Cultural Diplomacy
A KFC franchise sits on Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square, the site of nearly three years of demonstrations that have helped unseat two Egyptian presidents. But in a country rife with conspiracy theories, the Colonel hasn't been able to keep away from controversy during the constant protests. In early 2011, as demonstrators called for then-Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's resignation, rumors trying to paint them as Western puppets said they were being compensated for their fervor with KFC meals. The Los Angeles Times has the lowdown.
This week at CPD, we hosted Dr. Timothy Potts, the director of the J. Paul Getty Museum, who discussed the Cyrus Cylinder as a cultural icon and museums as vehicles for promoting global dialogue.
Art from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is a trademark for contemporary socialist realism. You can actually purchase DPRK art online—everything from propaganda posters to lucid landscapes, flower bouquets, and even family portraits. Sure, the propaganda posters sell best (they’re also the cheapest), but the jewel paintings are another thing entirely (rare and glitzy, completely made of stones).
The Cyrus Cylinder, a 2,500-year-old object discovered in ancient Babylon, is considered by many to be the first declaration of human rights. This unique artifact, part of the British Museum collection, continues to excite the imagination of different peoples from around the world.
On October 6, 2013, 16 women from Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Egypt, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Poland, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkmenistan and Uganda gathered to share stories about their time in the United States. These women may have come from all corners of the globe and speak different languages, but one trait unifies them: They all want to create more opportunities for women and girls through sports.
Gil J. Stein, the Director of the Oriental Institute and Professor of Near Eastern Archaeology in the department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago, who is in Iran now has called on Abdolmajid Arfayee, the translator of the Cyrus Cylinder, to translate the Achaemenid tablets which have been confiscated by a court in the US.
John Curtis, Keeper of the Middle East Collections at the British Museum, has accompanied the Cyrus Cylinder on its recent international museum tour. He spoke to CPD about the role of cultural institutions in showing iconic objects and the Cylinder’s reception in different cities.