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)

In the UK and Ireland a new music phenomenon is growing - bands that are speaking over their songs instead of singing. Is a new guitar music movement being born? Fontaines D.C., Dry Cleaning and Yard Act, as well as solo artists including Billy Nomates and Sinead O’Brien are just some of the acts using speech prominently in their music. It is not just vocal performance that has been commented on - many emerging bands have been described as having a ‘post-punk’ guitar music style and lyrics rich in social commentary. Musician and broadcaster Gemma Bradley meets bands and vocalists to find out more about this exciting music trend and why. James Smith, songwriter and vocalist of English band Yard Act explains why he was attracted to what he describes as ‘spoken word, politically forward’ guitar music. He reflects on the power of vocal performance and how the Covid pandemic affected his song writing. Irish vocalist Sinead O’Brien performs on stage with a guitarist and drummer and works in poetry as well as music. She meets Gemma backstage before a gig to discuss how versatile and impactful speech in music can be. Fionn Reilly from Belfast band Enola Gay explains to Gemma what inspires his energetic performance style, vocal delivery and the band’s song lyrics. Gemma also visits the prolific and much sought-after producer Dan Carey at his London studio. He has worked with many guitar bands that use speech in their music including Fontaines D.C., Squid, Wet Leg and black midi, and describes the freedom available for artists unconstrained by the parameters of singing. (Photo: Yard Act (James Smith: vocals, Ryan Needham: Bass, Sam Shipstone: Guitar, Jay Russell: Drums and Christopher Duffin: Keys/Sax) perform live on 6 Music's Steve Lamacq show in Maida Vale studio, Nov. 2022. Credit: Mark Allan/BBC)

As Brazil enters a challenging and uncertain era under the new president, British-Brazilian writer Yara Rodrigues Fowler talks to its artists about the small utopias they are creating. Writer Natalia Borges Polesso centres the non-romantic relationships of queer characters to forge precious connections in a country that is increasingly polarised. In her short story collection, Amora, she wanted readers to feel understood, while her latest novel The Extinction of Bees, urges readers to see the collapse happening all around them, and reimagine their present in order to create a better future. In 2018, the sacred Indigenous cave of Kamakuwaká was vandalised. Photographer Piratá Waujá is helping his community to create a virtual reality experience in order to preserve their culture for future generations, and challenge fake news about Indigenous people. Keyna Eleison, the co-artistic director of the Modern Art Museum in Rio de Janeiro, takes us around Nakoada, the centenary exhibition of the birth of Brazilian Modernism. She discusses how humour can slowly shift the Eurocentric definition of art, and the importance of diverse collaborations in leaving an ‘intelligent’ legacy. Elisa Larkin Nascimento, activist and collaborator of the late polymath Abdias Nascimento, is thrilled to have a two-year exhibition of the Black Art Museum in rural Brazil. She opens it with an ancient Afro-Brazilian procession in order to strengthen links with the surrounding quilombos, or communities of runaway enslaved people. As the new president, Lula, makes ambitious commitments to diverse communities and the arts, what do they hope might change for them and their work? Producer: Eloise Stevens An Overcoat Media production for BBC World Service Image: Dramatist Leda Maria Martins with Congado Mineiro at Inhotim (Credit: Zezzyinho Andraddy)

This week we hear from some of the women who’ve been making their mark in 2022. Danupha Khanatheerakul, known by her stage name Milli, is a 20-year-old Thai rapper. Last year she criticised the Thai government’s response to COVID 19 and was charged with defamation, which led to the hashtag #SaveMilli trending on social media. She’s been chosen as one of the BBC’s 100 Women, which is a celebration of inspiring and influential women who’ve contributed to our world in incredible ways. Milli told the BBC’s Valeria Perasso why she felt compelled to challenge Thai stereotypes and the government, and the impact of eating the Thai dessert of mango sticky rice onstage. The Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021 and since their return many aspects of women’s lives have been curtailed, including the ability to study. Music and the arts have also been banned across the country. To mark the first anniversary of the Taliban takeover, singer songwriter Elaha Soroor, along with other Afghan diaspora creatives, launched ‘Fly with Me,’ a festival of music and kite flying that took place across Europe. In a conversation that was recorded before the Taliban ordered an indefinite ban on female higher education, Elaha spoke to the BBC Afghan journalist Sana Safi about the festival, and also about being a female singer in Afghanistan and her time on the TV talent show Afghan Star. The US poet Maggie Wang has won a number of awards this year including The Young Poets Network’s Poems to Solve the Climate Crisis Challenge and Our Whole Lives, We Are Protest: A Poetry Challenge Inspired by the People of 1381. She’s recently published her debut collection of poetry called The Sun on the Tip of a Snail’s Shell. She told the BBC’s Tina Daheley why she was drawn to creating poems highlighting the extinction of animals and plants. (Photo: Milli)

This week, as people around the world gather with family, Chibundu Onuzo presents a series of conversations between artists across the generations exploring what unites and divides them. In the USA it’s estimated that nearly a quarter of the population will be 65 or older by the year 2060 with more and more of the country’s resources needed to care for them. In Nigeria, a young population of average age 18 is questioning the ability of older politicians to understand their needs. In light of these debates, we listen in on conversations between artists from different generations. Jewish American novelist Daniel Torday, 43, meets African American writer Monica Brashears, 25. Daniel is the author of Boomer1, a novel exploring intergenerational strife in the Baltimore suburbs and Monica is about to release her debut novel, House of Cotton, a gothic story set in the American South. They talk about their shared anxiety over climate change and the tensions between Gen Z and Baby Boomers. Two musicians from India, Suhail Yusuf Khan, in his 30s, and Sarvar Sabri who’s in his 60s discuss the way their musical tradition is handed down and different approaches to the student teacher relationship. Plus Australian Aboriginal artists, Mother and daughter Lauren Jarrett, 65, and Melissa Greenwood, 38, talk about their shared artistic practice and how making work helps them address intergenerational trauma within their community. Producer: Simon Richardson (Photo: Lauren Jarrett and Melissa Greenwood)

Soudade Kaadan’s speks to Sana Safi about her new film Nezouh, which tells the story of a young girl and her family caught in the centre of the Syrian conflict as they remain in their besieged hometown of Damascus. It is a story that has personal resonance for Soudade as Damascus was a place that she also once called home. Inspired by a photo of a bomb-damaged house, she began writing the script in 2013. It’s a allegorical tale told through the eyes of a young girl, with magical realism, female emancipation and finding hope in chaos at its heart. Both Sana Safi and Atia Abawi’s lives were shaped by the war between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union in the 1980s and the 2001 invasion by the United States and NATO as part of what became known as the War on Terror. Both Sana and Atia have dedicated their careers to telling the story of Afghans. Afghanistan's story is not just one of conflict but also family, tradition, and a rich cultural history. The two writers discuss how they tell these stories in both journalism and in fiction. Andrey Kurkov is an author of critically acclaimed and best-selling novels. He has become a de facto voice of Ukraine as he shares his diaries and despatches from Kyiv spread the news of daily life in a warzone. Meanwhile, fellow Ukrainian writer Artem Chapeye has left behind the writer’s desk after signing up to become a private in the Ukrainian army. Andrey and Artem explain to Sana Safi what it is like to be a writer in conflict, whether war is shaping their writing, and what impact they think the war will have on the future of Ukrainian storytelling. Producer: Sofie Vilcins (Photo: Still from Nezouh by Soudade Kaadan. Credit: Nezouh ltd/BFI/Film4)

This week we discuss how art can help reconnect us to those who are missing or have been disappeared. It’s estimated that around 20,000 people go missing in Poland every year. Artist Zuzanna Pieczynska explores the impact of this in her work, with her paintings often focusing on the lives of the people left behind. She tells Tina Daheley more about her project ‘Each year in Poland a small town disappears.’ Thousands of people were disappeared during the dictatorships in countries across South America. A new play, called REWIND, by physical theatre company Ephemeral Ensemble, has been inspired by testimonies of South American political refugees who fled the dictatorships, as well as the more recent stories from young migrants caught up in violent repression following demonstrations in the region. Performers Andrés Velásquez and Eyglo Belafonte along with director Ramon Ayres talk to reporter Constanza Hola about the show. Loss and disappearance have been topics across much of Hisham Matar’s work. The Pulitzer prize winning writer has been inspired by his own life experiences, after his father was kidnapped in Egypt by Colonel Gaddafi’s regime, taken back to Libya and never seen again. Hisham shares a piece of art that changed him, a film from a director who has influenced his thinking as an author, the French filmmaker Robert Bresson, and in particular Bresson’s 1959 film ‘Pickpocket’. In the 1994 Rwandan genocide, an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by dominant Hutu forces in 100 days. For her piece, The Book of Life, Rwandan playwright and director Odile Gakire Katese, known as Kiki Katese, tells the story of that conflict and the remembrance of those who died, through the letters of ordinary Rwandans. (Picture: Julia by Zuzanna Pieczyńska. Credit: Zuzanna Pieczyńska)

The film Joyland is set in Lahore and tells the story of Haider, a married man who falls in love with the transgender dancer Biba. It’s the first Pakistani film to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and it won the Jury Prize as well as the Queer Palm prize. It has also been selected as the Pakistani entry for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards. Despite having a standing ovation at Cannes, the film has had a more controversial reaction in Pakistan itself. Originally cleared for release, that decision was then overturned. However the film is now out in cinemas in Pakistan, although remains banned in the Punjab. Tina Daheley speaks to Joyland’s writer and director Saim Sadiq and film critic Kamran Jawaid. Brazilian director and screenwriter Gabriel Martins took inspiration from his own childhood experience when he made his new film Mars One. It tells the story of a working-class Black Brazilian family adjusting to life after the election of President Jair Bolsanaro. Like Joyland, it has also been selected as its country’s submission for Best International Feature Film at the next Academy Awards. Lone Scherfig is a Danish film-maker best known for her romantic comedies including An Education and One Day. She talks about the film that changed her - Austrian director Michael Haneke's 2009 German-language film The White Ribbon. It is a movie with a troubling message about the history of Europe and one that inspires her to ask big, important questions in her own work. (Photo: A still from Joyland. Credit: Studio Soho)

Cultural restitution is an issue that creates fierce debate in response to the work of campaigners, curators and nation states, who argue that collections in some of the world’s great cultural institutions contain objects that may have been acquired illegitimately, often during the colonial period. Over the last two years an unprecedented number of restitution claims have been approved by museums and governments. This week two former UK culture ministers teamed up to call for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures removed from Athens in Greece by Lord Elgin, currently on display in the British Museum and last month Benin Bronzes which had been displayed in the USA were returned to the Kingdom of Benin in modern day Nigeria. Some commentators argue that a new way of operating for museums is unfolding before our eyes. It is a global conversation that has huge implications for the future of these institutions. Tina Daheley is joined by Herman Parzinger, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation who oversees the work of 27 museums and cultural organisations in Germany; Annelize Kotze, curator at the national Iziko Museums of South Africa; Alexander Herman, director of the UK based Institute of Art and Law and author of Restitution: The Return of Cultural Artefacts; Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, a human rights activist who runs the US based Restitution Study Group and Victor Ehikhamenor, a leading Nigerian artist who has been inspired to make work about restitution, including at the Venice Biennale. Producer: Simon Richardson (Photo: The Benin Bronzes on display in a museum. Credit: David Cliff/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images)

Across Ukraine photographers who used to shoot landscapes, fashion shows and weddings are focusing instead on bomb damaged buildings, soldiers in trenches and civilians caught up in the war. Pictures that they hope in future, may provide crucial evidence in war crimes trials. Reporter Lucy Ash talks to Mykhaylo Palinchak, who was the official photographer of Ukraine’s former president and now captures the horrors of the Russian invasion. She also speaks to Olexiy Sai, a graphic designer and artist who’s created a new work using the images taken by Ukraine’s army of war photographers. Despite having some of the world’s largest oil reserves, according to new UN data more than seven million Venezuelans have left their homeland since 2015, amid an ongoing economic and political crisis. Most have moved to neighbouring Colombia and one of them is Fabiola Ferrero. She’s now won the 12th Carmignac Photojournalism award, which is a grant of 50,000 euros to carry out a 6-month field report, the results of which have become her latest project, ‘Venezuela, the Wells Run Dry’. She tells Tina Daheley about her work which chronicles the disappearance of the Venezuelan middle class and capturing the country of today. Photojournalist Nelly Ating has been documenting events across Nigeria since 2014, including the rise of Boko Haram and its impact on the young women and girls they captured in her series ‘This war has found a home.’ She’s currently studying for her PhD in Wales looking at the role of photography and human rights. Nelly told The Cultural Frontline’s Andrea Kidd about her work and the people whose stories she’s been telling. Please be warned there are descriptions of images which some listeners may find distressing in this programme. (Photo: A destroyed book. Credit: Fabiola Ferrero for Fondation Carmignac)

Some of the world’s most famous paintings have become the central focus of the global debate on climate action. Climate activists have thrown tomato soup on Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” and mashed potatoes at Monet’s famous “Haystacks”. Tina Daheley speaks to Nigerian climate activist Gloria Kasang Bulus and British art critic Louisa Buck about the role that the art world can play addressing climate change. Bolivian director, Alejandro Loayza Grisi talks to Beatriz de la Pava about his new film Utama. He explains how making the film, which reflects the real life experiences of Bolivian communities facing drought and crop failure caused by a changing climate, transformed the way he saw his country. Indonesia is a nation made up of over seventeen thousand islands making it highly vulnerable to rising sea levels and extreme weather conditions. The musician Rara Sekar reflects on her relationship with nature in her country and her feelings of eco-grief in sound and in song. (Photo: Climate activists staging a protest. Credit: Just Stop Oil/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The Fifa World Cup is being held in Qatar. The country’s been gearing up for this huge event commissioning a broad array of art projects. However human rights groups have repeatedly complained about the bad treatment of foreign labourers building the stadia, and there are also concerns for LGBTQ+ fans attending the matches, in a country where homosexuality remains illegal. Rabih Alameddine is an award-winning Lebanese US novelist and painter, whose books cover topics including the Aids epidemic, the Lebanese civil war, exile and gender identity. He is also a huge football fan and he tells Tina Daheley about what hosting the World Cup in an Arab country means for the region and discusses football’s attitude to sexuality. Argentina is famous for its legendary footballers, but amateur football is also huge in the country. Artist Martin Kazanietz captures this love of five-a-side and the social side of soccer in his paintings and he tells us about his own passion for the amateur game. The Uefa Women's EUROs took place in England this year, with a record audience of more than 365 million people watching worldwide. The tournament appointed British Jamaican, professor Shirley Thompson as composer in residence. She created two works, Momentum, a Concerto for Football and Orchestra, the other, an anthem called Beautiful Game, both performed by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Shirley told The Cultural Frontline’s Andrea Kidd about the pieces. Nigeria might have missed out on a place in the World Cup, but one man who’s putting the country’s footballers on the virtual international playing field is Victor Daniyan. For the last three years he’s been painstakingly creating a Pan African video football game. Victor explains why it’s important for him to develop this interactive platform. (Photo credit: Colin Anderson Productions Pty Ltd/Getty Images)

This week we hear how writers and filmmakers navigate the challenges of telling stories from the past, a past that in many places around the world people are finding it harder and harder to agree upon. Nobel Prize winning author Orhan Pamuk tells Anu Anand about his new novel Nights of Plague, set on the fictional Aegean island of Mingheria. It’s 1900 and the island is in the grip of plague. The novel explores themes of religion, superstition, individuality & nationalism and has caused some controversy when last year Pamuk was investigated by the Turkish state for “insulting” the founder of modern Turkey because of similarities some drew between a character in Nights of Plague, the revolutionary leader Major Kamil, and Turkey's first president Kemal Attaturk. Anna Bailey talks to Oscar winning actor Viola Davis and director Gina Prince Bythewood about finding alternative historical sources for their new movie The Woman King, about the women warriors of the ancient African kingdom of Dahomey, which is in modern day Benin. And we mark the passing of British novelist Dame Hilary Mantel, best known for her historical Wolf Hall trilogy, hearing about how novels can help us question historical orthodoxies. (Photo: Orhan Pamuk. Credit: Ahmet Bolat/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

For 25 years Sri Lanka went through a bitter civil war between the majority Sinhalese and the Tamil minority. Earlier this year the country was declared bankrupt and has been facing a major economic crisis, with shortages of medicines, fuel, cooking gas and food. Tens of thousands of people, the vast majority of them peaceful, took to the streets to stage the biggest mass protest in the country’s history, storming the presidential office and demanding the resignation of the President. He fled the country in July and a state of emergency was declared. The hub of the social and artistic movement for change was Gota Go Gama in the capital Colombo. One of the artists who was part of this make-shift village is Yasodhara Pathanjali. She told Saroj Pathirana about the art work she created there. Singer songwriter Namini Panchala tells us about her protest song "We all have a common enemy'' and mutli-disciplinary artist Imaad Majeed explains how he’s been using the arts to bring communities together. Filmmakers Prasanna Vithanage and Anantharamanan discuss the complexities of putting Sri Lankan stories on screen. Prasanna is one of Sri Lanka’s leading filmmakers whose work explores ethnic conflict and Sri Lanka’s dark days during the Civil war. Filmmaker Anantharamanan also explores Sri Lanka’s conflict in his short films, and his debut feature “The 6th land,” is inspired by the many Tamil mothers and wives, still searching for their missing sons and husbands. Novelist Shehan Karunatilaka has just won one of the world’s most prestigious literary prizes, the Booker, for his novel The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida. Shehan tells the BBC’s Martha Kearney more about the origins of the story and its links to the history of Sri Lanka. Producers: Andrea Kidd and Kevin Satizabal Carrascal (Photo: A protester in Sri Lanka. Credit: Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images)

On this week’s The Cultural Frontline, we look at the the place of women artists in Iran today and the important role music has played in the recent protests. Tina Daheley talks to two Iranian performers in exile, both arrested for the crime of singing alone - an act which has been illegal for women there since the Islamic revolution of 1979. Faravaz is a singer based in Germany and Justina is a rapper now living in Sweden. In 2020 the pair teamed up to release the single, Fatwa, about the rights of women in the country they left behind. Producer: Simon Richardson (Photo: A protester holds a portrait of Mahsa Amini during a demonstration. Credit: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images)

This week Anu Anand hears from artists highlighting climate change in their work. Pakistan has seen its worst flooding in years. One artist who’s addressing the climate issues facing the country in an unusual format is Taqi Shaheen. Along with fellow artist Sara Khan Pathan, he’s designed an environmental strategy boardgame called Machi Wachi, set around the island of Bhit, near Karachi. ‘Megafires’ have become a regular phenomenon in the US State of California. A new exhibition called Fire Transforms brings together artists from across the region, responding to the changing climate. Linda Gass uses her textile art to create a birds’ eye view of changing landscapes and the preciousness of water. Documentary photographer Norma I Quintana lost her home and her studio in the Napa wine country fires in October 2017. She’s been using the charred objects found in the ruins to tell the story of that experience as she explained to Andrea Kidd. The experimental orchestra, The Manchester Collective, has teamed up with the BAFTA award-winning sound recordist Chris Watson and his long-term collaborator Spanish filmmaker Carlos Casas to perform the piece Weather, by US composer Michael Gordon. It’s now been reinterpreted by the Collective and includes an immersive film and soundscape of some of the habitats impacted by rising temperatures and sea levels. Anna Bailey went to a rehearsal to find out more. Artists and writers from 28 countries have come together for a project called the World Weather Network. They’ve created a series of ‘weather stations’ and for the next year, they’ll be sharing their reports through art. One of the people taking part is visual artist Derek Tumala from the Philippines. He tells us about his live, interactive project called Tropical Climate Forensics. (Image credit: Getty)

2022 sees the 100th anniversary of the world’s first ever broadcast advert, and this week we’re exploring the art and craft of advertising, looking at how commercials differ around the world and talking to the creative teams that put them together. We hear from Jonathan Wolberg and Thabang Lehobye from South African advertising agency FCB about their promotion for Coca Cola, which was tailor made to help people in the country stop pronouncing each others’ names incorrectly. As increasing numbers of companies attempt to project an eco-friendly image, we explore the concept of ‘green-washing.' Melissa Mbugua from the campaigning group Creatives for Climate, a global network of advertising professionals promoting environmental action in the industry explains how to spot it and reflects on the changing attitudes across Africa. Robert Cerkez and Mikael Jørgensen from the &co Ad Agency in Copenhagen talk about selling to Scandinavia and how their advert for the airline SAS subverted the region’s stereotypes and drew a strong reaction from some quarters. And as the US midterms approach, Tahseen Rabbi, Video Producer at media company Bloomberg and Tobe Berkovitz, Associate Professor of Advertising at Boston University, share an insiders’ guide to American political advertising. Producer: Simon Richardson (Photo: A family watching adverts. Credit: Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Getty)

Since the 1960s, Colombia has seen decades of warfare between leftist guerrillas, right wing paramilitaries and the army, claiming an estimated two hundred and twenty thousand lives. Since a polarizing peace agreement in 2016, protests and violence have increased. After a closely fought presidential election in June the country elected its first leftist leader, Gustavo Petro. Always an important element of Colombian culture, music has brought citizens together in protest recently. Three-time Grammy nominated Bomba Estéreo, whose music fuses a unique blend of cumbia and champeta rhythms, use their platform to tackle political and environmental issues affecting the country. Beatriz de la Pava talks to founder band member Simón Mejía. Encanto, the Disney animated film about a Colombian family with magical powers has been a global hit. Constanza Hola speaks to María Cecilia Botero, the popular actor who plays grandmother Abuela Alma, about how the movie has shown the world a different side to Colombian culture. The conflict and its impact on Colombian society has featured heavily in the work of many of the country’s leading writers. Novelists Juan Gabriel Vasquez and Cristina Bendek discuss how Colombia’s history has shaped their work and the role of writers in today’s society. Producers: Andrea Kidd and Kevin Satizabal Carrascal (Photo: Protesters in Colombia. Credit: Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images)

In March this year, the World Health Organization announced research findings that the Covid-19 pandemic had triggered a 25% increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide. We ask how does the act of making art help creatives around the world address personal psychological challenges? And we celebrating art’s ability to inspire and soothe anyone - artist or not - who might be experiencing difficulties with their mental health. Spice Girl Melanie C opens up about how at the height of her fame she was dealing with depression and an eating disorder and tells us how she worked to overcome these challenges. Nigerian artist Jonathan Chambalin explains how making art helped him through the anxiety of lockdown. Singaporean landscape photographer Xuan Hui Ng describes how capturing nature enabled her to overcome a downward spiral of grief. And American Gen Z cultural journalist Alexis Oatman on how millions of Americans are responding to career burnout, including Beyoncé. If you've been affected by the content of this programme information and support is available via the BBC Action Line, click on the link below. (Photo: Melanie C. Credit: Matt Holyoak)

With over one billion monthly users, TikTok is now the platform of choice for comedians, musicians, artists, filmmakers, writers and dancers around the world. Their aim is to go viral and even possibly become the next global superstar. So just how do you get your video onto phone screens around the world? Digital journalist and social media expert Rebecca Jennings talks to Sophia Smith-Galer about how the TikTok algorithm works and why there is content censorship controversy on the platform. What does it take to go from TikTok to the top of the music charts? Sophia speaks to four musicians about how the platform has changed the way they make music and why they want to share it with a TikTok audience. Emo-musician Daine tell us why they are nervous about the algorithm, and composer Julia Riew explains what made her want to document writing a Korean-inspired Disney-style musical with her followers. The singer-songwriter Tom Rosenthal explains how it feels to go viral, and the violinist Esther Abrami is using TikTok to bring her music to a wider audience. Charity Ekezie is a Nigerian creator makes videos that challenge and shatter negative stereotypes about Africa. Her funny and sarcastic videos have racked up millions of views, but she explains why she feels the platform needs to do more to ensure African TikTokkers like her get the recognition and financial opportunities they deserve. Have you been recommended a book on #BookTok? The hashtag has had over 73 billion views to date, and has been described as one of the “most active communities” on the platform. Latin American BookTokkers MarianaBooker and BooksbyLA explain what makes a good #BookTok video, their relationships with authors, and how to make money from using TikTok. Producers: Sofie Vilcins, Sophia Smith-Galer, Andrea Kidd, Simon Richardson, Kevin Satizabal Carrascal and Jack Thomason. (Photo: Phone with TikTok logo . Credit: Dado Ruvic/Reuters. Marianabooker photo courtesy of Mariana Etchegary Boyer. Booksbyla photo courtesy of Layla Fernanda.)

In 2016, one of the largest tribal gatherings in North American history took place on the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Reservation in North Dakota. Thousands of indigenous people, from across the continent, came together "in defence of water" and to protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe mobilised supporters from across the country and the response was extraordinary. Thousands of indigenous people from across America and beyond joined together as "water protectors" and in solidarity against the "black snake" of the pipeline. The encampments evoked memories of previous native conflicts with central government, with tepees on the prairie and men on horseback. But this was a very modern movement, fuelled by social media, largely led by women and using the full force of indigenous art and culture. Nick Rankin travels to North Dakota to find out what happened at this controversial site, and to see how those events continue to resonate there today. He talks to local artists and activists, and to several of the original water protectors. How has the tribe been changed? In what ways has it altered their relationship with other tribes and with the surrounding non-native culture? How significant is the role of Native Arts and language in this new wave of environmental protest? Presenter: Nick Rankin Producer: Anthony Denselow A Whistledown production for BBC World Service Image: Activist Waniya Locke (Credit: Anthony Denselow)

This week we hear from some of the international artists who’ve been taking part at this year’s Edinburgh Festivals. It’s the world’s biggest arts festival, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Aboriginal Australian William Barton is an award winning composer, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and one of the country’s leading didgeridoo players. His music has been performed from the Beijing Olympics to Westminster Abbey in London and he tells Tina Daheley about the language of this ancient traditional instrument and how he blends it with European classical music. Scottish writer Uma Nada-Rajah’s play Exodus is set against the backdrop of a UK Conservative party leadership contest. In Uma’s all female version, we met a would be Prime Minister who’s staging a photo opportunity under the white cliffs of Dover to launch her anti-immigration policy, when a body washes up. Uma Nada-Rajah told Kate Molleson about the inspiration behind her topical satire. In the 1994 Rwandan genocide, an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by dominant Hutu forces in 100 days. For her piece, The Book of Life, Rwandan playwright and director Odile Gakire Katese, known as Kiki Katese, tells the story of that conflict through the letters of ordinary Rwandans. She tells us why she feels that the arts can help to bring reconciliation to the country. Circus Abyssinia is the first all Ethiopian Circus troupe. Created by two brothers, Bibi and Bichu, their latest show, called Tulu, is inspired by the Ethiopian runner Derartu Tulu. She won the 10,000 meters in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, the first black African woman to win Olympic gold. Bibi and Bichu spoke to The Cultural Frontline’s Andrea Kidd and explained why they wanted to portray her story through circus skills. (Photo: An aerial silk performer from Circus Abyssinia. Credit: David Rubene Photography)

This week, as the world has been reacting to the shocking news of the attack on the author Sir Salman Rushdie at a book event in New York State, The Cultural Frontline asks what this attack means for the world of writers and publishing and what it says about freedom of expression in literature today. Tina Daheley is joined by the Kurdish author and former human rights lawyer Burhan Sönmez, the Ugandan novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija and the US Irish writer and literary translator Maureen Freely. Sir Salman is one of the most celebrated writers in the English language. His second novel, Midnight's Children, won the Booker Prize for fiction, one of literature's top awards. It was Rushdie's fourth novel, The Satanic Verses, which became his most controversial book, and he was forced to go into hiding as a result of the backlash after it was published in 1988. Many Muslims reacted with fury to it, arguing that the portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad was a grave insult to their faith. He faced death threats and the then-Iranian leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa - or decree - calling for Rushdie's assassination. In recent years the author seemed to enjoy a new level of freedom. Please be warned that there are descriptions of torture in this programme which some listeners may find distressing. Producer: Simon Richardson (Main Image: Sir Salman Rushdie onstage at the Guild Hall Academy Of The Arts Achievement Awards 2020, March 03, 2020, New York City. Credit: Sean Zanni / Patrick McMullan via Getty Images.)

On this week’s programme Anu Anand speaks to the theatre makers giving unheard and censored stories top billing. Ron Simons is a multi-award winning theatre producer, as well as an actor and film producer. He’s won four Tony awards, the most of any Black Broadway producer. He explains why his mission is to put the stories and experiences of under-represented communities on stage, and make sure representation happens behind the scenes as well. The Irish actor, director, producer and Hollywood star Gabriel Byrne is performing his own story. He’s created a solo show of his best-selling memoir, Walking With Ghosts, sharing moments from his childhood in Ireland, including how he turned to amateur dramatics after failing to become a priest or a plumber, right through to his major Hollywood career. Gabriel also tells reporter Paul Waters about the production that first enthralled him to the theatre. Ming-wai Lit is the founder of Hong Kong theatre company Stage 64. It was created in 2009, and for a decade, put on plays to mark the anniversary of the violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests which took place in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, on the 4th June 1989. Mention of Tiananmen Square protests is censored in China, and in Hong Kong activists have been sentenced to prison for taking part in banned vigils. Ming-wai explains why she set up Stage 64 and the importance of theatre to tell these stories. (Photo: Ron Simons. Credit: Jim Spellman/WireImage/Getty)

This week, to mark 60 years of Jamaican independence, Josie d’Arby meets the artists shaping the culture of the country today. Sharma Taylor is an award-winning writer from the island, who has been short-listed no fewer than four times for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Last month, she released her debut novel, What a Mother's Love Don't Teach You. Set in 1980s Jamaica, it’s a story told by a multitude of unreliable narrators and with a mystery about parentage at its heart. Photographer David I Muir looks through his archive to share the story of one photograph that he feels tells a distinctive story of Jamaica: a scene celebrating Jamaica’s bounteous seafood. Film makers Storm Saulter, whose movies include Sprint and Better Mus’ Come, and Gabrielle Blackwood, who works across fiction and documentary, discuss capturing Jamaica’s history on film. And founder of Dubwise Jamaica, the Reggae selector, Yaadcore, shares the philosophy behind his music. Producer: Simon Richardson (Photo: A still from Better Mus’ Come. Credit: Storm Saulter)

How is the art musicians create affected by war or displacement from their homelands for other reasons? We hear from classical musicians performing while their home is under fire, or whose whole approach to their art is changing because of their exile - including the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, which was created in response to the war in Ukraine. Venezuelan choir director Ana Vanessa Marvez talks about passing on her country’s musical skills to fellow migrants in Chile We also hear from Syrian viola player Raghad Haddad who has discovered artistic liberation alongside the loss and pain of exile. Presenter: Tina Daheley Producers: Paul Waters & Kevin Satizabal Carrascal Reporter: Anna Bailey (Photo: The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra)

We meet artists of the queer diaspora: LGBTQ+ creatives living abroad, away from the cultures that raised them, to discuss ideas of personal and artistic freedom, exile and home and the meaning of the word ‘queer’ in 2022. Arab film makers Sarah Kaskas, co-founder of Karaaj Films, and Mohammad Shawky Hassan discuss their new films, The Window, and Shall I Compare You to a Summer’s Day? with Tina Daheley. Mohammad Shawky Hassan recently appeared in London as part of the The SAFAR Film Festival of cinema from the Arab world. British transgender writer Juno Roche discusses their candid memoir A Working Class Family Ages Badly and the idea of creativity in exile with Simon Richardson. Nhojj, a singer and songwriter raised in Guyana and Trinidad and living in New York, explains how his sexuality informs his art. And Hong Kong Chinese poet Mary Jean Chan explains the thinking behind the word ‘queer,’ used in the title of their latest co-edited poetry anthology 100 Queer Poems., as well as reading exclusive new work. Produced by Simon Richardson (Photo: Sophia Moussa Fitch and Tamara Saade in a still from The Window. Credit: Karaaj Films)

According to the United Nations, optimistic estimates suggest that at least half of today’s over 7,000 spoken languages will be extinct or seriously endangered by the end of this century. 2022 sees the start of the United Nations International Decade of Indigenous Languages, drawing global attention to the critical situation faced by many languages and advocating for their preservation and promotion. One of the people championing first nation languages is Clint Bracknell. He’s a musician, singer and songmaker, and releases his music under his Noongar name, Maatakitj. Clint is also a Professor of Indigenous Languages in Australia. Clint has teamed up with multi–ARIA Award winning dance producer Paul Mac to release an album sung in Noongar, called Noongar Wonderland’. Renata Flores has been described as “Peru’s queen of Quechua rap,” combining trap, hip-hop, and electronic influences with Andean instruments. When she was only 14 her Quechua cover of Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel”, got over one million views. Now writing her own songs in Quechua, she uses this urban music to teach young people this ancient language. Renata told our reporter Constanza Hola about her passion for her language. Singer-songwriter Cina Soul is from Accra, Ghana and performs in Ga. Her songs are infused with Highlife, Soul and R&B. Although Ga was originally spoken in the Ghanaian capital, now languages such as Twi have taken over the cultural scene. Cina tells Tina Daheley how she’s been bringing the Ga language and culture back to the mainstream. Julie Fowlis is an award winning folk singer who grew up on the Scottish outer Hebridean island of North Uist. She’s a leading exponent for the Scots Gaelic language and traditions, thanks to performances around the world, and even on the soundtrack of Disney Pixar’s film, Brave. Producers: Andrea Kidd and Kevin Satizabal Carrascal (Photo: Clint Bracknel. Credit: Jayga Ringrose)

In Nordmarka forest just outside of Oslo, one thousand trees have been planted to supply paper for a special anthology of books to be printed in one hundred years' time. Every year over the next century, a leading writer is selected to contribute a text, with the writings held in trust, unpublished, until the year 2114. Writers so far have included Margaret Atwood, Han Kang and David Mitchell. Catharina Moh speaks to two of the creative forces behind the project, the artist Katie Paterson and the urban planner Anne Beate Hovind. It's often advised that you should talk to your plants, but what about playing them music? We revisit Barcelona's Liceu Opera House where, in 2020 following lockdown, Spanish conceptual artist Eugenio Ampudia created a very unusual new performance: a special concert for an audience of 2,292 plants. The award-winning Australian writer Robbie Arnott discusses his novel The Rain Heron and reflects on how the forests in his home state of Tasmania have shaped his outlook as a writer. Producer: Sofie Vilcins and Simon Richardson (Photo: Future Library, Oslo. Photo Credits: Rio Gandara / Helsingin Sanomat)

Twenty-five years since the handover of Hong Kong from the British back to China, journalist and former BBC Hong Kong correspondent Juliana Liu explores the cultural impact in Hong Kong itself and in the diaspora. Billy Tang is the new Executive Director and curator of Para Site, one of the oldest and most active independent art institutions in Asia. He tells us about the appeal of working in and shaping the culture of Hong Kong. Arts and culture journalist Vivienne Chow explores what’s happening in the Hong Kong cultural scene, from the revival of Cantopop, to the decision of some artists to leave the city. Samson Young is a Hong Kong based artist and composer with a fascination for sound and experimentation. He represented Hong Kong in the 2017 Venice Biennale and the energy, intensity and history of the city has influenced him and his work. He describes his latest project and what it’s like to make art in Hong Kong today. With the introduction of the National Security law and last year, the film censorship law, many artists have chosen to leave Hong Kong. Filmmakers Ka Leung Ng and Ching Wong first met making the dystopian speculative fiction film Ten Years, which won Best Film at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2016.They’ve now come together again, and earlier this year created the first Hong Kong Film Festival UK. They explained why they felt it was important to show films that are no longer able to screen in their native Hong Kong. (Photo: A poster celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover. Credit: China News Service/Getty Images)

With scores of superhero films due for release, from Spiderman, to Batgirl, Thor and Black Panther, and a global comic book market predicted to grow to $12 billion a year by 2028, we go behind the mask of these larger than life characters, to look at the role Superheroes play in different societies and cultures around the world, and ask, do we need them more than ever today? Canadian Chinese actor Simu Liu discusses becoming the first Asian superhero in a Marvel Universe film, Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings. He tells reporter Anna Bailey how his path to acting wasn’t always easy or a career his parents originally approved of, as penned in his new memoir We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story. Pakistani illustrator, comic artist and writer Umair Najeeb Khan discusses his new comic book generation of heroes, the Paak Legion, with Tina Daheley. It includes Samaa, born with the ability to manipulate the wind, Afsoon, the Protector of the Mountains and Haajar, a mother of three, fighting crime on the streets of Lahore. Growing up in Pakistan, he couldn’t see himself represented in this world, so he designed a set of Pakistani superheroes of his own. And reporter Paul Waters visits the Superheroes, Orphans & Origins exhibition of comic art at London’s Foundling Museum and talks to comic artists Woodrow Phoenix and Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom about their work exploring the psyche of superheroes. Producers: Andrea Kidd and Simon Richardson (Photo: Simu Liu in Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings. Credit: Marvel Studios)

This week we’re exploring Afrofuturism, the movement that blends fantasy, folklore and technology, to imagine a new future for African nations and people of African heritage. Four years after the smash hit movie Black Panther turned Afrofuturism into an unstoppable artistic force globally we’re asking: what’s next? We meet the next generation of Afrofuturism-inspired artists, with Congolese-Rwandan-Belgian rapper Lous and the Yakuza, who’s just been signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label and Nigerian fashion designer Adebayo Oke Lawal who recently dressed the new Doctor Who actor Ncuti Gatwa in Afrofuturist couture. Plus filmmakers Sharon Lewis and Dimeji Ajibola on the challenges of making Afrofuturist movies in Canada and Nigeria. And American poet Gary Jackson discusses the recent anthology of ‘superhero poetry’ he has co-edited called The Future of Black, showcasing a new literary sub-genre inspired by Afrofuturism’s love for comic book stories. Presenter: Tina Daheley Producers: Simon Richardson and Laura Northedge (Photo: Lous and the Yakuza. Credit: Charlotte Wales)

Making it as a musician can be a tough gig, but if you have a disability, things can get even more complicated. Inaccessible venues, negative attitudes and lack of representation in the industry are common challenges people have to contend with. Despite this, disabled musicians are making their voices heard. Award winning Nigerian-American Electronic Dance star Lachi has seven albums and millions of streams to her name. As a visually impaired musician, Lachi campaigns for the inclusion of disabled artists. As well as consulting on disability inclusion, including at the White House, this year she’s launched RAMPD, Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities. Popular playback singer and producer Ritika Sahni formed Pehli Baarish, an inclusive band of disabled and non-disabled musicians in 2014. They perform in venues including hospitals, orphanages and drug rehabilitation centres, in order to change the perception of disability in Indian society. Ritika talks to Tina Daheley, along with one of its members, blind keyboard player Sarfaraz Qureshi. Babsy Mlangeni is a celebrated South African musician, who lost his sight shortly after he was born. He started one of the first black-owned record label in South Africa and he now runs a foundation that inspires blind children to build up resilience and pursue their dreams. Babsy spoke to reporter Mpho Lakaje about his life and work. British singer songwriter Ruth Lyon cut her teeth fronting her rock band Holy Moly & The Crackers. She shares her experiences with The Cultural Frontline about how being a wheelchair user has impacted her career and driven her activism Producers: Kevin Satizabal Carrascal, Andrea Kidd and Laura Northedge (Photo: Lachi. Credit: Lachi Music LLC)

The Commonwealth is an association of 54 countries from across the world. It’s home to a third of the world’s population including from Australia, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Kenya to the UK, Canada and many island nations in between. The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition is the world’s oldest international writing competition for schools. Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall talks to Tina Daheley about the competition. She also shares her passion for books and how her father instilled in her a love of reading. The Duchess is also joined by two competition winners, Ethan Charles Mufuma from Uganda, Hiya Chowdhury from India. We hear from Nigerian novelist Chigozie Obioma, author of The Fishermen and An Orchestra of Minorities. He’s in conversation with the Jamaican writer of Here comes the Sun, and Patsy, Nicole Dennis-Benn. Both novelists explore the peoples and culture of their respective countries in their work and encourage the next generation of writers. Shehan Karunatilaka is a Sri Lankan writer best known for his cricketing novel Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew, which won the 2012 Commonwealth Book Prize and was recently chosen by the BBC as one of its Big Jubilee Reads, celebrating 70 books from across the Commonwealth. He told us about the work of art that has inspired him - the 1985 track 'Russians' by UK popstar Sting, about the Cold War threat of nuclear attack, a song that continues to carry a very human message. Producer: Andrea Kidd Image: The Queen Consort during a reception for winners of the Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition, at Buckingham Palace in London, November 2022 (Credit: Kirsty O'Connor/PA Wire)

In the last few months two renowned comedians have experienced violence on stage. Chris Rock was slapped during the Oscar’s ceremony and Dave Chapelle was attacked during one of his shows by a member of the public. In this week’s The Cultural Frontline we explore the risks and challenges of performing comedy today. Indonesian comedian Sakdiyah Ma’ruf and US comic Gastor Almonte discuss the current situation for comedians and what can and cannot be said on stage. Ukrainian comedian Anna Kochegura lives in Kyiv and has been performing stand-up for the past five years. Like many comedians, she bases her work on her daily life. However since the Russian invasion in February, her daily life has turned 180 degrees on its head. She tells us about the role of comedy during a time of war. Sharul Channa is a rare thing in Singapore – a full time female comedian. Despite opposition she’s now a popular comic, determined to bring female topics to the stage and prove that women can be laugh out loud funny. Presenter Tina Daheley Producers Constanza Hola and Laura Northedge (Photo: Sakdiyah Ma’ruf. Credit: Goh Chai Hin/AFP via Getty Images)

How novelists working across popular genres like crime, horror and fantasy are overcoming literary snobbery to get their work the credit it deserves and broaden the definition of what makes truly great writing. South Korean horror writer Bora Chung, shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize, tells us what it means to see her work, a type of fiction often dismissed in her country as commercial and not ‘pure literature,’ nominated for the prestigious award. Crime novelists from two very different countries, Deon Meyer in South Africa and Awais Khan in Pakistan, discuss with Tina Daheley why theirs is a misunderstood genre, one with the capacity to offer a social critique, and even change society for the better, all in the process of telling a great story. Critically acclaimed New Zealand fantasy novelist Elizabeth Knox shares the magic of imagining fantastical new worlds, and how writing and reading fantasy can help us come to terms with traumatic experiences. Producer: Simon Richardson (Photo: Bora Chung)

Lola Arias is a well-known and influential Latin American theatre director, writer and filmmaker. Her powerful stage pieces are created from real life testimony. She gathers material for these works by talking to and workshopping with people who have witnessed, or been part of a particular, sometimes traumatic, shared experience. These people then become her actors, performing their lives in the theatre. She tells Tina Daheley about her working methods and her works including ‘Minefield’, where she brought together British and Argentinian veterans from the 1982 Falklands war, ‘The Day I Was Born’ which included people from different political sides during the Chilean dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet and her latest piece, Lengua Madre, Mother Tongue, exploring motherhood in the 21st Century. This year Kaunas, Lithuania’s second largest city, is one of the three European Capitals of Culture 2022. It’s a place with a troubled past and one the topics being explored during this year of Culture is its forgotten or suppressed history. One of the artists who’s exhibiting there is William Kentridge. His family emigrated to South Africa from Lithuania more than a century ago to escape antisemitism and the pogroms. For years, the internationally acclaimed artist admits he was reluctant to visit the land of his ancestors. Kentridge, who combines his trademark charcoal drawings with animation and sculpture, is well known for tackling difficult subjects such as racial and financial inequality. Lucy Ash met him at the National Art Museum in Kaunas at his exhibition called That Which We Do Not Remember. Sophie Jai’s debut novel Wild Fires is set on the Caribbean island of Trinidad. When her main character Cassandra returns home from abroad for the funeral of her cousin Chevy, she’s confronted by her intergenerational family, all living in different parts of the same house, together but separate, and the family secrets and hidden memories that have dominated their lives for decades. Sophie Jai herself was born and spent her early childhood in Trinidad until moving to Canada and she explains what drew her back to writing about Trinidad and the memories of her childhood. (Photo: An image from Lola Arias' Minefield. Credit: Tristram Kenton)

Sanctions, boycotts, bans, cancellations: from the Bolshoi to Eurovision - how the international arts world is responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the tension when arts meets politics. From world leading classical music, opera and ballet, to art, funding, film, pop concerts and streaming - how the international arts world has acted both inside and outside Russia. Peter Gelb of New York’s Metropolitan Opera on the institution’s decision to respond to the conflict. The Eurovision Song Contest: with Russia now banned, and Ukraine performing as favourites – we look at Ukraine and Russia at the world’s biggest televised song contest. We speak to Kalush Orchestra - the all-male band given permission to leave Ukraine to represent their country in Italy – and to Dr Dean Vuletic, leading academic expert on the history of Eurovision. Plus BBC Russian Service Arts and Culture Correspondent Alexander Kan explains the far-reaching scope of measures, and the push against bans. (Photo: The Ukrainian flag outside The Metropolitan Opera. Credit: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty)

Mamela Nyamza has been called a movement maverick and is one of South Africa’s most celebrated dancers. She speaks to Tina Daheley about how she uses dance to tackle the continuing inequality and social division in the Rainbow Nation. French Algerian ballerina Chloe Lopes Gomes made history by becoming the first black female dancer at the Staatsballet Berlin ballet company. In 2020 she spoke out about the racism she experienced, after she says, being told to ‘white up’ and ‘blend in’. Chloe speaks to Anna Bailey about the challenges of making the ballet world more inclusive. When the celebrated Chilean dancer César Morales was a young child, a school excursion changed his life. César was taken to see the ballet Giselle at the Municipal Theatre of Santiago in Chile and he immediately fell in love with the art form. He speaks to us about defying the expectations of his traditional Chilean family by taking up ballet not football. (Photo: Chloe Lopes Gomes. Credit: Dean Barucija)

The Venice Biennale was created in 1895 as an international art exhibition and after a year’s delay due to Covid, it’s just re-opened. Artists from across the globe have descended on the enchanting Italian city of canals and churches. There are over 1400 works on display, as well as the Pavilions from 80 countries, which will become part of the landscape of Venice over the next seven months. Finnish performance artist Pilvi Takala has impersonated a wellness consultant, a trainee at a global accountancy firm and even Snow White for her documentary style videos. For her Venice Biennale commission, Close Watch, Pilvi worked undercover for several months as a guard at one of Finland’s largest shopping malls and she explained the thinking behind her project to Lucy Ash. There are 5 countries participating for the first time at the Venice art Biennale - Cameroon, Namibia, Oman, Uganda and Nepal and one of the artists who’s representing Cameroon is photographer Angèle Etoundi Essamba. Angèle tells Anu Anand how she challenges the stereotypes of African women in her work and why it’s important for Cameroonian artists to be part of this Biennale. In the Patagonian region which covers Chile and Argentina are peatlands, a specific type of wetland that’s shaped one of the most remote landscapes in the world. Architect Alfredo Thiermann and filmmaker Dominga Sotomayor are two of the artists who’ve been collaborating on the Chilean Pavilion and working with the descendants of the Selk’nam people, the ancient indigenous group that inhabited that land many years ago. Their immersive video and sound installation “Turba Tol Hol-Hol Tol,” reflects the relationship between this ancestral culture and the landscapes that surrounds it, as they told reporter Constanza Hola. Like Cameroon, Nepal also has its first ever pavilion this year and the artist representing that country is Tsherin Sherpa. The title of the Pavilion is Tales of Muted Spirits – Dispersed Threads – Twisted Shangri-La, created to help dispel misconceptions about the country and to give Nepali artists and the entire country, a new voice in the world. Paul Waters went to meet Tsherin to hear more about his own work as well as the Nepali art scene. Producer: Andrea Kidd Photo: Dominga Sotomayor and Alfredo Thiermann finalising their immersive instillation. Credit: Dominga Sotomayor and Alfredo Thiermann)

Indigenous cultures have been suppressed since Europeans first arrived in Mexico. But increasingly, modern Mexicans want some sort of connection with their indigenous past. At its height, the ancient Mexican city of Teotihuacan had 100,000 citizens and was the largest city in the Western Hemisphere. But the civilisation had no written language, and the sudden disappearance of its population is largely unexplained. Luckily, the civilisation left behind the remains of instruments. Adje Both and Osvaldo Perez are an academic and a potter that are part of a global network of musicians, instrument makers and archaeologists that are piecing these instruments back together and recreating them. In doing so, they can breathe life back into these lost instruments and rediscover the sounds of these ancient cultures. But for the indigenous cultures of Mexico, who are still oppressed, dispossessed and marginalised, these instruments take on a more significant meaning. Xiuhtezcatl is based in LA, but his father is Mexica - an indigenous group that used to rule the Aztec empire - and the instruments are a visceral link to his ancestors. Using the work of Adje and Osvaldo and matching it with digital manipulation, Xiuhtezcatl goes back in time and tries to discover what history sounds like. Image: A collection of instruments (Credit: Tolly Robinson)

Despite Sudan once being at the forefront of African cinema, only eight feature films have been made in the last 70 years. Now a new generation of film-makers has emerged, winning acclaim from audiences and awards at film festivals around the world. You Will Die at Twenty, about a young Sudanese boy, was written and directed by Amjad Abu Alala and became the country’s first Oscar entry. Suzannah Mirghani’s short film Al-Sit follows the 15-year-old Nafisa facing an arranged marriage. They tell us why it was important for them to make their films in Sudan, telling Sudanese stories and of the issues they faced. In April 2019 President Al Bashir was overthrown and then in October last year there was a military coup in Sudan. People have been protesting on the streets and this remains a fragile time for the country. Professor of African and African Diaspora Art History at Cornell University in New York and head of the Africa Institute in the UAE, Salah M Hassan, gives us an overview of the situation and its impact on artistic and cultural life. Artist Reem Aljeally is known for her colourful acrylic works, which unusually for Sudanese artists, sensually depict the female form. As a self-taught artist and with few places to display work, she started the Muse Multi Studios and Beit Al Nissa in Khartoum to encourage other young people, especially women, to take up art and be creative. Since the revolution of 2019 music has started to flourish again in Sudan, including traditional instruments such as the Oud and the 78-stringed qanan. One organisation that is helping young people learn to play, perform and even make these instruments is Beit Al Oud. With one of their videos going viral, qanan player Wafa Mustafa explains why they hope it will be the start of a new era in Sudanese music on the world stage. Presenter: Leila Latif Producer: Andrea Kidd Photo: A still from You Will Die at Twenty. Credit: New Wave Films)

Over a month into the Ukraine conflict, Anu Anand speaks to its artistic community and hears their personal stories. As ballet dancers join the front line, sculptors build road blocks and galleries protect their art, we hear from Darya Bassel, Film Producer and industry head at Kyiv’s Docudays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival about how filmmakers have been turning their lenses to the frontline. One of Ukraine’s greatest writers Andrey Kurkov reflects on life in war-torn Ukraine. Like so many others he has had to leave his home with his family and Andrey has written a personal account for the BBC of what it means to become a refugee in his own homeland and of his new routine living in a country at war. Conceptual artist Pavlo Makov is representing Ukraine at this year’s Venice Art Biennale. He explains how he got part of his work, The Fountain of Exhaustion, quickly got out of the country and how the piece, which started as a local idea, became a global statement about the exhaustion of humanity and a democratic world. And the story behind the viral violin orchestra video of the old Ukrainian folk song, Verbovaya Doschechka, that starts with a single player in his basement shelter. Illia Bondarenko tells us why it was important for him to be part of this project and how it was recorded between the bombing and the sirens. (Photo: Andrey Kurkov)

Nigerian-born rapper Tommy Kuti travels across northern Italy to meet second generation artists who use music to highlight social issues and celebrate their multicultural identities. Milan, Brescia and Verona: it’s in the industrial heart of the country that new musical talents are born. They are influenced by the rich Italian tradition of singers and songwriters and by the sounds of the black diaspora. From the delicate notes of soul singer Anna Bassy to the hip hop rhythms of Mosè Cov; from the defiant attitude of trap artists like The Slings to David Blank’s dancing vibes. These emerging artists have one thing in common: they are the sons and daughters of African migrants who came to Italy looking for better job opportunities. Their music tells a universal tale of longing and belonging, shining a light on the day-to-day struggles of young generations who find themselves living in between cultures, in Europe and beyond. Producer: Alice Gioia Actor: Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong (Photo: (L), Anna Bassy, credit: Boredom studio, (C), Tommy Kuti, credit: Marco Montanari, (R) David Blank, credit: Michael Yohanes)

Playwright Mark Ravenhill celebrates the power and process of theatre, talking to some of its leading global voices. He’s joined by Indian playwright and director Abhishek Majumdar, James Ngcobo, Artistic Director of the Market Theatre in Johannesburg, South Africa, Lauren Gunderson, who’s been called America’s most produced living playwright and Chilean director Manuela Infante. There is behind the scenes insights, sharing their top tips for creating exciting, innovative theatre. They discuss the impact that theatre can have and their hopes for the future after the devastating impact of the pandemic. They are also joined by other inspiring theatre makers who discuss their own experiences, as well as answering questions posed by our virtual audience. Producers: Andrea Kidd and Lucy Collingwood (Photo: Mark Ravenhill. Credit: Scott Campbell/Getty Images)

Two years on from the start of the global Covid pandemic, we reflect on artistic reflections from across the arts, and the power of human resilience. On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation declared Covid-19 a pandemic, and since then over six million lives have been lost. The world as we knew it has changed. Documentary-maker Matthew Heineman reflects on filming the unfolding health crisis. In March 2020, as New York shut down, he embedded himself in one of America’s hardest-hit hospitals, and for four months filmed medical staff, essential worker patients, and families as they battled with the virus. His Oscar shortlisted film, The First Wave, documents the harsh realities of the early pandemic, and the terrible inequalities - but also the incredible strength of the human spirit. Hollywood’s Andrew Garfield on an actor’s life silenced during lockdown. The pandemic has had a huge impact on the arts: bringing productions to a halt, closing theatres, cinemas, and live music, and leaving artists without means to perform. It closed down film productions, including Oscar-nominated tick, tick…BOOM! Days into filming, lead actor - the award-winning British-American Andrew Garfield - suddenly found himself alone, without cast or crew to play to. Andrew talks to the BBC’s Anna Bailey about how he kept going in those quiet times, got back into filming, and is now up for an Oscar. Plus, writer Ilaria Bernardini considers the Italian people’s cultural response. Italy was the first country in Europe to be overwhelmed by the virus, the first in the world to shut down, and one of the slowest to reopen. During those first weeks of lockdown, the people of Italy united to keep their spirits up, and moving musical performances from balconies went viral. Two years on - from her home in Milan and with Italy still in a State of Emergency - writer Ilaria Bernardini reflects on life under strict lockdown, how artists brought hope in those uncertain times, and the changes she’s seen since. And the Zimbabwean artist sharing health messages through his sculptures. When the pandemic hit, artist, sculptor, and lawyer David Ngwerume decided he could help - through art. He tells us about his stone sculptures of people wearing masks and having vaccines - sculptures he hopes can help stem the spread of Covid, in a part of the world where vaccination rates are low. Producer: Emma Wallace (Photo: A still from Matthew Heineman’s documentary The First Wave: Dr Nathalie Dougé participating in protest. Credit: National Geographic)

In the 93 year history of the Oscars, only seven women have been nominated in the Best Director category and just two have won. Ahead of this year’s Academy Awards, Anu Anand talks to director Jane Campion and cinematographer Ari Wegner about their film The Power of the Dog. A Western set in 1920s Montana starring Benedict Cumberbatch, it has received 12 Oscar nominations – more than any other film this year and importantly, this includes history-making nominations for women in a very male-dominated film industry. Campion is now the first woman to have been nominated twice as Best Director – an otherwise all-male category – while Wegner is the only woman nominated as Best Cinematographer, only the second ever to be nominated. Dina Amer is an award-winning Egyptian-American journalist. She tells us about her debut film, You Resemble Me, which explores the troubled childhood and search for identity of a young French woman of Moroccan heritage, Hasna Aït Boulahcen, who was initially thought to be Europe’s first female suicide bomber. And Australian actor, playwright, novelist and director Leah Purcell on her film The Drover’s Wife: The Legend Of Molly Johnson. Set in the harsh Australian bush in 1893, Molly Johnson is desperate to keep her children safe at any cost and the film powerfully tackles themes of domestic violence and racism. The Drover’s Wife was originally a short story by the 19th century writer Henry Lawson. Leah explains why this story had such an impact on her and why it was important to represent strong First Nations women in film. (Photo: Ari Wegner and Jane Campion. Credit: Netflix)

Turkish, LA-based media artist Refik Anadol who uses data and AI to make new types of artwork, rethink art spaces, and visualise computer ‘dreams’. In his studio, he describes his work – which creates NFTs, 'data paintings' and 'sculptures', and digital immersive galleries, and is now moving to the metaverse. Plus, the gallery in the metaverse: the KAWS street art exhibition where art lovers are joined by virtual cartoon visitors – and which is now the first art show in Fortnite. And we hear from the women and non-binary creatives who want to make NFTs more diverse to improve representation in art. Producer: Emma Wallace (Photo: KAWS, SEEING, 2022, augmented reality sculpture at Serpentine North Gallery. Credit: KAWS and Acute Art)

On this week’s The Cultural Frontline Nawal Al-Mughafi explores how artists are responding to the landscape around them. Saudi artist Dana Awartani tells us about her latest piece, Where the Dwellers Lay, part of Desert X AlUla, which has been inspired by the desert landscape of the AlUla region of north west Saudi Arabia. She also discusses the role of female artists on the flourishing art scene in country. How we look at the landscape around us depends very much on our own relationship with it, whether it’s where generations of our family have taken root, or a place we intend to exploit. And that’s something explored by Zimbabwean author Blessing Musariri in her first adult novel, Only This Once Are We Immaculate. We invited fellow Zimbabwean author Ignatius Mabasa to talk to Blessing about her book. Although Blessing and Ignatius live in the capital Harare, but are both fascinated with the natural world beyond the cities. Highlighting light pollution and preserving natural darkness is an important subject for conceptual artist Rafael Y. Herman. For his upcoming exhibition called ‘ESSE’ in Palermo, he’s been making his way around the Mediterranean island of Sicily and its surrounding archipelagos, carrying only essential supplies and a camera to capture the most stunning and isolated parts of the Italian region, showcasing its natural beauty without lights, flashes or post-production. And we hear from the award-winning artist Miko Veldkamp. He was born in Suriname to parents of Dutch and Indonesian heritage and in his exhibition Ghost Stories, he explores his mixed race identity by putting varying versions of himself into paintings of the landscapes of his life, which features symbols from the different geographies in which he’s lived. (Photo: Dana Awartani. Credit: Desert X AlUla)

Just a few streets from the Louvre in central Paris, the Atelier des Artistes en Exil (the Agency of Artists in Exile) is a large studio space and cultural centre which has become a thriving hub for 400+ refugee professional artists. We join them for an “open doors” evening where visual artists, photographers, musicians and dancers are sharing their work with the public. Graffiti artist and sculptor Ahlam Jarban is our guide. Originally from Yemen, Ahlam now lives in France and has been a member of the Atelier since 2018. She shares a vibrant studio space with four other artists who have all fled their country - including Richie, a painter from Myanmar who arrived in June. Since coming to Paris, Richie’s art has become much more political. We also hear from Iranian artist Maral Balouri, Kurdish artist Bager Kaya, Afghan photographers Fatima Hossaini and Roya Heydari, and atelier director Judith Depaule The Atelier provides practical support to refugee artists applying for asylum in France, in addition to professional development and project support. But bringing together exiled artists from 45 different countries has also created a strong sense of community and sharing of artistic ideas. It’s a place for preserving traditional culture but also developing new collaborations. The night ends with a joyful live concert outside in the courtyard. Presenter: Ahlam Jarban (Photo: Daouda Nganga. Credit: Fadi Idrees)

Painter and installation artist, Qu Lei Lei, co-founded the Stars movement in China in 1979, when a group of artists grabbed national attention by displaying their work in public outside official channels and marching under the slogans of political democracy and artistic freedom. Decades later, Qu Lei Lei is still creating art that is making waves internationally. His recent work highlights the use of misinformation for political purposes, and how vulnerable the lives of ordinary people are to being “knocked over” by politics, pandemic, and environmental or financial disaster. Our reporter Paul Waters interviewed him in the home he shares with co-artist Caroline Deane. And as China hosts the Winter Olympics, artists are marking the sporting contest in their own way. Inside the China Winter Sport Art Festival in Beijing, dozens of artists have been customizing snowboards. We hear from one of them, abstract painter Shuang Wu. And also from China’s controversial “pandaman”, artist Zhao Bandi, whose signature panda sculptures are on show in the festival courtyard. Plus: What lies ahead for China – and the rest of the world – after the Olympics? China’s science fiction authors are coming up with scenarios based on new technology, artificial intelligence, Covid, climate change and the other uncertainties of life. And they're also looking to new parts of the world for inspiration too. We hear from two award-winning sci fi writers. Chen Qiufan is the author of a series of short stories called AI 2041, 10 Visions of Our Future. And Xia Jia’s first English language collection, A Summer Beyond Your Reach, was published a few months ago. We also hear from Chinese electronic dance music star, Corsak, on how he tailors his music depending on whether it’s for a domestic or an international audience. Presenter: Chi Chi Izundu Producer: Paul Waters (Photo: Qu Lei Lei in front of his painting Mastering Our Fate. Credit: Paul Waters)

As we say farewell to Ronnie Spector of '60s original "girl group" the Ronettes, and 25 years on from the Spice Girls’ 90s message of "girl power", we meet all-female bands striking a note for gender equality. Heavy metal in a hijab, the Indonesian Muslim metal band Voice of Baceprot, rocking out against traditional gender expectations. The all-girl group from Benin, Star Feminine Band, singing-out joyfully for girls’ right to school, not marriage. K-Pop superstars (G)I-dle - we talk to the non-Korean members finding friendship and fame in the South Korean music machine. Plus, Fafa Ruffino explains how her grandmother’s songs about her life inspired her to join African women’s rights "supergroup" Les Amazones d’Afrique. Presenter: Chi Chi Izundu Producer: Emma Wallace Reporters: Frank McWeeny and Laura Bicker (Photo: Voice of Baceprot. Credit: Bay Ismoyo/AFP/Getty Images)

Emily Ratajkowski is an American model, actress, business woman and now writer and artist. She rose to global fame after appearing in Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines music video dancing topless. She says she’s a feminist and at the time said her performance was a form of empowerment. Since then she’s become a mother and written a series of feminist essays exploring body politics. She tells reporter Anna Bailey about her new book, My Body, exploring her relationship with her own body and exploitation in the modelling industry. Àsìkò is a photographer who grew up in Lagos, Nigeria. He tells how research into his Yoruba heritage revealed violence inflicted on women's bodies in the name of tradition. He's conveyed this in a series of striking photographs of men and women - their bodies adorned with vivid arrangements of flowers which symbolise something much uglier. Tadeusz Łysiak in Poland is the director of the film, The Dress. It looks at the longing and loneliness of a woman of short stature who is constantly made to feel that she does not fit within society's norms of beauty. The Dress has been shortlisted for a 2022 Academy Award in the Live Action Short Film category. And from bodies to how we clothe them or even transcend them. Chinese designer, or "identity engineer", Abi Sheng sees the future of fashion as being less about traditional garments and more about designing alternative bodies. She uses Artificial Intelligence to add identity fluidity to what we wear. Her recent work, a gender transformative suit, aims to change the appearance of the person wearing it, creating a fluid gender identity - as she explained to reporter Constanza Hola. Presenter: Anu Anand Producer: Paul Waters (Photo: Emily Ratajkowski. Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

75 years of independence, also means it's the 75th anniversary of partition between India and Pakistan. Author and historian Aanchal Malhotra gives reporter Paul Waters a tour of Delhi's Old Fort, or Purana Qila, searching for traces or commemoration of the huge refugee camp for Muslims there in 1947. She asks if India is yet ready to mark the more complex and painful aspects of its recent history in public art? Playwrights and artists Amitesh Grover and Purva Naresh create art that challenges their audience to think and Indian society to confront uncomfortable truths. They share what inspires them and what they see as the threats to freedom of expression in India today. Writer Annie Zaidi talks about her new book, City of Incident, and the uncertain position of vocal, visible women in contemporary India. And celebrated folk singer Malini Awasthi reveals the art that changed her life and set her on a mission to ensure that traditional songs, culture and languages survive as India evolves. She was performing at the Kalinga Literary Festival in Bhubaneswar in association with the British Council. Presenter: Anu Anand Producer: Paul Waters (Photo: The Indian flag. Credit: Menonsstocks /Getty)

Nikan Khosravi, founder of Iranian heavy metal band Confess, was arrested in 2015 for his defiant lyrics and imprisoned in the country’s notorious Evin jail - charged with blasphemy and anti-government propaganda. He later fled the country, gained political asylum in Norway and, undeterred, formed a new Iranian-Norwegian line-up, with an unflinching new album - Revenge At All Costs. Nikan talks to Anu Anand about his music and his experiences Plus, Tamer Nafar – the Palestinian hip-hop pioneer who grew up in Israel in a city of Palestinians and Jews, and raps in Arabic, Hebrew, and English about politics, identity, women’s rights, and social justice. He tells Anu about the influence of his background and US hip hop, and his new track, The Beat Never Goes Off: recorded with 12 year-old Gaza-based rapper MC Abdul - despite being physically separated. And LGBTQ+ rap. Whilst the community don’t always feel accepted or represented in rap due to the homophobia and misogyny sometimes present. Reporter Jaja Muhammad talks to two artists who boldly express identity in rap - agender New York rapper Angel Haze, and non-binary, Johannesburg-based electronic rapper, Mx Blouse. And Yvonne Chaka Chaka, ‘The Princess of Africa’ - speaks to Mpho Lakaje about overcoming poverty and finding a new self through her music. (Photo: Nikan Khosravi. Credit: Eric Bransborg)

Author, editor and publisher Sheree Renée Thomas celebrates the global moment the Black Speculative Arts movement is having. Traditionally in popular culture Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculative Arts have long been considered the domain of white men. Yet, contrary to popular belief, Black artists have been creating groundbreaking work in this space from the very beginning of these genres. Sheree and scholar Susana Morris re-evaluate and recognise the forgotten or underappreciated names that, without, the community would not be as recognised as it is today. Author Nisi Shawl gives us context of what it was like to be a science fiction writer when Black Speculative Arts was not considered as part of the traditional ‘canon’. They explain, from a personal angle, how the community grew and developed into the worldwide phenomenon that it is today. In 2018, the Marvel movie Black Panther was released. After just one month it had made over a billion dollars in profit and became cherished by fans across the world. This was a watershed moment for Black Speculative Arts as it proved that there was a huge audience for the work. However, without the independent publishers allowing artists to create their work for decades on the fringes, the movie never could have happened. With the help of Andrea Hairston, Sheree explores the importance of these presses, able to create exciting and unique work, that helped usher in a new wave of artists that are taking on the mainstream like never before. Dr Reynaldo Anderson is a curator and exhibitor of Black Speculative Arts. He talks to Sheree how one exhibition in 2015 has gone on to become a global movement with artists now across Europe, America and Africa. Image: A picture designed for the recent exhibition in New York of the Black Speculative Arts Movement. Credit: John Jennings, Black Speculative Arts

Tumi Morake speaks to global stars and listeners about the gifts of art that have inspired them. Lira is one of South Africa’s bestselling pop stars. She has won multiple South African Music awards and was the first African woman to have a Barbie made in her likeness. She spoke to Tumi about how her love of painting was inspired by the gift of a piece of work from a talented South African artist. The dancer Carlos Acosta has travelled the world with his art, from his early love of breakdancing in the streets of Havana to becoming the first black principal dancer of the Royal Ballet. He spoke to the Cultural Frontline about the classic book that caught his imagination and helped him tell his own story. South Korean violin virtuoso Min Kym talks about the deep grief she experienced when her rare Stradivarius violin was stolen, and how seeing a painting by Vincent Van Gogh called 'Long Grasses with Butterflies' was the start of her recovery from depression. Plus we hear from our listeners in Kenya, Brazil and beyond about the art that has changed them during the pandemic. Photo: Min Kym, Lira and Carlos Acosta. Credit: Roberto Ricciuti/Getty, Otarel Music and Man Yee Lee)

This week on The Cultural Frontline, Anu Anand talks to Joana Hadjithomas, who along with her filmmaking partner Khalil Joreige, use their art to question the role of memory and history. Joana tells us about her own personal journals and tapes from the early 1980s, made during the Lebanese Civil War, which inspired her latest film Memory Box. The award winning actor, playwright, director and film producer Lin-Manuel Miranda, known for his musicals In the Heights, the smash hit Hamilton and his latest Tick Tick…Boom, shares with us the musical that first influenced him – Les Misérables. With increasing tension between the studios of India’s film industry and Narendra Modi’s BJP government, amidst reports of growing Islamophobia across the country, writer and cultural commentator Sandip Roy explains the history of the relationship between the Indian government and the country’s film industry And Filippo Scotti, who stars in the new autobiographical film, The Hand of God, by the Academy Award winning Italian director Paolo Sorrentino, speaks about his role and his admiration for Paolo as a filmmaker. (Photo: Lin-Manuel Miranda. Credit: Monica Schipper)

The Cultural Frontline asks what’s the future for arts, media and culture in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Using their instruments for change. Sana Safi speaks to the musicians from the Afghanistan National Institute of Music about their fight to keep traditional Afghan music alive and their fears and hopes for musicians under a Taliban government. Over 250 newspapers, radio and TV stations closed in the first 100 days of Taliban rule following the withdrawal of US troops in August, and the Afghan press watchdog NAI says around 70% of journalists have lost their jobs. Our reporter Sahar Zand speaks to Massood Sanjer, one of Afghanistan’s leading producers, about the future of Afghanistan’s media landscape. #DoNotTouchMyClothes: We find out how Afghan women around the world used this hashtag to share photos of themselves in colourful traditional clothes in protest in response to pro-Taliban rally of women in Kabul - dressed all in black, full-veils, and long robes. Sana Safi speaks to Dr Bahar Jalil who posted the very first picture, and to Sabrina Spanta – once a refugee, and now a fashion designer in the USA, inspired by Afghan women, and who recently starred on TV fashion show Project Runway. (Photo: A traditional Afghan rubab. Credit: Marcus Yam)

As Covid and climate change make us conscious of our breathing, our sense of smell, and the air around us: how the arts considers the very air that we breathe. Korean-born, leading international artist Anicka Yi on creating work that 'sculpts' the air using smells, and her new installation, In Love With The World - in which flying machines called aerobes fill the air with scent. Plus, how opera, lullabies, and breathwork are helping Covid patients breathe more easily. We hear how English National Opera's ENO Breathe has brought long Covid sufferers together online to sing lullabies to help in their recovery. Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to Jenny Mollica, a Director at the ENO, singing specialist Suzi Zumpe, and participant Sharon Sullivan. Writer Qiu Xiaolong on his crime fiction about air pollution in China. At COP26 China came under scrutiny for its reluctance to end its use of coal. Qiu Xiaolong tells us how he is so concerned about the air in his home country, he based the 10th instalment of his best-selling Inspector Chen crime series, Hold Your Breath China, on the air pollution problem. Producer: Emma Wallace (Photo: Lung Shape Leaf Skeleton. Credit: Getty Images)

What happens when Bantu-soul meets English pop? Congolese musician Batila and British singer Dandy talk to Datshiane Navanayagam about how making music helps them to make sense of the societies they live in. Liraz is an Israeli singer, actress and dancer, who’s one of Israel’s biggest stars. She speaks to Datshiane about her latest album, Zan which means "women" in Farsi. It’s a record that has had a lifetime poured into it, as it draws heavily on her family’s history and roots in Iran. Has a film, a song or an exhibition ever changed the way you see the world? Acclaimed composer and pianist Max Richter discusses the creative power of the Japanese artist Ryoji Ikeda. (Image: Batila and Dandy. Credit (Batila): Daron Bandeira)

This week, The Cultural Frontline investigates the world of crime in fact and fiction. Michael Connelly is one of the world’s bestselling crime writers. One of the key elements that shaped Michael’s writing is his past career as a crime journalist for the Los Angeles Times. He speaks to Anu Anand about his latest novel, The Dark Hours, and how his work has been shaped by the pandemic and the social unrest following the murder of George Floyd. We meet the podcast makers exploring African true crime. Investigative journalists Halima Gikandi of The Missionary and Paul McNally of Alibi discuss making podcasts that centre African experiences in telling true crime stories. Plus has a book, a film, or a song ever changed the way you see the world? The best selling Danish crime writer Jussi Adler Olsen on the Joni Mitchell song A Case of You, which helped him during one of the most difficult times in his life. (Photo: Michael Connelly. Credit: Mark DeLong)

As world leaders meet at COP26, we speak to writers, artists, and musicians helping us understand climate change. Presented by BBC Environment Correspondent Matt McGrath. Authors Amitav Ghosh and Diana McCaulay discuss turning climate fact into fiction. Ghosh grew up in India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, and now lives in America. A leading voice on climate change, his books on the issue include novel Gun Island; the new Jungle Nama; and non-fiction The Great Derangement, and the new Nutmeg’s Curse. McCaulay is a writer and environmental activist from Jamaica, and her latest novel, Daylight Come, is a work of climate fiction, set in 2084. Plus, Sebastiao Salgado’s musical portrait of the Amazon. The acclaimed Brazilian photographer spent seven years documenting the rainforest and its indigenous peoples. Now he and Italian-Brazilian conductor Simone Menezes have set the images to music from composer Heitor Villa-Lobos’s Floresta do Amazonas to create an Amazonia concert. They joined us to describe the work and climate change in the rainforest. An exhibition of Salgado’s Amazonia photos is at the Science Museum in London. And a world underwater – the sculpture park below the waves. Sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor’s unique installations can be seen around the world by divers, snorkellers, and the fish which swim around them, and tell a powerful story of climate change. He spoke to The Cultural Frontline about his latest work - an underwater forest off the coast of Cyprus. Producer: Emma Wallace, Lucy Collingwood (Photo: One of Jason deCaires Taylor’s underwater sculptures. Credit: Jason deCaires Taylor)

Experiences of migration and displacement are finding exciting form in the work of Colombian artists. Their art offers possibilities for new identities, questioning the very idea of home. Presenter Maria Wills Londoño, director of Bogotá’s Banco de la República art museum, meets migrant and displaced Colombian artists to explore art of the spaces ‘in-between’. Turner Prize-winner Oscar Murillo exhibits work around the globe, yet his starting-point is often family history. In the sound-piece My Name is Belisario, Oscar’s father recounts his migration journey, offering a universal message within a personal tale. In the Cauca region, Maria meets Julieth Morales, an indigenous artist from the Misak community. Julieth uses Misak fabric known as chumbe to weave textiles combining indigenous and Western knowledge. The fabric is an expression of resistance: to survive, the Misak must accept the world beyond their community. Colombian artist Carolina Caycedo lives in Los Angeles, but returns to her homeland regularly. She grew up by the Magdalena river, which became a major focus in her work when she learned it was to be dammed. She uses fishing nets as a metaphor for a sustainable mode of environmental engagement. In Popayán, Maria visits performance artist Edinson Quiñones. His extreme, sometimes violent performances heal past trauma. He explains the piece which defines his career: the ritual removal of a tattoo dedicated to his grandmother. Image: A tattoo on the shoulders of Edinson Quiñones (Courtesy of Edinson Quiñones)

A rising star of British photography, Kemka Ajoku talks about how his English and Nigerian roots have shaped his outlook. He tells us why he focuses on telling Black British stories and how he handles racist responses to his work. Linton Kwesi Johnson’s unflinching political poems about police brutality, social injustice and protest have made him an inspiration for a generation of poets. But whose words inspired him as a young writer? Linton shares with us how the work of Martin Carter fired his imagination and his passion for poetry. Xiran Jay Zhao’s New York Times best-selling debut novel Iron Widow has been described as Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid’s Tale. It tells the story of 18-year-old Zetian, the pilot of a giant robot, who is battling both an insidious patriarchy and menacing alien beings that lurk beyond the Great Wall of China. Xiran reveals how their experiences as a first generation Chinese immigrant and as a non-binary writer have influenced their work. Presented by Megha Mohan. (Photo: 'Gestural Greetings' by Kemka Ajoku. Credit: Kemka Ajoku)

This week on The Cultural Frontline, Tumi Morake looks at writing from her country, South Africa – focussing on fiction, poetry, and language reflecting the country’s history, politics, social make-up, and identity. Multi-award-winning author Damon Galgut’s latest novel, The Promise, is his third to be nominated for the Booker Prize, and is in the final running. Set during South Africa’s transition from apartheid, it explores its legacy through the decline of a white farming family, whose promise to their black maid - to give her the house she lives in - remains unfulfilled, as we follow them from the height of apartheid to the present day. Lebo Mashile is an acclaimed poet, actress and writer. It’s been a tough year in South Africa – with the pandemic, political scandal, and violent civil unrest – but Lebo uses her poetry to try to make sense of what’s happening in the world. She’s been performing at the recent Poetry Africa international festival at the University of KwaZulu Natal, and spoke to reporter Mpho Lakaje about tackling big issues in her work. Plus, how a new dictionary - with the help of hip hop - can overcome inequality. The South African Kaaps language is commonly used by working class people, however speakers can be negatively stereotyped and suffer discrimination. Now a new Dictionary of Kaaps - in Kaaps, English, and Afrikaans - is being launched by the University of the Western Cape and a hip hop charity, Heal The Hood. Shaquile Southgate of the charity explains the difference he hopes the dictionary will make. And South African actor, activist, and playwright Dr John Kani. In spring 2020 he was in London performing in his new play, Kunene And The King, when the pandemic sadly brought it to a close. He speaks about the art that lifted his spirits in lockdown, and his love for the jazz of Hugh Masekela. Presented by Tumi Morake Produced by Emma Wallace, Mpho Lakaje, Mugabi Turya and Jack Thomason (Photo: Damon Galgut)

This week, we focus on the booming cultural landscape of Nigeria and hear from some of the country’s most exciting creatives. One of Nollywood’s biggest stars, Richard Mofe-Damijo, talks about his screen career and how the Nigerian film industry is bouncing back from the coronavirus pandemic. Lisa Folawiyo is one of Nigeria’s leading fashion designers. Her work, which combines traditional Nigerian fabrics with contemporary tailoring, has been featured in Vogue and worn by celebrities, including Lupita Nyong’o, Lucy Liu and Thandiwe Newton. Lisa shares her secrets of how she created a global brand using traditional Nigerian materials. Etinosa Yvonne is a documentary photographer who photographed the End SARS protests against police brutality. Victor Ehikhamenor is a contemporary multimedia artist, photographer, and writer, who responded to the government ban on Twitter with an illustration of the blue bird logo, silenced behind bars. They discuss their work and the power of visual art to send political messages. Onyeka Nwelue is an award winning author, filmmaker and publisher whose latest novel, The Strangers of Braamfontein, tells the story of a young Nigerian artist, who moves to South Africa to seek new opportunities. Onyeka wrote the novel in Pidgin, he and discusses why it was important to him to bring Nigerian dialects and languages to an international audience. Presented by Chi Chi Izundu Produced by Candace Wilson, Emma Wallace and Jack Thomason (Photo: Richard Mofe-Damijo. Credit: Spotlight Photos & Imagery)

This week on The Cultural Frontline, Anu Anand looks at how migration and the journeys we take have inspired writers and theatre makers. French author Faïza Guène made a global impact with her first novel Kiffe Kiffe Demain, which was translated into English as Just Like Tomorrow. It shook up the literary scene in France with its humorous portrayal of the lives of immigrants in the deprived suburbs of Paris. Faïza Guène talks about her novel Men Don’t Cry and how the French establishment reacted to her ground-breaking debut. Writer Nina Mingya Powles grew up in New Zealand, in a Malaysian-Chinese family, and she now lives in London. Her essay collection, Small Bodies of Water, takes the reader on a personal journey to the places across the globe which have given Nina a sense of belonging and home. In a piece written especially for The Cultural Frontline, Nina reflects on migration and the impact of the journeys we take. After the 2010 earthquake that devastated large parts of Haiti, many Haitians migrated to Chile to build a new life. But Haitians in Chile have faced racism and discrimination, and many have struggled to find work. LETTM, a theatre project in Cartagena, is working with Chilean locals and Haitian migrants. Assistant Director Ramona Suarez explains how they are finding common ground between the communities. Award winning author and journalist Omar El Akkad’s new novel tells a harrowing tale of enforced migration. What Strange Paradise focuses on the journey a nine year old Syrian refugee. Omar El Akkad tells The Cultural Frontline how the classic children’s story, Peter Pan by JM Barrie, influenced and inspired his writing. Photo: Faïza Guène. Credit: Faïza Guène)

This week on The Cultural Frontline, Anu Anand hears from the young poets expressing the hopes and fears of their generation. American film director Carlos López Estrada explains how a spoken word showcase affected him so deeply that he wanted to share his new love of poetry with the world. It inspired him to work with young poets in Los Angeles to create his latest film, Summertime. Carlos Lopez Estrada and one of the poets in Summertime, Raul Herrera, discuss how they collaborated to make a film entirely in verse. Young poets from Lebanon and the UK have come together to write new work, inspired by their home cities of Beirut and Coventry. The finished pieces will be performed as part of the BBC’s Contains Strong Language Festival. Two of the writers, Kelvin Ampong and Nour Annan explain what they learned from each other and how they found common ground. Zambian writer Musenga L Katonga has been working with a British illustrator to create an animated online poem, exploring the theme of beauty and chaos. He explains how he wrote about escaping the noise of social media to find solace in the written word and discusses performing a TED Talk about Zambian identity, in spoken word. (Photo: Carlos López Estrada. Credit: Good Deed Entertainment, LLC)

Meet the global designers and architects changing the cities that surround us. First up, British Nigerian designer Yinka Ilori explains how turning a city crossing into a colourful work of art sparks joy and brings people together during difficult times. Mexican architect Luciana Renner talks about why she always works with local communities to design public spaces, and how involving marginalised people can make our cities more inclusive. The Tersane, a historic shipyard in Istanbul’s Golden Horn district, is being transformed into a cultural quarter. Architect Murat Tabanlioglu is aiming to preserve the area’s unique history and heritage while creating new spaces. Finally, Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, who designed the Tokyo Olympic stadium, explains why he thinks about buildings and cities from a cat’s perspective. Presenter: Chi Chi Izundu Producer: Olivia Skinner (Photo: Yinka Ilori)

As Fashion weeks launch around the world, The Cultural Frontline is looking at the glamour and spectacle of the world of fashion. Photographer and artist Ali Mahdavi has photographed countless celebrities, capturing some of the world’s best known faces. He explains why he’s obsessed with unconventional beauty and old fashioned Hollywood glamour. The Fashion industry has a huge environmental impact but high-end designers are starting to address the glaring issues of overproduction and waste. Australian designer Kym Ellery explains why she teamed up with upcycling expert Duran Lantink to dig out and recirculate the growing pile of unsold stock in her warehouse and turn it into a whole new collection. Designer Abi Sheng sees the future of fashion as being less about traditional garments and more about designing alternative bodies. Her latest work, a gender transformative suit, aims to change the appearance of the person wearing it, creating a fluid gender identity. Abi Sheng discusses how she designed and printed the suit and her vision for the future of what we wear. Writer and campaigner Sinéad Burke made fashion industry insiders sit up and take notice with her fashion blog about the lack of inclusivity in fashion and design. She explains why she decided to take on the industry and how fashion can put people with disabilities at the heart of the design process.

How are the performing arts faring more than eighteen months into the COIVID 19 pandemic? The Cultural Frontline brings together four global theatre directors to discuss the impact on their industry. Having embraced digital innovation whilst their doors have been shut, we hear how it feels to be performing live again, and how the plays being staged reflect the unprecedented times artists around the world have been living through. Joining Chi Chi Izundu to discuss the state of theatre now are Rwandan theatre director and curator of the Ubumuntu International Arts festival, Hope Azeda, Indian playwright, theatre director and lecturer Abhishek Majumdar, the artistic director of the Kiln theatre in London, Indhu Rubasingham and General Director of the Municipal Theatre in Santiago Chile, Carmen Larenas. Producer: Lucy Collingwood (Photo: Audiences return to live performance. Credit: Pedro Fiúza/NurPhoto/Getty)

As the Paralympic Games take off in Tokyo, presenter and former Team GB sitting volleyball player Kat Hawkins, hears from some of the most exciting artists with disabilities globally. Madison Ferris, star of New York’s Broadway, made headlines when she became the first leading actor to take the stage in her wheelchair. She talks about the extent to which theatre is evolving to become more diverse. American author and teacher Rebekah Taussig discusses writing characters with visible disabilities into stories on the page and screen, and her own book Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body. British dance group Atypical with Attitude, whose members are neuro-diverse or live with a disability, talk to BBC reporter and former dancer Anna Bailey about breaking down barriers in the dance world. And Pakistani-Qatari comedian and disability rights activist Nawaal Akram, who has muscular dystrophy, on finding material for her comedy in frustrating moments and using her performances to change attitudes. Presenter: Kat Hawkins Producers: Paul Waters, Kirsty McQuire, Olivia Skinner and Lucy Wai Reporter: Anna Bailey (Photo: Madison Ferris. Credit: Jimi Celeste/Patrick McMullan/Getty Images)

American photographer Tyler Mitchell was 23 years old when he photographed Beyoncé for the front cover of American Vogue in 2018, becoming the first black American to do so in the magazine’s history. He’s gone on to photograph Vice President Kamala Harris for Vogue and to exhibit his work in the United States and internationally. He talks about the images that have made him one of the most exciting photographers of his generation. Sheetal Mallar started her career as a model in India, Italy and the United States before becoming a full time photographer. She talks about what her time in front of the camera taught her about how to take great photos. Russel Wong is one of Asia's most famous celebrity photographers and is so well known, he played himself in the movie 'Crazy Rich Asians'. He explains how he gained rare access to photograph the world of Kyoto’s Geishas. Presenter: Tumi Morake Producers: Olivia Skinner, Paul Waters, Sharanjit Leyl, Lucy Collingwood, Kirsty McQuire (Photo: Tyler Mitchell. Credit: Tyler Mitchell and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York)

On this week’s Cultural Frontline we consider the pleasure and the pain of literature in lockdown from the perspective of both writers and readers. Meron Hadero, the first Ethiopian writer to win The Caine Prize for African Writing, tells presenter Datshiane Navanayagam how she found refuge on the page in the pandemic and why she is drawn to write about displacement. The award-winning Australian novelist Tara June Winch reveals the impact of the coronavirus on her writing routine. The British actor and Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke discovered the essays of the late British author Jenny Diski during lockdown. Emilia speaks to poet and academic Dr Ian Patterson, who was married to Jenny, to discuss the power of cultural escapism in isolation. And, after revisiting her own early work during the pandemic, the renowned Russian author Ludmila Ulitskaya looks back on the radical reading that made her a writer in the Soviet Union. Presenter: Datshiane Navanayagam Producers: Kirsty McQuire, Olivia Skinner, Paul Waters (Photo: Meron Hadero Credit: Meron Hadero)

Farah Bashir, author of Rumours of Spring: A Girlhood in Kashmir, shares the particular challenges for girls growing up in a conflict zone. Bjorn Andresen, Swedish teenage star of the 1971 film, Death In Venice, talks about how being dubbed “the most beautiful boy in the world”, blighted his childhood. He’s revisiting his early role and its impact on his life in a new documentary called The Most Beautiful Boy in the World. Japanese-American artist Ei Arakawa on his new artwork, Mega Please Draw Freely, at the Tate Modern gallery in London. It’s breaking down the boundaries between artists and audience – with children and young people featuring strongly on both sides. And Turner Prize-winning Colombian artist Oscar Murillo and Argentinian political scientist Clara Dublanc on their collaboration with 100,000 international school children for their Frequencies exhibition in Hackney in London. Presenter - Chi Chi Izundu Producer - Paul Waters, Olivia Skinner, Kirsty McQuire (Photo: Farah Bashir. Credit: Shahbaz Khan)

As pandemic restrictions ease in different countries, musicians from across the world discuss how performing live gives them a special connection with audiences. Cellist and singer Abel Selaocoe talks about his Proms concert, called Africa Meets Europe, coming up in London in August – and how he first got involved in music as a boy in Sebokeng, South Africa. Egyptian-Australian oud virtuoso Joseph Tawadros shares how he’s tried to maintain contact with his fans despite lockdown. His latest album is called Hope In An Empty City. Sudanese jazz musician and radio presenter Islam Elbeiti tells how being a female bass player appearing on stage can be challenging in a conservative society. And Israeli musician Kutiman shares three lessons he’s learned about reinventing his art in isolation. His single, Guruji, is out in August. Presenter: Chi Chi Izundu Producers: Paul Waters, Kirsty McQuire & Olivia Skinner (Photo: Abel Selaocoe. Credit: Mlungisi Mlungwana)

As the Olympics start in Tokyo, we’re focusing on Japanese artists who are examining history, re-inventing tradition and telling new stories. Visual artist Meiro Koizumi tells presenter Mariko Oi about the importance of capturing lost war stories and his artistic take on the Olympic torch relay. Koizumi’s prize-winning video installation The Angels of Testimony brings to life the darker side of Japanese history. Centred around a 99-year-old veteran’s experiences of perpetrating violence in China during WWII, young people are filmed performing his shocking words on the streets of Tokyo. Studio Ghibli is one of the biggest names in animation, famous for films such as My Neighbour Totoro and the Oscar-winning Spirited Away. Since the company’s founder Hayao Miyazaki retired in 2014, his son, Goro Miyazaki has emerged as a new leading creative force at the iconic Japanese anime house. Our reporter Anna Bailey speaks to Goro ahead of the release of his third film, Earwig and the Witch. Japanese singer Hatis Noit creates atmospheric, multi-layered music using her soulful voice. One of her most haunting tracks is the piece she created in response to the Fukushima disaster. She performed the piece, Inori, at a ceremony when many of the evacuated residents were allowed to return home. Hatis talks to Mariko about her belief in the power of the human voice and her musical tribute to Fukushima. As international teams gather in Tokyo to compete, one artistic project is representing more than 200 countries in the form of Kimono. Every traditional Japanese robe has been beautifully crafted to reflect the climate, culture and countryside of each place. Designer Maki Yamamoto speaks about the details and purpose of the Imagine One World Kimono Project. Presenter: Mariko Oi Producer: Lucy Collingwood, Anna Bailey, Kirsty McQuire (Photo: Shop curtains, themed on sports and culture, and produced by six overseas artists who competed in the Olympics and Paralympics are displayed at an underground passageway ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on July 19, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. Credit: Toru Hanai via Getty Images)

This week, The Cultural Frontline is looking at a precious and vital resource: water. Chi Chi Izundu is finding out how issues of water scarcity, water sanitation and climate change are inspiring artists and musicians. The Malian musician Inna Modja tells Chi Chi Izundu about an epic project to combat drought: the Great Green Wall. Spanning eleven countries in Africa’s Sahel region, the Great Green Wall is an initiative to grow an incredible 8000 kilometre wall of trees. Inna Modja talks about the film she’s made about the project and how the musicians she met on her journey along the wall inspired her. Indian musician and activist Ditty combines her work as a musician with a career as an urban ecologist. She explains how the women working to collect and preserve water in northern India inspired her collaboration with the band Faraway Friends and their new album, Rain is Coming. Nigerian writer Ben Okri has collaborated with British artists Ackroyd & Harvey to create an installation made entirely out of grass and float it down a river in London. He talks about how the living work of art will make us think about climate change. Guatemalan artist Maria Diaz discusses her art installation made of oversized rain-sticks. Nostalgic for the rain of her homeland, whilst living in California with the threat of drought, Maria Diaz created this immersive piece to raise awareness about the importance of the vital resource, water. (Photo: Inna Modja. Credit: Marco Conti Sikic)

This week The Cultural Frontline is looking into the art world’s latest phenomenon…NFTs or Non Fungible Tokens. And if you’re wondering exactly what that means, join Sophia Smith Galer to find out more about this new form of digital art. NFTs hit the headlines this year when an NFT artwork by the American digital artist Beeple sold at auction for a record breaking $69.3 million. So what are NFTs and how do they work? NFTs use a lot of energy which is bad for the environment, but they can open up new possibilities for artists. Tim Schneider, Art Business Editor at Artnet News, explains the pros and cons. Despite million pound sales from the likes of Canadian singer Grimes and American celebrity socialite Paris Hilton, the majority of artists commanding high sales from NFT artworks are men. Scottish art collector and co-founder of international collective Women of Crypto Art Etta Tottie and Senegalese artist and member of Her Story DAO Linda Rebeiz explain how they’re working to make the world of NFT art more diverse. Artists can sell NFTs via online platforms and they are attracting a new type of buyer: young, digitally savvy and familiar with crypto currency. Now the art world is getting involved with an exhibition of NFT art at UCCA Lab in Beijing and the launch of Institut, an “art world” platform to exhibit and sell NFTs. American writer, artist and NFT expert Kenny Schachter explains how the traditional art world feels about this digital disruption. NFTs have made headlines for big sales and celebrity connections but one creative couple in Indonesia is using an NFT to raise money for charity. In April 2021, the Indonesian navy submarine, KRI Nanggala 402, sank off the coast of Bali, killing all 53 crew members. Sound designer Ruanth Chrisley Thyssen and illustrator and influencer Cindy Thyssen have joined forces do something to mark the event with an artwork, 53 Never Forgotten. (Photo: NFT titled 'CryptoPunk 7523' by Larva Labs. Credit: Cindy Ord/Getty Images)

This week on The Cultural Frontline, South African comedian Tumi Morake is looking at what makes us laugh globally and asking if comedy is the best way to approach uncomfortable topics. Ventriloquist and comedian Conrad Koch and his outspoken puppet Chester Missing are well known in South Africa. Conrad Koch uses Chester Missing to explore South African history and discuss issues of race and colonialism. He explains why he wants to use comedy to start difficult conversations. Has a song, a poem or a book ever changed the course of your life? Canadian-American actor, writer and comedian Seth Rogen shares the science fiction book that inspired his comedy writing, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Stand-up comedy didn’t exist in China until recently but the success of comedy TV programmes, like the popular talent show Rock and Roast, has meant that the popularity of stand-up is soaring. Two women who have been pioneers in China’s comedy scene, Norah Yang and Maple Zuo, talk about cultural differences and the unique stand-up scene in China. Canadian comedian Vance Banzo has used his solo stand up career to reconnect with his Indigenous heritage, often opening up conversations with his audience. He tells Tumi about his work with the award winning TV sketch comedy foursome, Tallboyz and explains why he wants to see more Indigenous Canadian comedians in the spotlight. (Photo: Seth Rogen. Credit: Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for CTAOP)

In her documentary Taming the Garden, which premiered at the Sundance film festival this year, the award-winning Georgian film-maker Salomé Jashi captured the transplantation of trees from Georgia’s coast to a controversial new park and arboretum. She tells presenter Sophia Smith Galer about evoking conflicting feelings on film. Music and sound artists at this year’s Helsinki Biennial are inspired by listening to trees. The BBC’s Lucy Ash hears from Teemu Lehmusruusu, a Finnish artist converting the sounds of decaying trees into organ music and Finnish-British artist Hanna Tuulikki, whose soundscape and choreography blend the folklore of the past with present-day eco-anxiety. The Jamaican poet Jason Allen Paisant has just published his debut collection Thinking with Trees, exploring identity, belonging and the right to roam. He is joined in discussion by fellow poet Craig Santos Perez, a member of the Indigenous Chamorro community, originally from the Pacific Island of Guam, who protests with trees against the climate crisis in his latest poetry collection, Habitat Threshold. They tell Sophia how they’re each reinventing nature poetry to reflect their roots and their rights. Plus, we take a trip to the park with Dian Jen Lin, the Taiwanese fashion designer and co-founder of sustainable design studio Post Carbon Lab, who designs with trees to create carbon-capture clothing, using bacteria foraged from tree trunks. Presenter: Sophia Smith Galer Producer: Kirsty McQuire, Lucy Ash, Lucy Collingwood, Paul Waters (Photo: Taming the Garden film. Credit: Salomé Jashi)

BBC Arabic reporter Dima Babilie marks 10 years since the Arab Spring and speaks to poets, film-makers and artists about how that moment of revolutionary change transformed their lives, their countries and their art. When the protests first broke out in Syria, Dima was a student studying English Literature at the University of Damascus. Everything changed as anti-government protests took hold in Syria. One of the most creative forms of protest from that time was the satirical puppet show Top Goon by the Syrian collective Masasit Mati. Dima spoke to one of the team behind the show Rafat al-Zakout about creating art in Syria and now in exile. Capturing the mood, or reflecting the feeling of a people is a great challenge for any artist, particularly during a conflict. The Palestinian film-maker Najwa Najjar has dedicated her work to just that – telling the story of ordinary Palestinians through film. Dima spoke to Najwa about her reflections on the Arab Spring, the lives of Palestinians and her career in film. Plus Algerian poet Samira Negrouche talks to Dima about how the politics of the past and the present both set her home country apart and connect it with its neighbours in the Arab world, through a shared cultural and natural landscape. Presented by Dima Babilie (Image: Top Goon. Credit: Art collective Masasit Mati)

Beatie Wolfe is a musician and experimental artist whose been described as a “musical weirdo and visionary.” Now in her latest work, From Green to Red, she is tackling climate change. Beatie tells Chi Chi Izundu how she created the work which is part music video, part protest piece using 800,000 years of historic NASA data. This week sees the opening of the Serpentine Pavilion, one of the world’s most prestigious architecture commissions. The creative mind behind the 2021 design is South African architect Sumayya Vally. Sumayya speaks to Chi Chi about how her upbringing in apartheid South Africa influenced her community focused vision of urban design. A new exhibition on borders has opened in Belfast from the Turner Prize-nominated artist Willie Doherty. The exhibition is called Where and it features video, imagery and text to explore issues of division at borders around the world including Northern Ireland and the United States and Mexico border. Chi Chi Izundu talks to Willie about the exhibition and why he hopes it will challenge assumptions and thinking. Plus French shoe designer to the stars, Christian Louboutin, talks about how his childhood visits to one of the most notable Parisian museums sparked his creativity and may well have helped launch his career. Presented by Chi Chi Izundu (Photo: Beatie Wolfe. Credit: Ross Harris)

In his new book Unbury Our Dead With Song, Kenyan-American author Mukoma Wa Ngugi celebrates Ethiopian musicians in exile in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, as they search for the perfect performance of the iconic song of their homeland, the Tizita. Sri Lankan Kanya D’Almeida has written a short story which is the Asia winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize and in the running for the global prize announced at the end of June. Kanya shares her story I Cleaned The – and reveals how it addresses universal issues such as motherhood, class and how we deal with our own bodily waste, as well as being firmly anchored in the country of her childhood. In Lebanon, new public art has emerged from economic and political crisis. The street art movement, Art of Change, has been using murals as a powerful voice against corruption, inequality, high unemployment and increasing poverty. Reporter Frank McWeeny speaks to the artists behind the project. Plus Nigerian Afrobeats star Joeboy talks about recording his debut album Somewhere Between Beauty and Magic during lockdown and why the music of Burna Boy inspires him Presenter: Colleen Harris Producers: Paul Waters, Kirsty McQuire, Anna Bailey, Frank McWeeny and Nancy Bennie (Photo: Mukoma Wa Ngugi. Credit: Cornell University)

This week, a year since the death of George Floyd and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, writers and artists reflect on the impact of those events. After George Floyd’s death, thousands of people took to the streets calling for change and an end to systemic racism. US Politician and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams has been working to bring about that change. She’s also an acclaimed author who has written her first political thriller, While Justice Sleeps. Reflecting on events of the last year, Stacey Abrams tells Sherri Jackson how storytelling is the common thread through her work and a powerful tool in politics. During the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, statues representing slavery and oppression were torn down and murals started going up in the US and all over the world. From the Kibera settlement in Nairobi, Kenya and the highways of Sao Paulo, Brazil, we hear why street artists near and far from the States have taken up the cause of Black Lives Matter and made it their own. Hailing from Ferguson, Missouri, Grammy award winning jazz trumpeter Keyon Harrold ‘s powerful ‘MB Lament’ responded to the 2014 death of Michael Brown in his home town. In the wake of George Floyd’s death, Keyon Harrold has spoken out against racial injustice and turned to music to process trauma and pay tribute. Keyon speaks to Sherri about using jazz as a language when words fail him. And how do we talk about racism and anti-racism to children? Jason Reynolds, poet, author and the US National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, explains how he tackles difficult subjects through his writing for teenagers. Presented by Sherri Jackson (Photo: Kenyan mural artist Allan Mwangi, also known as Mr.detail.seven, paints a graffiti mural in the Kibera settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. Credit: GORDWIN ODHIAMBO/AFP via Getty Images)

This week, The Cultural Frontline explores family, legacy and creativity. Studio Ghibli is one of the biggest names in animation, famous for films such as The Wind Rises, My Neighbour Totoro and the Oscar winning Spirited Away. For years, Studio Ghibli was led by its co-founder, the visionary director, Hayao Miyazaki. Since Hayao‘s retirement in 2014 there have been changes at the iconic animation house, with the emergence of Hayao’s son, Goro Miyazaki as a new leading force. Our reporter Anna Bailey speaks to Goro about the challenges of continuing his father’s legacy and his new film Earwig and the Witch, a story about magic and family. Is there a work of art - a song, a poem or a film that makes you think of your family? The music producer Fatima al-Qadiri shares the story of how the soundtrack to her favourite game evokes the memories of her childhood in Kuwait during the First Gulf War. Two mothers determined to do what’s right for their children. That simple premise is the starting point for the new novel What’s Mine and Yours, a multigenerational story of race, family and identity in America by the acclaimed writer Naima Coster. Chi Chi Izundu speaks to Naima about how her novel was shaped by her experiences of childhood and motherhood. Family history, identity and voicing the challenges faced by young working class women, that’s the focus of the poetry collection, Where the Memory Was, by British-Somali poet Hibaq Osman. For The Cultural Frontline, Hibaq shares the influences that shaped her writing and reads one of her poems. Presented by Chi Chi Izundu (Photo: Earwig and The Witch. Credit: Studio Ghibli)

Ten years on from the Arab Spring, the musician dubbed ‘the voice of the revolution’ has rediscovered her musical roots during lockdown. Emel Mathlouthi talks to Nawal Al-Maghafi about her new found perspective on her home country, the Tunisian Revolution and the song that spread hope. When the protestors took to the streets of Cairo in 2011 political murals and graffiti soon followed, providing a visual commentary of the Egyptian Revolution. One of the most prominent street artists was Ganzeer, whose murals became emblematic of the protests. He tells us how a particular mural provided a political battleground for local residents. How has the Arab Spring been reflected through fiction? Yasmine El Rashidi is the Egyptian author of Chronicle of a Last Summer which follows a young girl who lives through the Mubarak regime and 2011 Egyptian Revolution. Mohammed Alnaas’ short story collection Blue Bloods explores the psychological impact of surviving the Libyan Civil War . They join Nawal to discuss processing historic change and trauma through fiction. Plus finding your voice when your country is in conflict - we speak to a Yemeni photographer about capturing the everyday stories of the people living in a divided nation. Presented by Nawal Al-Maghafi (Photo: Tunisian singer Emel Mathlouthi. Credit: Tommy Lindholm/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Joshua Hopkins is an award-winning Canadian baritone who is using his voice to call out violence against women, after the loss of his sister in 2015. Joshua tells Sophia Smith Galer how collaborating with Booker Prize winning author Margaret Atwood on Songs for Murdered Sisters offers consolation, while opening up conversation about gender-based violence across the world. Sun and Sea is a Lithuanian production that takes its international audiences on a playful trip to the beach. For The Cultural Frontline, the director Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė and writer Vaiva Grainytė share how they use humour to highlight the climate crisis. Opera is an enduring, evolving art form, but is everyone invited? Rising stars J’Nai Bridges from the US, Angélica Negrón from Puerto Rico and Adrian Angelico from Norway tell Sophia how they’re opening up the genre to make it more inclusive, on and off stage. Plus, has a song, a poem or a book ever changed the course of your life? South African soprano Vuvu Mpofu shares the work that set her on a different path. Presenter: Sophia Smith Galer (Photo: Joshua Hopkins. Credit: Songs for Murdered Sisters, directed by James Niebuhr)

We go to Tokyo, where artists are creating theatre that interacts with the human body. At the experimental festival, Theater Commons Tokyo ‘21, the audience is centre stage and immersed in the action, even during a pandemic. At Aya Momose’s Performing Acupuncture, needles turn the body into a stage. By combining art and therapy, she creates sensations which make us think about our body and relationships to one another. Using VR headsets, Meiro Koizumi takes us into the nightmares of Tokyo’s marginalised migrant workers. In this unsettling virtual space, we are transported into their pandemic experiences. And as the world adjusts to coronavirus, Akira Takayama and Port B use radio to transmit voices from Fukushima into the masked crowds of Tokyo streets. We are reminded of frightening contamination and radioactivity. A decade since the earthquake, and a year since the pandemic’s onset, both these stories are still unfolding. Presenter: Kyoko Iwaki Producer: Alice Armstrong (Photo: Theater Commons Tokyo '21. Credit: Shun Sato)

In 2015, a fire broke out in the Collective nightclub in Bucharest Romania, taking the lives of 64 people and injuring 180 others. Many died from seemingly non-life-threatening injuries in hospital, prompting journalists to investigate claims of corruption in the nation’s health system. The documentary Collective explores the aftermath of those events. We speak to its director, double Oscar nominee, Alexander Nanau. What are the realities of shooting a film in the West Bank? Farah Nabulsi is the British-Palestinian director of the Oscar-nominated short film, The Present. She shot her film in Bethlehem and at an Israeli checkpoint, often in secret. She shares the risks and challenges involved in this form of guerrilla filmmaking. Has a book, film or song inspired you to take a certain path in life? Oscar-nominated actor Riz Ahmed reveals the song that has influenced his musical and acting career. Plus, six years on from #oscarssowhite, the campaign’s founder April Reign gives us a progress and reality check on diversity at the Oscars. (Photo: Alexander Nanau. Credit: Alex Galmeanu courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)

During lockdown, the Irish-Indian poet Nikita Gill created a poetic pandemic time capsule on social media. She shares how she rebuilt hope for herself and her followers, through a daily ritual of writing and sharing. For Malian singer-songwriter Fatoumata Diawara, music has a revitalising, redemptive power. She has overcome challenging personal circumstances and gone on to collaborate with international superstar musicians such as Damon Albarn, Paul McCartney and fellow Malians, Amadou and Mariam. Fatoumata tells Nawal how music has helped her survive - and how she hopes it can do the same for others. And, how will we refresh our wardrobes after a year of dressing down in lockdown? For The Cultural Frontline, US fashion editor Lindsay Peoples Wagner opens her post-pandemic fashion look book. Plus, has a song, a book or a film ever re-energised you and the way you see the world? The acclaimed Turkish author Elif Shafak reveals the work that recharged her creativity. Presenter: Nawal Al-Maghafi (Photo: Nikita Gill. Credit: Peace Ofure)

During lockdown, BAFTA-winning actor Emilia Clarke discovered the work of the late British novelist and essayist Jenny Diski. Jenny had been a fan of Game of Thrones, the TV series in which Emilia starred as Daenerys Targaryen. Emilia speaks to poet and academic Dr Ian Patterson, who was married to Jenny until her death in 2016, to discuss Jenny’s work and their shared love of cultural escapism. Nigerian author Oyinkan Braithwaite was long-listed for the Booker Prize in 2019 for her debut novel My Sister, the Serial Killer. Lockdown has not slowed her down, and has in fact provided inspiration for the plot of her latest novella The Baby is Mine. She shares how her love of Japanese animation, or anime, has shaped her writing during this time. After a hiatus of ten years, Hong Kong director Yonfan returned to filmmaking with an animation debut, No 7 Cherry Lane. He reveals how he turned to the work of American director Stanley Kramer when its release was impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak. Plus we hear from our listeners across the world about the art that has changed them during the pandemic. Presented by Tumi Morake Produced by Lucy Wai, Kirsty McQuire, Lucy Collingwood and Nancy Bennie. (Photo: Actor Emilia Clarke. Credit: VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)

Many of us like to copy the dance moves we see on screen, but award-winning choreographer, JaQuel Knight in the United States, is on a mission to copyright the sequences that he has devised, and encourage others to do the same. You may have watched and tried to imitate his work. He created the steps for Beyoncé's performance of Single Ladies. For the award-winning poet and dancer Tishani Doshi, sometimes words aren’t enough to convey the power of the female body, or the anger she feels when it’s violated. It’s then that her poetry ‘demands choreography.’ She tells Nawal how she fuses verse and movement to embody the message of her writing. How do you go viral in the time of coronavirus? Quang Dang is a Vietnamese dancer and choreographer, who went viral a year ago with a video that made a public health campaign about hand-washing look like fun. Now he’s made a new video, exclusively for the BBC #WSDanceChallenge, imagining the freedom he hopes we’ll all enjoy when we step into the post-Covid world. And French choreographer Marion Motin shares what inspires her steps - hip hop, life on the street and the French film, La Haine. Presenter: Nawal Al-Maghafi Producers: Paul Waters, Kirsty McQuire, Lucy Collingwood, Nancy Bennie, Oliver Jarvis (Photo: Choreographer JaQuel Knight. Credit: Jake Green.)

As part of the BBC World Service festival, South African comic Tumi Morake speaks to global stars and listeners about the art that’s inspired them during lockdown. The actor Dr. John Kani is an icon to many in South Africa and beyond. He is best known from his work in films such as Black Panther and The Lion King, and plays such as Sizwe Banzi Is Dead. When Covid-19 first broke out, he still had two weeks left in a sold-out London run of Kunene and the King, his play about the legacy of apartheid. He tells Tumi how its sudden cancellation affected him and how his passion for South African jazz has kept him going during lockdown. At the start of the pandemic, artist and activist Rose McGowan relocated to Mexico, which also happens to be the home of her favourite artist, Frida Kahlo. She reveals how Frida’s paintings have helped her heal from the trauma of Hollywood fame, and how they’ve inspired her to pick up her paintbrush once again. While many comedians have been kept away from the stage for the past year, comic Rose Matafeo was lucky enough to perform stand-up in her native New Zealand. She shares the challenges of writing and performing stand-up during the pandemic, and how a literary classic has given her hope for a glittering post-pandemic social life. Plus we hear from our listeners in Cuba, Uganda, Vietnam and beyond about the art that has changed them during the pandemic. Presented by Tumi Morake Produced by Lucy Wai, Anna Bailey, Lucy Collingwood, Mpho Lakaje and Jack Thomason. (Photo: Rose Matafeo. Credit: Andi Crown; John Kani. Credit: Ruphin Coudyzer; Rose McGowan. Credit: @rosemcgownarts; Tumi Morake. Credit: Kevin Mark Pass/Blu Blood Africa)

Malian singer-songwriter Fatoumata Diawara has collaborated with international superstar musicians such as Damon Albarn, Paul McCartney and Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca alongside her successful career as an actress. Beyond her critical and popular success, her music engages with social issues such as women’s rights, the treatment of migrants and human trafficking. Fatoumata’s most recent album ‘Fenfo’ translates from Bambara as ‘Something to Say’. Fatoumata tells Nawal why she’s chosen to be a voice for the voiceless. With sold out shows in London, Amsterdam and Nepal, an opera about sex workers, made by sex workers is addressing clichés and tackling stigmas through performance. The Sex Workers Opera aims to portray the reality of their lives without glamourizing it or victimising those involved. Our reporter Constanza Hola speaks to the co-director Alex Etchart and some of the performers about the project. Armenian-American musician Serj Tankian from the award-winning heavy metal band, System of a Down talks to Nawal about his music and political activism. A new film, Truth to Power charts Serj’s continuing efforts to speak up on behalf of the Armenian people and explores how rock music can be a unique mechanism for rebellion. Plus: has a book, film or song inspired you to take a certain path in life? The British rock singer Skin from band Skunk Anansie reveals how an unforgettable play influenced her music. Presenter: Nawal Al-Maghafi (Photo: Fatoumata Diawara. Credit: Aida Muluneh)

Ahead of International Women’s Day, Nawal al-Maghafi hears taboo-busting personal stories from fearless female creatives on this week’s Cultural Frontline. After almost a decade of civil war in Syria, Nawal speaks to the Oscar-nominated filmmaker Waad al-Kateab and the journalist Wafa Ali Mustafa about collaborating to share the female experience of conflict. Waad tells Nawal about her award-winning film For Sama, made as a new mother during the siege of Aleppo. Their new film documents the disappearance of Wafa’s father, one of tens of thousands estimated by the UN to have disappeared during the conflict. British activist Charlie Craggs has created a safe space to combat transphobia. Her unique beauty salon, Nail Transphobia, shares the stories of her trans-sisters over a shape and polish. In the BBC’s Beauty Fix podcast, Charlie reveals the rituals of self-care that are keeping her spirits up during lockdown, with model and author Naomi Shimada. And it might be one of the last taboos in the fight for gender equality - women choosing not to have children. Israeli novelist Sarah Blau tells Nawal about combining a personal truth with a page-turning thriller, to challenge the stigma of child-free women in her religious community. Plus, Patricia Cornwell, one of America’s best-selling crime writers, who puts female characters front and centre. She tells The Cultural Frontline about the pioneering female author who set her on course to be a writer. Presenter: Nawal al-Maghafi (Photo: Waad Al-Kateab. Credit: Courtesy of Channel 4 News/ITN Productions)

Multi-award-winning Indian author Amitav Ghosh on using verse and folklore in his new book, Jungle Nama, to tell a cautionary tale about our relationship with the natural world. Pakistani writers, Awais Khan from Lahore and Saba Karim Khan from Karachi, discuss the challenges in getting their English language stories in front of readers in their own country, and the influence of their foreign audience. Amna Mufti in Lahore is an author and award-winning television script writer in Urdu. She tells us how that affects the way she writes stories and their content – and who can and cannot read them. And Assamese author Aruni Kashyap on the vast audiences for Indian literature in the country’s indigenous languages and the centrality of farmers and farming when stories are not being written in English. Presenter: Nawal Al-Maghafi Producer: Paul Waters (Photo: Indian writer Amitav Ghosh. Credit: Barbara Zanon/Getty Images)

American and Japanese animation is known around the world, but how are other countries telling their own stories through animation? The animation industry is growing in India and Ghana, allowing for new perspectives and styles to reach a global audience. We speak to Sharad Devarajan, producer for the Indian animated TV series The Legend of Hanuman, and Cycil Jones Abban, the director of Ghanaian animated film 28th the Crossroads, about representation and upcoming trends and challenges. When Latvian director Ilze Burkovska-Jacobsen was seven, she discovered what she thought were the bones of a World War II soldier in her sandbox. In her animated documentary My Favourite War, Ilze remembers a childhood living under the Soviet regime of the 1970s, where she was forbidden to discuss difficult aspects of the past. She tells us about the lasting trauma of living through that time and the healing power of animation. Can animation be a tool for activism? Over recent months in Poland, demonstrators have taken to the streets protesting against a new ruling which makes nearly all forms of abortion illegal in the country. Students from Łódź Film School decided to create a piece of protest animation against the ban. We hear from artist Weronika Szyma, who co-organised the short film Polish Women’s Resistance. All aboard the Mugen Train! French-Japanese animator Ken Arto describes the art of Japanese animation - anime, and his recent work on a scene in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train, the record-breaking anime that’s become Japan’s highest-grossing movie ever. Presented by Sophia Smith Galer (Photo: Still from Ilze Burkovska-Jacobsen's My Favourite War. Credit: Bivrost Films)

This week, we go behind the camera with some of the world’s leading documentary filmmakers. As the World Health Organisation begin their visit to Wuhan to determine the origins of Covid-19, perhaps some clues can be gleaned from Hao Wu’s documentary 76 days. Alongside his co-directors Weixi Chen and Anonymous, he documented the early days of the pandemic by following the staff and patients of four Wuhan hospitals from January to April 2020. He speaks to Chi Chi about the making of his film. From marches in the streets to meetings in city halls, Suvi West‘s new documentary Eatnameamet - Our Silent Struggle, follows the Sámi people's fight for their culture and land. Shannon Kring’s documentary, End of the Line: The Women of Standing Rock, tells the story of the indigenous women who risk their lives to stop the Dakota Access oil pipeline construction in the United States. Suvi and Shannon discuss the challenges, and the urgency of telling the stories of indigenous communities through film. When you think of a secret agent, your mind might not jump to an 85-year-old man. However, in the Chilean documentary The Mole Agent, director Maite Alberdi follows the story of 85-year-old Sergio who has been hired by a private detective to infiltrate a retirement home. Maite spent four months filming inside the retirement home and shares the lessons she learnt while making the documentary. Presented by Chi Chi Izundu (Photo Credit: Hao Wu from the film 76 Days)

This week, we meet the craft makers and textile artists telling new stories through traditional techniques. Sewn in brightly coloured thread and African fabrics, artist Bisa Butler’s stunning quilt portraits often focus on unknown African Americans. Creating her quilts from vintage photos found in the American National Archives, she pieces together their stories using carefully chosen textiles. Bisa talks to Chi Chi about her creative process, storytelling through her quilts and the portrait she’d like to stitch next. When master weaver Porfirio Gutierrez returned home to Mexico after years away, he found the traditional methods he’d grown up with were dying out and he was determined to do something about it. Porfirio Gutierrez tells our reporter Saskia Edwards how he has re-imagined Zapotec rug making to reflect both the ancient and modern world. South African artist Kimathi Mafafo explains how she uses embroidery to represent traditional women in her series, Voiceless and to empower local women by teaching them her craft. Plus: has a film, a book or an artwork ever changed the way you see the world? One of Britain’s leading tailors, Sir Paul Smith tells us about an influential painting as he celebrates 50 years in the fashion industry. Presented by Chi Chi Izundu (Photo: Bisa Butler. Credit: John Butler, courtesy of Claire Oliver Gallery)

The Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson is celebrated for his playful and tactile works, from shining suns to melting ice installations. Yet with so many galleries closed in lockdown, he’s turning his attention to augmented reality. It’s now possible to download the imagination of the environmental artist to a street near you, via an app. But is it as good as the real thing? Reporter Anna Bailey pressed download and spoke to Olafur to find out. Public art has long been the preserve of men but feminist artists Nikki Luna from the Philippines and Bahia Shehab in Egypt challenge the patriarchy, by taking up space on the street and online. Nikki Luna’s audio-visual installations confront gender-based violence with the voices of marginalised women, while Bahia Shehab’s street art foregrounds the female form and addresses consent. Mexican-American portrait artist Aliza Nisenbaum gives us a glimpse of the private moments behind public service. She talks to Nawal about why her latest project honours healthcare workers at the frontline of the battle against coronavirus. Plus, we hear how a group of artists have been inspired to create a giant painting that highlights growing insecurity and political instability in Nigeria. Presenter: Nawal Al-Maghafi (Image: Olafur Eliasson, Caring Northern Light and Lucky Stone. Augmented reality. Courtesy of the artist and Acute Art.)

As their nation starts a new chapter with the inauguration of President Joe Biden, we hear from the novelists Michael Farris Smith and Zaina Arafat on writing the American story at a time of national crisis. Monique Roffey is one of Trinidad’s most celebrated writers. This month she won a Costa award for her new novel The Mermaid of Black Conch: A Love Story. Monique shares the story of how William Golding’s novel, The Inheritors shaped her life and her love of literature This week, Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was detained by state authorities as he returned to Moscow after nearly being killed by a nerve agent attack. The writer Sergei Lebedev discusses how he reflects political truths in his new novel Untraceable, a story about physical, moral and political poisons in Putin’s Russia. Plus literary journalist Amy Brady explains why the increasingly popular genre Cli-Fi or climate fiction is bringing the issues of climate change and environmental damage to readers through novels. Presented by Nawal al-Maghafi (Photo: Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th President of the United States in Washington, DC. Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

You might know him as this year’s Booker Prize winner, but author Douglas Stuart is also a fashion designer. He tells Nawal Al-Maghafi about how fashion changed his life, taking him from his native Glasgow to New York City. He’s since returned to his hometown through the pages of his debut novel Shuggie Bain, in which the characters dress to impress while buying clothes on credit and dream of a different life while dealing with addiction and poverty. Can clothes change the world? For the Cultural Frontline, journalist and author Tansy Hoskins presents her political fashion look-book: a mini style-guide on how to dress to protest, from the US to Belarus and from trousers to T-shirts. Next, we meet the woman changing the face of fashion in South America. Karla Martinez, Editor in Chief of Vogue Mexico and Vogue Latin America, on how she creates a distinctly Latinx look for the iconic style magazine. Plus - has a book, a picture or a piece of clothing ever changed the way you see the world? Acclaimed South African designer David Tlale shares the story of how his uncle’s sense of style inspired a career in fashion. Presenter: Nawal Al-Maghafi (Photo: Douglas Stuart Credit: Martyn Pickersgill)

BTS are one of the biggest bands in the world. They’ve sold millions of albums, their music has been streamed billions of times online and tickets to their tours sell out instantly. The seven members of BTS, RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook, are history makers. In 2020 they became the first all-Korean pop act to top the American Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and they set the world record for attracting the most viewers for a concert live stream during the coronavirus pandemic. At the heart of their success are their fans – BTS ARMY. ARMY is unlike any other fandom and has mobilised not just to celebrate BTS but also to support each other through social engagement, community building, education and charitable acts. In summer 2020 ARMY hit the headlines for matching the band's $1million donation to the Black Lives Matter campaign in less than 24 hours. Camilla Costa explores how this fandom is revolutionising the well-established rules of the music industry and changing the way we think about the power of art to build community. Our interviewees are Nicole Santero, Carla Postma-Slabbekoorn, Jiyoung Lee, Adaeze Agbakoba, David Kim and K-Ci Williams. Our voices of ARMY are Areeba Sheikh, Brenda Ágatha, Michael Dürr, Monika Košťanyová, Snigdha Dutta, Yassin Adam, and Tagseen Samsodien. With additional content from Waleska Herrera, FO Squad KPop, Amy & Bri and BTS Vlive. Plus contributions from Nan Panunzo, Cathi Smith and Shelley Hoani. Presented by Camilla Costa (Photo: BTS. Credit: Noam Galai/Getty Images)

Why does artist Ivo Dimchev pay members of his audience cash to perform naked, and even to simulate sex on stage? The Cultural Frontline encounters three extraordinary Bulgarian artists challenging audiences and blurring the lines between cabaret, theatre and real-life. Kamen Stoyanov straps a giant referee’s whistle to the roof of his car and drives around the country, and Gery Georgieva invades an abandoned communist monument to sing a haunting Bulgarian folk song. Tracy Harris explores this bizarre art and a rapidly changing culture. A Gritty Production for BBC World Service. Produced by Chris Rushton Image: Ivo Dimchev (Credit: Karolina Miernik)

A new type of fashionista is taking the design world by storm but the supermodels have four legs instead of two. Reporter JP Devlin takes us inside the world of canine couture or fashion for dogs. Which country loves to share bears and where do goats get laughs? Internet expert and writer An Xiao Mina reveals how our favourite animal memes reveal a lot about the culture of our countries. This spring, as lockdowns were enforced across the globe, The Cultural Frontline started a project in collaboration with the British artist and producer Nick Ryan. Our aim was simple: to collect the sounds that you, our listeners, had heard wherever you were during lockdown. Now Nick Ryan returns to share some of those sounds and to also debut an extract from a new work he has created from those sonic submissions. Have you ever wondered what a spider sounds like? Argentine artist Tomás Saraceno is fascinated by spiders. It has led him to study them, to incorporate them into his visual art and to create music with them in what he calls ‘Spider Jam Sessions.' Tomás spoke to Chi Chi about making music from the vibrations of spider webs for his latest concert. Presented by Chi Chi Izundu Image: Bodhi. Credit: @mensweardog

How do board games encourage players to explore ideas, politics and morals? We meet Matt Leacock, designer of the game Pandemic, which has been used at medical schools to encourage co-operation, communication and strategy for trainees. Reiner Knizia, designer of 700 board games, talks about how making a game out of tasks can change players' behaviour in daily life. We explore the rise of a new generation of games where players collaborate, rather than oppose each other, in titles that deal with politics, hip-hop, ecology, employment, climate change and more. Quintin Smith from Shut Up & Sit Down discusses new trends in design, while Michelle Browne, designer of World of Work, tells us about the game that explores employment and social benefits. Presented and produced by Zoë Comyns. A New Normal production for the BBC World Service Image: The board game Pandemic (Courtesy of Matt Leacock)

How coronavirus is changing the landscape of China’s underground electronic music scene. DJ and broadcaster Frank McWeeny speaks to leading DJs and promoters about the collaboration and creativity that is transforming China’s electronic music scene after lockdown. Inside the political battle between the pop star and the President that’s dividing Uganda. Journalist Patience Akumu on the political contest between seventy-six year old incumbent President Yoweri Museveni, and the man called the Ghetto President, the thirty-eight year old musician and performer Bobi Wine. The Venezuelan pop sensation Liana Malva on her new musical project Gotas, that she hopes can help promote environmental awareness and protect her nation’s natural beauty. Plus has a film, a book or a piece of music ever changed the way you see the world? Radiohead guitarist and film composer Jonny Greenwood shares his love for the Polish composer, Krzysztof Penderecki. Presented by Tina Daheley (Photo credit: Tao Yun)

An audience with Mali’s messengers of hope; Aliou Touré, the lead singer of rock revolutionaries Songhoy Blues, tells Tina about their new album and why they believe optimism is the only way to challenge the ongoing civil unrest in their country. He’s been described as perhaps the greatest writer of Arabic fiction alive, but as well as a being a celebrated writer, poet and filmmaker, Hassan Blasim is also a refugee. Hassan discusses his latest novel God 99 - a work that tells the tale of 99 refugees and the man, also called Hassan, travelling through Europe to share their stories. Belarusian playwright Andrei Kureichik talks to reporter Lucy Ash about the nation’s pro-democracy protest movement. Andrei reveals how his latest production, Insulted Belarus(sia) reflects the legacy of President Alexander Lukashenko, the man often called Europe’s Last Dictator. Plus has a film, a play or a book ever changed the way you see the world? The activist and photographer Sunil Gupta shares the story of his discovery of the work of the Canadian writer, Alice Munro. Presented by Tina Daheley (Photo: Songhoy Blues. Credit: Kiss Diouara, Millennium Communication, Bamako)

This week as part of the BBC World Service’s 100 Women Season we're celebrating the female writers, artists and performers overcoming challenges and making their voices heard. Shortlisted for the prestigious Booker prize, Tsitsi Dangarembga’s latest novel This Mournable Body reveals late 1990s Zimbabwe through the eyes of her female lead, Tambusai. Tsitsi talks to Tina about exploring the experience of Zimbabwean women through her characters and how she feels about being shortlisted at this point in her writing career. Chilean female collective Las Tesis speak to our reporter Constanza Hola about their viral protest song The Rapist in Your Path and how it’s inspired women worldwide to speak out against sexual violence. British Somali poet Hibaq Osman’s writing explores family history and identity with heartfelt honesty. She shares a poem from her first full collection, Where the Memory Was. Plus: has a film, a book or a song ever changed the way you see the world? South African singer-songwriter Zahara on how she took courage from the film A Walk to Remember. Presented by Tina Daheley. (Photo: Tsitsi Dangarembga. Credit: DANIEL ROLAND/AFP via Getty Images)

The repeatedly arrested film maker and women's rights activist, Mahnaz Mohammadi, speaks from Iran about the censors and interrogators she had to deal with while making her award-winning debut feature film, Son-Mother. In the story, a young widow struggles to look after her two children in Tehran. When a kind local man offers her marriage, she must choose between poverty and sending her young son away. Mahnaz Mohammadi talks about making art through personal pain. Female singers in Iran have been prevented from performing solo since the Islamic revolution in 1979. But Farvaraz Farvardin was determined that her voice would be heard. She speaks to reporter Sahar Zand about her musical journey from singing in the classroom, to online videos, prosecution and seeking asylum in Germany. Visual artist Barbad Golshiri shares his artistic response to the Covid-19 pandemic in Iran. Tuba Mirum is an audio-visual installation that moves between viral spores and loudspeakers heralding the last judgement, and it draws on both Islamic and Christian iconography. Plus: Film director Shahram Mokri on how sanctions on Iran undermine hit film making, and why his new movie, Careless Crime, revisits the 1978 mass murder of a cinema audience, which fuelled the revolution in his country. Presenter: Pooneh Ghoddoosi Produced by Paul Waters, Sahar Zand, Lucy Collingwood and Shoku Amirani (Image: From the film Son-Mother by Mahnaz Mohammadi Image credit: Mahnaz Mohammadi)

A hashtag that went viral, photographs that caught the world’s attention. Rachel Seidu, a photo journalist from Lagos, tells us how she took to the streets to capture the #EndSars protests against police brutality in Nigeria. In Johannesburg, one woman is using her camera to change perceptions of a nation still plagued by racial injustice, inequality and high crime rates. Angel Khumalo tells reporter Mpho Lakaje about the photo club she runs to show another side of her community. We hear from two photographers documenting the impact of Covid-19 on mental health. New Zealand based photographer Tatsiana Chypsanava and Spanish photo journalist Manu Brabo are studying the effect of lockdown on their communities as part of The Wellcome Trust’s Covid-19 Anxiety Project. Plus: has a film, a book or a song ever changed the way you see the world? Photographer Misan Harriman, who shot the cover of British Vogue’s September activism issue, tells us how a scene from the film Crash has influenced his work. Presented by Tina Daheley (Image Credit: Rachel Seidu)

This week, as part of a series of special programmes, we look to the future of cinema and TV. One of the biggest changes to our cultural landscape has been the transformation in the way so many of us watch films. Cinemas around the world have been off limits and streaming services have never been popular. Production is being drastically reimagined to include social distancing and coronavirus prevention measures. Plus in the light of the resurgent Black Lives Matter movement calls to make the global film industry truly diverse and inclusive are growing ever louder. We ask what’s next for film. How can cinema and the film industry be reinvented in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic? Tina is joined by award winning American-Iranian writer director Maryam Keshavarz, Nigerian activist and documentarian Pamela Adie, Swiss choreographer and virtual reality pioneer Gilles Jobin and in London the British director Francis Annan and film critic Rhianna Dhillon. Presented by Tina Daheley (Photo: Moviegoers begin to attend reopened cinemas. Credit: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

This week, as part of a series of special programmes, we look to the future of the performing arts. As many theatres around the world remain dark, closed to audiences for months and with a largely freelance community of actors, writers, directors, musicians and production crews unable to work, we talk to four global theatre makers about the impact of the pandemic on performing arts communities. We ask what's next for theatre. Is the outlook bleak or is there cause for hope from the creativity and invention shown in lockdown? What does the future of stage performance hold? Tina Daheley is joined by Rwandan theatre director and curator of the Ubumuntu International Arts festival, Hope Azeda, Chilean playwright and theatre director Guillermo Calderon, Indian playwright, theatre director and lecturer Abhishek Majumdar and the artistic director of the Kiln theatre in London, Indhu Rubasingham. Presented by Tina Daheley (Photo: The empty auditorium of the London Coliseum. Credit: Richard Baker/In Pictures via Getty Images)

Art galleries and museums globally are struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, with some closing permanently. This week on The Cultural Frontline, Tina Daheley hosts a discussion on what’s next for the visual arts and how artists and curators are radically re-thinking the future of the art world. Her panel includes Israeli born artist and educator Oreet Ashery; South Sudanese artist and photographer Atong Atem; Ben Vickers, Chief Technology Officer at the Serpentine Gallery; and Tim Marlow, Director and Chief Executive of the Design Museum in London and former Artistic Director of the Royal Academy of Arts. (Photo: A visitor at the newly reopened State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. Credit: Dimitar Dilkoff /AFP via Getty Images)

Despite a rich tradition of art, music and food, Mexico is often depicted negatively in popular culture. Artist Pedro Reyes is using his work to challenge violent stereotypes of his country, creating intricate music boxes out of guns. Pedro Reyes tells our reporter Saskia Edwards why he’s making works of art from weapons of war. American author Eve L Ewing explains why she’s brought the 1919 Chicago Riots to life through poetry and how those events resonate a 100 years on. She also shares what her poetry and Marvel Comic book series have in common. We hear from Indian photographer Sohrab Hura who reflects the lives of the people of Kashmir in his photography. He speaks to reporter Cleo Roberts about how his photo collection Snow reveals what’s it’s like for those caught up in the ever-shifting politics between India and Pakistan. Plus: Has a film, a book or a song ever changed the way you see the world? The Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter Norah Jones tells us how a master of European cinema influences her creative process. Presented by Chi Chi Izundu (Photo: Pedro Reyes. Credit: Ago Projects)

This week we’re celebrating writing from some of the world’s leading Black writers. The novelist, essayist and cultural commentator Roxane Gay on the political and personal power of writing. Roxane reflects on the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, cancel culture and how publishing needs to change to become an industry that celebrates all voices. We hear from two short story writers each offering us a glimpse of very different sides of Africa. Tanzanian author Erica Sugo Anyadike charts the rise to power of an African President’s wife while Namibian writer Rémy Ngamije follows the daily routine of a group of homeless people in the suburbs of Windhoek. Both stories are shortlisted for the AKO Caine Prize for African Writing. When British writer Candice Brathwaite couldn’t find any books about Black British motherhood she could relate to, she decided to write her own. Candice tells us about her best-selling new book I Am Not Your Baby Mother. Plus: Are there poems that you return to again and again? The pioneering Jamaican dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson explains what Martin Carter’s Poems of Succession mean to him. Presented by Raifa Rafiq (Photo: Roxane Gay. Credit: Reginald Cunningham)

Name the first classical music composer that comes to mind and it’s likely to be one of the big European names like Bach, Brahms or Beethoven. Nigerian-Romanian pianist Rebeca Omordia grew up playing this music until she decided to explore her heritage and look deeper into African classical music. She tells the Cultural Frontline about the music she discovered along the way and what she’s doing to bring composers such as Ayo Bankole and and Christian Onyeji to a wider audience. We go behind the scenes of the new opera, Osman Bey and the Snails. Its composer Nigel Osbourne tells Tina how the work was created by artists to raise awareness of the case of the Turkish political prisoner, Osman Kavala. Has a book, a film or a piece of music ever changed the way you see the world? The drummer and composer Stewart Copeland shares his love for the work of Jimi Hendrix. When the Liceu Opera Barcelona opened its doors after many months of lockdown, they did so with an unusual new performance devised by the artist Eugenio Ampudia. Instead of playing to an audience, the Liceu String Quartet performed to an audience of 2,292 plants in a “Concert for the Biocene”. Víctor Garcia de Gomar, the Liceu’s Artistic Director, tells us why. Presented by Tina Daheley Photo: Rebeca Omordia.

Welcome to the world of TikTok, one of the world’s fastest growing and most controversial social media platforms. The BBC’s Sophia Smith Galer speaks to the TikTok creators Melissa Ong aka @chunkysdead and Robert Tolppi about the world of elite and deep TikTok and finds there is a lot more to the platform than the dance trends and viral comedy clips that have made it so popular. We hear from the creators of a surprising TikTok hit: an Australian drama micro-series about a woman’s struggle with infertility. Short videos of intimate, honest moments of Charlie’s IVF journey have received over 2 million TikTok views and sparked heartfelt conversations with audiences online. The creative team behind All Our Eggs discuss why they think the drama has captured the TIkTok audience’s imagination. Meet the TikTok dance star putting his own personal twist on popular trends such as the Toosie Slide. Dancer, singer and Indigenous activist Theland Kicknosway tells us why he is using TikTok as a platform to share his culture with the world. Presented by Tina Daheley with Sophia Smith-Galer Photo: TikTok on a smartphone. Credit: Getty

Sharona Franklin’s jelly sculptures may look delicious but they are grand artworks that she makes to tackle her experience of the world as a disabled person. Confronting the fragility of the human body, and the complicated relationship she has with biopharmaceuticals and medicines, her work is made from her small home in Vancouver, where she feels safe to explore, make and rest her body as much as she needs - essential for her health, but all too often ignored by arts institutions. She talks to the Cultural Frontline about her work, and some of the barriers she faces as a disabled artist. From his studio in Lagos Nigeria, renowned singer-songwriter and UNICEF ambassador Cobhams Asuquo tells us how his blindness contributes to his heightened sense of musicality, and how he overcame widespread prejudices in the music industry to become a household name. Can we make arts truly accessible for all? As much of the world faced lockdown as a result of Covid 19 and people began to talk about the difficulties of not being able to visit museums, theatres and exhibitions, many disabled people have taken this moment to highlight that they have never been able to access these spaces due to their needs being continually ignored. Two disabled artists, Bella Milroy and Diana Niepce, talk to the Cultural Frontline about their experiences of inaccessibility in the arts world, and what needs to change. Performing Ben E. King’s iconic song Stand by Me, a group of disabled artists from 15 countries have come together virtually to record a music video as part of the True Colours Festival. Raising awareness of how disabled people have been affected by the pandemic, we hear from two performers in Singapore and Australia about why they want to be involved. Presented by Kat Hawkins (Photo: Sharona Franklin)

Tumi Morake’s comedy confronts tough areas from discrimination to poverty, corruption to inequality. Her fearless performances have seen her both lauded and severely criticized. In 2018 she became the first African woman to have her own stand-up show on Netflix but she has also received threats for her work which highlights the continuing inequalities of modern day South Africa. Reporter Mpho Lakaje speaks to Tumi about using comedy to make her voice heard. At the start of the coronavirus lockdown comedy duo Jess Salomon and Eman El-Husseini swapped their New York apartment for a remote cabin in the Canadian wilderness. For the Cultural Frontline they share a postcard with their views on the events taking place back in the USA. Making an audience laugh is tricky at the best of times, but lockdown has made it much harder. Comedians Bright Okpocha AKA Basketmouth and Prashasti Singh tell us about the brave new world of producing comedy for social media, and discuss the future of the industry in Nigeria and India. Has a comedian, a musician or a sports star ever changed the way you see the world? Have they made you stand a little bit taller or feel that little bit more confident as you take on life’s challenges? The Iranian-American comedian Maz Jobrani reflects on the impact of his idol and inspiration the boxer, Muhammad Ali. Presented by Tina Daheley (Photo: Tumi Morake. Credit: Kevin Mark Pass/Blu Blood Africa)

In Hong Kong thousands of demonstrators have been protesting against a controversial new security law announced by the Chinese government, a law which many state is used to suppress political opponents in mainland China. From a rooftop in the city, one Instagram photographer tells us why he is taking pictures of this crucial chapter of history. Have you ever wondered what happens on the other side of the wall, in the home of a neighbour? Gail Albert Halaban is known for just that, taking photos of her neighbours and capturing what life is like next door. She speaks to the BBC’s Mugabi Turya about how her photography is bringing neighbours together during the coronavirus lockdown. Medellin was once considered the most dangerous city in the world. But what is it like now? Photographer Santiago Mesa’s images of contemporary civil unrest and gang violence reveal the Colombian city through the eyes of one of its citizens. Santiago Mesa tells us how he uses his camera to tell stories of real life in Colombia now. Plus the Washington Post’s Deputy Director of Photography Robert Miller and the photojournalist Marvin Joseph share their experiences of covering the continuing Black Lives Matter protests. Presented by Mugabi Turya (Photo: Protesters in Hong Kong. Credit: Ivan)

The Cultural Frontline explores how America’s artists and cultural voices are responding to the death of George Floyd and the protests that have followed. Telling the stories of black life that don't get told anywhere else. That’s the mission of The Nod a hugely popular American podcast presented by Brittany Luse and Eric Eddings. Tina Daheley speaks to Brittany and Eric about the death of George Floyd and confronting the pain felt by black Americans. It’s not just in the United States where the Black Lives Matter movement has been staging protests. In Toronto, Canada the artist and activist Ravyn Wingz shares their experience on taking a stand against white supremacy and using performance as a means of expression and escapism. What is like to be a photojournalist caught on the front line of protest? The Washington Post’s Deputy Director of Photography Robert Miller and staff photojournalist Marvin Joseph talk about the framing of the global protest movement, Black Lives Matter and the power of images to tell stories of black lives in America. When Michelle Obama first posted about the tragic death of George Floyd, she chose to post her tribute alongside a portrait of George by LA-based artist Nikkolas Smith. The post and painting have since gone viral with over one million likes on Instagram. We speak to Nikkolas about his work and why he paints portraits of victims of police brutality. Presented by Tina Daheley Produced by Mugabi Turya, Lucy Wai, Jack Thomason, Lucy Collingwood and Shoku Amirani (Photo: Protests following the death of George Floyd. Credit: Salwan Georges/Washington Post)

At a time when many art galleries have closed their doors, Berlin’s König Galerie has released an app that allows you to experience an exhibition like never before. German artist Manuel Rossner tells Tina about his project Surprisingly This Rather Works and the infinite artistic possibilities of the virtual world. We head to South Africa for a house party with a difference and discover how a new pop culture phenomenon is bringing parties directly to the homes of music lovers during lockdown. Can you put on a fashion show without models? Or create a product line with no real materials? One group trying to answer those questions are Digi-Gxl, a collective of international women, trans, inter sex and non-binary digital artists. Two of their artists talk to the BBC’s Sophia Smith Galer about creating work in the world of 3-D art, design and animation. What is it like to feel isolated and left out in the cold? In her interactive show called Elision performed remotely from her living room in Glasgow, the Icelandic artist Gudrun Soley Sigurdardottir explores otherness and ideas of belonging. She tells Tina how as an immigrant living in a post Brexit climate of division and disconnection, her light hearted attempts to stay warm and connected in her performance, take on a deeper meaning. Presented by Tina Daheley Image: Manuel Rossner, Surprisingly This Rather Works, Exhibition view image credit: König Galerie, 2020

He’s been hailed as one of the world's greatest cartoonists and the creator of war reportage comics. The artist Joe Sacco talks to Tina about the political power of the graphic novel and why he’s telling the story of the indigenous communities of the Canadian North West in his latest book, Paying the Land. The Indian comic book and graphic novel writer Ram V explores the clash of cultures and what happens to a country when it is colonised, though the mythology of vampirism, in his series These Savage Shores. Swedish comic book artist and activist Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom shares the story of her adoption from South Korea in the graphic memoir Palimpsest. She speaks to the BBC’s Karl Bos about her childhood experiences of racism, her search for jer birth parents and why the ethics of adoption can be far more complicated than people think. Plus how’s the sounds of your world changed during lockdown? The sound artist Nick Ryan shares the sounds we’ve received from our listeners during the coronavirus lockdown. Presented by Tina Daheley Image: Joe Sacco Credit: Philippe Huguen/Getty Images

Vietnamese American author Monique Truong presents an examination of the female perspective of the Vietnam War, through the prism of art. Featuring American artists who were at the vanguard of the opposition to the war, along with women who shared the same experiences as Monique - born in Vietnam during the conflict, who experienced the war first hand and whose lives were changed forever - this programme explores five decades of protest art, offering a female perspective on the fallout of a conflict that virtually defined the 60s. In America, it was called the Vietnam War; in South East Asia, it was referred to as the American War. It was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States - intensified by the ongoing Cold War between America and the Soviet Union. More than 3 million people (including over 58,000 Americans) were killed in the war, and more than half of the dead were Vietnamese civilians. The war and its human toll had a profound impact on artists addressing the turbulent times. In this edition of The Cultural Frontline, female artists explain how their lives were changed by the war, and the importance of their work being seen by new generations. Produced by Des Shaw. A Zinc Media Production for BBC World Service. Image: A piece by Tiffany Chung (Credit: Tiffany Chung)

A deftly woven tale of love and inequality for a Filipina transwoman living under the radar in New York. The director Isabel Sandoval talks to Tina Daheley about her new film, Lingua Franca, a personal and politically charged insight into racial discrimination and immigration in 21st-century America. The Brazilian rapper and musician Edgar speaks to the BBC's Frank McWeeny about a life of struggle and inequality in the favelas of Sao Paulo, and why he is making music that reflects politics and sexuality in Bolsonaro’s Brazil. Iranian poet and writer Golnoosh Noor discusses her new collection of short stories The Ministry of Guidance, which explores queerness and sexuality in Iran. She tells Tina why she wants to challenge the often simplistic mainstream narratives about Iran, to give a more nuanced depiction of a complex country. Plus the South African writer Jamil Khan writes a letter to his younger self reflecting on the journey he has taken to being open about his sexuality. Presented by Tina Daheley Image: Isabel Sandoval Image credit: Laurent Koffel/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

What makes a great story? Perhaps it’s the characters, a gripping plot, or a narrative that helps us understand the world we live in. The award winning writer Karen Lord tells us what really goes into writing fiction and she shares an extract from her recent short story ‘The Plague Doctors’, a dystopian tale of social inequality exposed by a future pandemic. ‘The Plague Doctors’ was published as part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's anthology Take Us to a Better Place. Sci-fi meets forbidden love in a novel that spans centuries and continents. That’s just one of the descriptions used to describe the critically acclaimed novel, The Old Drift. Its author Namwali Serpell talks to the Cultural Frontline about three moments in her life that shaped her as a storyteller. Plus Amy Brady, the writerof climate fiction column Burning Worlds, on why sci-fi offers us the opportunity for both immersion and escapism. Presented by Nawal al-Maghafi Image: Karen Lord Image credit: Marlon James

Nick Ryan is an artist who has dedicated himself to the exploration and understanding of sound – and he wants to hear what you hear. Nick talks to Nawal about his ambitious project to collect the sounds heard by people around the world during the coronavirus pandemic. Have you seen the videos of famous songs with the lyrics changed to fit lockdown or of people desperately trying not to touch their faces? We’re being inundated by Coronavirus internet memes responding to the global pandemic and being shared on social media. Technologist and writer An Xiao Mina sheds light on the ins and outs of meme culture. Would you be tempted to have a cute pet-like device in your home? Or would the idea of it having cameras for eyes or being operated remotely by a stranger put you off? Samanta Schweblin’s new novel Little Eyes follows characters from around the world as they interact with these fictional machines. The Argentinian author tells us why she wanted to explore the sinister side of technology in her new book. Plus Charlie Brooker, the mastermind behind the hit TV series Black Mirror, on how his love for video games changed his life. You can contact The Cultural Frontline and send us your sounds from lockdown. Just email us at theculturalfrontline@bbc.co.uk Presented by Nawal al-Maghafi Image: Sound artist Nick Ryan Image credit: Nick Ryan

A man comes out of isolation and walks in a trance through the centre of Shanghai, marvelling at an empty shopping mall and the changes he sees around him. It sounds like a news report but it’s actually the plot of an eerie sci-fi short story written by Chinese author Chen Qiufan (also known as Stanley Chan) last year. He speaks to Tina about his new work and life imitating art in science fiction. How is COVID-19 influencing artists? The Singaporean art collective PHUNK, tells us about updating their SARS-inspired artwork ‘Control Chaos’ to reflect the current global crisis. ‘Stay apart – and keep connecting’ – that’s the philosophy behind a new daily online comedy broadcast made by the British comedians Robin Ince and Josie Long. Robin and Josie talk to Tina about creating a space to support artists and entertain audiences in the age of lockdown. Plus from home concerts with John Legend to the campaigning anthems of Bobi Wine we explore how the music world is responding to the coronavirus. Presented by Tina Daheley Image: Chen Quifan Image credit: Lin Yi'an

As countries around the world face up to the challenge of the coronavirus we hear how life and culture are changing in Milan, Italy. The Italian author and screenwriter Ilaria Bernardini, reflects on how musicians, poets, writers and even chefs, are uniting to bring hope during an uncertain time. For the Lebanese poet, Zeina Hashem Beck poetry is how she channels her creative energy, her emotions and her questions. She talks to Tina about how a sense of place and particularly the cities of Tripoli and Beirut inform her poetry. The internationally renowned designer Christian Louboutin talks about how his childhood love for the Parisian institution, the Museum of African and Oceanic Arts, inspired a life in fashion. Corruption, crime and the seedy underbelly of Warsaw. Features you wouldn’t expect to find included in a ‘love letter’ to your home city. But that’s how novelist Jakub Zulcyzck describes his book, Blinded by the Light which is being made into a TV series for HBO. Jakub Zulcyzck tells The Cultural Frontline why Warsaw is such a special city despite its darker side. Presented by Tina Daheley Image: A family making music on an Italian balcony Image credit: Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images

From selling slippers on the streets of Taipei as a child to running a world class dance company, we meet the new artistic director of Cloud Gate. Choreographer Cheng Tsung-lung tells us how he transformed his childhood experiences into a sensory explosion of sound, neon light and spectacular movement on stage in the latest production 13 Tongues. Two dancers on a mission to replace caricature with character. Georgina Pazcoguin and Phil Chan of the campaign group Final Bow for Yellowface tell us why they’re working to eliminate offensive stereotypes of East Asians on our stages. It’s been called Georgia's first LGBTQ+ film, has been critically acclaimed but has also attracted controversy. The actor and dancer Levan Gelbakhiani shares the story of making the new drama “And then We Danced.” Presented by Tina Daheley Image: A dancer on stage in 13 Tongues Image credit: Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan

As the world reacts to the guilty verdicts against the former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein we speak to directors, actors and producers about creating film in the age of #Metoo. A young woman who works for a media mogul and the degrading climate he's created at the office. That’s the subject of the latest film by the acclaimed Australian writer and director Kitty Green. She talks to Tina Daheley about the challenges and the real life inspirations behind her new drama, The Assistant. In the 92 year history of the Academy Awards there has only been one female winner of the best director Oscar; Kathryn Bigelow. This year as #OscarsSoMale trended on social media many people asked: Does Hollywood has a problem with female directors? The American director Rachel Feldman and the Bangladeshi film maker Rubaiyat Hossain, share their experiences of working in the film industry and tell us why their films tell the stories of strong women fighting for justice and equality. How do you direct love scenes in the age of #MeToo? South African actor Nthati Moshesh and film director Sara Blecher tell Megha Mohan how they are working to create a comfortable and safe environment for all actors when filming intimate scenes. Presented by Megha Mohan Image: Kitty Green on the set of the Assistant Image credit: Ty Johnson

The working class London kid who became an Oscar winning director, the artistic maverick who became a knight of the realm. Tina Daheley speaks to Sir Steve McQueen about the influences that turned him into one of Britain’s greatest living artists as a career spanning exhibition of his work opens at London’s Tate Modern gallery. Plus the visionary Iranian film-maker and artist Shirin Neshat talks about her latest work, Land of Dreams. She reveals why she has turned her lens to Trump’s America, to tell the stories of ordinary people, their hopes and dreams and how she hopes art can foster a greater understanding between the United States and Iran. Presented by Tina Daheley (Photo: Steve McQueen. Credit: Getty Images/Michael Kovac)

Described as Chile’s answer to Lauryn Hill, Chilean hip hop em cee Ana Tjoux has made her name rapping against inequality. Ana tells Tina about her recent track #cacerolazo, which became an anthem for the 2019 protests in Chile. The soundtrack of the demonstrations, wooden spoons drummed on pans, form the beat beneath her words. Taking extreme risks for his rhymes, Iraqi rapper Mr Guti continues to make music about his city, Basra, despite several threats to his life. Drawing attention to the dangerous conditions and civil unrest in his country, we hear why Mr Guti filmed a music video in a burning government building. Move over Outkast, step aside Run the Jewels. There is a new star duo that could be changing the way we think about rap, Hip-Hop Psych. Hip Hop Psych is made up of Dr Akeem Sule and Dr Becky Inkster, a Consultant Psychiatrist and a Clinical Neuroscientist. They reveal how they are using hip-hop to better treat and understand mental illness. Presented by Tina Daheley Image: Ana Tijoux Image credit: Getty/C Brandon

When war broke out in Yemen, Murad Subay began painting murals on the shelled and bullet-marked buildings of his home city of Sana’a. His colourful messages of protest and hope raised awareness of the conflict’s impact on Yemeni civilians. He encouraged passers by to join him as he worked, and together they filled ruined homes with images of peace. Journalist Sumaya Bakhsh traces Murad’s journey as he leaves Sana’a for Cairo. International travel is rarely simple for citizens of Yemen, and we hear from Murad as he languishes in Egypt, stuck without a visa and unable to create new work. Murad is used to living and working in the toughest of conditions, but this period of inactivity is a new test for the prolific artist. Eventually Murad receives a visa and arrives in the UK to launch a new campaign. Painting with Murad on the streets of London, Sumaya digs into his process as Murad explains why ultimately he must return to the conflict in Yemen, armed only with his brushes and spray cans. Photo: A mural by Murad Subay Credit: Murad Subay Murad Subay is voiced by Fayez Bakhsh Presenter: Sumaya Bakhsh Producers: Robbie MacInnes and Simona Rata An SPG production for the BBC World Service

Sell out tours, millions of social media followers and adoring fans across the globe. Welcome to the world of Dimash, Central Asia’s biggest pop star. We find out how he went from a child singer to a pioneer of pop music and why he is trying to change the world’s perception of his home country, Kazakhstan. Has a song, a book, a work of art ever changed the way you see the world? Zandra Rhodes, one of British fashion’s leading trend setters, reveals why the work of the artist Duggie Fields inspires her. They have been dubbed “the wildest DJ crew and label in Mexico” and have been credited with revolutionising a dance music scene in Mexico City that has been devastated by the War on Drugs. The BBC’s Emmanuella Kwenortey speaks to the creative minds behind the pioneering artistic collective NAAFI and finds out what drives these cultural mavericks. Plus we find out why the sky is the limit for Indian statues. The writer Sandip Roy explores the increasingly competitive and record breaking nature of public art and public life in India. Presented by Tina Daheley Image: Dimash in concert. Credit: Nikita Basov

House of Kenzo are the underground dance collective revolutionising Texan nightlife. We join Breezy, Roxy, Flo, Gemel and Toni over a weekend, as they perform at the opening of a queer film festival in Austin and in their hometown of San Antonio. Each performance is a conceptual piece of artwork with built in messages of radical self-expression, body positivity, ecology and community. Constructing a DIY stage on the dancefloor, House of Kenzo blend jaw-dropping dance moves - voguing, krumping, break dancing in ten inch heels - with avant garde club music, shouting explicit mantras at the audience, inviting them to join in a communal, often cathartic, dance battle. For local artist Ben Aqua, they represent the future of queer culture. Their volatile energy, flamboyant fashion, and total freedom of expression are inspiring a movement in Texas - a traditionally conservative state. Their events are often a springboard for other LGBT artists of colour in the underground nightlife scene. Local journalist and DJ, Dan Gentile, believes House of Kenzo have a real future not in just music but in performance art, the type of higher end culture that would traditionally be difficult for an underground art collective to break into. To date, they’ve performed showcases at Austin’s SXSW, Day For Night Festival in Houston, and are beginning to tour all over the US, and will be travelling to Europe for the first time this October. A Just Radio Production for BBC World Service. Produced by Victoria Ferran. Image: Roxy and Breezy from underground arts collective House of Kenzo (Credit: Ben Aqua)