Charlotte Bronte cast as a fighter

``Charlotte Bronte: A Fiery Heart‘‘ By Claire HarmanAlfred A. Knopf (480 pages, $30)Two hundred years after her birth, Charlotte Bronte‘s rage over social expectations for women and thwarted ambitions are as relevant as ever, and a new biography by Claire Harman makes the ``Jane Eyre’‘ author fresh and relatable to readers who might only think of the Brontes as figures long buried in tragic myth.Bronte and her sisters Emily and Anne published their poems and novels -- including ``Wuthering Heigh

March 3, 2016

‘Comfort women’ statues magnet for Koreans

Sculptors Kim Seo-kyung and Kim Eun-sung have been making statues of teenage girls that symbolize Korean young women forced to work as Japanese military sex slaves, euphemistically called “comfort women,” since 2011. They have made 30 statues so far, with more in the making. The bronze sculptures are exhibited at memorial parks, museums and on the streets of Korea, the U.S. and Canada.This month, six variations of the “Statue of a Girl of Peace” are on view at a gallery in Seoul where the artist

March 3, 2016

Looted ancient sculptures found in Slovenia refugee tent

LJUBLJANA (AFP) - Three ancient Mesopotamian sculptures, thought to have been excavated illegally in Syria or Iraq, have been found in a Slovenian refugee camp on the border with Croatia, police said Wednesday.　The National Museum in Ljubljana confirmed the alabaster objects were authentic Mesopotamian temple figurines and probably dated back to the B.C. third millennium.　“Since the objects have no registration or inventory signs, we believe they were excavated illegally,” museum archeologist Pe

March 3, 2016

Last of the Mitford sisters' treasures sold in London

LONDON (AFP) - Hundreds of personal items from the estate of an eccentric British duchess, the youngest of six sisters who scandalized 1930s British high society, were auctioned in London on Wednesday.　A collection of insect brooches, 36 model hens and a phone topped with a foot-high figure of Elvis Presley that dances and sings when the phone rings were among the items belonging to Deborah, the late duchess of Devonshire and one of the Mitford sisters.　“Together, the objects tell this amazing s

March 3, 2016

Helping ‘creatives’ think entrepreneurially

Physically, the Corzo Center for the Creative Economy at University of the Arts is little more than a tiny lounge, seeming far too small to contain the force in perpetual motion that is Neil Kleinman.　Not that it matters. Kleinman's mission as the center’s director encompasses the whole city, and he seems to be exploring every pocket of Philadelphia for partners willing to support it.　One day, he's at the Free Library; another, at Drexel University or the People’s Emergency Center in West Philad

Feb. 29, 2016

Major Russian museum sends rarely loaned portraits to London

MOSCOW (AP) _ The staff of Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery is packing up some of Russia’s finest paintings to send to London for a landmark exhibition, proving, the gallery's director says, that cultural exchange between the Russia and the West is alive and well.The 26 portraits being sent to the National Portrait Gallery for an exhibition March 17 to June 26 are part of an exchange that also includes major British works loaned to Russia. Despite chilly relations between Moscow and the West and an ec

Feb. 25, 2016

Myanmar backpedals on ban on Bagan temple climbing

YANGON (AFP) - Myanmar has backpedalled on a ban on climbing temples at the tourist hot spot of Bagan, following fears visitors would no longer be able to enjoy the ancient capital's famed sunsets. 　The Ministry of Culture on Monday barred visitors from clambering over the monuments.　But by late Tuesday it had revised the order to let tourists ascend five of the largest pagodas -- in a field of more than 3,000 Buddhist structures. 　“We would like to replace the statement about banning the climbi

Feb. 25, 2016

Pakistan literary festivals tell a tale of cultural revival

LAHORE (AFP) - Pakistan's literary scene is seeing a spirited revival, with packed festivals attracting tens of thousands in a rock concert-like atmosphere that defies security threats in a growing cultural renaissance. 　Events such as the raucous Lahore Literary Festival, held over the weekend, are reclaiming the “cultural space” that has shrunk significantly in the conservative Muslim nation in recent years amid a raging Islamist insurgency.　The festivals -- platforms for all forms of cultural

Feb. 24, 2016

London museum celebrates Charlotte Bronte‘s 200th birthday

LONDON (AFP) - Manuscripts, portraits and even a pair of cloth boots belonging to English author Charlotte Bronte went on display in London on Monday to celebrate the 200th anniversary of her birth.　The small exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, which runs until Aug. 14, offers glimpses into the life of the novelist who lived between 1816 and 1855 and is best known for “Jane Eyre.”　It revolves around a famous portrait by her brother Branwell Bronte with Charlotte, her sisters Emily and A

Feb. 23, 2016

Ministry to encourage citizen participation on 'Culture Day'

The Korean government will offer financial and logistics support to citizen-led culture clubs and encourage more people to participate in community culture programs to sustain the government-led “Culture Day” program. 　The Culture Ministry announced Monday that it would channel some 1.8 billion won ($1.46 million) into encouraging the public to form and participate in local orchestras, ensembles and choir and art circles. This amounts to about 13 percent of the total budget for the 2016 “Culture

Feb. 22, 2016

Jude Law leads celebs highlighting refugee plight in Calais ‘Jungle’

CALAIS, France (AFP) - British celebrities including Jude Law and playwright Tom Stoppard gave performances at the “Jungle” migrant camp in northern France on Sunday to draw attention to the plight of refugees facing imminent eviction. 　Law, the star of “Sherlock Holmes” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” was spotted weaving his way through the mud and makeshift shacks to the Good Chance theater, which was set up by British volunteers last year.　Around 200 residents of the camp showed up to watch th

Feb. 22, 2016

Damning study finds a ‘whitewashed’ Hollywood

NEW YORK (AP) -- In one of the most exhaustive and damning reports on diversity in Hollywood, a new study finds that the films and television produced by major media companies are "whitewashed," and that an "epidemic of invisibility" runs top to bottom through the industry for women, minorities and LGBT people. 　A study to be released Monday by the Media, Diversity and Social Change Initiative at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism offers one

Feb. 22, 2016

Young people prefer to binge-watch than wait for new episodes: poll

Twenty-somethings in South Korea say they would rather pull an all-nighter watching an entire season of "Signal" than wait for new episodes each week, a survey showed Thursday.Univ Tomorrow, a fashion and lifestyle magazine for college-aged students, and the Future Broadcast Research Center of the terrestrial network MBC surveyed 954 women and men in their 20s from October to November. They found that 60.5 percent prefer to watch many-hours worth of TV in one sitting than be constrained to one e

Feb. 18, 2016

K-culture supporters group organized in Russia

A group of local Russians has launched an organization to introduce and support the Korean culture wave of hallyu, which has been earning widespread popularity in Russia.The newly organized "K-culture supporters" have begun full-fledged activities after a launching ceremony at a Russian hotel on Tuesday (local time) in a bid to assist cultural exchanges between South Korea and Russia while supporting the spread of hallyu.The 17-member organization includes figures representing the Russian cultur

Feb. 18, 2016

Contemporary 'Indiana Jones' on mission to save antiquities

VANCOUVER (AFP) - A technology-wielding archeologist billed as a real-world “Indiana Jones” called Tuesday for an online platform that entices just about anyone to help find undiscovered treasures and defend archeological wonders.　Sarah Parcak envisions a 21st century army of citizen scientists to battle the looting and destruction of the world's antiquities.　And now, thanks to winning this year’s coveted TED Prize, her wish may just come true.　“We are at a tipping point with our cultural herita

Feb. 18, 2016