New Emissary

A few months ago, I touched on the topic of art in North Korea and more recently also got in touch with Gabriella Coslovich at The Age, who reported (‘North Korean artists not welcome, their ‘propaganda’ is’) on the subject after attending the <a hr

It’s Christmas Eve, and though I’ve surely not been so bad as to deserve coal from Santa this year, I might actually like to find something black inside of my stocking tomorrow morning. Although it’s been a health trend in Japan for about a decade no

The Hong Kong art scene has been in the news a lot this year–apparently flourishing despite the global economic downturn. The buzz peaked with last month’s five-day long Christie’s International’s auction, which was held in the Asian metropolis and

6th Triennial visitors take in the work of Japanese sculptor Kohei Nawa.Highlighting the work of over 100 artists from 25 countries to ‘reflect the diversity of practices across Asia, the Pacific and Australia,’ the 6th Asia Pacific Triennial of Cont

I spoke about this film a few months ago, and have finally had the opportunity to see it. The Cove, a documentary that reveals the truth behind the highly-guarded dolphin hunting industry in Japan, was even better than I imagined, despite the countle

Earlier this year, the pomegranate became the unlikely focus of a controversy surrounding accusations of false advertising in the UK, when a juice company’s advert suggested that the fruit could help consumers ‘cheat death

On Sunday I celebrated Hanukkah for the first time–mostly by eating too many hot-off-the-grill homemade latkas. My point is that these days, I don’t tend to adhere to any one particular holiday’s customs. And so with Christmas fast approaching, I’m

I didn’t know there was a ‘Pakistani U2,’ but according to my recent research into the region there is, and it’s rock and roll band Junoon. Although the group has been in hiatus since 2005, it’s still arguably one of the most popular and influential

One of my favourite recent feature stories on our site has been ‘Climate Change’s First Refugees,’ by Ben Bohane. It’s timely, and I’m impressed by the way Ben was able to bring together these unique and urgent voices of locals on the remote Carteret

There’s no question that all things China-related are big news these days — I notice it more and more each day, particularly in the political realm, with the mounting speculation that it’s poised to become the next superpower. So I suppose that it s

Last week I mentioned a new book by Phaidon on renowned artist Anish Kapoor, creator of one of my favourite public art installations — the Sky Mirror. Well now Kapoor is in the news again, having been announced as an official mentor by the 2010-11 R

Yesterday I talked about the graffiti movement in Kazakhstan (‘Culture on a Wall’) and its connection to other aspects of the country’s society, including national identity, mainstream pop culture and even art anthropology. So I was pleased to hear t