The Cultural Frontline

BBC World Service

The Cultural Frontline: where arts and news collide.

  1. 03/11/2023

    Who should fund the arts?

    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)

    28 min
  2. 03/04/2023

    What the AI revolution means for arts

    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)

    27 min
  3. 02/25/2023

    Ukraine one year on: The artists’ response

    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)

    28 min
  4. 02/04/2023

    Inside the rise of LGBTQ+ fiction

    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)

    27 min

Ratings & Reviews

4.9
out of 5
10 Ratings

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The Cultural Frontline: where arts and news collide.

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