Toronto’s David McFadden is one of three Canadian poets shortlisted for the Griffin Prize, a $50,000 award to be handed out this week. But even making the shortlist apparently sent McFadden into an extended anxiety attack. “So great was McFadden’s torment he privately began to fantasize the winning cheque would end up in the hands of one of this year’s other two Canadian nominees.”
Month: June 2008
A Smokey Conundrum
“Ever since 2003 when New York City banned smoking in enclosed public spaces, theater directors have been walking a thin line between artistic freedom and legal necessity. Under a special exemption for the arts, theaters are allowed to use tobacco-free cigarettes… [But] theater staff admit that some audience members see it as an intrusion from a less socially aware time.”
Major Upgrades And Ambitious Plans For Seattle Museum
Seattle’s Wing Luke Asian Museum is reopening this weekend in its impressive new home. “The move of this 42-year-old museum around the corner… the size of that new home (60,000 square feet or eight times the size of the old), its expanded ambitions (projecting 60,000 annual visitors instead of 15,000) — all this is a considerable achievement for an institution that used to be housed in an old garage and that now hopes to be an anchor for revitalizing Seattle’s Chinatown.”
Maybe You Get A Free Bookmark With It?
“The gala presentation of “Michelangelo: La Dotta Mano” (“Michelangelo: The Wise Hand”), a volume of photographs of this Renaissance master’s sculptures, may well have been the most lavish book debut in history… But then, this is no ordinary book, starting with its retail price of 100,000 euros.”
Finally, A New York Gehry
After several aborted attempts to bring a Frank Gehry-designed building to Manhattan, the starchitect’s 76-story Beekman Tower is rising near Ground Zero. “It will join an imposing cluster of landmarks around City Hall… Draped over a classical shell, the tower’s crinkled steel skin is proof that the skyscraper has yet to exhaust itself as an urban art form.”
NYC Opera Preps A Different Kind Of Season
“While its home is closed for renovations, New York City Opera will shrink its main dramatic offerings next season to one lonely opera, [for] two performances. Unstaged… The truncated 2008-9 season is even more reduced than expected.”
Nonprofit Funding Crunch Building
Nonprofit organizations in Minneapolis/St. Paul are hearing a gloomy forecast about what they can expect from donors over the next few years. “As it stands now, the next legislative session will start with something like a $2 billion biennial budget hole,” and private donors have their own fiscal squeezes to deal with.
Funding Troubles In Durham
“In a potentially devastating blow to Durham’s arts community, temporary City Manager Patrick Baker has proposed eliminating more than $118,000 in arts and culture funding. The proposal… would have the city scrap all support for the African American Dance Ensemble and the Walltown Children’s Theatre, and [reduce overall] funding for nonprofits arts groups by 28 percent.”
Shreveport Symphony Downsizes Itself
“The board of directors for the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra announced late Friday afternoon it will move forward with its proposal to move core musicians to a per-service payment structure… The board’s offer includes a 75 percent cut to core or full-time musicians, from $12,693 to $3,123 for the 2008-09 season. The proposal would also include the elimination of 24 full-time core positions as of Sept. 1.”
Plenty Of Classical Fans In Montreal
Classical music a niche genre? Don’t tell the concertgoers of Montreal, where 4,200 members of the paying public recently attended three separate classical concerts on a Monday night! “The wonder is that all this happens at the end of a long season, when one might suppose classical fans to be financially drained and musically saturated.”