ARTS & CULTURE

Shipwreck Museum in Cape Verde Recalls a Dark Past

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — The Republic of Cabo Verde (Cape Verde) is an archipelago island nation to the west of Senegal and Mauritania, consisting of 10 volcanic islands that lie between 320 and 460 nautical miles west of Cap-Vert, the westernmost point of continental Africa.

The official language is Portuguese, the language of instruction and government and in newspapers, TV and radio, but the recognized national language is Cape Verdean Creole, spoken by the vast majority of the population.

: Global Information Network; Africa; 16 May 2022

Image: Taj Mahal, Agra, India. Credit: © Yann Forget / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA.

Is The Taj Mahal Not a Part of Indian Culture?

Viewpoint by Dr Ram Puniyani

This article is the 19th in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship of the International Press Syndicate. The writer is a former professor of biomedical engineering and former senior medical officer affiliated with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (now Mumbai) and meanwhile a social activist and commentator.

: Asia Editor; ARTS & CULTURE; 11 May 2022

Image: French President Emmanuel Macron looks at Beninese art during a ceremony for the return of 26 works to Benin, with Benin Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, at the Quai Branly Museum-Jacques Chirac, Paris, October 27, 2021. Source: WPR.

Africa’s Plundered Artifacts Are Coming Home, Though Gradually

This article was issued by World Politics Review (WPR) and is being re-published with their permission.

By Ayodeji Rotinwa

COTONOU, Benin (IDN) — During a February press conference announcing a new exhibition of newly repatriated treasures, Jean-Michel Abimbola, Benin’s minister of culture, was asked by a British journalist to address the common claim that European museums are better able to care for African artifacts than African ones. He responded curtly.

: Africa & ME Editor; ARTS & CULTURE; 07 May 2022

Image: Ukrainian Baroque, St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv. CC BY-SA 4.0

Putin's Russia Is Also Attacking Ukrainian Culture

By Barbara Crossette, Passblue

NEW YORK (IDN) — In Europe and around the world, the landmark drama theater in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol will long be associated with crimes against humanity, whether or not a formal trial of the Russians who bombed it is ever held.

At least 300 people, including many children—the final toll is not known—died there on March 16 during Russia’s savage war on Ukraine. The theater may have been harboring as many as 1,300 people when it was hit.

: UN Bureau; ARTS & CULTURE; 02 May 2022

Photo: Osinachi Nwachukwu Singing Ministry Int’l. Source: The Gospel singer's Facebook.

Women Die in Troubled Marriages Because We Slay Singles

Nigerian Gospel Singer Dead at 42

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwen

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA (IDN) — A good number of those I have spoken with since the news of her tragic death broke on April 8 night, said Nigerian gospel artiste, Osinachi Nwachukwu, 42, should not have died. She was such a tremendous gift to millions of people and inspired even millions more through her songs, yet she had not even reached the peak of her potential.

: Africa & ME Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Gender Equality; 16 April 2022

Photo: Maaza Mengiste. Credit: World Literature Today

African Woman Writer Scoops Major Fellowship Prize

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Fellowships to 180 exceptional individuals in pursuit of scholarship in any field of knowledge and creation in any art form were announced on April 7 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

Chosen from a rigorous application and peer review process out of almost 2500 applicants, the successful applicants were chosen on the basis of prior achievement and exceptional promise.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 13 April 2022

Photo: Danielle Twum statue raised for Ghanaian woman based in the US for her contribution to stem. Credit: Briefly

Statue For Ghanaian Cancer Scientist Is Erected in U.S.

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Danielle Twum, a cancer immunologist from Ghana, West Africa, has been honoured in the United States with a life-size statue for her research contributions.

Twum was one of over a hundred women honoured by the Smithsonian during Women’s History Month. The Smithsonian’s “#IfThenSheCan—The Exhibit,” features 120 orange life-size 3D statues of women who have excelled in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 04 April 2022

Photo: A full audience enjoys an Open Book Festival event in September 2018 in Cape Town. Credit: Retha Ferguson

Major Book Fair in South Africa Returns After 2 Year Covid Absence

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — The Open Book Festival 2022 returns to Cape Town, South Africa, from March 26-27 after an absence of two years as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Open Book is a literary festival with a focus on South African literature in an international context. The event has in the past included over 150 literary events, featuring over 100 authors over 5 days.

: Global Information Network; ARTS & CULTURE; 21 March 2022

A Timely Book to Encourage Teaching of Mindfulness to Children

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 49th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship agency of the Non-profit International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous reports.

SYDNEY (IDN) — The recently published book ‘Developing Mindfulness in Young Children’* is a timely addition to educating our next generations to be responsible citizens in an increasingly anxious and uncertain world ripped apart by hatred and violence.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; SUSTAINABILITY; Quality Education; 17 March 2022

Image: Diviner’s Figure representing Belgian Colonial Officer, Maximilien Balot, 1931. Credit: Travis Fullerton/Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Museums in Two Countries Fight Over a Statue

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — A fierce tug of war is underway between a U.S. Museum and a Congolese gallery over a statue depicting the angry spirit of a Belgian officer beheaded during an uprising in Congo in 1931.

An image of the statue of Maximilien Balot, a colonial administrator, is claimed by the Virginia Museum of Fine Art.