Sydney-based sisters Briony and Savannah Osei, who perform as Kinder, are part of the wave of artists who have made Australia a global electronic music hot spot. (Photo by Billy Zammit)
Arts

Electronic dance music booms Down Under

Australia is the world's third-largest consumer, behind Germany and the US

9 June 2024
Global auction sales have risen 25 times in value terms over the past 20 years, thanks to strong demand for contemporary art in emerging markets in Asia and elsewhere.
Datawatch

Asian youth drive contemporary art market

Global sales rise 25 times in 20 years, led by young collectors, artists in Asia

2 June 2024
Vincent Namatjira's portrait of Gina Rinehart, center, is one of 20 in his work "Australia in Colour, 2021," on display at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra. (AAP Image)
Opinion

This time, art speaks louder than wealth in Australia

Mining tycoon Gina Rinehart's attempt to hide portrait has only drawn more viewers

2 June 2024
Paul Mescal, left, and Andrew Scott in a scene from "All of Us Strangers." (Photo by Chris Harris, courtesy of Searchlight Pictures)
Arts

Hit Japanese novel returns home as acclaimed British film

Nearly four decades on, 'Strangers' finds new meaning in the hands of UK director

1 June 2024
A forlorn sculpture stands guard against roadworks in the Heide sculpture garden in the Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg. (All photos by J.J. Rose)
Tea Leaves

Shedding light, and dust, on Australia's European art

Historic artists' retreat near Melbourne threatened by giant roadworks

29 May 2024
Jazz trailblazer Sadao Watanabe, 91, flashes his trademark smile during an interview in Tokyo in March. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Interview

Sadao Watanabe, living legend of Japanese jazz, still gigging at 91

Trailblazing saxophonist has helped bring global respect to homegrown styles

18 May 2024
Craftswomen's network Link exhibits their works at an exhibition of traditional crafts in Nagoya, in central Japan, on April 27. (Photo by Yuki Kohara)
Work

Japan's traditional crafts see ray of hope in tourists, craftswomen

Despite global recognition, industry fears 40% fall in people taking up trade

12 May 2024
Australia’s popular Aboriginal gift and decor brand, Koh Living, works with Indigenous artists. (Photo by Rurika Imahashi)
Retail

Australian furnishings featuring Aboriginal artwork catch on

Artists hope products convey spirit and stories of Indigenous community

11 May 2024
Women at work at the Khiva Silk Carpet Workshop in Khiva, Uzbekistan. The facility opened in 2001 with backing from sources including UNESCO. (All photos by Charukesi Ramadurai)
Arts

Uzbekistan's traditional carpets make a comeback

British adventurer helps to revive skills lost during communist rule

5 May 2024
In "Detective Conan: The Million-dollar Pentagram," Kid the Phantom Thief declares that he is going to steal a historical sword, drawing Conan Edogawa and Heiji Hattori into the case.
Media & Entertainment

New 'Detective Conan' movie puts supporting characters in the limelight

Kid the Phantom Thief's 'secret' and Heiji's romance take center stage

4 May 2024
Shot in Himalayan locations, "Shambhala" from Nepal became the country's first film to be shown in the Berlinale's competition section.
Arts

Lesser-known Asian films challenge the world from Berlinale

Festival can be a springboard to success for indie filmmakers

1 May 2024
K-pop giant Hybe is launching an internal audit into its Ador subsidiary, the creator of hugely popular act NewJeans.
Media & Entertainment

Discord hits BTS agency Hybe's shares, as subsidiary feud festers

Saga has wiped out 11% of the largest K-pop management agency's market value

1 May 2024
Indigenous artist Emily Wurramara writes and sings in both English and Anindilyakwa. (Photo by Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore)
Arts

Australia's Indigenous artists weave traditions into contemporary music

Once-neglected tongues and instruments are being increasingly embraced

27 April 2024
Eoin O’Brien as Ryan Owens in a scene from “Kiss of the Con Queen,” which premieres on April 27 at the Sunscreen Film Festival in St. Petersburg, Florida. © De Warrenne Pictures
Arts

Thai film exposes alleged Hollywood 'Con Queen'

Fraud victims get revenge in 'true crime' saga

26 April 2024
The Mandarake manga superstore in Tokyo's Shibuya district. 
Media & Entertainment

Can Japan's manga industry replicate Akira Toriyama's success?

With digital platforms multiplying, it's now harder for artists to become popular

21 April 2024
In her artwork, Danish-Afghan artist Lida Afghan addresses the silencing of women in Afghanistan and the need to continue conversations about their human rights. (Courtesy of Lida Afghan)
Arts

Rescuing artists from the Taliban

International groups work to relocate persecuted cultural workers

21 April 2024
A Laytu Chin woman in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state: German photographer Jens Uwe Parkitny has been documenting the facial tattoos of ethnic Chin women since 2001. (Photo by Jens Uwe Parkitny)
Life

Photographer documents disappearing face tattoos of Myanmar's Chin women

Traditional practice is often misunderstood by Western observers who regard them as ugly

20 April 2024
Hokkaido's Lake Kussharo is given a dreamlike quality by long-exposure photography and Michael Kenna's insistence on using black-and-white film. (Photo by Michael Kenna)
Arts

Michael Kenna's 'Japan/A Love Story' opens in Tokyo

Photographer has made capturing Japan's aesthetics and spirituality his life's work

17 April 2024
Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Yoshi Toranaga in "Shogun," a 10-episode miniseries now streaming on Disney+ and other services. (Courtesy of FX Networks)
Arts

New-look 'Shogun' changes narrative of Clavell's samurai epic

Hit series dispenses with the submissive Japanese women of the 1980 original

13 April 2024
Ateez is the only K-pop group not belonging to one of the Big Four agencies that has made it to No.1 on the U.S. Billboard 200, an achievement many have called "a miracle." (Photo by Yuji Ueno)
Media & Entertainment

K-pop's latest sensation Ateez harbors Super Bowl dreams

Called the next BTS, boy band rehearses to make its own name at Coachella in the U.S.

7 April 2024
"I Think I Turned My Childhood Friend into a Girl" was criticized for how a gender identity was translated, while "Twin Star Exorcists" was slammed by some for using the word "mansplainers" in a chapter. (Source photos by Gad Onyeneho)
Arts

U.S. culture wars reach anime with targeting of translators

Critics embrace AI as solution to embedding of 'woke' agenda

5 April 2024
Taylor Swift performed in Japan, Australia and Singapore as part of her "The Eras Tour." 
Media & Entertainment

As Singapore basks in Taylor Swift afterglow, Indonesia fears missing out

Few big artists visit Jakarta, forcing audiences to take their money abroad

3 April 2024
The Eifman Ballet staged an adaptation of "Anna Karenina" set to music by Tchaikovsky in Beijing in 2023. (Photo by Shunsuke Tabeta)
Arts

Russian performers find fans in China amid tensions with West

Famed orchestras and ballets flock to Beijing as countries seek closer ties

17 March 2024
Osamu Tezuka in 1985 and the weekly magazine that ran the latest installment of "Black Jack." Tezuka's prediction that manga would become a global language seems to be coming true. (Source photos by Kyodo and Chihiro Ishikawa)
Arts

AI helps legacy live on for 'god of manga' Osamu Tezuka

New story in artist's 'Black Jack' series released three decades after his death

17 March 2024
Japanese anime like "The Boy and the Heron," Gkids' David Jesteadt says, "have a strong sense of story and perspective" that enables audiences to feel the creators' intentions through sophisticated characters. ⓒ2023 Studio Ghibli
Media & Entertainment

Oscar winner 'The Boy and the Heron' offers what Hollywood can't

President of U.S. distributor says film's 'dream logic' keeps audiences coming back

17 March 2024