The US Embraces KPop Music

IPac December 20, 2017 1 Comment

For the longest time, it has been difficult for Asian artists to penetrate the Western world. Success in America, for instance, continues to elude them as Americans, in general, won’t give them the time of day or have no appreciation for their music or artistry at all. But that was before. Thanks to technology and rapid globalization, diversity is more widely accepted now and people start to appreciate other cultures than people did in the past. If there is one particular trend that is taking the US by storm, that is KPop. If you look at the numbers, they’ve been making waves in music charts, radio plays, and even digital and actual album sales in various US states.

South Korea, in general, did very well in importing the Hallyu wave a.k.a. the growing globalization of KPop. There are KPop fans now all over America and in other parts of the world. Fandoms grow in number each year as KPop idols gradually become household names outside of Korea. Even the Billboard has been overtaken by KPop idols with BTS in the forefront having stayed in the HOT 100 for a month where they even won the Top Social Artist this year beating Justin Bieber and Selene Gomez who are undeniably among the top superstars in the US today. BTS also recently released their recent comeback with a mini-album “Her” that hit #1 on the iTunes chart in 73 countries. It is a feat that not all Western performers are actually capable of doing but something that …

Why The Children Need To Be Exposed To The Arts

IPac August 9, 2017 No Comments

Adults today can only fondly reminisce their childhood years of day-long frolic under the sun and countless hours playing outdoors and getting dirty and all. Kids today don’t lead a life as active as most adults once did. They are exposed to a digital world overruled by technology. Kids won’t have a hard time navigating a smartphone or any tech gadget, unlike most adults. Meanwhile, they lack the psychomotor skills to engage in active play and usually don’t spend as much time playing outdoors than kids before did.

One more thing children today miss out on is the opportunity to really dabble in the arts despite the abundance of art materials, supplies, and opportunities. They can even get inspiration from the web but still, they’d rather spend all their free time glued to their smartphones and tinkering with all those apps that were unheard of in the past. Indeed, a lot has changed and in a way, new opportunities open up to children but they also miss out on others that are actually better for their health and well-being.

As much evidence will support, drawing has significant developmental benefits for young children. It gives them space to represent what they think—territory within which they can exaggerate what is important to them or express ideas they are not yet able to verbalize. Through art, children are able to describe and reveal their notions about themselves, the world, and their place in it.

The role of drawing in enhancing childhood development has been acknowledged since art education

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Appreciation For The Arts Beyond A Disability

IPac August 2, 2017 No Comments

Equality will always be the subject of many heated debates and arguments from then until now. While there are many things that divide people these days, there are still apparently some common denominators that bridge the gap between the rich and poor, gifted and not, or healthy and sickly. The arts will always be that bridge that continues to connect and inspire people of all walks of life.

Who says that you can’t appreciate the arts if you have a disability? You may be lacking in a sense or two but other senses are heightened to make up for what you don’t have. Dabbling with the arts gives differently-abled individuals a newfound freedom to express themselves without being limited by their disabilities. It also allows them to experience a sense of belongingness to the craft and other artists especially to the ones with disabilities themselves.

Being blind yet creating visual arts is just one of the many achievements made possible thanks to the work of the disability charity Open Arts.

And now as part of its 25th anniversary celebrations this year, the charity is giving everyone a chance to see the great work being produced at its art classes with a unique exhibition throughout the month in the Black Box, Belfast.

Embroidery, watercolour and action painting are just some of the techniques which will be showcased in the Three in One exhibition, featuring artwork created by people attending three weekly visual arts groups run by Open Arts.

Eileen Branagh, chief executive of Open Arts,

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Smoking Pot For Leisure Is Now Legal

IPac July 10, 2017 1 Comment

 

Smoking pot is frowned upon in most societies for years now. It is considered illegal, which is why many people smoke it away from the prying eyes of the public than risk being caught, reprimanded, and persecuted. Generally called as pot, it actually is marijuana leaves or cannabis that is often smoked by people. Cannabis oil and flowers can also be used and its smoke or vapor is inhaled and is consequently absorbed into the bloodstream. You can also put it under your tongue or apply it on your skin aside from smoking and still enjoy the same high results.

Pot smokers smoke cannabis using bowls or bongs or in a cigarette form. Recent discoveries show that cannabis can help treat various medical conditions, which is why medical cannabis is gaining popularity in various US states and even countries abroad. However, it is not a perfect science and there are many contradictions to these findings that lead to confusion and conflicts. It’s the reason that up to now, legalizing marijuana use still raises the eyebrows of many and remains to be the subject of on-going debates.

Vermont’s Legislature become the first in the nation Wednesday to approve a recreational marijuana legalization bill.

Vermont’s bill, which would legalize small amounts of marijuana possession in 2018 and anticipate the possibility of a taxed and regulated legal marijuana market, was approved in the Vermont House of Representatives on Wednesday afternoon by a vote of 79-66. The state Senate already passed the bill, so it will go 

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The Artistry Of Art Aloud

IPac June 25, 2017 No Comments

Most of us associate the arts to actual artworks and art pieces commonly seen in museums and parks. But what many are not aware of is that there are different forms of artistic expressions. The truth is that there is no limitation when it comes to the art. Artists are free to express their artistic talents and share them with the world. As the world becomes globally interconnected, we realize how diverse we all are in different aspects of life. An example of which is Art Aloud, an art to poetry collaboration.

While many of you probably haven’t heard of such a collab, it has been happening for ten years already in some states in the U.S. and even in other countries throughout the world. Artistic poetry is a great way to revive the interest and passion in poetry in a very artsy way.

The idea came into being thanks to Paul Dahlston and the Big Picture Discussion Group, a cadre of artists and thinkers who used to meet at the Business of Art Center (now the Manitou Art Center). Even after the group disbanded a few years ago, a few dedicated community members kept Art Aloud alive.

Cas Foste of Academy Art & Frame Company, who now organizes Art Aloud, says: “We get some really dynamic stuff, and we are totally all about collaborations, getting writers and artists to work together on pieces.”

Art Aloud began as a strict art-to-poetry collaboration, but over the years it has evolved to include all manner of

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A Visual Appreciation Of The Arts

IPac June 24, 2017 1 Comment

There is so much more to the arts than meets the eye. And for years, the arts have helped shaped the world in ways that you can’t imagine. Even until today, it has helped us understand the world that existed before us. We try our best to decipher what the images on ancient cave walls mean to give us a glimpse of the life led by our ancestors centuries ago. And these paintings might actually be the inspiration for visual artists to come up with their own various works of art today.

We see and appreciate beauty with our eyes. Whether it be an elegant painting, a striking sculpture, a unique photo, a moving video, or a breathtaking architecture, the visual arts is a rich expression of human talent at its finest. Dance, in my opinion, qualifies as well.

From a young age, we learn how to doodle even though we know so little about the spoken word itself. It only goes to show that this artistic talent is innate in us and a crucial aspect of human nature. After all, you don’t need to be brilliant to be able to appreciate the beauty of the visual arts.

Every two years, a curator comes to Venice with a mandate to rally the world’s greatest artists and unite them in a great enterprise on behalf of humanity. That may sound like a premise out of J.R.R. Tolkien, but it captures the heady, high-stakes spirit of the event, and the organizers rarely stint on ambition. In the

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Women And Their Passion For The Arts

IPac April 22, 2017 No Comments

Men have conquered the arts since the beginning of recorded history. Most notable artists are males like Rembrandt, Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Leonardo Da Vinci – who all made a name in the field of culture and the arts and forever etched in history books. But how about women artists? I am sure there are plenty of women who made huge artistic contributions but only a handful probably know about them.

As we celebrate International Women’s Month, let us pay tribute to the contribution of women to the arts and how they continue to break out of the norms and share their talent and passion to the world.

Back in the day, it was very unusual for women to become professional artists, they were well known as domestic workers and child bears.

 Things have changed women are taking over the male dominated industry by storm and are doing beautiful work.  We’ve seen Aleta’s work through Yebo Contemporary Art Gallery, Velemseni; the only left-handed female guitarist we have in the country, Bongie’s motion pictures and film, just to name a few.

Discrimination persists and may be one of the greatest obstacles women artists face in their professional career.

“Women artists have always been – and unfortunately continue to be – underrepresented in the art world.”

“This imbalance is in no way unique to the arts – it’s evident in all other major international exhibition of contemporary art has achieved gender parity and the highest-level jobs sectors of society where women earn less and

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Watch Out For These Travel Trends And Go Places

IPac March 13, 2017 No Comments

The idea of exploring the globe has never been as tempting and as realistic as it is now. You see photos of other people traveling to different parts of the globe on social platforms like Facebook and Instagram and your heart melts at the beauty of the places.

You do not have to spend thousands to have the vacation of your dreams. In fact, some tourists go backpacking. It is an option that does not suit the taste of many but works for others. Some can even work for their food and accommodation and only spend for their plane ticket.

Air travel is also not as expensive as it used to be. There are different airline promos you can look to if you plan your trip months ahead. Racking up points can also earn you airline mileage that you can use to pay for a flight once you have accumulated sufficient points.

Hostels and Airbnb will help you find the perfect place to stay without ripping off of your hard earned money. Be creative with your travel and you can definitely go the distance at a fraction of the price.

Meanwhile, hostels and Airbnb will help you find the perfect place to stay without ripping you off of your hard earned money. Be creative with your travel and you can definitely go the distance at a fraction of the price.

We all aim for a customized travel experience and you can rarely get it if you go the usual route travelers in the past did.…