Latest news with #localartists
Khaleej Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Home Centre launches new cultural platform that celebrates homegrown talent
Home Centre, the Middle East's leading home retailer, has officially launched Home Centre Collective — a region-first live performance series that reimagines its retail spaces as immersive stages for culture, creativity, and community across Saudi Arabia and UAE. The platform reflects a growing creative energy across the GCC — particularly in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, where investment in arts, music, and cultural expression is on the rise. Home Centre Collective was born from this cultural moment, designed to be an ongoing space where authenticity, art, and community can meet and live, in-store. 'We are incredibly proud to be launching this from the UAE — a place that's fast becoming a global hub for creativity and culture,' said Arja Taaveniku, CEO, Home Centre. 'As a brand born and based here, this is deeply meaningful for us. By creating a platform that celebrates local talent, we're helping shape a new narrative — one where we act not just as a retailer, but as a cultural enabler.' 'Home Centre Collective is our way of stepping into an evolving subculture and becoming a part of something bigger than the sum of its parts,' said Siddarth Sivaprakash, Head of Marketing & Brand. 'We've always believed that interior spaces are a form of self-expression — just like art. Collaborating with local artists brings those worlds together. Each artist has a say in how they would like their performance space styled, infusing more of their individuality and creativity into the entire experience.' 'In both UAE and KSA, we've made space for creativity and performance to live alongside product,' said Rishad Jadraliyev, Head of Retail. 'What excites me most is seeing our stores come alive in a way that speaks directly to the region's rising creative energy.' Home Centre Collective will continue rolling out across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with new performances, artist collaborations, and creative formats planned throughout the year — all designed to bring culture home.
Geek Culture
6 days ago
- Business
- Geek Culture
HoYo Fest Returns Jul 2025, Organiser HoYoverse Allows Sale Of Unlicensed Fan-Made Items
HoYoverse is marking the return of its highly anticipated HoYo FEST event in July 2025, offering not only a celebration of its games but also marking the first time a gaming company is allowing fan-created merchandise to be sold at its own event in Southeast Asia. Now in its fifth year, HoYo FEST 2025 will take place in exhibition centres across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, treating fans with four days of activities and various booths themed after their favourite games like Genshin Impact , Honkai Impact 3 , Honkai: Star Rail and Zenless Zone Zero . Event goers can also expect tons of event-exclusive merchandise up for grabs. HoYo Fest 2023 in Singapore HoYo FEST 2025 will also see the debut of its Artist Alley in Southeast Asia, allowing local artists to showcase and sell their own HoYoverse-inspired creations, marking the first time a gaming company has done so in the region. In addition, a new stage segment will be introduced, allowing cosplayers, performers and fan artists to showcase their talents on the HoYo FEST stage, with the final lineup for performances across the six countries being announced later in June. Tickets for HoYo FEST 2025 will go on sale starting from 24 June 2025 at 11:00 AM SGT (UTC+8) on the official event website, with fans able to choose between One-Day Passes, Multi-Day Passes, or Fast Passes for early entry privileges. HoYo FEST 2025 will take place from 24 to 27 July 2025, and will be held in the following countries and locations: Region City Venue Singapore Singapore Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hall 406CXD Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Pavilion Exhibition Centre Bukit Jalil, Hall 1 & 2 Indonesia Surabaya Surabaya Convention Center (SCC) The Philippines Manila SMX Convention Center Manila, Hall 3 Vietnam Ho Chi Minh Sky Expo, Hall A5 Thailand Bangkok The Mall Bangkapi MCC Hall Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise 'duds' like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3 . He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying. hoyo fest HoYo Fest 2025 HoYoverse
RNZ News
6 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Discovering new NZ music in the streaming age is getting harder – what's the future for local artists?
By Oli Wilson, Catherine Hoad, Dave Carter and Jesse Austin-Stewart* of Kiwi artist Tiki Taane performs at the Eletric Avenue fstival in Christchurch in February 2024. Photo: Electric Avenue / Team Event New Zealand Music Month turned 25 this year, and there's been plenty to celebrate - whether it be Mokotron's Taite Prize-winning 'Waerea', Lorde's recent return (though not to New Zealand - yet), or the fact that live performance revenues post-Covid have been strong. But for new and emerging local artists, Music Month also highlights a lack of visibility on streaming services and commercial radio, which increasingly favour already famous artists, including ones whose heydays were decades ago. During a month when music fans have been encouraged to stream local, see local and buy local, so far the only homegrown artists to appear in this week's New Zealand Top 40 Singles chart are Lorde and K-pop star Rosé. Recently published data shows that as little as 9 percent of New Zealand streaming, downloads and physical sales revenue is going to local artists. Despite this, according to NZ on Air, 49 percent of New Zealanders stream music every day. In fact streaming has recently surpassed radio as the main way audiences discover new music, with growing influence from TikTok and Instagram. On Spotify, which approximately one in three New Zealanders use every day, only one local track - Corella's 'Blue Eyed Māori' - featured in the 2024 top-50 year-end local playlist. Streaming increasingly privileges and skews towards established releases from well-known artists, and other artists have little control over social media algorithms. While radio remains relevant, with 46 percent of New Zealanders listening daily, only two nationwide commercial radio stations played more than 20 percent local music in 2024. Tom Scott of Home Brew performing at the Electric Abvenue festival in Christchurch. Photo: Nick Paulsen The Official Aotearoa Music Charts' End of Year Top 50 Singles provide another useful indication of local music market share. These charts draw on a wide range of sales and streaming data, and aim to provide an authoritative snapshot of what New Zealanders were buying and listening to in that year. Since Covid, we have seen a sharp decline in local artists featuring in these charts. In 2024, the only New Zealander to feature was Corella's 'Blue Eyed Māori', and only four New Zealand albums featured in the End of Year Top 50 Albums, three of which were compilations primarily made up of earlier releases. Corella and Gracie Moller. Photo: TAHI While Covid lockdowns and border closures hugely disrupted the live music sector, we also saw audiences engaging with a lot more local music. Summer festival Rhythm and Vines sold out an all Kiwi lineup, and the amount of local music on radio reached its highest peak since records began. This suggests visibility, discoverability and chart success have little to do with the amount or quality of local music being produced. Instead, they are the result of structural changes in the music industries. Internationally, this has been linked to the market consolidation and dominance of a small number of big players at the expense of local artists, industry and infrastructure. Lorde performs with Charli XCX at Coachella 2025 last month. Photo: Screenshot / Coachella / YouTube As global platforms such as Spotify and TikTok have increased their influence on audiences' ability to discover New Zealand's music, it's hard to see a future where business-as-usual will improve the situation for local artists and audiences. There are potential solutions, however. Australia has committed to imposing local content quotas on international streamers, and Canada has instituted a revenue sharing system between global streamers and broadcasters. Unlike similar markets, such as Australia and Norway, New Zealand lacks a strong public youth broadcaster. Dedicated investment in this area could help support targeted strategies to promote local music. Changes in the way local music is funded and nurtured could also help. The government currently funds NZ on Air and the Music Commission, but they have different objectives and obligations. Merging them might streamline decision making and recognise the interconnectedness of the live and recorded music sectors. If steps aren't taken soon, New Zealand will struggle to support a thriving local music economy, and New Zealanders will continue to miss out on hearing themselves in the music they listen to. With Music Month drawing to a close, there needs to be a commitment to structural changes that, over time, will see the development of a year-round celebration of New Zealand music. *Oli Wilson is Professor & Associate Dean Research, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa - Massey University; Catherine Hoad is Senior Lecturer in Critical Popular Music Studies, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa - Massey University; Dave Carter is Associate Professor, School of Music and Screen Arts, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa - Massey University; Jesse Austen-Stewart is Lecturer, School of Music and Screen Arts, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa - Massey University. This article was first published by The Conversation .
CTV News
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
East Town, get down
East Town, get down 17 Avenue SE comes alive with independent music and authentic, international food.
Daily Mail
25-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Graffiti artist who transformed bollards into giant cigarettes sparks row and leaves families fuming
A mystery graffiti artist has left locals fuming after they painted bollards to look like giant cigarettes. The three pillars on Hythe Road, Swindon, were covered in white and orange paint to very realistically replicate the tobacco product. The 'cigarette' bollards have divided residents, with some saying it is 'funny' while others insist they are 'disgusting'. Some said it is a 'brilliant idea' and thanked the anonymous artist for 'making the area look a bit better'. One person said: 'I probably would've preferred it not to be cigarettes if given the choice, but honestly it looks much better than it did when they were just bollards, so I'm all in favour of it.' Another added: 'I hope they're allowed to stay as they are, it's a fun little joke and it isn't harming anyone. 'I would love to see more stuff like this happen all over town and hope that artists who want to use their time and resources are encouraged to do things like this rather than stopped.' A third person said: 'Very funny, to be honest. Hope they stay.' Another added: 'Disgusting.' A fifth person said: 'Pathetic who's stupid idea was this.' Meanwhile, others have encouraged the person behind the transformation to keep their identity hidden. A Swindon Borough Council spokesperson said: 'We love street art in Swindon and this is certainly a very unusual choice of design. 'We don't want to stub out the flame of this artist's creativity, but the artwork obviously doesn't align with the efforts of our Public Health team to get people to quit smoking. 'We very much hope that passers-by who have kicked the habit don't develop old cravings, but, if they do, we'd encourage them and any other smokers to visit the Council's website and search 'Stop Smoking Services' for a range of advice and support.'
