Art can help to steer impressionable young people away from religious radicalization, says the director of the Canada Council for the Arts. Simon Brault also says that a new government on Parliament Hill understands that Canada must restore the art and cultural arm of its international diplomacy, if it wants to have meaningful relationships with other nations.

Founded in 2011, Żigużajg International Arts Festival for Children and Young People has become one of the most anticipated happenings in Malta’s jam-packed cultural calendar. In essence, many assume it to be solely for children and teenagers but, while they are the target audience, the themes tackled in the plays, concerts and art exhibitions that make up Żigużajg can be both timeless and universal.

Art, as typically viewed in austere galleries, labyrinthine museums or collectors’ homes, is incredibly removed from its raw materials—nature. [...] It’s a type of denial of nature, even though humanity’s advanced culture is still part of nature. But with her series inconsequence / in consequence, artist Alison Moritsugu brings the natural world back into the gallery with new works that [...] highlight environmental urgencies.

Cecil Balmond, OBE, has been selected as the winner of Freedom: A Shared Dream, an international art competition to create a urban art/sculptural landmark in honor of the ideals of Cyrus the Great who [...] championed the principles of religious diversity and personal freedom for all.  These same ideals, later became the foundation of the American Constitution and a dream that is shared by many across the world. 

These certainly aren’t normal hours for the renowned French-Tunisian creative, whose work graces walls, bridges, rooftops, and other structures and surfaces on nearly every continent. Though eL Seed normally splits his time between Paris and Dubai, he’s in London to paint a large mural commissioned by the British Council for the Shubbak festival, a celebration of contemporary Arab culture.

The collection, "Islamic Art Now," has built on from then, and will occupy most of the fourth floor of LACMA until January 2016 (a second Islamic Art exhibit will be put in place after its removal). With 200 pieces, it is the largest collection of modern Islamic art in the world.