winning artist Miko Veldkamp. He was born in Suriname to parents of Dutch and Indonesian heritage and in his exhibition Ghost Stories, he explores his mixed race identity by putting varying versions of himself into paintings of the landscapes of his life, which features symbols from the different geographies in which he’s lived. (Photo: Dana Awartani. Credit: Desert X AlUla)
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