Compass

Since the Maidan Revolution the urban facade of the city of Kiev is visibly changing, with large street art murals plastering the city’s walls. While new street art is going up, old Soviet murals and monuments are being torn down. Compass goes to Kiev to speak to artists about how the Maidan Revolution and the conflict in Eastern Ukraine has affected them, and how Ukraine’s turbulent past and present have fuelled its creative scene. Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/jWiaA-ZOM8s #StreetArt #SovietMosaics #Decommunisation

Since the Maidan Revolution the urban facade of the city of Kiev is visibly changing as large street art murals plaster the city’s walls. While new street art is going up, old Soviet murals and monuments are being torn down. Compass goes to Kiev to speak to artists about how the Maidan Revolution and the conflict in Eastern Ukraine has affected them, and how Ukraine’s turbulent past and present have fuelled its creative scene. #MaidanRevolution #Ukraine #EastUkraineConflict #StreetArt #Graffiti #Decommunisation #Conflict #DrumandBass #UkrainianElections

Arabesk is a music genre unique to Turkey - almost as old as the country itself. It was suppressed, then celebrated, and now it's ingrained throughout Turkish culture. But where did it come from, and why was it so controversial? Compass goes to Istanbul to find out what arabesk means to Turkey today. #Compass #Arabesk #Turkey

The former Soviet country of Georgia is generating a creative buzz in the global fashion world with a new style dubbed 'post - soviet' design. Soviet fashion was once looked down but the West is now looking East for style inspiration. Has 'ugly' become 'cool' in the fashion world? And is 'post-soviet' the rightlabel to describe Georgian fashion today? Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/3ZxYnci7hag?t=1 #Compass #Post-soviet #Fashion

Compass goes to Tbilisi to discover Georgia's fashion scene. Dubbed in the media as 'post-soviet' fashion style it's the latest hype in the fashion industry globally. How has the small country of Georgia given birth to some of the coolest designers in the 21st century? What is 'post-soviet' style? And is the 'post-soviet' label accurate in describing the latest fashion designs coming out of this unique country? #Georgia #Compass #FashionBoom

Compass goes to Lisbon to discover Fado. The music genre was once Portugal's most loved sound until it was hijacked by the fascist regime. But now fado is enjoying a resurgence - not just in Portugal but all over the world. #Fado #Portugal #Compass

Meet Qatar's female artists, who say they've been underestimated by the rest of the world for too long. How are they using their country's emerging cultural scene to fight stereotypes? Watch full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqoKK4p__yA&t=727s&list=PLUW304lJeu3XUGcubhNlHo-eJZGqKDiwb&index=2​ #Qatar #Doha #filmmakers

Qatar's cultural revolution is underway, but can traditional societal attitudes keep up? Compass goes to Doha to meet the female filmmakers leading the way. How do they balance change with tradition? Watch full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqoKK4p__yA&t=727s&list=PLUW304lJeu3XUGcubhNlHo-eJZGqKDiwb&index=2 #Qatar #QatarArt

Artists are known for pushing boundaries, but how far can they go when their society is bound by tradition? Qatar is experiencing a cultural revolution, and women are leading the charge. Compass meets Doha's female creatives to find out how they are shaping the future of their rapidly changing country. #Stereotypes​​, #Women, #Qatar

"I don't want to build my career on any other people's suffering". Diala Brisly is an artist who was forced to flee Syria, but she says that's only one part of her story. Compass meets Syrian artists in diaspora who say they're tired of being stereotyped. Watch the full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW8t526zKHQ #Syria #Art #DiasporaArtists

Was Syria really a thriving hub for artists before the war? Compass meets artists in exile who say they've found more freedom, and success - in diaspora. What happens to a country's art scene when it goes to war? Watch the full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW8t526zKHQ #Syria #Art #DiasporaArtists

A new musical genre has emerged from the shadows of communism. Compass explores the controversial world of Romanian manele to find out why this new musical genre is so loved and loathed at the same time. #GypsyPop #Roma #Romania

What happens to a country’s arts and music scene when it goes to war? More than seven years of conflict have left Syria in ruins, and forced its people across the globe. Compass travels to Beirut and Paris to find out what Syrian culture means to artists in exile - and whether the war has crushed the country's arts scene, or opened it up. #Syria #Culture #Art

Could you sing two notes at the same time? Imitating the natural sounds of Mongolia's vast steppe, throat-singing has been part of the country's culture for thousands of years. What role does it still have to play in everyday life? Watch full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THPnWJohKO8 #Throat-singing #Mongolia #Khuumi

Mongolia's opera scene is taking off, but where did it all come from? The country's top singers say they've got the communists, as well as their traditional throat-singing, to thank. Watch full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THPnWJohKO8 #Opera #Mongolia #Communism

What do you get if you mix pop, opera, and Mongolian folk songs? Meet @Uvertura Group, who want to use Mongol Popera to put Mongolia on the map. Watch full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THPnWJohKO8 #Popera #Mongolian #Uvertura

Mongolia isn’t traditionally known for opera. But in the past few years, Mongolian opera singers have taken to the international stage and held their own with more established opera nations. To find out why Mongolian opera is hitting all the right notes, Compass visits this unique country and speaks to some of its most well-known voices. #Mongolia #Opera #Throatsinger

Do artists always cause gentrification? Some say it's often the last thing they mean to do. Compass has talked to artists across Europe to find out what gentrification means to them, and whether we should be thanking them for it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnvlGRV3mzk #gentrification #Europe #art

Is it ok to paint over street art? Critics like Athens gallery owner Rebecca Camhi say graffiti ruins cities - but can it also be part of social movements that help lift them out of crisis? Watch this month's Compass to find out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnvlGRV3mzk #street art #Athens #graffiti

What role do artists play in gentrification? Compass travels to three European capitals to find out. #Compass #gentrification #art

500 years before the West discovered trance music, a community in North Africa was using their own hypnotic beats and rhythms during spiritual ceremonies. Here’s what you need to know about Gnawa music. Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/knHV0Opz6JI #Compass #Gnawa #SufiMusic

Have you heard of the Gnawa music from North Africa? Asmaa Hamzaoui is its first ever female master in history. This is her story Watch the latest episode of Compass in Morocco here: https://youtu.be/knHV0Opz6JI #Compass #Timbouktou #AsmaaHamzaoui

Compass is in Morocco to explore the fascinating world of Gnawa culture, music and ceremony by talking to the artists most connected to the story. #Compass #Gnawa #Morocco

Compass travels to the south of Spain to explore the continent's Muslim roots. As divisions in Europe become ever more apparent, we ask what lessons are there to learn from the period of Islamic rule known as "La Convivencia"? #Compass #Spain #LaConvivencia

Matan Pinkas is an Israeli artist who has taken a surrealist approach to the conflict. Born and bred in Jerusalem, he is a self-styled Iranian ambassador to Jerusalem. #Jerusalem #IranianAmbassador

2018 marks 70 years since the creation of Israel and for Palestinians, the Nakba, or catastrophe. It has also seen the controversial move of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Compass heads to Jerusalem to explore it’s complex history of borders and divisions and examine what this disputed move means to the artists that live there. #Compass #Jerusalem #Nakba

As the world experiences the worst refugee crisis in recorded history, Compass looks at the expression of displacement and loss through art and music. The media often focuses on Europe’s borders, but the majority of the 65 million people displaced globally live in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. We visit Kenya, home to some of the largest refugee camps in the world, to see how people are trying to pursue their artistic talents – even when they’ve lost everything.​​

In the wake of Brexit, we explore the idea of British identity and belonging through art. As debates rage over national identity, integration and immigration, is the narrative of what it means to be British excluding certain voices? We meet several artists working to ‘correct’ the story of British history through their art - and trying to encourage society to adopt a more accurate reflection of British history and identity.