Flogged, imprisoned, murdered: today, being a poet is a dangerous jobAuto Draft
In India, the author of a viral poem about Narendra Modi’s handling of Covid-19 has been demonised. But all around the world, from Myanmar to Belarus, poets are being persecuted Tishani Doshi for The Guardian Mon 5 Jul 2021 03.00 EDT Police officers and paramedics carry Stepan Latypov, after he stabbed himself in the neck […]
Afghans are scrambling to protect their art from the Taliban. Upheavals have forced culture underground before.
A Hazara man walks near the site where the statues of Buddha stood in Bamian before being destroyed by the Taliban in March 2001. (Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images) By Sammy Westfall The Washington Post, October 2, 2021 at 12:14 p.m. EDT27 When the Taliban last ruled Afghanistan 20 years ago, the group banned music, outlawed human images and idols and […]
Afghans bury paintings and hide books out of fear of Taliban crackdown on arts and culture
An artist looks at paintings he recovered from a government-run facility where he previously worked. He is now hiding the paintings in his home. (Lorenzo Tugnoli for The Washington Post) By Sudarsan Raghavan The Washington Post — September 29, 2021 at 10:18 p.m. EDT87 KABUL — The Afghan artist, driven by past memory, buried 15 paintings — […]
Newsletter — Summer 2021
View this email in your browser DONATE Power of Music and Art, Resiliency of the Human Spirit, Will to Survive Dear Friends, The Jüdische Kulturbund Project’s message of resiliency of the human spirit seems more […]
IN KABUL, THEY ARE COMING FOR THE MUSICIANS
I received a message from Kabul yesterday from a musician. Music studios are destroyed. His instruments pummeled. What are available rescue operations available for musicians in Kabul? by by
Artists and cultural workers face life under Taliban 2.0
An Afghan man rides his motorcycle past the remains of a giant Buddha carving destroyed by the Taliban in March 2001 in central Bamian province. (Ahmad Masood/Reuters) By Philip Kennicott Art and architecture critic August 30, 2021 at 6:00 a.m. EDT60 As the clock ticks to Tuesday’s deadline for American forces to leave Afghanistan, the arts and […]
Belarusian political dissidents on spreading their message of freedom: ‘We never know when our life will end’
Belarusian political dissidents Nikolai Khalezin and Natalia Kaliada are the artistic directors of the Belarus Free Theatre. (KK Ottesen/For The Washington Post) By KK OttesenThe Washington PostAugust 10, 2021 at 7:00 a.m. EDT0 Belarusian political dissidents Natalia Kaliada, 47, a former diplomat, and Nikolai Khalezin, 57, a writer, are the artistic directors of the award-winning Belarus […]
South Sudan: When Microphones Replace Guns
Bullets to Books LA PRESSE ADRIENNE SURPRENANT PHOTO, SPECIAL COLLABORATION Johnson Mike and Lushy Kay walk through Lologo slum in Juba, South Sudan on May 25, 2021. The rapper returned to the country in 2018: “I want to fight for the people who don't have wings to fly, ”he said. “I want to be a voice […]
New music video out today
Aubade: an ode to dawn. Features Ellie Falaris Ganelin on flute. Part of "Talos Dreams" by Costas Dafnis. A production of the Greek Chamber Music Project. Appears on the album "Synchronos: New Greek Voices." Order & stream: http://www.greekchambermusic.com/synchronos-new-greek.../ CREDITSComposition, videography and mixing by Costas DafnisAerial videography by Ross RobinsonVideo editing by Chris VolosevichAudio Mastering by […]
‘South Sudan is one long poem’: the music that shaped a nation – photo essay
As the country marks a decade since independence, musicians talk of the songs and rhythms that help create a shared culture and community for people displaced by civil war by Jean-Baptiste Herve, photography by Adrienne Surprenant Future Star theatre and music group during a concert at Hope Village, a new venue in Juba. The group wants to bring South Sudanese […]
