China

China's metropolis Shanghai will host the 13th World Congress on Art Deco in 2015, president of the International Coalition of Art Deco Societies said here Sunday.

Sandra Cohen-Rose made the announcement when attending the 12th World Congress on Art Deco, which was opened Friday and lasts till Thursday.

The biennial event aimed to showcase the main features of Art Deco, an architectural and artistic trend, its heritage value and its significance for culture, as well as the need to revaluate and preserve it, said Cohen-Rose.

Indonesia

Java Jazz Festival 2013 continued to present world class jazz groups. More's the pity that some "amateur" local groups got to perform on the same stage.

I am jazz lover who often attends world-class Jazz festivals in North America and Europe. So, I went to Java Jazz held recently at the Jakarta Fairgrounds, expecting a world-class jazz festival.

During the first day, I watched Roberta Gambarini perform. She was an amazing Italian jazz singer with a beautiful voice. Her style of singing jazz standards was brilliant and her improvisation skills as a vocalist was superb. Gambarini today is obviously a star in the international jazz scene.

Is the Singapore Dance Theatre moving in the right direction 25 years on?

A familiar anecdote inevitably comes up when looking back at Singapore Dance Theatre’s (SDT) long history.

In 1988, the fledgling group occupied the second floor of a rundown bungalow along Killiney Road. There, pioneering member and current ballet master Mohamed Noor Sarman — Mat Noor, as he’s fondly called — remembered just how shaky things were at the start — literally.

“When we danced, the whole floor would shake,” he said. “And when it rained, there was water everywhere and you’d have to put buckets everywhere.”

Thailand

Prateep Suthathongthai's new exhibition probes the state of religion in Thailand

Thailand calls itself a Buddhist country, but we should be regarded as a land of ironies as well. Occasionally, we hear news about public anger against a foreign commercial that juxtaposes the image of the Lord Buddha with some improper objects, like shoes, or with half-naked women. Meanwhile, we see a large number of collectors appreciating Buddhist amulets on sale along Bangkok's dirty footpaths.