What would Patan—often touted an open museum, for its centuries-old monuments and illustrious heritage—look like when its disused and forgotten public space are turned into open-air galleries, using various art practices to adorn them? A global art initiative called Micro Galleries is set to do just that. Starting November 23, Micro Galleries Kathmandu will be organising an open exhibition for two weeks across Patan, with art shows, workshops, tours and talks, which will “explore and exchange global and local issues…in the hopes of leaving a resonant outcome,” says Kat Roma Greer, global artistic director for Micro Galleries.

A few minutes before the clock struck seven, a thumping drum, punctuated intermittently by sharper notes, travelled through the alleyways around the Patan Durbar Square on Tuesday evening. A crowd of nearly a hundred people had gathered at the Kartik Dabali, at the centre of which were four torches placed in a perfect square.

The 2015 General Assembly of the United Nations set a total of ambitious 17 goals, collectively called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)— including objectives such as No Poverty, No Hunger, and Gender Equality, among others—to be achieved by the year 2030. Seventeen corresponding logos were designed, each depicting the essence of the desired target.

Film adaptations of popular Nepali novels are few and far in between, and they tend to slip by unnoticed. Novels like Muna Madan, Basanti, Basaain, Teen Ghumti, and Sirishko Phool have been turned into films, some successful but mostly otherwise. By and large, these adaptations did not please crowds neither did they perform well critically.

A documentary about Nepali children working in Bhaktapur’s brick factories has been selected for 17 international film festivals and has already won four awards on the international film festival circuit. The film, titled Dust (Chhaaro), is directed by Deepak Tolange, a Kathmandu and Berlin-based filmmaker and photographer.

Three prominent new films by celebrated directors are set to release on the same day this week. The films Maaleekaa, Changa Chait and Beyond the Clouds will all hit screens today, November 2.