| The 53 places to go in 2008
Vietnam and Cambodia are so 2007. Now, Laos is shaping up to be Indochina's next hot spot. Ancient sites like the Wat Phou temple complex and the capital city of Vientiane are drawing culture seekers. Luxury teak houseboats are cruising down the Mekong. And global nomads are heading to Luang Prabang to sample the Laotian tasting menu at 3 Nagas (www.3nagas.com) or hang out by the infinity pool at the seriously upscale Résidence Phou Vao (www.residencephouvao.com). 2 LISBON Bargain-seeking tourists have long flocked to Lisbon, typically among the most affordable of European cities. But now the Portuguese capital is also emerging as a cultural force. The new Berardo Collection Museum (www.berardocollection.com), in the historic Belem district, boasts a major trove of modern and contemporary art.
Contemporary African art is cosmopolitan and in vogue
Contemporary African art has become a force in the international art world, appearing in galleries, museums and prestigious global surveys. This past summer, for the first time in its 112-year history, the Venice Biennale included an entire pavilion devoted to African art. And so the timing of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art�s new "Tapping Currents" exhibit of top African talent, six of whom showed in Venice, is spot on. Organized by Leesa Fanning, the museum�s associate curator of modern and contemporary art, the exhibit features seven pieces by seven artists in the Bloch Building�s Project Space and two weekends of new media screenings. The show offers an illuminating introduction to African art today. Fanning�s selections steer clear of suffering AIDS patients, starving children, exotic animals and other longstanding clich�s that figure in Western perceptions of the continent Instead, these African artists probe the soul of their homeland, illumining its values, traditions, history and the influences that shaped it.
Mirah and Spectratone International Share This Place: Stories and Observations
Share This Place is the album from K Records standout Mirah, but it also a multimedia project commissioned by the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art and the Seattle International Children's Festival, comprised of the songs contained herein and accompanying stop-motion video by Britta Johnson. Inspired in part by the writings of French entomologist Jean Henri Fabré and the Capek brothers' anthropomorphic drama The Insect Play, with a dash of the insectile existentialism of Kafka's "The Metamorphosis", Share This Place is a palimpsest where the separate fiefdoms of humans and insects are reconciled in one teeming kingdom. The album is more like To All We Stretch the Open Arm, the collection of traditional folk Mirah recorded with Seattle's Black Cat Orchestra, than her beloved C'mon Miracle.
Mad Men: Doublemint Don
City Without Walls, Newark's long-running art institution devoted to emerging artists, opened its season this week with two exhibitions devoted to new technologies in art: The first unveils a project of executive director Ben Goldman's to mainstream the purchase of digitalized art prints, and the second is the unveiling of the environment for a new video game designed by CWOW artist Heidi J. Bolsvert and six Newark high school students. The video allows you to virtually explore an American air base in Iraq. It's hard to imagine two shows that propose more radical changes in the way contemporary art products are distributed and used. Continue reading "Artfully geared for mass market" » .
Development won’t spare bowling alley
Dueling proposals to build an art museum or a history museum at Presidio National Park have at least one thing in common: Both projects would demolish a 10-pin bowling center, halving the number of bowling lanes in San Francisco from 24 to 12. Presidio trustees have received two proposals to build a museum at Montgomery and Moraga streets in the Presidio. Gap founder Don Fisher wants to build a public museum for his contemporary art collection, and the Presidio Historical Association wants a local history museum. Either project would demolish the 12-lane Presidio Bowling Center. Nearly 1,000 people use the center for league events organized by the Golden Gate Sport and Social Club, according to general manager Michael Murphy. Opened in late 1988, the center uses pin-setting equipment previously used by the Army at its Presidio bowling alleys, owner Victor Meyerhoff said.
Nigeria: MTV Base, Shell Promote African Music
Pan-African music entertainment network, MTV Networks Africa and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), are partnering in Nigeria in an uplifting campaign designed to boost Africa's contemporary music industry. The two brands have joined forces to develop the continent's music video industry, improving creative and technical skills among budding music video directors and moviemakers. .
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