Colombia’s body school
Plus, Madagascar’s slum art, an unusual canvas in Gaza and walking a fine line in China.
In a country where bodies have been mutilated, disappeared and assassinated, celebrating the value of the human body through dance is important.
The Colegio del Cuerpo, or the body school, is a dance school in Cartagena, a Colombian city where 70 per cent of the population live below the poverty line.
The school brings youngsters from across the city’s social spectrum together through contemporary dance.
Madagascar’s slum art
Madagascar is the 11th poorest country in the world. But the government is determined to change that perception and wants to start by renovating the run-down capital, Antanarivo.
In recent years, popular Malagasy artist Andrianaina Rajaonimanana has been brightening up poorer parts of the city with his sculptures – but now he has been given a proper job.
He is the government’s official clean-up artist – with a budget.
His mission is to turn the worst slums into aspiring art galleries using sculpture and street installations.
Part two
Gaza’s artists
For Gaza’s many struggling artists it can be near to impossible to get the materials and equipment they need to practice their art.
When the home of painter Basil al-Magousi was bombed by the Israeli army in 2009, he lost many of his paintings. But he continues to live in his devastated home and has turned its charred walls into a canvas for his art.
For Iyad Sabbagh, a Gazan sculptor, the Strip provides a rich canvas and the area’s history serves as an inspiration.
A balancing act in China
Adili Wuxor has walked across the Yangtze River – perched on a wire 687 metres above the water.
He holds five Guinness World Records on the tightrope, making him one of the most celebrated acrobats in his family’s 430-year history of performing the ancient Xinjiang art form called ‘Dawazi’ or airwalking.
At his Dawazi institute in Urumqi, the provincial capital of Xinjiang, he trains teenage Uighurs to walk the high wire.
Some of his protégés are already on their way to challenging Adili’s own records.
The new series of Artsworld can be seen at the following times GMT: Monday: 0530, 1130; Tuesday: 0130, 1400, 2330; Wednesday: 1630; Thursday: 1430; Friday: 0600; Saturday: 1930; Sunday: 1030.