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10 November 2009 

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Arts and Entertainment
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Thoreau Statue

Nature and a Simple Life   Video
Sunday, 23 March 2008
Writer and naturalist Henry David Thoreau transformed the town of Concord, Massachusetts -- and our thinking  (3:00 min.)

Ice skating in Chacago

Life Gives You Ice, Make Ice Art   Video
Saturday, 23 February 2008
The very wintry city of Chicago has a colorful outdoor art display that warms the hearts of residents, particularly artists  (2:27 min.)

Necklace

Handcrafted Silver, Textiles, and More   Video
Thursday, 21 February 2008
The nomadic Tuareg people of the western Sahara are showcasing their ancient artistic skills in museums and fashion houses worldwide  (3:20 min.)

Art Deco hotel

Great Grandma Would Be Very Happy Here   Video Wednesday, 20 January 2008
The architecture of the 1930s is abundantly on display on display in Miami Beach, Florida yet residents and tourists can’t get enough of it  (2:40 min.)

Tucson mural

Good Graffiti   Video
Saturday, 16 February 2008
Tucson, Arizona, in the American southwest, has tons of public murals done by local artists and telling an interesting story  (3:35 min.)

self-tuning guitar

Look Ma - No Hands!   Video
Tuesday, 5 February 2008
Somebody figured out how to keep guitars in tune and to change keys – automatically – great for beginners and their suffering audiences  (2:18 min.)

Juggler

Afrika! Afrika!   Video
Wednesday, 23 January 2008
Jaw-dropping acrobatics by an all-African troupe have entertained millions while also reminding them of many positive aspects of the continent  (2:13 min.)

violin player

Underground Music – Literally!   Video
Thursday, 17 January 2008
International musicians are entertaining New Yorkers in some unlikely places – the subway stations. Many are hoping it will be the first stop to stardom  (2:11 min.)

M.T. Liggett

One Man’s Unique Art   Video
Wednesday, 16 January 2008
M.T. Liggett’s art will probably never be displayed in a famous museum. But it is one of the most popular attractions in the state of Kansas (3:37 min.)

Elephant Art

Pachyderm Painters  Video
Monday, 14 January 2008
An elephant conservation group is raising funds in an unusual way. They are selling artwork created by some very talented elephants  (1:33 min.)

Donald Shirley

New York's Struggling Artists  Video
Tuesday, 8 January 2008
New York - one of the artistic capitals of the world. But the high cost of living is forcing many artists to move out and changing the city’s cultural landscape (3:48 min.)

Les Paul

History is Alive and Well  Video
Sunday, 30 December 2007
Who invented the electric guitar? Les Paul – an accomplished musician and inventor. Meet the man who changed music as you know it.  (4:31 min.)

Writers Guild pickets

Some Entertainers Were Not So Entertaining This Year  Video
Wednesday, 26 December 2007
Sometimes the spotlight was harsh on Hollywood stars and others, but there were some positive developments in 2007 too   (4:07 min.)

America by Air

Flying First Class  Video
Saturday, 15 December 2007
Air travel has revolutionized the world making nearly the entire planet accessible to anyone. A new museum exhibit in Washington traces the history of commercial air travel from its humble beginnings to the jumbo jets of today (2:03 min.)

Grassroots Art

Unique Art  Video
Thursday 13, December 2007
Lucas, Kansas is the state’s grassroots art capital. It’s a place where the art and some of the artists are a little unusual  (3:36 min.)

gavel

Sold to the Highest Bidder!   Video
Thursday, 6 December 2007
The strange saga of a stolen piece of art, a pile of trash, an amateur detective, and secret bidding of more than a million dollars  (2:32 min.)

violin

Twelve Guest Stars   Video
Thursday, 29 November 2007
A recent benefit concert featured a dozen Stradivarius violins, each worth millions of dollars, pouring out their rich 300-year-old musical personalities  (3:18 min.)

Cirque du Soilel, performance

Thrills! Chills! Frills!  Video
Sunday, 11 November 2007
From its humble roots on the streets of Quebec, Cirque du Soleil has grown to be one of the most popular circuses in the world (2:05 min.)

 Guitars on display at the Seattle museum

Pop Culture's Attic   Video
Wednesday, 7 November 2007
Seattle is home to a pair of quirky museums dedicated to the icons of popular music and science fiction  (1:40 min.)

Image on display at the Afghan photo expidition

Life - and Nothing Else  Video
Saturday, 3 November 2007
Up-and-coming photographers in Afghanistan have documented everyday life – and re-established the country’s artistic strengths  
(1:53 min.)

dancer

Intertwining Dance and Technology   video
Monday, 8 October 2007
The simplicity of dance performances is being amplified with great effect – adding cameras, projectors, Web sites and computer manipulation 
(3:00 min.)

Nickleback

Canadian Rockers Become Global Sensation  Video
Tuesday, 2 October 2007
Nickelback singer talks to VOA about touring, music and the band’s unusual name    (3:38 min.)

Sierra Leone All Star performer

Refugee All Stars  Video
Monday, 24 September 2007
Musical therapy for escapees of the Sierra Leone civil war – refugee camp occupants formed a band, benefit campmates, tour the world  (4:23 min.)

West Side Story

50 Years Ago, a New Dramatic Form  Video
Wednesday, 19 September 2007
Gang warfare presented in song and dance? A revolutionary change in American theater brought us the classic “West Side Story” production   (4:01 min.)

Wave organ

Nature’s Pipe Organ  Video
Saturday, 8 September 2007
A unique sculpture dipping into San Francisco Bay captures the sounds of waves through various length pipes for an on-going concert. Listen   (2:55 min.)

accordion

Just Don’t Call Them Squeezeboxes  Video
Monday, 27 August 2007
If one accordion’s music makes you smile, what would 160 of them make you do? Find out with this report of a recent international gathering  (3:11 min.)

Spiderman

Who’s Your Superhero?  Video
Friday, 24 August 2007
Stan Lee started creating comic book superhero characters 65 years ago. Now he heads up a worldwide multimedia empire, delighting fans   (3:06 min.)

Elvis Presley

Long Live the King  Video
Thursday, 16 August 2007
Elvis Presley died 30 years ago, but memories of him are very strong and his rock-and-roll music is still popular  (5:21 min.)

basket with spiral design

Good Art, Good Business, Good People  Video
Friday, 10 August 2007
Artists from 40 countries and 17,000 buyers meet in Santa Fe, New Mexico for the annual International Folk Art Market  (2:56 min.)

George Washington

What’s George Washington Doing in Moscow? Video
Friday, 3 August 2007
 A major exhibit of American art is on display at the Pushkin Museum – covering a span of 300 years and many diverse styles (3:58 min.)

drawing of the fictional Kwik-E-Mart

Mmmmm, Donuts! D’oh!  Video
Wednesday, 18 July 2007
For 18 years, The Simpsons has been a wildly popular cartoon show, appealing to adults and younger. Watch out, now it’s a movie too  (2:05 min.)

Alpalachian Music

Fiddles, Banjos, and Much More Video
Saturday, 14 July 2007
A mountainous area of the Eastern U.S. has isolated the people but protected the unique music that is part of their Appalachian culture. Listen in (4:36 min.)

Shakespeare in the Park

Wherefore Art Thou Romeo? In New York City  Video
Thursday, 5 July 2007
For 50 years, summer productions of Shakespeare’s plays have delighted overflow audiences in Central Park – for free   (3:40 min.)

Relient K

Relient K Video
Tuesday, 26 June 2007
The young rock band has its roots in gospel music but they’re getting more fans with an emphasis on themes such as ‘happiness’  (3:25 min.)

Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

The Abbey Road Phenomenon  Video
Saturday, 2 June 2007
The Beatles' album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, radically changed popular music 40 years ago – and it’s still selling (4:13 min.)

War tank

Everyone's War  Video
Monday, 28 May 2007
Filmmaker and historian Ken Burns chronicles the stories of America's heroes from World War Two in his new documentary "The War."   (5:07 min.)

Leslie Lewis Sword, actress, Rwanda play

Miracle in Rwanda Video
Saturday, 26 May 2007
An actress recreates the horrifying ordeal of a woman who survived the genocide in Rwanda – it’s a powerful one-woman play (2:43 min.)

desserts

Chocolate, Chocolate Everywhere  Video
Saturday, 12 May 2007
A Washington, DC charity creates a chocolate lover’s fantasy to raise money for needy children (2:06 min.)

Pocahontas statue

Pocahontas: The Truth  Video
Friday, 11 May 2007
She has inspired books and Hollywood films. Yet the real story of Pocahontas is very different from the legend  (4:18 min.)

Graham Caldwell,
glass blower

More than Craft – Art Video
Sunday, 6 May 2007
Graham Caldwell is an artist in an uncommon medium: glass. He tries to create works that take observers to unknown places (3:42 min.)

tent band exhibit

Engineering as Art on Exhibit  Video
Thursday, 3 May 2007
Woven fabric bands to support the roofs of Asian nomads’ tents evolved from functional to highly decorative and treasured  (2:06 min.)

New Orleans Jazz Festival

New Orleans Jazz Festival  Video
Saturday, 28 April 2007
Music, music, music. The annual celebration of the exuberant music of this southern U.S. city gets underway today  (3:38 min.)

Nawang Kechog

From Hermit Monk to Pop Star   Video
Wednesday, 25 April 2007
Nawang Kechog is delighting worldwide audiences with his fusion style of traditional Tibetan music. Listen   
(3:07 min.)

Asian Artwork

Asian Garden Delights Video
Sunday, 22 April 2007
An exhibit in Washington highlights the evolving presentation of gardens in Asian artwork over the centuries
(2:43 min.)

The play, My Trip to al-Qaida

From Movie to Reality to a Play  Video
Saturday, 21 April 2007
A 1998 movie foreshadowed the 2001 attack in New York. Now the author tells the story of al-Qaida in a play  (4:10 min.)

Native American Dress

Native American Fashion Video
Thursday, 5 April 2007
Dress exhibit spans 150 years of Native American culture and tradition (3:10 min.)

Yoko Ono

Wish Upon A Tree Video
Wednesday, 4 April 2007
Yoko Ono dedicates “Wish Trees” in DC with a message of love and peace for the world (1:31 min.)

48 Hour Film Project

48 Hours or Bust Video
Monday, 3  April  2007
These are not Hollywood blockbusters. With just two days, and small budgets, filmmakers compete to turn ideas into cinema magic  (3:35 min.)

Giant Pandas

National Zoo Giant Pandas Video
Monday, 12 March 2007
National Zoo in Washington closely monitors its Panda family and hopes the information gathered will help the species survive in the wild  (2:49 min.)

Meet the Oscars

Meet the Oscars  Video
Sunday, 25 Februray 2007
Sunday night the Academy Awards will be given to the best movies and actors.
(1:45 min.)

Forest Whitaker

Countdown to the Academy Awards  Video
Saturday, 24 February 2007
Forest Whitaker is nominated as Best Actor for his portrayal of dictator Idi Amin in the movie, “The Last King of Scotland.”  (4:17 min.)

Rupert Jee

You Want Mustard on That? Video
Friday, 23 February 2007
Some days he sells more souvenirs than sandwiches. Rupert Jee, a New York deli owner, is internationally famous because... he's so real on TV  (4:00 min.)

Ukrainian modernism

Once Russian, Once Again Ukrainian  Video
Wednesday, 21 February 2007
Numerous early 20th century art works by Ukrainian modernists are on display in New York, correcting a historical mislabeling  (2:53 min.)

Congressional harmony

No Politics, Just Rock 'N' Roll  Video
Tuesday, 13 February 2007
Five congressmen put aside their political differences and harmonize with music that appeals to fans of country, rock, and bipartisan fun (2:32 min.)

Jasper Johns

Influencing the Art World  Video
Friday, 9 February 2007
Jasper Johns began his distinctive art style 50 years ago. The art in an exhibit of his first decade is still vibrant and contemporary (3:15 min.)

Shilpa Shetty, Big
Brother actress

'Celebrity Big Brother' Gets Too Real Video
Sunday, 21 January 2007
The British reality TV show is causing a huge controversy amid charges of racism. The ugly political reality could not have been scripted    (2:21 min)

Joan Jett

She Loves Rock ‘n’ Roll  Video
Sunday, 14 January 2007
Joan Jett is a singer, writer, and producer of very popular music, known for her punk style. She now has a new album – with surprises  (3:14 min)

Asian ArtEast meets West in California television set icon
Tuesday, 12 December 2006  
San Francisco's Asian Art Museum celebrates 40 years of making Asian art more accessible to the Western world (4:56 min)
The Nativity Story

The Nativity Story television set icon
Monday, 25 December 2006
  
A scandalous teenage pregnancy; young runaways fleeing the law. Sound like a Hollywood thriller? It's a new film about the birth of Jesus  (3:00 min) 

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