大象传媒

Your daily journey into global arts, culture and entertainment, with Harriett Gilbert and Mark Coles.

Abu Dhabi Louvre
Work has just started in Abu Dhabi on a new branch of the French art museum The Louvre. Expected to open in 2012, the museum is controversial - with critics arguing that France is selling out its brand, whilst others point to the importance of culture in French diplomacy. For Abu Dhabi it's an important step in the creation of a tourist island. Anna Somers Cocks from The Art Newspaper joins us to explore the issues.

Kirstin Zhang
The writer Kirstin Zhang discusses her childhood in Papua New Guinea and explains why the Scottish sea inspires her to write.

The Jazz Century
Its often claimed jazz was the great musical innovation of the twentieth century...its use of unconventional chord structures and improvisation changing the way many people thought about music. Now an exhibition in the French capital, Paris, claims jazz helped change other art forms too....everything from painting and graphic art to cinema, literature and photography.

Mamer
We hear from Mamer the Chinese musician who is re-inventing his traditional music of the Grasslands in the north west of the country by blending it with a modern acoustic rock sensibility. In doing so he has produced one of the albums of the year and he performs a song from it exclusively for us.