Editor's note

Today we’re bringing you the best recent arts and culture coverage by The Conversation Global, from a profile on Vietnam’s first openly gay artist to a look at the buzz surrounding the Indian feminist movie Lipstick Under My Burkha.

Plus, Timor Leste’s murals for peace, what happens when journalists dig into the comments section and much more, this weekend on The Conversation Global.

Catesby Holmes

Global Commissioning Editor

The entrance of Arte Moris, Dili, Timor Leste 2017. Y.H

How arts heal and galvanise the youth of Timor Leste

Khoo Ying Hooi, University of Malaya

Art helps the youth of Timor Leste express their resistance to legal and political authority in the country.
Truong Tan’s catalogue for his first solo exhibition in 1994 documents his tentative exploration of performance art and frequent use of ropes. Photo by Truong Tan used with permission.

The pioneering queer artists who opened Vietnam to gay culture

Cristina Nualart, Universidad Complutense de Madrid

LGBT rights are a work in progress in Vietnam. But artists are in the vanguard of the movement, pushing for public acceptance.
Lipstick Under My Burkha challenges India’s patriarchal society as well as the film industry’s bias against women. Variety.com

Lipstick Under My Burkha: when real women take over Indian screens

Anubha Yadav, University of Delhi

Alankrita Srivastava's feminist film has Indian censors in a tizzy.
The first print edition of Denník N, in 2015. Dennik N

Why journalists should engage with their readers: a view from Slovakia

Simon Smith, Charles University

Comments sections may be scary places for reporters but, as the experience of one Slovak daily shows, when journalists engage with readers, it makes for better news.