Ever since President Obama’s historic announcement in early December 2014, calling for the restoration of diplomatic ties between Washington and Havana, eyes have turned toward Cuba, waiting to see what changes the new dynamic will bring to the island nation.

Last week, a non-governmental organisation, Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL) hosted Taiwo Ajayi-Lycett as she clocked 74 years. A panel made up of Joke Silva, Professor Reginald Ofodilede, Ben Tomoloju and Jahman Anikulapo deliberated on the problems plaguing our arts and culture industry. [...] After the celebrant was ushered in, the panelists were on hand to deal with issues in the Arts and Cultural industry. 

Should public servants consider cultural impact when developing policies? Julianne Schultz says cultural policy has been undervalued, but combating Australia’s cultural deficit has been stymied by equating culture with arts, and arts defined quite narrowly as the non-commercial sector. It’s time to think much more seriously about culture. For years we have bought the Clinton truism, “it’s the economy, stupid”, but this simple binary no longer provides sufficient guidance for the future.

The South African Pavilion in Venice presents a mix of old and new works. There’s a video of Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings and documentary footage from the Apartheid Museum – such as the sound recording of Nelson Mandela’s Rivonia trial speech, played over and over in a little booth – reminding us that the past is never far away.

MAC exhibit showcases contemporary works from United Arab Emirates. These works are among the 47 pieces of contemporary art created by artists from the United Arab Emirates now on display at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture.

Differences between nations and people are being bridged at the Venice Biennale, where India's Shilpa Gupta and Pakistan's Rashid Rana have come together for a unique art project, says Farah Siddiqui. 

David "Nanook" Cogdill, an American street artist, came to Liberia to create a welcoming mural for a school that had been damaged by riots during the Ebola outbreak.