ARTS

Vincent Willem van Gogh, the Dutch post-impressionist painter, is easily among the most famous and influential figures in the history of western art. In just over a decade, he created about 2100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of them in the last two years of his life. He …

Dying elsewhere, booming in Uganda St. Peter’s Cathedral in Nsambya in Kampala is imbued with an aura that is unmistakably different from its environment. Upon entering the place, the atmosphere suddenly changes from the uniform bright light outside the edifice to a mild light interior made rich by colours filtering …

Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Dreamy musical romance “La La Land”, set in modern-day Los Angeles, topped nominations for the Golden Globes on Monday, as Hollywood’s awards seasons revs up in the march to the Oscars. Damien Chazelle’s tribute to the Golden Age of American musicals picked up …

  Rose Kirumira, Lilian Nabulime, F.X. Naggenda follow their ‘Africanity’ Contemporary visual art in Africa is little known in the West and in Africa itself. It is also undervalued. This writer once selected an abstract painting done by one of Uganda’s finest and did a mini survey on the streets …

Rarely does the driver ahead know you. But sometimes you discover that somehow he has made up his mind to give you a hard time. Often, it happens this way: You are behind the wheel and in a hurry on a narrowish road behind a vehicle ahead which won’t give …

They call her “the lady with the big heart” because she sings for charity. Angella Katatumba, founder of the Angella Katatumba Development Foundation, composed, sang, and recorded the theme song for the Gulu Walk back when northern Uganda was just emerging from the 20-year Joseph Kony rebellion. She then did …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP |  Nobel prize-winning author Wole Soyinka hit back Monday at critics from his native Nigeria, denouncing the “slugs, barbarians and imbeciles” who derided him for tearing up his US residency card after Donald Trump’s election win. “I don’t want people we fought for to have the …

When astronauts return from space, many of them report that their perspective of life on earth has been transformed for the better. All differences, borders and barriers seem less important when you’ve seen the planet from 250 miles (400 km) above the surface, they say. For this reason, BBC features …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Cuba’s sensual rumba dance and Belgium’s thriving beer culture brought a new exuberance to UNESCO’s prestigious list of “intangible” heritage on Wednesday. The UN body gave the nod to the rumba, which it said evokes “grace, sensuality and joy”, while it said “making and …

Paris, France | AFP |  Ugandan traditional music, which is dying out partly because it requires materials from endangered species, has been placed on UNESCO’s protected “Intangible Cultural Heritage” list, along with Portuguese pottery and Ukrainian Cossack songs. A UNESCO world heritage committee, meeting in Addis Ababa Tuesday, decided to …