Cluck and contemplate: A visitor reads the caption beneath Batik Pemandangan Ayam Alas (2013) by Batik Sutoyo of Pekalongan, displayed at KukuruYUK!: Ragam Motif Ayam Dalam Batik Indonesia (KukuruYUK!: Various Chicken Motifs in Indonesian Batik) on Oct. 20 at the Museum Batik Indonesia in East Jakarta.

‘KukuruYUK!’: Celebrating the grace of chickens in batik art

A tribute to the rooster’s proud crow and the hen’s quiet care, the exhibition reveals how chickens have long enlivened the language of batik.

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Looking after the dark: Bandung’s light festival reimagines the city

Bandung’s heritage warehouses light up as artists explore the space between shadow and illumination. ...

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Earth Society: Art in a time of unraveling

At ICAD 15, artists from Indonesia and beyond confront humanity’s uneasy relationship with the planet, weaving stories of decay, resilience and renewal through installation, sculpture and design. ...

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People walk past an installation after the Fallas festival was cancelled over the coronavirus outbreak in Valencia on March 13, 2020.

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Spanish 'Fallas' festival postponed on virus fears

Officials in the eastern Spanish city of Valencia debated Wednesday what to do with large sculptures set up on its streets for its annual "Fallas" festival after the event was postponed due to concerns about the coronavirus outbreak.

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What might have happened: Malang University history lecturer Dwi Cahyono (kneeling) explains his theories on the newly discovered temple in Batu, East Java, to visitors.

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Digging up the red brick past

A villager’s regular dig of avocado plants led to a discovery that might further boost the town of Batu’s reputation as a tourist spot.

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This undated handout picture by the Tak'alik Ab'aj Archaeologial National Park released by the Guatemalan Ministry of Culture and Sports shows a stone at the Tak'alik Ab'aj archaeological site, in El Asintal municipality, Retalhuleu department, Guatemala.

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Guatemala find reveals early Mayan writing

A 2,000 year old stela recently discovered in Guatemala has revealed examples of the genesis of Mayan writing.

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Spanish tenor Placido Domingo gestures as he performs during his concert at St Gellert Forum in Szeged, southern Hungary on August 28, 2019.

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LA Opera deems Domingo misconduct accusations credible

The Los Angeles Opera said its investigation into star Placido Domingo had found accusations of "inappropriate conduct" against its former director to be credible.

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In this file photo taken on February 17, 2020, Paris National Opera workers display a banner as protesters demonstrate in front of Paris' Opera Garnier in Paris, as part of a multi-sector strike against the French government's pensions overhaul.

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Crisis-hit Paris Opera cancels shows over virus

Crisis-hit Paris Opera has been forced to cancel a ballet, opera and a concert because of the coronavirus outbreak.

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Changing faces: The many depictions of the 'Mona Lisa'. (From left to right) Leonardo da Vinci's version, Bernardino Luini's version, Philippe de Champaigne's version and a version stored by the Prado Museum in Madrid.

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The eternal enigma of Leonardo da Vinci’s 'Mona Lisa'

Leonardo da Vinci died 500 years ago and his most celebrated work, the Mona Lisa, with its portrayal of a women with a mysterious smile, still captures the imagination of art enthusiasts.

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Life cycle: Melati Suryodarmo’s 'I'm a Ghost in My Own House' (2012) is one of her incredible long-durational performance pieces that range from three to 12 hours.

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'Why Let the Chicken Run?': Melati Suryodarmo's enduring human experience

After traveling the world, internationally acclaimed Indonesian performance artist par excellence Melati Suryodarmo has returned back home.

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A tapestry designed by Renaissance artist Raphael is installed on a lower wall of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican as part of celebrations marking the 500th anniversary of his death in this handout photo released on February 17, 2020.

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Rome's Raphael show falls victim to coronavirus

Rome's blockbuster exhibition marking 500 years since the death of Renaissance master Raphael fell victim Sunday to a government decree shutting all museums because of the new coronavirus threat.

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The Spice Roads: A revitalized taste of trade, culture and history

Indonesia once played a vital role in changing the world through spices, pushing globalization forward. It is about to do so again.

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Spanish tenor Placido Domingo performs during his concert in the newly inaugurated sports and culture centre 'St Gellert Forum' in Szeged, southern Hungary, on August 28, 2019.

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Scandal-hit Placido Domingo pulls out of London performance

Opera great Placido Domingo, who has been hit by sexual harassment claims, has withdrawn from planned appearances at the Royal Opera House.

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The marquee for 'The Book of Mormon' musical comedy shines over the entrance to the Eugene O'Neill Theatre in New York City.

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'The Book of Mormon': Laughing uncomfortably, out loud

Experience Broadway for the first time through The Book of Mormon.

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A media person films artworks by Renaissance master Raphael during the unveiling of a blockbuster exhibition commemorating the 500th anniversary of his death, at the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome, Italy, on March 4, 2020.

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Threat of coronavirus hangs heavily over Rome Raphael spectacular

An exhibition commemorating the 500th anniversary of the death of Renaissance artist Raphael opens in Rome this week but the show risks being overshadowed by the coronavirus outbreak sweeping Italy.

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Visitors look at the paintings (left to right) 'Young Man with an Apple', 'Young Woman with Unicorn' and 'Portrait of a Man' by Renaissance master Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, known as Raphael, on March 4, 2020, displayed at the exhibition 'Raffaello' at the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome.

Art & Culture

Blockbuster Rome show marks 500 years since Raphael's death

Italy is marking 500 years since the death of Renaissance master Raphael with a blockbuster exhibition whose preparations were marred by a row over a treasured portrait some feared was too fragile to move.

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Beyond barriers: Women artists evolve through science, technology

Women artists employ science and technology as a channel for their creative imagination.

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Italian actress Monica Bellucci poses during a photocall for the film 'The Best Years of a Life' (Les Plus Belles Annees D'Une Vie) at the 72nd edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 19, 2019.

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To play Maria Callas, Monica Bellucci confronts stage fright

It seems hard to believe, but Monica Bellucci -- who has spent four decades in the limelight as a model and actress -- says she suffers from stage fight.

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A picture taken on February 18, 2020 in the Israeli coastal city of Caesarea shows the carvings adorning the Piano of Siena, a 19th century instrument that disappeared for decades and was found recently in an Israeli house.

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'Immortal Piano' set for Israel auction

A rare piano that could fetch more than a million dollars at auction in Israel next week has a history as elaborate as the wood carvings adorning its frame.

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‘Evening setting, rainy season, Monday, 8:16 p.m.'

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Two female photographers juxtaposed in Paris exhibition

An exhibition shows the work of Martine Franck and Marie Bovo, presenting the contrast between portrait and still life, as well as black and white and color.

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An employee of Grishko company produces pointe shoes in the company's Moscow workshop on February 25, 2020.

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For ballet shoes, one Russian company is on pointe

Craftsman Sergei Murza runs his fingers over the pink satin of a pointe shoe he has just finished making. Then he gives it the final test: the ballet slipper balances perfectly on its tip.

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And it’s there — in a totally different social milieu, living with a Dutch family with five children, in which she had to take care of the youngest, a boy called Jantje — that she came to realize the various worlds she went through ever since.

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‘They call me baboe’: How a domestic helper saw the colonial world

She was a happy girl aspiring to be a teacher when she decided to leave her home village. Thus began the story of a girl, about 20 years old, from Central Java who went to Bandung in West Java to work for a Dutch family.

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A mural of literary figure H.B. Jassin adorns the wall of the Jakarta Planetarium Building at the Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) arts and cultural center on Feb. 20.

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No five-star hotel in TIM: Anies

The confusion over the future of the Taman Ismail Marzuki arts and cultural center may subside somewhat after the Jakarta administration cleared up rumors about turning it into a commercial space, but some problems remain.

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Participants march in the annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade in Sydney on February 29, 2020.

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Sydney's glittery parade still a protest at heart

Australia's wildfires seemed an age ago amid the glitz of Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, but Saturday's celebration brought the firefighters who battled them together with climate change activists.

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This July 1943 photo provided by Italian news agency Ansa on February 23, 2020 shows Pope Pius XII meeting with people from Rome's San Lorenzo district, after a violent bombardment caused severe damage to the buildings and the entire neighbourhood during WWII. - The entire Vatican archives on the pontificate of Pope Pius XII (1939-1958) are to open on March 2, 2020, a decision which had been called for decades by Jewish historians and organizations.

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Vatican opens archives on history's most controversial pope

The Vatican unseals the archives of history's most contentious popes on Monday, potentially shedding light on why Pius XII stayed silent during the extermination of six million Jews in the Holocaust.

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A kimono, 'Engagement Ribbon' by Japanese kimono designer Tamao Shigemune is displayed during the press preview of the 'Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk' exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in central London on February 26, 2020.

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From samurais to Jedi knights, kimono stars in London show

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Step forward?: Pedestrians walk by a rendering of the planned revitalization of the Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) art and cultural center in Central Jakarta on Wednesday, Feb. 19.

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Will the Taman Ismail Marzuki facelift erase its mythology?

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Architects reclaim professional rights to build city

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Spanish tenor Placido Domingo gestures as he performs during his concert in the newly inaugurated sports and culture center 'St Gellert Forum' in Szeged, southern Hungary on August 28, 2019.

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'Opera King' Placido Domingo dethroned by sex harassment scandal

One of the world's most celebrated and prolific opera singers, Placido Domingo enjoyed a glittering six-decade career until a sexual harassment scandal brought down the curtain on his runaway success.

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This photo taken on February 9, 2020 shows Nok Tan, 75, a tattooed Konyak tribeman, in his house in a village in Sagaing region of Myanmar, wedged in a semi-autonomous zone near the Indian border.

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Myanmar's last generation of tattooed headhunters

Naga tattooing patterns can signify tribal identity, life accomplishments or the completion of a rite of passage.

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People pass Picasso's mural art work 'The Fisherman' on the government quarter's 'Y building' in Oslo, Norway on August 6, 2013.

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Norway authorizes demolition of building with Picasso murals

Norway gave the go-ahead for the demolition of a bomb-damaged building adorned with drawings by Spanish master painter Pablo Picasso.

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Spain axes Placido Domingo from Madrid performances

Spain's culture ministry on Wednesday cancelled a performance by opera star Placido Domingo, a day after he accepted "full responsibility" in a sexual harassment scandal.

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