Latest in Culture Highlight
Latest in Culture
‘Pictures make politics’: How Helmut Kohl staged himself
There are countless images of Helmut Kohl. But what overall picture did they produce? How was Kohl seen? What did he do to cultivate an image? Photo expert Klaus Honnef says Kohl was a master self-image manipulator.DW: Klaus Honnef, please tell us about the time you saw Helmut Kohl? Klaus Honnef: I met him once …
Curtain comes down on Frank Castorf’s era at the Volksbühne
Unconventional and provocative: As the artistic director of Berlin’s Volksbühne – the “People’s Theater” – Frank Castor wrote theater history. Here’s why his productions were so unusual.Frank Castorf’s final play at the Volksbühne that premiered in March was Faustian: Martin Wuttke as Doctor Faustus, Marc Hosemann as Mephisto and Sophie Rois as a witch, all …
Academy invites Daniel Brühl and Fatih Akin to vote for Oscars
German actor Daniel Brühl and director Fatih Akin have been offered membership in the Oscars Academy – two out of 774 film professionals invited to join this year.The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has released on Wednesday its list of invitations of people who could become voting members. Two German film professionals were …
Curtain opens in Verona’s Arena
The 2017 Arena di Verona Opera Festival will be staged from June 23rd to August 27th. The program consists in 48 evenings with 5 operas and 3 special events.On Friday June 23rd at 9.00 pm Opening night of the 2017 Arena di Verona Opera Festival with the first performance of Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi, in …
Munich Film Festival kicks off with Juliette Binoche
The 35th edition of the Munich film festival has opened with Claire Denis’s “Let the Sunshine In.” An epic new Hitler documentary and Sofia Coppola’s “The Beguiled” also await.Some French celebrity cinema isn’t a bad start for the festival on the Isar river, which always seeks to combine glamour with artistic aspiration. Director Claire Denis, …
The world in pictures: How photography revolutionized the press
Barely a century ago, the invention of photojournalism turned the press landscape upside down. A new exhibition at Berlin’s German Historical Museum reimagines a photographic revolution.A new exhibition at Berlin’s German Historical Museum titled “The Invention of Press Photography: From the Ullstein Collection 1894-1945,” shows how photography first appeared in newspapers and magazines at the …
Knowledge is power: Humboldt’s educational vision resonates on 250th birthday
Considered the father of the modern university, Wilhelm von Humboldt revolutionized public education in Germany. But on his 250th birthday, how does Humboldt’s legacy live on?A cosmopolitan linguist, philosopher, statesman and writer in one, Wilhelm von Humboldt would today make a good German education minister. He was fluent in the principal languages of the old …
Two Palmyra artworks destroyed by ‘IS’ restored for first time
For the first time since its destruction by the “IS,” two artworks from Palmyra have been restored. Italian archeologist Maria Laurenti spoke with DW about the political hurdles and challenges of restoration.Since the barbaric destruction of Syria’s Palmyra, the ancient city has become a symbol of the brutality of the terror organization “Islamic State” (IS). …
“Ramadan Kareem”: the diaries of a simple Egyptian district
The series documents Ramadan’s cultural rituals that are about to die
Ali, the Goat and Ibrahim, the first Arab film to be screened in DIFF’S VOX initiative
the independent platform screens independent international-awarded films
Second of Tutankhamen collection transferred to Grand Egyptian museum
The relics includes a collection of dried dates, onions, garlic, wheat and doum.
Francis Kéré’s stunning new pavilion opens in London
Berlin-based architect Diébédo Francis Kéré has unveiled his Serpentine Pavilion in London’s Kensington Gardens. He is the first African to be commissioned for the project created annually by renowned architects.Diébédo Francis Kéré’s striking Serpentine Pavilion, unveiled Tuesday, was inspired by the tree that serves as a central meeting point for life in his hometown of …
Two drinks away from schizophrenia: ‘Axolotl Overkill’ shows what it’s like to be young in Berlin
Celebrated on the festival circuit, a daring film by director Helena Hegemann, “Axolotl Overkill,” premieres in Germany. It was adapted from her 2010 book, but can it live up to its literary counterpart?It’s difficult to write about the film “Axolotl Overkill” without rehashing the entire backstory. After all, Helene Hegemann’s 2010 novel “Axolotl Roadkill” caused …
Testing the waters of cultural identity
What does identity have to do with hairstyle? How can leisure attire open doors? And what does all that have to do with Beethoven? Answers to these questions were offered at a freewheeling panel in Bonn.”Identity is fluid, and there’s no such thing as local anymore,” says a tall man of Sudanese descent born in …
Men in skirts: How fashion is redefining masculinity
As haute couture designers take their feminine styles to shops, straight men can now wear pink and man buns. But DW’s Jan Tomes writes that the latest menswear trends are bland – and some verge on cultural appropriation.When it comes to menswear, the past decade has been particularly exciting. Although the British dandies paved the …
International Literature Award goes to Fiston Mwanza Mujila’s ‘Tram 83’
Post-colonialism takes center stage in Fiston Mwanza Mujila’s “Tram 83.” The book and its German translation have grabbed a top German translation prize.Congolese writer Fiston Mwanza Mujila’s novel “Tram 83” is “a radical report on post-colonial African life in a town built over an immense store of very valuable natural resources,” the jury of the …
Arab Arts Focus presents talents of Middle East in Edinburgh
Eight live shows depict Arab struggles through contemporary dancing, storytelling, and visual arts
Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura
In the Swabian Jura region in southern Germany, there are six caves in which the oldest figurative artworks made by humans were discovered. This year they could be given UNESCO World Heritage status.The World Heritage Committee will assess the nomination of 34 sites for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List during its 41st session in …
Documentary on anti-Semitism in Europe to be screened, despite controversy
German-French public broadcaster Arte received criticism for deciding not to show the film. Then, Germany’s largest tabloid made it available online. Now, the documentary will be screened on TV.On Wednesday, the documentary titled “Chosen and Excluded – Jew Hatred in Europe” will be shown on German television. On June 21, the film will be broadcast …
Director Ali Badrakhan wins Nile Award for the Arts
The director received the award following voting by the Supreme Council of Culture
Authorities stop five ancient handwritten Qurans being illegally smuggled to Egypt
The copies were found in three parcels coming from Ethiopia
Film star and publicity icon Nicole Kidman turns 50
Oscar winner Nicole Kidman has lived through dramatic high and low points to become one of the world’s most outstanding film stars. The US-Australian actress celebrates her 50th birthday on June 20.How do you define a superstar? First of all, he or she would have to be present everywhere. Secondly, not only artistic qualities should …
La Totfe’ El Shams: a classic-novel-turned-controversial-series
In 1960, leading author Ihsan Abdel Quddous released his two-part-novel “La Totfe’ El Shams.” The novel is considered one of the most popular literary works that sheds light on the contradictions between the younger and older generations and the struggles of the youth at that time. In 1961, notable director Salah Abo Seif turned the …
Sultan Baybar’s relics displayed in Kazakhstan
Hundreds of people lined up in front of Kazakhstan’s National Museum for the first day of the exhibition displaying Mamluk era antiquities
Ramadan drama: A golden opportunity for new artists
Over the years, Ramadan has always been the main season for the competitive drama race. Leading actors, producers, and directors prefer to present their new artistic works to guarantee higher rates of viewership. This Ramadan witnessed an outpour of novice artists, who managed to grab the attention of a huge number of people through their …
Berlin 24/7: Berlin cross has city up in arms
A cross planned for the top of Berlin’s new Humboldt Forum has sparked controversy. DW’s Gero Schliess says the row is not just about religious differences, but gets to the heart of the country’s identity crisis.When politicians fight over a cross, then usually it’s the one on the election ballot. But not this time. When …
‘Cultural sovereign’ Helmut Kohl built an unlikely legacy
Helmut Kohl initiated a large number of national artistic institutions that changed Germany’s cultural landscape. The government’s art expenditures trebled under Kohl’s 1982-1998 tenure as chancellor.At the start of his chancellorship, Helmut Kohl was the target of much scorn and malice and frequently criticized for his “provincialism.” The appraisal had improved by the time Kohl’s …
Berlin exhibition showcases US art in time of transatlantic turmoil
Works by Georgia O’Keeffe, Edward Hopper and other US abstract expressionists are on show at Berlin’s Barberini Museum. Despite current political tensions, the exhibition creates an artistic transatlantic bridge.When Donald Trump was inaugurated in Washington, DC this January, German Chancellor Angela Merkel spent the evening browsing Impressionist paintings at the newly opened Barberini Museum in …
100 best posters on show in Berlin
The 100 best posters produced in German-speaking countries for publicity, commercials and ads are on show at Berlin’s Kulturforum. That’s important as the poster as an art form has come under threat from social media.Since the end of the 19th century, we have encountered posters almost daily at public locations. Most of them have been …
The unseen sides of Egypt
The top 10 pictures posted on Instagram by amateur photographers