Increased competition and a changing national conversation that emphasizes pop culture and disdains anything viewed as snooty are forcing arts groups to embrace “branding” techniques designed to get them noticed by an increasingly distracted public. Where once a museum or a symphony orchestra might not have worried much about its logo, or even bothered to have a slogan, such things are considered indispensable tools for luring ticketbuyers today.
Author: sbergman
Smithsonian To Outsource Its Gift Shops
“Though the Smithsonian created a freestanding business unit to boost profits from [its in-house museum stores] and other operations eight years ago, the shops are now so poorly run that the Smithsonian said this week it is considering hiring an outside vendor to run the museum stores… Consultants say weak marketing, dull presentation and the absence of in-store events plagued the shops.”
Priscilla, Queen Of Midtown?
Australian producers are laying the groundwork for a homegrown stage adaptation of the 1994 drag queen-intensive movie, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, to make the long leap to Broadway. “With 23 tons of scenery, 514 costumes and enough glitter to entomb Liberace, a Broadway production could cost as much as $15 million, industry sources estimate.”
Is Italy Flogging The Getty For Political Reasons?
It may be time for someone in authority to call out Italian politicians for their obvious grandstanding and reject what some call the “harassment” of Los Angeles’s J. Paul Getty Museum, says Christopher Knight. “[The] escalating anti-Getty posturing is old-fashioned political demagoguery, pitched to voters back home… The emptiness of Italy’s legal and ethical claims for the Getty Bronze are beside the point.”
Your Comic Book Is Calling
The latest mash-up of old media and new technology comes in the form of a comic book designed and published exclusively to be read on cell phone screens. The comics industry has been slow to embrace digital media, and the project’s creators hope that their “book” will make a splash at this month’s big industry convention.
ROM Reopening Not Drawing Expected Crowds
“Depending on how you look at it, the newly reopened Royal Ontario Museum is either half empty or half full. The Toronto museum said attendance is 50 per cent higher than average for this time last year. But at least 24 summer workers were recently laid off. Some of these workers said they were told to expect 10,000 visitors a day… In fact, the ROM is getting only 1,500 to 3,500 visitors on weekdays.”
Levine To Miss Verbier
Conductor James Levine has canceled his scheduled appearance at the opening of the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, citing health concerns. Levine missed significant time with his home orchestras in Boston and New York last season after tearing his rotator cuff, and is under doctors’ orders to keep his travel schedule light.
The Muppets Take Peachtree Street
The Jim Henson Foundation is making a major donation of Muppet artifacts to the Center for Puppetry Arts In Atlanta. The gift will include “500 to 700 puppets, including some of the first Muppets built; props; scenic elements; posters; sketches; and drawings.”
Caro (Finally) Comes To Chelsea
“Although he is widely viewed as Britain’s greatest living sculptor, received a knighthood 20 years ago and has been the subject of countless museum retrospectives, Anthony Caro has yet to have an exhibition in New York’s Chelsea, the epicenter of today’s contemporary art scene.” That will change this fall, when a series of gigantic Caro sculptures will go on display at a Chelsea gallery.
Aboriginal Art Auction Record Shattered
“A painting that hung for several years in a bank has set a new record price for Australian aboriginal artwork. The piece, by renowned indigenous artist Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, was sold for more than US$2m at an auction in Melbourne. The sale more than doubled the previous record for Aborigine art.”