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Category Archives: Culture
Culture: ‘Dionysia Festival’ – Naxos Island, Greece
Inspired by Odysseus, historian Bettany Hughes is embarking on a journey through the Greek Islands. But at the island of Naxos, a different Greek hero appears to be calling: Dionysius, the God of wine and good times.
Naxos is a Greek island in the South Aegean, the largest of the Cyclades island group. Its fertile landscape spans mountain villages, ancient ruins and long stretches of beach. The namesake capital (also called Hora or Chora) is a port town filled with whitewashed, cube-shaped houses and medieval Venetian mansions. Kastro, a hilltop castle dating to the 13th century, houses an archaeological museum.
Architecture & Culture: Harvard Design Magazine ‘American Paradigm’ (2021)
The latest issue of Harvard Design Magazine reveals full redesign and new editorial model as it assesses the establishment, and reconsideration, of the paradigm of “America”.
Harvard Design Magazine 48: America marks a turning point for the magazine as the first issue under new editorial director Julie Cirelli, featuring Mark Lee and Florencia Rodriguez as guest editors. This issue also debuts a full redesign by Alexis Mark, the Copenhagen-based graphic design firm. Publishing this month, the issue gathers contributions from leading figures across the fields of architecture, design, urban planning, fashion, art, and governance, including Maurice Cox, Shaun Donovan, Michèle Lamy, Sylvia Lavin, and Marc Norman. Join Lee, Rodriguez, and Norman, alongside contributors Paul Andersen, Neeraj Bhatia, and Maite Borjabad Lòpez-Pastor, for a virtual launch event next Tuesday, March 23, 7:30pm ET.
Harvard Design Magazine 48: America reflects on the theme and definition of “America” through lenses of cultural production, racial justice, and architectural and design practice. In the 20th century, a paradigm of America characterized by progress, openness, and democracy was perpetuated—but with an ominous underbelly of exclusion, racism, and inequity left unexamined. While viewpoints on America’s story and history differ, if not reject one other, what is widely shared is a sense of 2020 as a breaking point—or, “a consciousness of an imminent existential threshold,” as write Lee and Rodriguez.
Views: The ‘Fairy Chimneys’ Of Cappadocia, Turkey’
Take a hot air balloon ride over Cappadocia, Turkey with Vural Demircioglu, one of the region’s 200 hot air balloon pilots. Our unique aerial perspective allows us to look over these incredible capped pillars called “fairy chimneys” and discover the world’s most unusual high rise neighbourhood.
Travel & Culture: ‘Life In The Torres Strait Islands’
It’s a remote paradise between Australia and Papua New Guinea. Only a few thousand people live on the islands in the Torres Strait. They depend on a supply ship that sails to their isolated archipelago once a week.
There are 274 islands in the Torres Strait between Australia and Papua New Guinea, their white coral-sand beaches rising from warm, shallow waters. Around 20 of the islands are inhabited, with many several kilometers apart. The main island, Thursday Island, sounds like it could have been lifted from the pages of Robinson Crusoe. Residents who want to visit family or friends must do so by boat, having to deal with unpredictable tidal currents. Cargo ships from the mainland supply the islands with everything from food and medicine to cars and spare parts – and they don’t always arrive on schedule. But Torres Strait Islanders have always used their great ingenuity to cope with the scarcity of resources. They include Ken, who’s currently working on a sculpture for the reopening of a local church, Paula, a midwife, and Sylvia, who reads the weather reports on local radio.
Candy Business: ‘How Wrigley’s Dominated Chewing Gum’ (Video)
Gum lines the pockets of most Americans and has been a staple in American culture for centuries. For some, gum is all about flavor, and for others, it’s about fear of bad breath, curbing hunger, or alleviating anxiety. For nearly 130 years, the brand Wrigley’s has become synonymous with chewing gum.
Since its start, the gum maker has dominated the chewing gum market, spawning brands from Juicy Fruit to Orbit to 5 Gum. But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the William Wriglely Jr. Co.; over its storied past, the brand has faced turbulent years. Since the early 2000s, the chewing gum market has seen a decline in public sentiment, which hurt significant players. In 2006, the company ended its long-standing tradition of being a family run business with William Wrigley Jr. stepping down as CEO.
By 2008, Wrigley’s faced increasing global competition and was acquired by Mars along with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. According to Euromonitor International, the gum industry’s market value hit $18.6 billion in 2020. Since 2015, Mars Wrigley has held 25% of the global brand share for chewing gum and a 40% portion in the U.S. The Covid-19 pandemic since it began in March 2020 has negatively impacted gum’s most prominent players and could negatively affect Mars Wrigley gum brands’ future.
Magazine Previews: ‘Monocle – March 2021’
Monocle’s optimistic March issue challenges us to do it better, whether that be by growing your own forest or running a cleaner, leaner business. We visit the cities bringing the wilderness back to urban life and find out why you can mend almost anything. Plus: nature’s fluffiest film stars.
Available now at The Monocle Shop: https://monocle.com/shop/product/1916…
Arts & Culture: ‘The Azulejos’ – Portugal’s Colored Tiles (Video)
Anyone who has ever been to Portugal will probably know them: the small, mostly blue square ceramic tiles, the so-called ‘azulejos’. Especially in the capital of Lisbon they decorate many houses. Even today, the decorative tiles are still made by hand. The word azulejos does not come from the Portuguese word “azul” for blue – as one might think. It comes from Arabic and means something like “polished little stone”.
Culture: ‘Guinea-Bissau – A Matriarchy Rules’ (Video)
A matriarchy rules on one of the Bijagos Islands off the coast of Guinea-Bissau. The tribe of the same name lives on Orango, one of the most populated islands in the archipelago. Women dominate public and private life there. This documentary focuses on the women of the Bijagos tribe of Guinea-Bissau. Unlike many women in traditional and modern societies elsewhere, they pick their husbands, propose marriage and own their homes.
In addition to being responsible for raising children, they also act as high-priestesses in animist ceremonies, organize work, guard the keys to the rice stores, lead their families and ensure there are descendants to continue the line. The Bijagos revere women, who are believed to be in charge of the balance between the worlds of the living and the dead. A matriarchy of this kind is unusual, not only for Africa but around the world. Even though this culture has persisted for centuries, aspects of Western lifestyles are starting to gain a foothold. Rising rates of school attendance could contribute to the demise of the community’s traditions. Future generations will determine whether the Bijagos can retain their culture.
Guinea-Bissau is a tropical country on West Africa’s Atlantic coast that’s known for national parks and wildlife. The forested, sparsely populated Bijagós archipelago is a protected biosphere reserve. Its main island, Bubaque, forms part of the Orango Islands National Park, a habitat for saltwater hippos. On the mainland, the capital, Bissau, is a port with Portuguese colonial buildings in its old city center.
Culinary Travel: ‘Street Food In Oujda, Morocco’
The array of street food in Morocco is quite vast and includes tea time and breakfast sweets, simple snacks, sandwiches, soups, grilled meats and seafood, fried fish and hearty main dishes such as stewed lentils, rotisserie chicken and classic tagines. The recipes below are all foods that can found while walking Moroccan streets and souks.
Oujda is a city in northeast Morocco, near the Algerian border. It’s known for its Great Mosque, built in the late 13th century, with intricate carved wood and mosaic tiling. The mosque is in the old town, or medina, behind ramparts and the imposing Sidi Abdelouahab gate. Numerous shops and souks sell fruit, spices, jewelry and traditional clothing. The Art Gallery of Oujda shows modern and traditional Eastern art.
Morocco, a North African country bordering the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, is distinguished by its Berber, Arabian and European cultural influences. Marrakesh’s medina, a mazelike medieval quarter, offers entertainment in its Djemaa el-Fna square and souks (marketplaces) selling ceramics, jewelry and metal lanterns. The capital Rabat’s Kasbah of the Udayas is a 12th-century royal fort overlooking the water.
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