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Arts>Inspiring
Asia | China | Arts

‘Shanghai Is an Adventurous Place’: Why Dealer Almine Rech Is Opening Her Fifth Gallery in the Chinese City Next Month

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With spaces in Paris, London, New York, and Brussels, French dealer Almine Rech has quietly reached mega-gallery status, and now she’s set to add yet another location to her list: Shanghai. Rech says she has witnessed the Asian art market blossom over the last decade, so much so that it no longer made business sense to just participate in the fairs there. “The market has evolved a lot,” Rech tells artnet News. “Now, for instance, in the West Bund fair in Shanghai or Art Basel Hong Kong—which I’ve participated in for much longer as it’s an older fair—we sell mostly to Asians
North America | United States | Arts

Dallas Opera Institute for Women Conductors spotlights six in concert

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Although women have made great strides in many walks of life, they're still rarely seen conducting orchestras, in either symphony concerts or operas. On Saturday night, though, six women took turns leading the Dallas Opera Orchestra and various singers at the Winspear Opera House. The concert was a sort of graduation ceremony for participants in the Dallas Opera's second annual Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors. The women, all in early stages of careers, hailed from six different countries. Four additional observers sat in on the two-week institute, but did not conduct on
North America | Canada | Activism

Dancer Santee Smith offers a new way to consider indigenous women’s issues

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Award-winning choreographer and dancer Santee Smith wanted to think about indigenous women’s issues in a new way. She wanted to incite a fresh dialogue on women, reconciliation and healing – and part of that dialogue meant reframing the idea of “truths.” By assembling a team of internationally renowned indigenous women artists, she’s put together an interdisciplinary show called Re-Quickening, which opens at Toronto’s Fleck Dance Theatre next week. The Globe and Mail caught up with Smith in Toronto. Read the full interview at the source.
South Asia | Afghanistan | Activism

Afghan teenager braves threats, family pressure to lead women’s orchestra

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Like many teenagers, 19-year-old Negin Khpalwak from Kunar in eastern Afghanistan loves music, but few people of her age have battled as fiercely to pursue their passion in the face of family hostility and threats. Playing instruments was banned outright during the period of Taliban rule in Afghanistan, and even today, many conservative Muslims frown on most forms of music. Negin took her first steps learning music in secret, before eventually revealing her activity to her father. He encouraged her, but the reaction from the rest of her conservative Pashtun family was hostile.
South Asia | Afghanistan | Activism

Afghanistan’s First Female Street Artist Brings Hijabs And Feminism To City Walls

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A woman in a purple hijab sits playing the piano, a tear rolling down her cheek. She plays her solitary tune amongst a sea of blue skyscrapers, soaring above the cars that zoom beneath her unnoticed. This subject already wears her contradictions proudly -- she is strong, she is vulnerable, she is graceful, creative, separate, sad. And yet, at least it seems, she calls out to no one, content to sit with her feelings and express herself creatively, freely, in peace. This work of street art was made by Shamsia Hassani, widely known as the first prominent woman street artist in Afghanistan. H
North America | United States | Arts

Loretta Lynn Receives Billboard’s First-Ever Women in Music Legend Award

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Loretta Lynn is an inspiration not just to country fans, but for any woman who aspires to have a career in music. The icon is being honored with Billboard’s inaugural Women in Music Legend Award, recognizing her “historic contributions to the industry and artistry of American music, which has established her among the highest class of performers.” The award will be presented to Lynn Dec. 11 at the Women in Music event in New York City, where pop star Lady Gaga will also be receiving the Woman of the Year award. The ceremony will air on Lifetime on Dec. 18. “From the moment
Latin America | Ecuador | Arts

Women from 10 Countries Lead Urban Culture Festival in Ecuador

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A festival of urban culture led by women artists from around ten countries will give away today new graffiti to the capital of Ecuador, hosting a groundbreaking event of this kind. The festival, entitled Warmi Paint 2015 will bring together more than 20 female artists from countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Ecuador, to make visible the creative endeavors of young women in the Americas. Some of them will display their skills with graffiti on the streets, others will work together in large-scale murals, as evidence of the flourishing in the street
Europe | Great Britain | Arts

Marie Spartali Stillman: The female artist time forgot

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Being an artist in Victorian England was not an occupation considered suitable for a woman - one reason why there were so few of them. But Marie Spartali Stillman was an exception. She rose to prominence within the very male pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and successfully sold her paintings on both sides of the Atlantic. Delaware Art Museum is staging the first major exhibition of her work - Poetry in Beauty - in an attempt to bring her the public recognition she deserves.
South Asia | Afghanistan | Arts

Afghanistan’s first female conductor

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Negin Khpolwak, a student at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, has raised the baton to become Afghanistan’s first female conductor. In a country where the Taliban once banned music, the female students have made history by performing their first concert with Khpolwak conducting. The Afghanistan National Institute of Music was established in June 2010, with music teachers employed from Afghanistan as well as the US, Australia, Russia and India. It currently has 200 students, including a quarter who are girls. The Institute’s founder and director Dr Ahmad Naser Sarmast has cont
North America | United States | Arts

Baked by Melissa Constructs the World’s Largest Cupcake Art Mosaic

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Baked by Melissa, the New York City bakery famous for its bite-size cupcakes, successfully constructed the World’s Largest Cupcake Art Mosaic. The spread was constructed in Central Park in front of the iconic Bethesda Fountain and was made up of 40,000 cupcakes that formed a tie-dye peace sign. The cupcake display measured in at over 25 x 25 feet! Measurements were taken by independent professionals and will be submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records. The record is currently held at 30,400 cupcakes. This exciting venture was in collaboration with Yoko Ono and the John Lennon Educati
Asia | Japan | Arts

At 101 Years Old, Japan’s First Female Photojournalist Still Loves Taking Photos

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As a 25 year old, Tokyo born Tsuneko Sasamoto, made the decision to become a professional photographer. World War II was just getting underway and, in Japan, it was mostly unheard of for a woman to choose a career over a husband. That didn’t stop the young Sasamoto–she had been shooting since her early twenty’s, documenting pre-war life, and had become incredibly passionate about her work. Her determination helped her become on of Japan’s very first female photojournalists, documenting the turmoil of the World War II era. Now, decades later, Sasamoto is still doing what she loves at
North America | United States | Arts

The Goodman Theatre Announces First All-Female Playwrights Unit

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Chicago's Goodman Theatre has announced that its sixth playwrights unit will be made up entirely of female playwrights. The Chicago writers participating in the 2015-16 program are Kristiana Rae Colón, Sandra Delgado, Jenni Lamb and Calamity West. The Unit is a year-long residency designed to nurture new work. The writers attend bi-monthly meetings with the Goodman's artistic team, culminating with public staged readings of their completed works. The Goodman's decision in selecting all female playwrights is particularly important in light of recent statistics showing that only o
Europe | Great Britain | Architecture

Zaha Hadid is the first sole female recipient of the prestigious RIBA Royal Gold Medal

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British architect Zaha Hadid is to become the 2016 recipient of the Royal Gold Medal for architecture, marking the first time a woman has won the prize in her own right (+ slideshow). Awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects, the medal is presented annually in recognition of a significant contribution to the profession. Hadid is the first women without a male partner to win the award in its 167-year history. Hadid said she was proud to be the first woman to receive the honour in her own right. "We now see more established female architects all the time. That doesn't mean it'
North America | United States | Arts

Theater festival in DC puts spotlight on female playwrights

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It was an historic moment in theater few people saw when the first female writing team won Tony Awards this year for "Fun Home." The milestone symbolized a stubborn imbalance between the number of female playwrights who see their work produced on stage compared with men. The breakthrough for Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori's with Broadway's "Fun Home" came during a commercial break in the Tonys. Writers are rarely recognized in the theater world. But for this team, the win cemented their place at a time when very few new plays picked up for production in theaters are written by women. Now a

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