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Oscars Diversity and Fiction in Times of Crisis

Who decides which art should be recognised with awards and how should writers operate in times of crisis?

On the eve of the Oscars, the Caine Prize-winning writer Tope Folarin reflects on the debate the #OscarsSoWhite movement has sparked, and how it applies to writers too.

Angelique Kidjo won the Grammy Award for Best World Music Album last week. For The Cultural Frontline she considers the part music has played in her life and why her identity as an activist is so important to her.

Twenty-five years after Kuwait's liberation from Iraq, Mai al-Nakib reconsiders what it means to write fiction in the midst of regional catastrophe. And she does so from the far-removed island nation of Iceland.

Russia’s biggest art prize cancelled its visual art category last week after dissident artist Pyotr Pavlensky’s nomination was revoked. Russian culture expert Alexander Kan discusses the Russian trend for activist performance art, and the current situation for artists in Russia.

(Photo: Oscars statues in production. Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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27 minutes

Last on

Sat 27 Feb 2016 22:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Sat 27 Feb 2016 03:32GMT
  • Sat 27 Feb 2016 09:32GMT
  • Sat 27 Feb 2016 12:32GMT
  • Sat 27 Feb 2016 19:06GMT
  • Sat 27 Feb 2016 22:32GMT

Podcast