The Filipino mixed-media exhibit Maleta unpacks images of migration, distance, and estrangement.

Playwright Daniel MacIvor is a mystic at heart–which seems to embarrass him just a bit.

Marcel Khalifé is not only a hugely popular artist throughout the Arab world, he's also a controversial figure. The Lebanese composer and oud player has faced criminal prosecution three times–in 1996, 1999, and 2003–for insulting Islamic values with his composition "I Am Joseph, O Father". The song, based on a poem by Palestinian writer Mahmoud Darwish, quotes two verses from the Koran–an inclusion deemed blasphemous by some. Kha­lifé was acquitted on each occasion.

For Viji Prakash, bharata natyam­–the classical dance of southwestern India–knows no cultural boundaries. The director of the U.S.–based Shakti Dance Company has choreographed South Asian takes on Cinderella, The Nutcracker, and Peer Gynt. Five years ago, she was asked to write a piece for the opening of an Asian art exhibition in Los Angeles, and chose as her narrative the life of North Indian prince Siddhartha Gautama, better known as the Buddha.