Arts

A mural by Japanese artist Maru Yacco, exhibited at "Myth Makers -- Sprectrosynthesis III" at Hong Kong's Tai Kwun Contemporary. (Courtesy of Tai Kwun Contemporary)
Arts

Hong Kong turns heads with Asian LGBTQ art show

Exhibition ranges from the 1940s to modern video installations

15 February 2023
Mademoiselle Yulia is a kimono stylist and DJ (Photo by Akira Takemura)
Life

Kimono's comeback: Out of the closet and into modern fashion

Traditional Japanese garment finds new life as is, or repurposed for new looks

12 February 2023
A screen advertising China's state-run Xinhua News Agency is seen in New York's Times Square in March 2020. 
Arts

Books: How Beijing targets media in global influence operations

Australia and U.S. serve among many examples of growing Chinese media control

5 February 2023
International students from China prepare to take photos in their graduation gowns at the University of Sydney in July 2020. Chinese studying abroad have increasingly been used as tools of sharp power, which is wielded more clandestinely, than soft power.
Arts

Books: How China has expanded influence overseas

In new book, author delves into Beijing's focus on universities and the diaspora, as well as global media

4 February 2023
Ruba Ahmed, right, whose daughter was killed in the 2016 Holey Artisan Bakery terrorist attack, fought unsuccessfully to block the release of "Faraaz," a Bollywood film about the tragedy. (Nikkei montage/Source photos official poster, Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Arts

Feature films on Dhaka Islamist terror attack stir controversy

Mother fails to stop Indian movie based on Holey Bakery tragedy

3 February 2023
A leather upper fitted to a wooden shoe last: "Japanese shoemakers have a strong sense of curiosity, taking much time and effort to find prewar materials about shoemaking," a magazine editor says. (Photo taken at Orma, in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture)
Arts

Passion and precision: Japanese artisans conquer the shoe world

How law and architecture students plus consumers reshaped a hot fashion trend

29 January 2023
Shinichi Suzuki with young students: The Suzuki Method of music education brought a universalizing and inclusive approach to what had once been regarded as a strictly Western art form. (Courtesy of Talent Education Research Institute)
Arts

How Suzuki Method conquered the music world

Despite global success, Japanese teacher dreamed even bigger, wanting to transform society at large

25 January 2023
Sophisticated AI technology can now produce images from text that are difficult to distinguish from works created by a human. 
Technology

Interactive quiz: How does AI generate images?

Image generative AI paints images from noise

21 January 2023
A detail of a poster for "Sri Asih," the second film in the Bumilangit Universe of superheroes created by writer and producer Joko Anwar. (Courtesy of Upi Avianto)
Arts

Indonesia's first female superhero is back

Cinematic rebirth of 'Sri Asih' coincides with women's rights crisis

20 January 2023
Starting with tickets for admission in May, sales with begin three months in advance on the 10th of each month.
Travel & Leisure

Ghibli Park tickets go on sale for overseas visitors from Tuesday

First batch will be for entry in period between March 15 and April 30

8 January 2023
Japanese idol group JO1 performed to a national Japanese audience on NHK's New Year's Eve songfest, one of the year's biggest televised events.. (Photo by Kosaku Mimura)
Media & Entertainment

Blending K-pop and J-Pop, Tokyo boy band JO1 aims for global stage

11-member group thrills Japan on New Year's Eve with touch of Seoul music

8 January 2023
Visitors admire three paintings by Vincent Van Gogh on display at Tokyo's Sompo Museum of Art in 2003. 
Arts

Japan's Sompo faces $750m lawsuit over Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers'

Heirs of former owner argue insurer ignored Nazi role in painting's history

5 January 2023
The Confetti furniture series ranges from planters to umbrella stands, from sofas to kitchen tables. (Photo by Fumi Matsumoto)
Climate Change

Australians clamor to sit around and eat off recycled plastic

Sydney company's recycled materials furniture combines design and durability

2 January 2023
An aerial view of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ new building, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architects SANAA. (© Iwan Baan)
Arts

Sydney Modern bursts on art scene with daunting challenges

Visually dazzling, the city's new gallery leans heavily on inclusive sloganizing

30 December 2022
Stream article image
Arts

Japan keeps old-school 'big band' sound alive

Jazz orchestras are thriving, despite their decline in the West

28 December 2022
Punk rock trailblazer Kyaw Kyaw lets loose at The Rebel Riot's 15-year-anniversary show in Yangon. "If you're a photographer, musician or artist and you're given a gun ... maybe you are useless," says the singer. "But if you're an artist, you can be yourself and create positive change." (Photo by Kaung Kaung)
Arts

Punk, protest and secret shows sing 'truth to power' in Myanmar

Music offers continuing resistance to nation's military machine

23 December 2022
An untitled oil-on-canvas painting by Jiro Yoshihara, made in 1971, features the Gutai leader’s signature circle motif; 230 cm x 315.5 cm, collection of the National Museum of Art, Osaka. (All photos by Edward M. Gomez)
Arts

Delving into Japan's Gutai art movement

Osaka exhibition reexamines pioneering modern artists

14 December 2022
Titles include "Sagi Musume" (Heron Maiden), the classic dance story performed by Tamasaburo Bando, widely regarded as Kabuki's greatest performer of female roles.
Media & Entertainment

Kabuki producer starts online streaming for foreign fans

Shochiku tries to boost poor revenue while injecting age-old art with manga

27 November 2022
"Pumpkin" is a subtle tribute to a work installed on the island of Naoshima that was swept to sea during a 2021 typhoon. (Courtesy of M+)
Arts

Hong Kong museum offers Yayoi Kusama career overview

M+ exhibit includes new creations and 87 pieces never shown outside Japan

27 November 2022
Suzume, a 17-year-old high school girl, meets a young man named Sota, looking for "Doors of Disaster" across Japan to shut and lock them.
Arts

Makoto Shinkai's new film 'Suzume' mourns Japan's deserted towns

'Your Name' anime director tries to find somewhere for country to 'go next'

19 November 2022
Shinro Ohtake's current show at The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (known as MOMAT) brings together about 500 of the artist's works, spanning nearly half a century. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Arts

Japanese contemporary artist's triumphant return to Tokyo

Shinro Ohtake's accumulations of found marks and objects are self-portraits

16 November 2022
Banksy posted a photo of the mural -- a girl gymnast performing a handstand on a small pile of concrete rubble -- on Instagram Friday. 
Ukraine war

Banksy showcases new mural in war-scarred Ukrainian town

Artwork seen on building destroyed by shelling in Borodyanka features gymnast

13 November 2022
Chinese artist Sun Xun in the Shanghai hotel room that he transformed into a studio during what he called his "forced art residency." (Courtesy of Sun Xun)
Arts

Pandemic lockdowns inspire Chinese artists

Shanghai's harsh COVID-19 restrictions recorded for posterity

12 November 2022
A view of "Get to the Point," part of an installation by art collective AWKNDAFFR at Singapore Biennale 2022, also known as Natasha. (Singapore Biennale 2022)
Arts

Thailand and Singapore lead comeback for Asia's art fests

Post-pandemic biennales challenge Hong Kong's regional dominance

11 November 2022
A still from Malaysian time-travel revenge thriller "Stone Turtle" (2022) by Kuala Lumpur-based director Woo Ming Jin. (Courtesy of Edmund Yeo) 
Arts

'New Wave' filmmakers put spotlight on Malaysian cinema

Feature film 'Stone Turtle' bags coveted award and critical interest at film festivals

9 November 2022