“This raises a series of questions: how to describe, diagnose and support the full range of cultural endeavour as it intersects with other areas of society, the economy and government. … A useful descriptive and diagnostic tool points to helpful ways of measuring cultural value and impact. Imagine four concentric circles. …”
Author: Matthew Westphal
British Film Institute To Offer Online Player With 10,000 Titles
The BFI Player should be available to the public by the end of 2013, “and the BFI said it was committed to digitising 10,000 films by 2017, with experts and a public vote helping to decide which films should be included.”
Palm Beach Opera Conductor Says He Was Fired
“Conductor Bruno Aprea fired back at Palm Beach Opera general director Daniel Biaggi Friday accusing Biaggi of forcing him out at the company and continually undermining his authority during Aprea’s seven years leading the company.”
Yvonne Mounsey, 93, Balanchine Dancer & Eminent Ballet Teacher
As a principal in Balanchine’s New York City Ballet in its early years, Mounsey danced key roles in works by Tudor and Robbins as well as Mr. B.; she is best remembered as the Siren in Prodigal Son. After retiring from the stage, she first founded a ballet company in Johannesburg and later, in Los Angeles, the Westside School of Ballet, one of the West Coast’s top training grounds.
Quebec Nationalist Author Refuses To Be Considered For Governor General’s Prize
A rapper called Biz, “who sings for a band called Loco Locass, has been nominated in the French-language children’s text category for a novel called La chute de Sparte, … has withdrawn his book from consideration for a Governor General’s Literary Award because he is ‘not a subject of Her Majesty’.”
Playing Medea Can Change You
“A byword for narcissism and violence, she is abandoned by her husband, and lashes out by killing their children. Yet to hear Rachael Stirling talk about the character she is about to play, you’d think Medea was a role model for the smart, modern woman.” Stirling and three other actresses, including Fiona Shaw, talk about how portraying the character messed with their heads.
Major New Art Gallery For Whistler, BC
“Wanting to see a home for his extraordinary collection” – which includes works by the likes of Andy Warhol and Diego Rivera as well as such top British Columbia artists as Emily Carr and Jeff Wall – “built in his lifetime, … Michael Audain has with lightning speed entered into negotiations to build an art museum in Whistler, B.C.”
150 Words – Why Can’t All Grant Proposals Be Like These?
The Knight Foundation’s Arts Challenge Philadelphia has a “seductively simple application.” To wit: “Tell them in 150 words about your idea. Requirements: It must be arts-related, it must be based in or benefit Philadelphia, and you must raise money to match the grant within a year.”
ENO Launches ‘Undress For Opera’ Program
“English National Opera was today making an effort to be a little more relaxed at the launch of an initiative to attract younger audiences. ‘Come in shorts, armour, jeans, pumps, anything!’ said artistic director John Berry. … One hundred £25 tickets will be available for performances of four operas in the coming season.”
John Major (Yes, The Former British PM) And His Music-Hall Star Dad
“John Major is renowned as the man who ran away from the circus to become an accountant, and that quip is partly true. His father, Thomas Ball, was an accomplished singer, sketch actor, acrobat and baton twirler … [and with] his first wife Kitty he formed a double act called Drum & Major.”