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The Buades Gallery: A Tube of Oil Paint Open to the World Mercedes Buades and Her Support for Spanish Conceptualism, 1973–1978
Māori Identity and Reflexive Ethnography in Research on HORI’s Art
Conversations with the Ancestors: Pursuing an Understanding of Klamath Basin Rock Art Through the Use of Myth, the Ethnographic Record, and Local Artistic Conventions
Restoring Authenticity: Literary, Linguistic, and Computational Study of the Manuscripts of Tchaikovsky’s Children’s Album

Journal Description

Arts

Arts is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal promoting significant research on all aspects of the visual and performing arts, published bimonthly online by MDPI.

Open Access— free for readers, with article processing charges (APC) paid by authors or their institutions.
High Visibility: indexed within ESCI (Web of Science), and other databases.
Rapid Publication: manuscripts are peer-reviewed and a first decision is provided to authors approximately 37.3 days after submission; acceptance to publication is undertaken in 6.8 days (median values for papers published in this journal in the first half of 2025).
Recognition of Reviewers: reviewers who provide timely, thorough peer-review reports receive vouchers entitling them to a discount on the APC of their next publication in any MDPI journal, in appreciation of the work done.

Impact Factor: 0.3 (2024)

Imprint Information Journal Flyer Open Access ISSN: 2076-0752

Latest Articles

17 pages, 5614 KB

Open AccessArticle

Marginal Manipulations: Framing Byzantine Devotion Through Gentile Bellini’s Cardinal Bessarion with the Bessarion Reliquary

by Ashley B. Offill

Arts 2025, 14(5), 111; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050111 - 12 Sep 2025

In the early 1470s, Venetian artist Gentile Bellini painted Basilios Bessarion kneeling in front of the precious Byzantine reliquary that Bessarion donated to the Venetian Scuola di Santa Maria della Carità. This painting functioned as the cover to the tabernacle where the reliquary [...] Read more.

In the early 1470s, Venetian artist Gentile Bellini painted Basilios Bessarion kneeling in front of the precious Byzantine reliquary that Bessarion donated to the Venetian Scuola di Santa Maria della Carità. This painting functioned as the cover to the tabernacle where the reliquary was stored. Rather than accurately depicting the sacred object, Bellini’s painting reworks the appearance of the reliquary in relation to the figures in the painting and reveals a disjunction between the relic and its cover. The reliquary becomes a somber, monumental object that has more presence as a looming entity than as a combination of parts and histories. This paper positions Bellini’s painted enclosure for the reliquary as a product of the blending of Venetian and Byzantine devotional practices and sacred objects. Bessarion’s reliquary was an aggregate object, and Bellini’s painting continues the reframing of Bessarion’s reliquary to serve as a visual contract of the connection between Bessarion and the Scuola di Santa Maria della Carità and, more broadly, Byzantium and Venice. Bellini’s painting ultimately seeks to capture the sacred mystique associated with Byzantine Orthodoxy while also establishing the reliquary within its Venetian, confraternal present. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Renaissance Rhapsody: Miscellany and Multimodality in Early Modern Europe)

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28 pages, 5721 KB

Open AccessArticle

Coexistence of Tradition and Modernity for Cultural Sustainability: The Teochew Opera Approach in Malaysia

by Ziqiao Lin and Mei Foong Ang

Arts 2025, 14(5), 110; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050110 - 12 Sep 2025

Traditional cultural practices, increasingly impacted by modernisation and urbanisation, are experiencing diminished transmission and declining interest among younger generations. Teochew opera in Malaysia is no exception, pressured under similar challenges in sustaining its relevance and appeal within contemporary society. Considering these shifts, the [...] Read more.

Traditional cultural practices, increasingly impacted by modernisation and urbanisation, are experiencing diminished transmission and declining interest among younger generations. Teochew opera in Malaysia is no exception, pressured under similar challenges in sustaining its relevance and appeal within contemporary society. Considering these shifts, the sustainable preservation and revitalisation of traditional arts has become a pressing concern for scholars and cultural practitioners alike. This study investigates strategies for sustaining Teochew opera in Malaysia, employing qualitative methods including participant observation and semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal that Teochew opera operates within a sacred and secular framework, serving religious rituals and cultural festivals. This duality allows for continuity through tradition in sacred settings and adaptation through innovation in secular contexts. The coexistence of these realms offers a blueprint for sustainable cultural evolution. While challenges such as low youth engagement and limited institutional support persist, the research underscores the potential of educational initiatives and community-driven efforts to renew interest and ensure continuity. The study contributes valuable insights for policymakers and cultural stakeholders seeking to safeguard intangible cultural heritage in pluralistic, rapidly modernising societies. Full article

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17 pages, 928 KB

Open AccessArticle

The Weight of Silence: Vermeer’s Theater of Stillness

by Yi Wu

Arts 2025, 14(5), 109; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050109 - 7 Sep 2025

As a painter of the Dutch Golden Age and a pivotal figure in the Northern Renaissance, Vermeer’s oeuvre inaugurated a maritime modernity in the wake of the Protestant Reformation through its odes and elegies to quotidian existence. This essay centers on Vermeer’s masterpiece, [...] Read more.

As a painter of the Dutch Golden Age and a pivotal figure in the Northern Renaissance, Vermeer’s oeuvre inaugurated a maritime modernity in the wake of the Protestant Reformation through its odes and elegies to quotidian existence. This essay centers on Vermeer’s masterpiece, Woman Holding a Balance. It scrutinizes and probes the Baroque theater of the soul as depicted by Vermeer through the lens of a post-global, post-colonial Lebenswelt. Grounded in Deleuze’s The Fold, this essay endeavors to furnish a phenomenological and genealogical hermeneutic for Vermeer’s interior scenes. It does so by dissecting Vermeer’s theater of silence, his intrinsic use of light, the female figure behind the fabric, the politics of still life, and the theology and interplay of color. In so doing, this essay aspires to unearth the dialectical, oscillating utopian potential embedded within Vermeer’s imagery. Full article

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21 pages, 1586 KB

Open AccessArticle

Confucian Aesthetics in Migration: Critical Strategies and Visual Translation in Malaysian Chinese Art

by Yuanyuan Zhang and Mumtaz Mokhtar

Arts 2025, 14(5), 108; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050108 - 4 Sep 2025

Despite widespread recognition of Confucianism’s cultural importance among Malaysian Chinese communities, little is known about how its philosophical principles are reinterpreted and visually transformed by contemporary artists navigating postcolonial realities. This research addresses this gap through a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative data from [...] Read more.

Despite widespread recognition of Confucianism’s cultural importance among Malaysian Chinese communities, little is known about how its philosophical principles are reinterpreted and visually transformed by contemporary artists navigating postcolonial realities. This research addresses this gap through a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative data from 227 fine arts students, qualitative interviews with five representative Malaysian Chinese painters, and visual analysis of 50 key artworks. The results show that Confucianism functions not as a fixed doctrinal system but as a vital meta-framework that allows for the reimagining of core concepts, such as Ren (Benevolence) and He (Harmony), into tools for social critique and cultural negotiation. These ideas are expressed not through illustrative methods but via innovative symbolic and material strategies—ranging from fractured composition to technical experimentation—leading to a variety of personal styles rooted in a shared cultural logic. The study introduces a “critical translation” model for understanding the modernization of traditional philosophies within diaspora contexts, offering both theoretical insights and practical avenues for decolonizing arts education and fostering globally relevant, culturally authentic artistic practices. Full article

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24 pages, 2040 KB

Open AccessArticle

Questioning Global Modernist Art Studies Through Their Latest Output: Moroccan Modernism by Holiday Powers (2025)

by Valerie Gonzalez

Arts 2025, 14(5), 107; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050107 - 3 Sep 2025

This essay argues that Holiday Powers’ s Moroccan Modernism (2025) offers a compelling case study for rethinking global modernist art from a decolonial perspective, highlighting Morocco’s unique creative, esthetic, and philosophical forces. The questions and issues this book raises, and this essay addresses, [...] Read more.

This essay argues that Holiday Powers’ s Moroccan Modernism (2025) offers a compelling case study for rethinking global modernist art from a decolonial perspective, highlighting Morocco’s unique creative, esthetic, and philosophical forces. The questions and issues this book raises, and this essay addresses, revolve around the problematic of non-European modernism as both a phenomenon of decolonial politics of esthetics, in the Jacques Rancière sense, and an artistic movement born out of the history of Western art through the colonial imposition of the European conception of modernity and system of education. I take particular issue with the dominance of political history, identity discourse, and redundant postcolonial rhetoric that characterizes not only Powers’ narrative but also the account of other area modernisms. This dominance generates a tendency to misestimate art agency and to neglect the investigation of the complex creative, esthetic, and philosophical underpinnings of the modernist construct. A lucid revisiting of Orientalism is mandatory for tackling this understudied aspect of modernism. Yet, I also demonstrate the accomplishments of Moroccan Modernism as a cogent historical exposition of this construct in Morocco, upon the basis of which future studies can be undertaken. Full article

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18 pages, 449 KB

Open AccessArticle

Immersive Experience in Design: Participatory Practices of Audience Cultural Identity and Memory Construction

by Man-Ting Ku, Shang-Chia Chiou and Hsin-Te Chan

Arts 2025, 14(5), 106; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050106 - 3 Sep 2025

Immersive theatre, as a contemporary performance form that integrates narrative, space, and sensory participation, has gradually expanded from entertainment consumption to a practice of cultural representation and memory construction. Audiences are no longer merely passive spectators but participate in the narrative through role-playing, [...] Read more.

Immersive theatre, as a contemporary performance form that integrates narrative, space, and sensory participation, has gradually expanded from entertainment consumption to a practice of cultural representation and memory construction. Audiences are no longer merely passive spectators but participate in the narrative through role-playing, situational interaction, and sensory triggers, thereby generating cultural identity and emotional memory. While existing research has preliminarily addressed the characteristics of immersive design and audience interaction, there remains a lack of in-depth exploration into how audiences, after the performance, come to develop cultural positional understanding and sustain memory through participatory practices. Drawing on three Taiwanese immersive productions with strong local cultural contexts—The Great Tipsy, Someone, and Ephemeral Light: Taiwan—this study employs participatory observation and content analysis as an exploratory qualitative inquiry. Findings indicate that audience subjectivity is shaped by role design and the degree of participatory freedom; the depth of interaction and cultural context within narrative strategies determine cultural reception; emotional triggers act as a catalyst for cultural memory construction; and the depth of immersion influences the intensity and continuity of post-performance cultural effects. The three works, respectively, embody “emotional,” “historical,” and “cognitive” modes of cultural influence, producing distinct levels of post-experiential effects. This study further reveals that the formation of cultural identity emerges from the interweaving of design strategies, affective triggers, and narrative participation. These insights not only inform immersive design practices but also suggest the importance of incorporating cultural aftereffect tracking and educational applications to extend the depth and breadth of cultural practice. Full article

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15 pages, 303 KB

Open AccessArticle

Topophilia—Space for Human Creation and Interpretation

by Katarzyna Szymańska-Stułka

Arts 2025, 14(5), 105; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050105 - 3 Sep 2025

Topophilia, understood as a form of relationship between humans and their environment, can manifest in diverse ways—not only across various domains of art and life but also within the realm of music. This article seeks to expand the thesis of topophilia as a [...] Read more.

Topophilia, understood as a form of relationship between humans and their environment, can manifest in diverse ways—not only across various domains of art and life but also within the realm of music. This article seeks to expand the thesis of topophilia as a category defining the musical space of creation, performance, and perception of a musical work. Topophilia is seen here in the context of human activity in the artistic dimensions—philosophical, creative, architectural, and environmental. The methodological background is derived from the philosophy of place, phenomenology of perception, and musical analysis. This provides the opportunity to apply hermeneutic–philosophical analysis with elements of the theory of place. The thesis of this study is probably one of the first approaches to the category of topophilia in musical analysis, examining the style of composers, such as J.S. Bach, F. Chopin, K. Szymanowski, W. Lutosławski, A. Webern, and I. Xenakis, enriched with elements of musical performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sound, Space, and Creativity in Performing Arts)

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22 pages, 10841 KB

Open AccessArticle

Smoke Shrouded: Reimagining Bamum Kii and the Troubled Legacies of the Cabinet of Curiosities in 21st Century Museums

by Deirdre A. Lafferty

Arts 2025, 14(5), 104; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050104 - 2 Sep 2025

Smoking tobacco is a prominent activity in Cameroon, with each region holding different views on the devices used for smoking. In Bamum, these vessels are called kiis. Many of these pipes, or kiis, have been removed from the kingdom and displayed without proper [...] Read more.

Smoking tobacco is a prominent activity in Cameroon, with each region holding different views on the devices used for smoking. In Bamum, these vessels are called kiis. Many of these pipes, or kiis, have been removed from the kingdom and displayed without proper contextual information in Western institutions since the 1920s. This paper highlights discrepancies in academic pursuits regarding the kii and their decontextualized displays, while also providing ethical guidelines for their future displays. Understanding the intended purpose and cultural significance of a kii allows for the process of restitution in the form of ethical display to take place. Using the Heritage Context Retrieval Analysis (HeCRA) method, the research aim to explore the cultural origins of the kii in the GWU collection, retrieve its cultural context, critique the prevalent cabinet of curiosities display format used in displaying them in museums, and propose ethical frameworks for handling such devices, which are both utilitarian and culturally charged in 21st-century museums. This paper uncovers the true identity of a brass kii and dismantles the cabinet of curiosities and the alignment of African tangible heritage to oddities. The goal is to instigate a new approach to approaching such cultural objects by invoking their original spiritual and cultural symbolism in exhibitions outside of Bamum. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Restitution Beyond Repatriation: Rethinking African Tangible Heritage in Twenty-First Century Museums)

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28 pages, 3104 KB

Open AccessArticle

Artist-Led Regeneration in Polish Cities: Shaping Community Through Public Art

by Natalia Bursiewicz

Arts 2025, 14(5), 103; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050103 - 1 Sep 2025

This article discusses the role of artistic interventions in shaping communities in selected Polish cities. It especially explores marginalized urban areas that are gaining new identities through art. A crucial aspect of the analysis concentrates on the influence of artistic activities on the [...] Read more.

This article discusses the role of artistic interventions in shaping communities in selected Polish cities. It especially explores marginalized urban areas that are gaining new identities through art. A crucial aspect of the analysis concentrates on the influence of artistic activities on the formation of social bonds. Moreover, it focuses on the revitalization strategies that incorporate artistic activities designed to beautify spaces and enhance residents’ sense of security. It also includes examples of grassroots initiatives undertaken by artists in degraded areas. This study employed a qualitative methodology. In addition to reviewing the literature, a comparative analysis of case studies encompassing murals, site-specific installations, graffiti, and participatory art was conducted. The selected case studies demonstrate that art is not merely an esthetic endeavor but an important tool for solving spatial and social issues. Artists’ activities in difficult areas of a city lead to perceptual, visual, and functional changes. However, the question was whether the process of co-creation with the local community translated into stronger neighborly relationships or a greater sense of security. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Arts and Urban Development)

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20 pages, 9574 KB

Open AccessArticle

From Pin-Up to Paragon: Maksim Gorky’s Evolving Image on Russian Picture Postcards

by Donna Oliver

Arts 2025, 14(5), 102; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050102 - 1 Sep 2025

By the end of the nineteenth century, picture postcards had become ubiquitous not only as an inexpensive means of communication but also as objects for collection. Literary postcards were especially popular in Russia, and the rapid proliferation of cards featuring portraits of contemporary [...] Read more.

By the end of the nineteenth century, picture postcards had become ubiquitous not only as an inexpensive means of communication but also as objects for collection. Literary postcards were especially popular in Russia, and the rapid proliferation of cards featuring portraits of contemporary writers helped feed celebrity culture, turning those images into sought-after commodities for consumption. At the same time, celebrating Russian cultural accomplishments through picture postcards also helped shape contemporary perspectives of nation and national identity. As a rising star on the literary scene at that time, Maksim Gorky quickly became an icon of contemporary Russian youth culture and, consequently, a popular subject for picture postcards. With his floppy hair and distinctive clothing, Gorky’s image itself demonstrated his difference from established traditional norms for the profession of “writer,” and his revolutionary leanings and unconventional life challenged the dominant mores of the time. In the Soviet period, as picture postcards continued to serve this function of shaping national identity and values, Gorky’s image was frequently used on state-issued postcards, both before and after his death, but this time in service to the state as the “father of Soviet literature” (and regardless of his uneven and at times ambivalent attitude toward that state). This paper examines the evolution in the use and function of Gorky’s images on pre-revolutionary and Soviet-era postcards. As an early icon of non-conformism and liberation, Gorky’s image ironically was co-opted by the Soviet regime to serve as a symbol of political orthodoxy and conformity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue In the Center and on the Periphery: Russian and Soviet Art and Visual Culture)

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36 pages, 14744 KB

Open AccessArticle

Saltatory Spectacles: (Pre)Colonialism, Travel, and Ancestral Lyric in the Middle Ages and Raymonda

by Kathryn Emily Dickason

Arts 2025, 14(5), 101; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050101 - 28 Aug 2025

This article examines tropes of (proto)colonialism in medieval European culture and Raymonda (Раймoнда), a ballet that premiered in St. Petersburg in 1898 and is set during the Fifth Crusade (1217–1221). Juxtaposing premodern travel accounts with a postmedieval dance creation, this study illuminates how [...] Read more.

This article examines tropes of (proto)colonialism in medieval European culture and Raymonda (Раймoнда), a ballet that premiered in St. Petersburg in 1898 and is set during the Fifth Crusade (1217–1221). Juxtaposing premodern travel accounts with a postmedieval dance creation, this study illuminates how religious otherness, imperial ambitions, and feminine resistance frame representations of dance spectacle and spectatorship. Following a synopsis of the ballet, the subsequent section considers Raymonda’s Muslim characters vis-à-vis medieval texts and images. Here, I incorporate Crusades-era sources, travel literature, and their accompanying iconography alongside the characterizations and aesthetics that pervade Raymonda. These comparisons apprehend the racializing and (proto)colonial thrust of crusader ideology and Russian imperialism. The final section historicizes Raymonda through medieval lyric and gestures toward an Afro-Islamicate ancestry of lyricism and ballet medievalism. Therefore, while traditional versions of Raymonda project Islamophobia, I posit that a rigorous examination of the Middle Ages imbues this ballet with profundity and intercultural nuance. Ultimately, this article demonstrates how a combined study of premodern travel and postmedieval dance may help scholars challenge the Eurocentrism, colonialism, and Whiteness that pervade medieval studies and the art of ballet. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Artistic Imagination and Social Imaginaries–Polysemous Readings of Historical Travelling Accounts)

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28 pages, 2781 KB

Open AccessArticle

Curatorial Re-Action in Israel Post October 7th: The Approach of Empathy

by Tamar Mayer

Arts 2025, 14(5), 100; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050100 - 27 Aug 2025

This article analyzes responses of museums and art institutions in Israel to the events of October 7th. It stresses the public role of museums in times of crisis, and the ways that diverse curatorial choices reflect upon their institutions’ pursuits. It focuses on [...] Read more.

This article analyzes responses of museums and art institutions in Israel to the events of October 7th. It stresses the public role of museums in times of crisis, and the ways that diverse curatorial choices reflect upon their institutions’ pursuits. It focuses on the case study of curatorial empathy, enacted at the Tel Aviv University Art Gallery, noting its aptness at times of crisis and trauma. The article claims that in a society that experiences both internal and external conflicts, the approach of empathy offers flexibility and openness that allow the museum to respond to public need on the one hand, and poses challenging questions on the other. Such questions are explored through the method of artistic-scientific dialogue. As contentions multiply, overlap, and contrast, the expansion of circles of identification becomes a key strategy in addressing this crisis. This essay argues that empathy is a more thoughtful and productive curatorial approach, because it emphasizes connection rather than only identity. From this perspective, the crisis that started on October 7th is not only that of war, loss, and grief, but also that of a threat to humanness under extreme angst. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contemporary Visual Culture in Conflict Zones and Contested Territories)

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14 pages, 709 KB

Open AccessArticle

Operative Creativity: Art at the Intersection of Simulation and Realization

by Maayan Amir

Arts 2025, 14(5), 99; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14050099 - 27 Aug 2025

This essay proposes operative creativity as a conceptual and artistic response to the shifting roles of images in the age of algorithmic perception. Departing from Harun Farocki’s seminal artwork Eye/Machine, which first introduced the operative image as functioning not to represent but [...] Read more.

This essay proposes operative creativity as a conceptual and artistic response to the shifting roles of images in the age of algorithmic perception. Departing from Harun Farocki’s seminal artwork Eye/Machine, which first introduced the operative image as functioning not to represent but to activate within machinic processes, it traces the transformation of images from representational devices to machinic agents embedded in systems of simulation and realization. Although operative images were initially engineered for strictly technological functions, they have, from their inception, been subject to repurposing for human perception and interpretation. Drawing on literature theorizing the redirection of operative images within military, computational, and epistemic domains, the essay does not attempt a comprehensive survey. Instead, it opens a conceptual aperture within the framework, expanding it to illuminate the secondary redeployment of operative images in contemporary visual culture. Concluding with the artwork Terms and Conditions, co-created by Ruti Sela and the author, it examines how artistic gestures might neutralize the weaponized gaze, offering a mode of operative creativity that troubles machinic vision and reclaims a space for human opacity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contemporary Visual Culture in Conflict Zones and Contested Territories)

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25 pages, 6626 KB

Open AccessArticle

Expressive Circles—Original Concept Regarding the Structural and Dramaturgical Aspects of the Musical Composition in the Piece EXPRESSIVE CIRCLES—Three Pieces for Piano Trio: Composer’s Self-Reflection

by Patryk Kusiak

Arts 2025, 14(4), 98; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14040098 - 20 Aug 2025

The objective of this article is to present an original approach for modern composers to construct their musical work regarding its structural and dramaturgical aspects. The concept of Expressive circles originated primarily in inspirations taken from the movement in art called Surrealism and [...] Read more.

The objective of this article is to present an original approach for modern composers to construct their musical work regarding its structural and dramaturgical aspects. The concept of Expressive circles originated primarily in inspirations taken from the movement in art called Surrealism and from music composed by Hanna Kulenty (which she describes as musique surrealistique). There are also parallels to other concepts (unism in music, surconventional deconstruction of the musical material) or to other composers (Witold Lutosławski). In the article, I present three types of Expressive circles (i.e., three form models)—closed structure, open structure and inverted structure. Each model is characterised by different approach to the musical theme and to its development in the musical piece. Considering the dramaturgical aspects of the work, the trance-like character of the music is important and there are two types of musical trances that I distinguish in Expressive circles, logarithm and drive; both are achieved differently in the musical work. The theoretical assumptions of the concept presented in the article are illustrated by chosen fragments from the score of my composition (EXPRESSIVE CIRCLES—Three pieces for piano trio) and by colourful schemes showing how the concept translates from theory to music. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sound, Space, and Creativity in Performing Arts)

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23 pages, 2765 KB

Open AccessCase Report

The Role of Art in the Revitalisation of Brownfield Sites—The Case of Nantes

by Iwona Szustakiewicz

Arts 2025, 14(4), 97; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14040097 - 18 Aug 2025

The article examines the role of art in the successful revitalisation of brownfield sites in Nantes. The city’s deindustrialization in the 1960s–80s caused a severe economic and social crisis. Significant areas were left behind by the abandoned factories, which were rapidly degrading, negatively [...] Read more.

The article examines the role of art in the successful revitalisation of brownfield sites in Nantes. The city’s deindustrialization in the 1960s–80s caused a severe economic and social crisis. Significant areas were left behind by the abandoned factories, which were rapidly degrading, negatively affecting the entire city. Many of these were located on a river island in the city centre. Since the early 1990s, the Nantes authorities initiated a process of revitalising brownfield sites. They implemented several culture-led regeneration strategies. Nantes opened up to temporary events: street theatre shows and art festivals. The flagship project and symbol of renewal became Les Machines de Île, mobile, interactive machines that took over the previously degraded island and hark back to its industrial past. Site-specific art installations filled the city. The municipal authorities also started to implement the concept of a creative cluster, concentrating art colleges, cultural facilities, and creativity-related businesses on former wasteland. The use of a variety of strategies brought success, and the results went beyond the revitalised area. Cultural activities became an accelerator of change and contributed to the regeneration process of the city. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Arts and Urban Development)

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10 pages, 194 KB

Open AccessArticle

“I Wanna See It Boil”: Satire as Eco-Political Performance in Talking Heads’s “(Nothing But) Flowers” (1988) and Anohni’s “4 Degrees” (2015)

by Håvard Haugland Bamle

Arts 2025, 14(4), 96; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14040096 - 15 Aug 2025

This article examines the use of satire in the song lyrics of two eco-themed pop songs: Talking Heads’s “(Nothing but) Flowers” (1988) and Anohni’s “4 Degrees” (2015). A close listening approach to these songs reveals ironic discrepancies between the experience produced by musical [...] Read more.

This article examines the use of satire in the song lyrics of two eco-themed pop songs: Talking Heads’s “(Nothing but) Flowers” (1988) and Anohni’s “4 Degrees” (2015). A close listening approach to these songs reveals ironic discrepancies between the experience produced by musical performance and the sentiments expressed in the song lyrics. A rhetorical framework informs how an examination of such discrepancies may enable new perceptions of the environmental theme to come to mind through what Charles A. Knight calls a satiric “frame of mind”. The satire in these songs not only targets attitudes to convey a moral judgment on them but also provokes audiences to undertake the task of self-examination. If successful, satire in popular song lyrics can contribute to the reconfiguration of listeners’ perceptions of the relationship between humans and nonhuman nature. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Creating Musical Experiences)

18 pages, 2913 KB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

At Home in Chinatown: Community-Based Art Activism and Cultural Placemaking for Neighborhood Stabilization

by Lily Song and Heang Leung Rubin

Arts 2025, 14(4), 95; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14040095 - 14 Aug 2025

Since the turn of the 21st century, urban studies and planning research has examined the strategic role of artists, arts organizations, and cultural activity as local and regional economic development catalysts. This article shifts the spotlight from the “creative class” and “creative industries” [...] Read more.

Since the turn of the 21st century, urban studies and planning research has examined the strategic role of artists, arts organizations, and cultural activity as local and regional economic development catalysts. This article shifts the spotlight from the “creative class” and “creative industries” as drivers of a “creative city” to study the role of art, culture, and creative practices in community-led, place-based efforts to stabilize neighborhoods and advance more hopeful, healthy, and equitable urban futures. It explores Boston’s Chinatown, where community-based art activism has a long history of addressing critical issues such as reclaiming land taken by interstate highway and urban renewal projects, as well as combating gentrification and displacement through site activation. The case study focuses on Residence Lab, a community-based arts residency program initiated by the Pao Arts Center and the Asian Community Development Corporation that brought together multimedia artists with residents to collectively preserve Boston’s Chinatown through creative and artistic activation of underutilized sites in the neighborhood from 2019 to 2022. We examine a selection of ResLab projects, which give form and meaning to the struggles and aspirations of being at home in Chinatown and embody the art activism of partner organizations and program participants, along with the ResLab’s impacts on participating residents and artists. The concluding discussion considers ResLab’s contributions and implications for the shifting ways in which urban, political, and artistic cultures have intersected and impacted one another in Chinatown along with the relationship between collective action and the preservation and transformation of culture in the urban frame. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Arts and Urban Development)

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17 pages, 801 KB

Open AccessArticle

When Words Become Voice: Intermedial Storytelling and Identity in the Georgian Folk Tale Master and Pupil

by Gül Mükerrem Öztürk

Arts 2025, 14(4), 94; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14040094 - 12 Aug 2025

This article closely examines the Georgian folk tale Master and Pupil, focusing on the intermedial transformation of its sequential narrative structure as an instance of oral storytelling. The tale is analyzed within the broader discourses of performativity, voice, and narrative subjectivity through [...] Read more.

This article closely examines the Georgian folk tale Master and Pupil, focusing on the intermedial transformation of its sequential narrative structure as an instance of oral storytelling. The tale is analyzed within the broader discourses of performativity, voice, and narrative subjectivity through the lenses of performance theory, media formalism, and the Aarne–Thompson–Uther (ATU) classification system (Type 325). The study reveals a transition in the tale from silence to vocal authority; here, voice functions not only as a means of communication but also as a vehicle for resistance, transformation, and the negotiation of identity. Master and Pupil emerges, beyond a magical apprenticeship narrative, as a multilayered performance of disembodiment and symbolic transmission through an intermedial perspective; in this context, musicality and vocality operate as liminal forces. The pupil’s acquisition of voice signifies both a narrative rupture and a restructuring of hierarchical relations. Furthermore, the article situates the tale within the broader matrix of the Georgian oral storytelling tradition, demonstrating how recurring motifs surrounding the transformation of voice reflect culturally embedded patterns of media convergence and embodied knowledge. By foregrounding the tale’s intermedial dynamics, this study reframes folk tales as a fluid site of aesthetic, cultural, and epistemic negotiations. Full article

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30 pages, 11977 KB

Open AccessArticle

The Specifics and Forms of Art in Contemporary Healthcare Facilities—European Trends

by Rafał Strojny and Natalia Przesmycka

Arts 2025, 14(4), 93; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14040093 - 11 Aug 2025

The development of scientific research related to the impact of the built environment on people in recent decades has changed the way healthcare facilities are designed in the 21st century. The ideal approach is characterized by research-based design and the creation of a [...] Read more.

The development of scientific research related to the impact of the built environment on people in recent decades has changed the way healthcare facilities are designed in the 21st century. The ideal approach is characterized by research-based design and the creation of a therapeutic environment. An integral component of the hospital environment is art, the positive impact of which on hospital users has been proven by many scientific studies. The purpose of this research was to determine the specifics and forms of art in contemporary hospitals. The qualitative study included 91 hospitals in 18 European countries. Based on scientific literature, acquired data on the surveyed facilities, and study visits to 20 hospitals, 12 forms of art were identified. In addition to traditional art forms, art reflecting the achievements of 21st-century science and technology can often be seen in contemporary hospitals. The best example is interactive graphics using digital techniques and tools. This is art whose base is created by the artist, but at the same time, it is a form that responds to the environment and movement, engaging the viewer to interact. Full article

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The Legacy of Helga de Alvear: The Gallery, the Collection, the Museum—A Curatorial and Museographic Approach

by Marta Perez-Ibanez

Arts 2025, 14(4), 92; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14040092 - 7 Aug 2025

This article examines the significant contributions of Helga de Alvear as a gallerist, collector, and patron, a pivotal figure in the evolution of the Spanish and international contemporary art market. Her legacy is particularly notable through the establishment of the Helga de Alvear [...] Read more.

This article examines the significant contributions of Helga de Alvear as a gallerist, collector, and patron, a pivotal figure in the evolution of the Spanish and international contemporary art market. Her legacy is particularly notable through the establishment of the Helga de Alvear Museum in the city of Cáceres, intended to share her vast collection of over 3000 works and foster exhibition, research, conservation, and education. The study analyzes her art collection, highlighting its substantial international minimalist art component, contextualizing its development with her personal and professional journey. Furthermore, it explores the institutionalization of her legacy, from the Helga de Alvear Foundation to the creation and evolution of the museum, its innovative architecture and museography, and its impact on Cáceres’s urban landscape. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Active Women in the Art Market: 1950–2020. Mapping Gallerists, Collectors, Maecenas, Auctioneers, Curators in Emerging Markets)

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