The Cultural Frontline

This week, we hear from artists who’ve been making a difference in their local communities. Sudanese filmmaker Hajooj Kuka first spoke to The Cultural Frontline in 2019 when he was filming the protests taking place after Sudanese President Al Bashir had been deposed following 30 years of authoritarian rule. Anu Anand catches up with Hajooj to hear about the community filmmaking projects he’s been undertaking through his local neighborhood committee.The Russian Tajik musician and campaigner Manizha moved with her family to Russia aged four to escape the civil war in Tajikistan. A successful singer songwriter, she was the last person to represent Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest. She explains how many of her concerts have been cancelled due to her opposition to the war in Ukraine and how her music supports the work of her SILSILA foundation which helps those who have experienced domestic violence, along with championing the rights of refugees and migrants.Shine Tani is a successful Kenyan artist with his art gallery at the centre of the Banana Hill community just north of Nairobi. Shine came from a poor background, surviving by begging and performing as an acrobat on the streets with his brothers. Self-taught, he now represents over 100 artists from across the continent and his work has helped change the status of local art in the country.

The myriad of indigenous communities in Canada share a painful history. But today, Canada’s indigenous artists are using music, from rock to round dance, to interrogate still-felt horrors, to heal, and to share stories, culture and languages that were violently suppressed for decades.In Toronto, the traditional territory of the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and many other nations, we meet Jeremy Dutcher. His debut album Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa, is sung entirely in the language of his Wolastoq community, and is a mix of opera, pop melodies and piano.In the city of London, the traditional territory of peoples such as the Attawandaron and Anishinaabeg, Anishinaabe musician Adam Sturgeon puts healing at the forefront of his bands Status/Non-Status and Ombiigizi's artistic vision.Further west, in Winnipeg, lives composer Melody McKiver. They are an assistant professor of Indigenous Music at the University of Manitoba, where they are putting together courses to educate students on indigenous history, through the lens of music. They are a member of the Obishikokaang First Nation. Even further west, in the Treaty 6 territory of Alberta, lives Fawn Wood. A Plains Cree and Salish Tribes traditional singer, Fawn is one of the first female indigenous musicians to use a hand drum in her music.Producer: Sasha Edye-Lindner A Just Radio production for BBC World Service(Photo: GasS. Credit: Matthew Wiewel)

What resources do artists around the world need to express themselves fully? Where should the money come from? And what, if any role should governments play? This week we’re exploring the question of who should pay for the arts and how. It’s one with broad implications for the type of culture being made, and the type of people who get to make it. Brazilian writer, illustrator and Cultural Manager Mauricio Negro tells Tina Daheley about a tumultuous time for Brazilian artists, brought about by former President Jair Bolsonaro’s cultural reforms, which included the dissolution of Brazil’s Ministry of Culture and significant cuts in government funding available the culture sector.Marcel Pardo Ariza is a contemporary Colombian artist working in photography and installation who uses ‘they/them’ pronouns. In October 2021 they were offered a place on San Francisco’s new Artists Minimum income scheme, receiving $1,000 per month to sustain their career as an artist. They tell us about the impact the money had on them and their work. Americans for the Arts Executive Director Nina Ozlu Tunceli then debates the broader implications of such a scheme with US writer and commentator Alexander Zubatov. Plus US artist Natasha Bouchillonn talks about combining her skills in marketing and art to create a very successful business, an example of how an entrepreneurial approach can help artists who may not think they can afford it to sustain a career free of government support. And South African playwright Mike Van Graan reflects on his career campaigning for broader access to culture in the country for artists and audiences. Van Graan, who was a cultural advisor to the country’s first post-apartheid government, recently took part in a review of the theatre and dance sectors in the country that led to a set of proposals including the issuing of special vouchers to enable poorer households to attend the theatre.(Photo credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

On this week’s programme we’re looking at the explosion of interest in the role of artificial intelligence, particularly since the arrival of a new generation of AI powered chatbots like Google Bard, DALL-E 2 and Open Al’s ChatGPT, which is reportedly the fastest growing consumer app of all time. Tina Daheley talks to two visual artists using AI in their work; Dr Melisa Achoko Allela and Jeremiah Ikongio. Melisa’s virtual reality storytelling project uses ChatGPT to help retell and digitise traditional African stories. Jeremiah uses an AI algorithm to generate new artworks based on the style of the late Nigerian modernist painter Uche Okeke. Jeremiah has since developed his own AI web application AfroDreams to create a mix of contemporary and traditional images. The Swedish drama director, Jenny Elfving and Polish science researcher Piotr Mirowski are two members of the creative team behind the AI experimental theatre company Improbotics. The company have developed an onstage chatbot called A.L.Ex, which can generate lines for actors to respond to during spontaneous improvised performances. We hear A.L.Ex and the actors in action in the programme.US artist Holly Herndon works with computer software and AI to create innovative music, songs and sounds. She told the BBC’s Andrea Kidd how she has developed a digital computer twin called Holly + that can sing melodies in a number of languages and styles using Holly’s original voice.Producers: Anna Bailey, Andrea Kidd and Hannah Dean.(Photo: Improbotics perform on stage. Credit: Eleanora Briscoe/Edinburgh International Improv Festival 2020)

To mark the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Tina Daheley talks to documentary film directors Alisa Kovalenko and Yelizaveta Smith about their experiences over the past year and how that has shaped their work. Alisa’s feature We Will Not Fade Away tells the story of teenagers growing up in eastern Ukraine against the background of war and was selected for the Berlin Film Festival. Yelizaveta’s feature School Number Three is about a school in the Donbas, which was destroyed during the war. Andrey Kurkov is one of Ukraine’s most famous and prolific writers. His novel Death And The Penguin is a worldwide best seller and his books are full of black humour and intrigue. He is also a diarist who has been sharing his thoughts and experiences on life in Ukraine for the BBC. To mark this first anniversary he has written a piece especially for The Cultural Frontline.Ukrainian comedian Hanna Kochegura is currently taking her stand-up across Ukraine in a countrywide tour visiting 19 cities. She tells us why humour can be powerful in a time of war.Over the past decade, the club scene in Kyiv has been growing, with thousands of people attending raves known for their raw energy and vibe. One of the people at the centre of this scene is Pavlo Derhachov, co-founder and manager of the experimental club Otel’. He told The Cultural Frontline about the impact of the invasion on the club.(Image: A drawing of a bird on a wall in Kyiv. Credit: Roman Pilipey/Getty Images)

Rap is huge in India and Desi hip-hop, the music and culture which combines the influences of hip-hop and the Indian subcontinent, is about to go global.Fan and champion Bobby Friction meets the leading artists on the scene as US rap legend Nas, begins a new hip-hop label in Mumbai. Nas has no doubt that the next global rap superstar will come from India but hip-hop culture is about more than shifting records. Rap is giving India's lower caste, religious minorities and women a space to speak truth to power and change the narrative around who can be a music star.Bobby speaks with Raja Kumari who was signed by Nas but is now stepping out on her own label Godmother Records with the intention of pushing female rappers in a male dominated scene. Prabh Deep is the Sikh class warrior and poet taking rap to new artistic levels from the grimiest parts of Delhi but also scoring hits with his take on life in India today. Prabh's label mate Ahmer is the politically conscious Muslim rapper from Kashmir who uses music to process the violence he has witnessed in the disputed territory. These rising stars alongside artists like KRSNA, Raftaar, Naezy and Divine are inspiring a new generation of hip-hop heads in Delhi, Mumbai and across India.(Photo: Bobby Friction at a hip-hop event in Mumbai)

Authors from around the world tell us why and how they reflect on our global climate crisis in their stories. Tina Daheley talks to three authors about the challenges and opportunities in putting climate change in their books - how to be realistic but encourage the reader to take action rather than despair. Bestselling thriller writer Peter May joins us from France. His new book, A Winter Grave, uses crime fiction to get a climate message across to readers who might not expect it. Bijal Vachharajani in India writes and commissions books for children. Her books include A Cloud Called Bhura, So You Want to Know About the Environment, and Savi and the Memory Keeper.  And Pitchaya Sudbanthad was born in Thailand in the city which lends its name to his book, Bangkok Wakes To Rain. Producer: Paul Waters(Image: Concept illustration of an open book and tree with one side burning. Credit: SIphotography)

Erica Gillingham is joined by a panel of leading international LGBTQ+ writers to discuss the growing popularity of queer fiction and the challenges posed by book bans. At a time when sales are increasing and LGBTQ+ authors are winning awards, in countries including the United States, Russia and Hungary, movements to remove books portraying queer characters are on the rise. The panel also explore the ways social media is influencing the kinds of LGBTQ+ stories being written, for example the way younger readers like to find books by certain story tropes, and also the importance of showing LGBTQ+ characters leading happy, fulfilled lives.Malinda Lo is the bestselling author of seven novels, including most recently A Scatter of Light. Her novel Last Night at the Telegraph Club won the United States’ National Book Award, yet her work is banned in 25 school districts in half a dozen states. She explains how award-winning books can sometimes attract unwanted attention.Danny Ramadan is a Syrian-Canadian author and adovate for LGBTQ+ refugees. His debut novel, The Clothesline Swing, was shortlisted for the Lambda Literary Award, longlisted for Canada Reads, and named a Best Book of the Year by the Globe and Mail and Toronto Star. Danny explains the need for young people from minorities to access spaces where they can see themselves represented.Adiba Jaigirdar is the author of The Henna Wars, Hani & Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating and A Million to One. A Bangladeshi/Irish writer and former teacher, she has an MA in Postcolonial Studies from the University of Kent. She tells us about the important role older writers, particularly lesbian storytellers including Malinda Lo, played in inspiring her desire to write.Erica Gillingham is a a poet, writer and bookseller with a PhD in queer young adult literature. Her debut poetry pamphlet, The Human Body is a Hive, was published in March 2022.​Produced by Simon Richardson.(Photo: Adiba Jaigirdar, Erica Gillingham, Danny Ramadan and Malinda Lo. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich)

Tina Daheley talks to two film-makers who are highlighting Indigenous communities across North America. Blackfoot and Sámi actor and producer Elle Maija Tailfeathers is the director of the documentary Kímmapiiyipitssini - The Meaning of Empathy, which explores the opioid crisis in her community. Navajo Diné director and writer Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso’s film Powerlands, documents the impact of chemical companies on Indigenous land. Daniel Riley is the artistic director and choreographer of the Australian Dance Theatre. His latest piece, Tracker, has just had its world premiere at the Sydney Festival. It is based on the personal story of his great-great uncle who was a Wiradjuri Elder and tracker in the police force in Australia. Reporter Regina Botros spoke to Daniel, along with some of the other First Nations creatives, about the importance of putting stories like this on stage. The veteran left wing politician Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known widely as Lula, was recently sworn in as president of Brazil, having beaten the right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in a tense election contest. In a change of policy from the Bolsonaro administration, Lula has pledged "zero deforestation" in the Amazon by 2030, which is home to many Indigenous communities, and he has also announced a new Ministry of Indigenous Peoples. Edson Krenak is part of the flourishing Indigenous literature scene, and along with other writers, he has been at the forefront of storytelling across the country in order to bring about a dialogue between all cultures. (Photo: A still from Tracker. Credit: Australian Dance Theatre)

On this week’s The Cultural Frontline we explore the power of music and how artists have been using it to highlight issues including politics and the #MeToo movement. Prakash Neupane is a Nepali rapper and writer who mixes hip hop and R&B with social and political messages. His songs address the issues facing Nepal and his thoughts on the political situation in the country and its complex recent history. Prakash talks to Tina Daheley about why he feels rap is a good way of getting his message across and his role in a flourishing new wave of the Nepali hip hop scene.The Australian actor Cate Blanchett has just won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of a fictitious classical music conductor and composer in Todd Field’s new film Tár. It follows the downfall of Lydia Tár who is at the pinnacle of her career when she is accused of bullying and sexual misconduct towards her fellow musicians. Cate speaks to reporter Anna Bailey about why she wanted to take on this role and shares her response to the criticisms the film has faced. They are also joined by the creative force behind Tár’s score, the award-winning Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir. Hildur discusses her own experiences of being a woman creating music. Plus Syrian clarinettist and composer, Kinan Azmeh. He’s recently performed his own works with the London Philharmonic Orchestra as part of their A place to call home series, which explores issues of displacement and exile. Kinan speaks to The Cultural Frontline’s Andrea Kidd about how his works, including his Clarinet Concerto, have been influenced by the Syrian civil war and the importance of home. (Photo: Cate Blanchett in Tár. Credit: Universal)