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Artistically yours ... Weaving magic of fine art into everyday life

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  Cityscape It is a known fact that art is therapeutic in many ways than we may know. From mesmerizing strokes, myriad of expressions enrich our experiences of the oft mundane world we live in. At its core, fine art serves, not only as a thing of beauty to be admired, but a reflection of the complexities, triumphs and tribulations of humanity. Whether a painting, sculpture, poetry, music or dance … the power of arts is rich and immense. It evokes emotions, provoke thoughts, and spark conversations. Fine art transcends boundaries and speaks a universal language. It has always been a catalyst for cultural exchange, bridging the gaps that exist in the human interactions. Through art, we gain insights into different perspectives, histories, and appreciation that there is unity in our diversities in this interconnected world. THERAPEUTIC Serenity  Art is therapeutic – numerous studies show that art reduces stress, anxiety, and depression, while enhancing cognitive function, creativity,
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Tequila – a Mexican cultural tradition

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  Master Distiller Jaime Villalobos “It’s another tequila sunrise, starin’ slowly ‘cross the sky ...” resonates lyrics of a song by The Eagles from Los Angeles, California – their inspiration lying 1,500 miles south in Tequila, Mexico, the warmth of which touched Kingston, Jamaica, recently with the maestro – master distiller Jaime Villalobos. “ Buenas noches señoras y señores, bienvenidos a este viaje a la tierra del Tequila (Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this journey to the land of tequila),” Villalobos began, on the cata de Tequila. His presentation was in Spanish but, for any non-speaker, it wasn’t a blanking-out moment – his explanations flowed as smoothly as the ageing process of the brew of the evening. So much for nostalgia – one would guess that, for a non-drinker, this is as romantic as any cocktail would make anyone else feel. The genesis of tequila is agave, a plant that is central to Mexican culture. “Tequila will not be there if it was not for agave,” sai
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Location: Kingston, Jamaica
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Postcard from Japan: Hopes for a safer tomorrow

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Natsuyuki Fujimori, who works with a Tokyo based Non-Government  Organization Along the banks of Arakawa River in Tokyo, a group of people are huddled together as they listen to Minoru Igarashi's instructions on color coding for garbage separation and safety. The group, employees of a local company, gathered to clean up the banks of the river, assisted by Arakawa Clean-Aid Forum, a Tokyo-based non-government organization. "We are working for a common cause: to clean the river bank," said Natsuyuki Fujimori, a 20-year-old, who is one of the five full-time employees of the NGO. Fujimori, who chose environmental protection over a corporate job, said that their team organized 159 cleaning exercises in 2015 and collected 5,602 bags of garbage - including from PET bottles, shoes, cans, baseball and tennis balls, tires, and insulin syringes. It is a collective and community exercise. The NGO, to fund its operations, organizes cleaning exercises for companies that have environmen
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Location: Tokyo, Japan
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Naandeyé García Villegas – narrating social commentaries through her art

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Naandeyé García Villegas, Mexican artist who uses her creativity for social commentary. Naandeyé García Villegas’ earliest memories of delving into creative pursuits were ‘drawing’ letters on the earliest known Word program. The palette had a choice of four fonts and black and white colors to fill – minimalism driven by technology. “Since I was a child, I had a special interest in art. I drew a lot. I drew all the time,” Villegas said. “I loved the color and the letters. “When I was eight years old, my parents bought me a computer and a printer,” she said. “At that time, computers still didn’t have design programs, but mine had one installed where you could write things (I guess it was a kind of Word). It was just typography. I used to spend whole afternoons making signs, ‘designing’ them, then printing them, and finally, coloring on top of them (it had all kinds of markers, colors, watercolors, oil, etc.),” she said. This was the first taste of design for Villegas. A great deal has ch
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Location: Mexico City, CDMX, Mexico
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Sawara – a walk back in time

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Ono river and town of Sawara.  "What I found out was ... ," said Moeko Kita, " ... there are cats here and there!" Given the significance of cats in Japanese culture – they symbolise good luck and fortune – the town of Sawara was a booming business hub. Kita, who works at Association for Promotion of International Cooperation, is an avid photographer. She was accompanying Floyd Takeuchi, a senior photographer, veteran journalist and author. Sawara, a historic trading town, is 90 minutes north of Tokyo by express bus. "It has a well-kept historic district, with the canals once used for trading boat freighters that took rice and sake to Tokyo," said Takeuchi. The preservation of history and character makes this beautiful hamlet a photographer's dream. Back to the cats, Kita said. There were not many of them in the historical district, but one could see them as one walked into the town. A black cat resting at a small shrine "There was one cat that al
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Location: Sawara, Katori, Chiba, Japan
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Turning blank walls into works of art

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A mural painted by Mexican artist Irving Cano Walls – they create barriers, could be seen as divisive, may draw a line between two extremes. For some, they are a blank canvas waiting to be splashed with vivid imagination and colours. These expressions are oft wild, rebellious, and a work of a free spirit – perhaps an oxymoron to the cold, restrictive space in brick and mortar. These expressions seek to unify the diverse and divided world. From Thailand to Turkey to Norway, closer to home in San Juan, New York, street art is transforming the mundane into the wild. “Street art is nothing else but urban poetry that catches someone’s eye,” says Christian Guémy (C215), French street artist. “Being a street artist is impossible because the city itself is the artist. Street art is a collective thing, participative and interactive, extremely linked to web 2.0 culture.” Irving Cano, growing up in Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Mexico, gravitated to street art when he was 16. “There was a graff
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Treading on cobbled stones in San Juan

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Capitolio de Puerto Rico, the legislative assembly  History. The word most times reminiscent of yellowing pages of books, oft-forgotten expanses of time. In the alleys of San Juan, Puerto Rico, the hands of the clock stand still in a time and era when pace of life was a gingerly trod cobblestone street, and aromas of pungent spices mixed with the subtle breeze of the Atlantic Ocean. San Juan, one of the oldest cities in the continental United States, is tucked away from the bustling Condado district; high-rises, stores, and shops, clubs and shiny, swanky cars transition to an elevation, where the old city appears, the tar of the road giving way to the cobblestone streets. This old city is a mix of 400 years of urban development, which has a confluence of varied eras of Spanish influence - Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque architecture - which encapsulates arches, drones and ornamentation on the facades of the structures. Known as La Ciudad Amurallada (Walled City), San Juan has one of t
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