Jeudredi round-up, 23/12/22

Reading list

Passenger-seat reading when you’re drivin’ home for Christmas

Terry Hall of The Specials died this week. Of all the tributes and obituaries, this long read by Pete Paphides was the best. It gives you a real sense of the person and where the music came from. Lots of great video clips throughout as well.

Making innovation work in hard places. Two power figures of government innovation, Millie Begovic and Giulio Quaggiotto, write about what they have learned over the past few years of trying to embed innovation in the United Nations Development Programme. Global spread, national work, and lots of little problems, the UNDP is a special organisation, and a particular challenge.

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Thinking about a Theory of the State. Still on the topic of innovation, lots of charities have theories of change (Demsoc certainly does) but Andy Martin from Firetail (one of Demsoc’s co-founders, back in the day) reminds us that we also need a Theory of the State. What is the role that government plays in the vision of an NGO? One to think about while the family make you watch the Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas Special.

Radio-Télévision Brussels

🎧 I don’t know much about Uzbekistan, but a fascinating podcast on France Culture about the tourism and culture industry there sparked my interest. One thing I hadn’t appreciated is how much Uzbekistan is culturally influenced by “its giant neighbour to the north”. Before you reach for the atlas, that’s not Russia, but Kazakhstan. [🇫🇷]

🎧 A few days late listening to it but the surprising queer history of Poland on The Europeans podcast was, as advertised, surprising. A reminder that the current wave of social conservative governments in Central Europe isn’t a historical inevitability.

Vijfhoek

In and around the city

There are still tickets left for On Purge Bébé! at La Monnaie/De Munt. “A modernist opera about bowel movements” might not sound like much fun, but it really is. The music (Philippe Boesemans’ last opera) works brilliantly with the action, and the story (based on a one-act Feydeau farce of the same name) is pretty amusing. Well worth it — and at only 90 minutes without an interval, you don’t need to make the time commitment that you do for Wagner.

Something else that is small but worth it is the Alexandria exhibition at Bozar. Not a huge blockbuster, but an interesting collection of ancient artefacts and modern art inspired by the city and its changing geography. There are a few highlights - a collection of images of the Great Lighthouse, a short film by Wael Shawky (who had a great show at M_Leuven recently), and minimalist sculptures by Iman Issa.

Quite arty this week, aren’t we? But it’s worth reading an interview with Kanal’s new chief curator Kasia Redzisz, in Metropolis M magazine. The building might still be a building site (I’ve spent the last year watching them take parts away, so it’s going to be a little while till it’s ready), but the work of preparing exhibitions is already getting started. [🇳🇱]

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