Learning with the best

ZOMBIES tried to eat Margaret Atwood's head. Gilberto Gil brought the house down with a heady mix of Brazilian samba and Arab social commentary. Lin Hwai-min forced his Brazilian protege to climb a mountain in Taiwan and he came back a "Crooked Man"; meanwhile, William Kentridge's Colombian charge realised he could teach people philosophy and give them a good workout if he trapped them in a garden maze.

Welcome to the sixth cycle of Rolex's Master and Protege Initiative - where the arts are ever in their favour.

Over the brief weekend of Oct 19-20 in magical Venice, the gods smiled and put off the inevitable push into early winter, sending a brief spurt of crisp, (mostly) sunny weather over this city so richly steeped in history, arts and culture. A fitting backdrop indeed to the latest instalment of Rolex's longstanding support of the arts - a biennial programme that matchmakes veterans in the international arts world with upcoming young talents to keep the fire of creativity going.