President Barack Obama's act of restoring diplomatic relations with Cuba at the end of 2014 could drastically change the cultural and artistic course of the island. But Cuban artists have used video and new media to explore its past and contemplate its future for decades. The new exhibit “Hope,” which opens to the public Sunday, Sept. 17, at the art laboratory ESMoA (El Segundo Museum of Art), looks at Cuban society through new media art, from the 1970s to present day with apps, projections and other installations. 

In 2016, for the first time, the EU adopted a “Strategy for international cultural relations” that focuses on advancing cultural cooperation with partner countries across three main strands: supporting culture and education as engines for sustainable social and economic development; promoting intercultural dialogue for peaceful inter-community relations; and reinforcing cooperation on cultural heritage.

Preparations for Musica 2017 (Musica), the annual music festival organized by the Embassy of Italy, are at an advanced stage and will be running under the theme: The World coming together in Zimbabwe, the high profile international event will run from October 4 to 7 at the new Italian Club in Chisipite and at various other venues in capital. In a recent interview, the Ambassador of Italy to Zimbabwe Enrico De Agostini said the 10th edition of Musics will be bigger and better than ever before. 

Top Indian band ‘INDIAN OCEAN’ which is visiting Azerbaijan on an international tour performed a captivating concert at Baku Sea side Boulevard on September 11, 2017 which was much enjoyed by Azerbaijani as well as tourists...The present visit of Indian Ocean Band comes as a part of the celebrations of 25th Anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of India and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Kota Kinabalu: The United States Embassy in Kuala Lumpur continued its music diplomacy by bringing in one of America's hottest rock bands – ASIDIC - to entertain music lovers at the Black Box venue at Suria Sabah on Friday. "The U.S. budget is a matter decided by Congress and the State Department and we hope to continue this next year as this is an investment in people (ties)," a spokesman said, when asked if such concerts would fall victim to new President Donald Trump's cost-cutting.

As World War II ended, America faced another challenge: the Cold War with the USSR and the Eastern Bloc it influenced. As relations began to freeze, it became clear that nuclear weapons, spies, and the traditional tools of war wouldn’t be enough to fight Soviet hegemony. And so the West, argues Greg Barnhisel, turned to their secret weapon: books.

Taiwan’s famous stinky tofu made its debut in Washington’s Smithsonian Museum. The occasion was the result of Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau’s New York Representative Office cooperating with the Smithsonian Museum to hold a Taiwan Night Market. The S. Dillon Ripley Center at the museum was filled with red lanterns, snacks and all the sights and sounds of a Taiwan night market—including stinky tofu.