art & culture
![Photo reprinted courtesy of Maxpixel Musical Instruments, by Maxpixel](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/275x168/public/uploads/musical-instruments-saxophones.jpg?itok=xYzcd1oh)
The latest in cultural diplomacy news and events.
LADAMA is the kind of band that people tend to make assumptions about. [...] LADAMA will be performing at World Music/CRASHarts' second annual CRASHfest at the House of Blues in Boston on Saturday, Jan. 28. The quartet plays propulsive original music rooted in the folk traditions of their home countries, a kind of cross-continental musical exchange. But theirs is something of a feminist undertaking, too.
![Photo reprinted courtesy of Pexels via Pixabay Woman and Art, by Pexels](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/275x168/public/uploads/woman-1283009_1920%20%281%29.jpg?itok=jRPn1U04)
January, 2017 happenings in cultural diplomacy around the world.
Representatives of seven Cleveland cultural and educational institutions met Cuban counterparts face to face and saw firsthand evidence of the rapprochement with Cuba started under President Barack Obama in 2014. The visit also provided a snapshot of Cuban life at an unusual point after the death of the country's longtime president, Fidel Castro, in November, and the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, who could freeze or reverse the normalization started by Obama.
A Chinese art troupe from Nanjing is set for its debut performance in the country tomorrow at 7 Arts Theatre Avondale, Harare as part of the Happy Chinese New Year commemorations. The event that is also known as the Happy Spring Festival, is being organised by the Chinese Embassy through its cultural section and will feature last year’s local Dream Star talent show finalists.
Heather Humphreys launched a new cultural initiative called Creative Ireland at the Irish Consulate in New York on Friday. [...] Creative Ireland is the government’s Legacy Program for Ireland 2016. It is a five-year all-of-government initiative, from 2017 to 2022, which at its core is a strategy which aims to improve access to cultural and creative activity in every county across the country and among the diaspora.
![Photo reprinted courtesy of YouTube Screenshot: Sorry, by Beyonce](https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/default/files/styles/275x168/public/uploads/ScrnShot.png?itok=gkohxO0G)
The visual artist, best-known for his collaboration with Beyonce on "Lemonade," aims to promote Yoruba culture and African artists.
From Sunday, Chile will begin to prepare for celebration of the Chinese Spring Festival, for the seventh year in the city of Vina del Mar and the first time in the capital, Santiago. The cultural program, organized by the Confucius Institute of Santo Tomas University, will last in Vina del Mar until Jan. 15.