Professor Martha Bayles of Boston College’s College of Arts and Sciences honors department brought together leaders within the film industry for a panel discussion on Feb. 23 about how America is internationally perceived. (...) She explores America’s image abroad and the potentially surprising lack of desirability in America’s freedom and democracy, as well as the distorted portrayals of these qualities among America’s cultural exports.

One Chinese conductor, Long Yu, would like these cultures to hear each other a little more clearly. He's launching a new project to do just that, and it's starting tonight with the New York Philharmonic.

Jazz musicians from around the world will gather this April in Paris for International Jazz Day, an event UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock hopes will bring an uplifting "positive message" to a city still reeling from last month's terrorist attacks.

In November last year, artists from India and China got together at Diggi Palace in Jaipur for a week-long art residency project called ‘Maitri’. It was a cultural dialogue to promote peace using art as a tool.

Music- and art-based outreach programs have been successful in combating extremism in cities like Minneapolis, but they're facing a roadblock. Stringent visa standards from the State Department are blocking many foreign artists from entering the country, and harming communities that need these programs the most.

The concert last Friday was the first by an American musician in Iran since the 1979 revolution. Officials from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance sat in the front row, nodding their heads to renditions of tunes by Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and Mr. Belden’s own compositions. The Iranians who filled the 1,200-seat theater clapped and cheered. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday said it was time for India to "realize the potential of soft power" as an important strategy for external affairs and foreign relations.  "India should leverage its great traditions and culture in forging ties with countries around the world in a way that is deeper, more personal, and therefore, far more powerful," he said.

When artists look for a dream workspace, Manhattan exerts a powerful pull. But for choreographer and cultural ambassador Ronald K. Brown, who celebrates the 30th anniversary of his troupe Evidence, A Dance Company with a run at the Joyce Theater this week, creative opportunities led him back to his Brooklyn roots.