Arts and Culture

S. Korean musicians leave for Pyongyang performance

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — K-pop stars led a group of South Korean musicians departing for Pyongyang Saturday to take part in the latest set of cross-border cultural performances ahead of next month’s rare inter-Korean summit. The 120-member group including top girlband Red Velvet flew from Seoul’s Gimpo airport aboard a chartered civilian flight to Pyongyang via the rarely used direct air route between the two Koreas, as a rapprochement on the peninsula gathers […]

Egypt: pyramids, desert and military rule

CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) — Egypt, known worldwide for its ancient pyramids, is the Arab world’s most populous country and has been under military control for decades. It is ruled by ex-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is assured of a second term in elections next week. Here is some background about the country. Army’s grip on power  After a period of British rule, Egypt gained independence in 1922 under King Fuad I. In 1952, charismatic army […]

Hong Kong harbour gets star attraction with sculpture park

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s harbourfront is known for glistening skyscrapers and the sight of containerships navigating busy shipping lanes — but a new art project has added a giant pumpkin, a map of the stars and a pair of disembodied legs to the famous skyline. The Harbour Arts Sculpture Park, which officially opened on Thursday, is a collection of works by 19 local and international artists including Britain’s Antony Gormley and Tracey […]

‘Girl with Pearl Earring’ to undergo public examination

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — One of the world’s most famous paintings “Girl with a Pearl Earring” is to undergo a two-week scientific examination in front of curious visitors to the Dutch museum where it lives. The luminescent tableau painted by Dutch master Johannes Vermeer around 1665 was last examined in 1994 during a conservation treatment at the Mauritshuis museum in the centre of The Hague. “Although further restoration is not yet required, major advances […]

Ballet Philippines: So different, one of the best companies I have guested for – Joseph Gatti

By Caesar Vallejos Eagle News Service “It’s amazing,” Joseph Gatti, the former principal dancer with Cincinnati Ballet and Corella Ballet said about working with Filipino artists. Gatti was featured as the international guest artist who played the role of Basilio in Ballet Philippines’ (BP) staging of Don Quixote at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). It runs from February 9-18, 2018. “This is one of the best companies I have guested for. Their encouragement […]

‘African Mona Lisa’ mesmerizes after surprise rediscovery

by James Pheby Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — “I think of it as the African Mona Lisa,” said award-winning novelist Ben Okri, gazing at the long-lost portrait of a Nigerian princess which recently turned up in a London flat. Ben Enwonwu’s 1974 painting of Adetutu “Tutu” Ademiluyi, daughter of a Yoruba king, has taken on almost mythical status in the painter’s native Nigeria. It was last seen in 1975 but is now up […]

NY museum commemorates Olympics with Korean exhibition

by Jennie MATTHEW Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The Winter Olympics are being watched for many things: sporting excellence, of course, but also for headway on the US-North Korea nuclear stand-off and even tentative rapprochements between Seoul and Pyongyang. In New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is commemorating the Games with an exhibition of Korean art, much of it displayed for the first time in the United States, and which introduces […]

Ice instruments ring out coolest music in Norway

by Ilgin Karlidag Agence France-Presse FINSE, Norway (AFP) — Inside a giant igloo in a snowy Norwegian village, the sound of a horn rings out, warming the mood of a freezing audience, huddled together in -24 Celsius. But the four musicians performing are even colder: the instruments they are playing are all made of ice. The xylophone, claves and wind instruments have been painstakingly carved from ice blocks extracted from a frozen lake, and are […]

Preserved in time: WWII bunker hidden under Paris train station

by Jean Liou © Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFPI) — t lies hidden deep beneath Paris’s bustling Gare de l’Est railway station, its sprawling subterranean rooms and sparse furniture pristinely preserved if a little dusty. Originally built a few years before World War II for luggage storage, the underground bunker was repurposed after war broke out. French railway historian Clive Lamming said its 1939 overhaul was to provide “a place to retreat in case of an […]

Arts Center ng Eagle Broadcasting Corporation, binuksan na

By Aily Millo Eagle News Service QUEZON CITY, Philippines (Eagle News) — Bukas na para sa publiko ang kauna-unahang art exhibit ng Eagle Broadcasting Corporation Arts Center bilang bahagi ng seleberasyon sa Golden Anniversary ng EBC. Iba’t ibang obra ang tampok sa EBC Arts Center Tampok dito ang iba’t-ibang mga obra, hindi lamang ng mga professional artist kundi pati na rin ang obra ng mga estudyante. Oil painting, screw art at hardboard art, ilan lamang […]

Israeli president visits Greek site of future Holocaust museum

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AFP) — Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday announced the northern port city of Thessaloniki is to host a Holocaust museum, during a visit to the site with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. Greek shipping tycoon Stavros Niarchos and the German government will each make a 10 million euro ($12 million) donation to cover the bulk of the cost of the museum on the site of a former railway station from where trains […]