24/06/2009

Available for over a year

Glastonbury This weekend the Glastonbury Festival takes place in England. It's the largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world and we discuss what music fans can expect and hear from headliners Bruce Springsteen and Blur. Turkish Book Trial The Turkish author Nedim Gursel faces up to a year in jail if convicted this week of insulting Islam in his novel Daughters Of Allah. The book, which has been out for more than a year, is about the life of the Prophet Muhammad and has sold more than 30,000 copies. But after a reader from an Islamic sect complained that the author had used inappropriate language, Nedim Gursel found himself in court. The BBC's Zeynep Erdim outlines the case from Istanbul. Madagascar Musical Tour Madagascar is a musically diverse island but people rarely listen to styles from outside their region. However, at the end of last month a music festival called Donia attempted to broaden audiences minds by touring the whole of the Indian Ocean island with artists of each musical form playing to different audiences. Was it successful? Sasha Gankin reports for The Strand. Walking in My Mind The Hayward Gallery in London has been transformed into to a giant brain this week for the opening of a ground breaking exhibition "Walking in my mind". The idea behind it is to show that as well as neuroscientists and philosophers, visual artists also contribute to our understanding of human consciousness. Among the ten artists invited to show the inner workings of their mind are the acclaimed Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama with her signature polka dots and British Turner Prize winner Keith Tyson. Joining Mark Coles on the mental journey was click Professor Arthur I Miller, giving us a scientific take on the exhibits.