When Colonel Robert Kyd proposed in 1786 that a botanic garden should be established in Calcutta (now Kolkata), he probably had little idea that it would still be on the same site and have the same essential form 230 years’… Continue reading
Just as the historian Edward Gibbon could imagine a Europe shaped by Islam, Asia could also have developed very differently. Gibbon saw a battle in central France in 732 as being the factor that prevented Muslims from eventually taking over… Continue reading
Willow Weilan Hai, Director, China Institute Gallery, and chief curator of the exhibition commented that recent excavations in China due to an unprecedented building boom have been an amazing gift to the archeological community, adding greatly to our knowledge of… Continue reading
UNTIL THE master potter Iskandar Jalil (b 1940, Singapore) came along, the making of pottery languished in relative obscurity as a minor craft in his birthplace. During a 40-year career, he worked to give it the recognition it deserved. Iskandar’s… Continue reading
‘Architecture is deeply connected to our impression and experience of places. While we may never visit these sites ourselves, we often become acquainted with them through encounters with images on postcards, souvenirs, and various forms of media. In Lhasa, Buddhist… Continue reading
BON, THE OLDEST spiritual tradition of Tibet, has greatly contributed to forming the specific culture of the country. Existing before Buddhism, which entered Tibet in the 7th century, Bon is considered to be a form of Shamanism (and is also… Continue reading
Often condemned as a mad eccentric, the monk-artist Bada Shanren also known as Zhu Da, created some of the most daring and powerful paintings in 17th-century China. Wayward compositions with many layers of meanings, they largely reflected his tortured inner… Continue reading
GLOBALISATION IS nothing new. At first, it was overland – the Silk Road that connected China to the Mediterranean coast of the Roman Empire. Secondly, it was in coast-hugging boats in the Mediterranean and throughout Asian waters. Thirdly, which brings… Continue reading
FOR ITS 56th edition, the Venice Biennale appointed Okwui Enwezor (b 1963 in Nigeria) as artistic director for this leading survey of the contemporary art world. Presently heading the Haus der Kunst in Munich, Germany, Enwezor has previously curated many… Continue reading
BALI 1928, a project started by Arbiter of Cultural Traditions in New York to reissue the 1928 Odeon and Beka recordings, has been led by ethnomusicologist Edward Herbst for the past 12 years. The original idea was to locate, restore,… Continue reading