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Theme : culture
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International Quidditch
Just a brief post to draw attention to this article in the Guardian.Apparently, the English language version of the last instalment of the Harry Potter saga sells more overseas than in the UK - people don't want to wait for the translation. A million copies were sold last month in Germany alone, and the Chinese love it, racking up a number of pre-orders 200% higher than the last one.Apart from wizard-fever, this shows how important popular culture is in relation to the globalisation of...
from : samjones
19th September 2007
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Rise of the Cultural Dragon - The PM woke him up
Today sees the opening of the First Emperor exhibition at the British Museum. As the newspapers and television reports imply, it features a selection of the terracotta warriors buried alongside China's first Emperor, Qin Shihuangdi in the famous complex at Xi'an. It's also the largest number to have made the trip overseas - there are about 20 at the BM, 15 or so made a trip to Rome's Scuderie del Quirinale last year. Even though they might soon have their own diplomatic bags...
from : samjones
13th September 2007
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Enriching art via cell phone
In Baltimore, museums are using mobile phone technology to deliver information to visitors in a way that both uses a platform with which they are already comfortable, and a means of enabling people to share hteir opinions with each other.
from : samjones
16th August 2007
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Many to the Many
One of the themes of Cultural Diplomacy is the shift of focus in how nations and groups relate to each other. First, governments spoke behind closed doors - the few to the few. Then they came to realise the importance of speaking to wider publics - the few to the many. Now, it is imperative that we understand and accommodate the reality that global relations are dominated and by the communication of the many to the many.In this light, it is nice to see that discussion of...
from : samjones
10th August 2007
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France - Museums - Column - New York Times
Under Sarkozy, France is currently debating the merits of free access to museums.
from : samjones
24th July 2007
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Food for thought
There's a fascinating article in the Guardian today about Fish and Chips. It charts the progress of 'cheap and simple' dish to its new-found status as a gourmet dish. Plenty is bound up in the story of the fish and its relationship to the chip. As the article points out, the dish's changing status tells us a lot about changing consumption habits in the UK today. It can also tell us a good deal about the aesthetics of gentrification, a world in which 'scraps', formerly...
from : samjones
20th July 2007
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Building Cultural Literacy
Last month, I spoke at a conference at Fudan University in Shanghai. The paper I gave was about the role of cultural providers like museums and the role that they have in building the skills in reading and interpreting cultures. You can download the paper here.
from : samjones
17th July 2007
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Building Cultural Literacy
from : samjones
17th July 2007
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Recognising Good Work
At an event in Sunderland tomorrow, we'll be talking about the different values associated with young people's creative production. More than that, though, there will be a chance to see some of the work itself, and also to hear from its creators about how they see their work.
from : samjones
11th July 2007
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If Caravaggio were around today, chances are he'd be in prison
This strikes me as well worth seeing.
from : samjones
11th July 2007
