Private Art, Public Space

In this new series for Clitbait, Sofi guides us through the world of secret sketches, creative correspondences and a whole lot of unexpected art. Think of a universe in which the audience doesn’t exist: the intimacy of a journal, the obliviousness of a home recording- a world in which the artist and her own unique rationality is at the centre.

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Market Research: Food For Thought

What started as an idea for a Clitbait article at the beginning of summer has turned into a fully fledged way of life. Read about Sofi’s concluding thoughts on the Market Research journey and find out some of her top recipes for Winter Wellness.

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Market Research: Meet the Makers

Article by Sofi Pla, Arts and Culture Editor.

As part of her ongoing hunt for ‘arepa’ earrings, an eternal search that takes her to the Female Traders Market at Mercato Metropolitano, Sofi finds herself in the thick of arty girl boss hustle. (And she loves it)

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Women’s Fashion in the Work Place and How it dictates sexist stereotypes

When I asked my friends the question ‘what should someone wear to work’ the resounding response – after the initial grunt of confusion – was simply their ‘uniform’. But if I dared to press them more, asking specifically what a woman should wear to work, their faces couldn’t disguise the conversation’s trajectory towards the controversial.

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Talking anxiety with Nin-ja

Most alt-R&B tracks are centred around more or less the same thing – love. Love in all its agony, love in all its euphoria. But Nin-ja wants to dig deeper than that. The singer-songwriter’s just released her new single Lockjaw where she sings candidly about her struggles with anxiety. Nin-ja’s been in the music game for about four years now, but after taking a brief hiatus, she’s back with a new single and more honest than ever. 

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Awards Shows are for the Boys

For the majority of the 2000s and the decades before them, awards shows have been a cultural concept distinctly owned by the feminine. The prestige of the Academies, the swelling of romantic music after every award, and of course, the unparalleled glitz and glamour of the evening’s most decadent stars. Remember the running joke of the Oscars being the “female Superbowl.” Imagine groups of housewives prepping parties and organising bets on who would be wearing Chanel while their husbands stand stiffly in the kitchen over beers. Joan Rivers in gold, poking at the ribs of underaged starlets as camera click and waves of taffeta turned to fodder for tabloids…

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Art Under Fire: Ukrainian Cultural Institutions 

I have a friend who is currently working in Kiev. He asked me not to share his name, to protect his safety and identity. He was originally on his semester abroad, but since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he has been working in a local art gallery and cultural museum with his fellow classmates…

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Glitter makes us blind: A critique of Euphoria

The idea of a child has always been available for corruption. It’s not a fact we like to talk about, but it’s something we’re all aware of. Nabokov’s Lolita, Jodi Foster’s precocious Iris, Youtube compilations of under-aged girls dancing, curated faithfully by anonymous men…

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Identity and time

The confrontational question ‘what advice would you give to your former self?’ is usually met with angst, an awkward laugh and regret. Perhaps this is just me, but the initial jerks of discomfort I feel when I think about my younger self is mostly down to how different I think I am. There is a strong dissociation between that person then and the person I am now, and the most prominent difference between the two is the way I view myself as an Indian person. 

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Bouncers and Biases

On that night I was outside with the bouncers doing bag checks while also keeping an eye on them, as bouncers  in general have a reputation for their bias against minority groups. So there I was, nestled in between two large and looming men in black wearing a pink beret and red lipstick. It was a terrifying sight indeed. 

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Reflections on ‘Feminist Futures’ at the Lighthouse Radical Bookfair, Imagining an alternative world

The Radical Bookfair hosted by Lighthouse Books has become an annual meeting ground for creative discourses that often live on the margins of our mainstream media, to be thoughtfully considered. This year’s event saw a host of panels and discussions based on the theme ‘Futures Worth Fighting For’ which focused on how to materialize our radical imaginations for a better world.

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Cricket and Afghanistan: remarkable but expected?

For those of you who follow cricket, you might be aware that the T20 World Cup is currently taking place. To the surprise, or lack thereof, of many, Afghanistan is also playing despite the country currently experiencing the aftermath of a Taliban takeover. The question of whether or not their presence is a surprise comes from an intertwined history of the rise of cricket and political turmoil in the country. And whether you are shocked or not, either feeling is likely to inspire an uneasiness about the short and long term state of this country, and the consistency of cricket in the midst of this.

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Paradise Found: Home Lost

Don’t you just hate it when you’re looking at a piece of art in a gallery and there is no writing to explain what on Earth the art means? You just stand there, perplexed, wondering how much of an idiot you are for the kinds of interpretations you’re coming up with.

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