“Colourful ‘stencil’ works on inner-city streets have made Melbourne a globally renowned hub for the controversial art form. But as debate rages in local councils about what constitutes graffiti, and how to prevent it, a festival is aiming to expose stencil art to new participants.”
Author: sbergman
More CBS Firings Over Racist Rhetoric
The two New York shock jocks suspended last month for a racially charged on-air stunt involving a call to a Chinese restaurant have been fired by CBS Radio. CBS has been at the center of controversy involving envelope-pushing DJs ever since Don Imus slurred a group of African-American women’s basketball players earlier in the spring.
Serb Wins Eurovision Over Ukrainian Drag Queen
This year’s edition of the strange and eclectic Eurovision Song Contest has been won by Serbian singer Marija Serifovic. “She scored 268 points, beating Ukrainian drag queen Verka Serdyuchka into second place. Russia was third, with Turkey fourth and Bulgaria fifth.”
Doing More Than Talking About New Audiences
Orchestras across America talk about the necessity of attracting younger audiences, and at the San Antonio Symphony, they’re doing something about it, designing advertising with a distinct youth focus, incorporating new technologies, and offering a whole new concert series aimed squarely at young adults.
WNO Gets In On Opera Simulcasting
“Washington National Opera will present a live simulcast of a matinee performance of Puccini’s La Boheme to at least 16 colleges, universities and high schools across the nation Sept. 23. The troupe will also present its free simulcast to the Mall… The simulcast will be offered to the schools free of charge, with the cost — about $15,000 per institution — borne by WNO trustees.”
A Slap Carries Quite An Echo
A small firestorm has erupted in the New York dance world over a slap to the face added to a City Ballet production of Romeo & Juliet. “For many viewers this moment blights the choreographer Peter Martins’s City Ballet production. For some, moreover, it connects to other recent presentations of violence against women onstage.”
Getty May Return Italian Goddess Statue
“The J. Paul Getty Museum inched a step closer to relinquishing ownership of one of its most prized artifacts, a 2,400-year-old statue of a goddess claimed by Italy, at a conference of international experts to discuss the artifact this week.”
An Octogenarian Musician For All Seasons
By age 80, most musicians have long since stopped performing in public, but Charles Rosen remains not only an active pianist and scholar, he is one of New York’s more influential musical figures. “His curiosity and passion remain insatiable when he is engaged with the many composers he does like… The rhythm of Mr. Rosen’s brain, meanwhile, is still so fast that a fly on the wall of his mind would beg for mercy.”
Auburn Housing Project Expands Its Influence
Auburn University’s Rural Studio, which began as a group of devoted and socially conscious architecture students building highly creative low-income housing, has become something much more dramatic in the five years since the death of its founder. “The students, most of them undergraduates, still design and build private homes for people below the poverty line, but they have increasingly shifted into large-scale public projects.”
Let The Tony Speculation Begin!
The Tony nominations haven’t been announced yet, but the competition behind the scenes is hot and heavy. “The three sure bets for Best Musical are Spring Awakening, Curtains and Grey Gardens. Every nominator I spoke to says so. The fourth slot is up for grabs, the contenders being Mary Poppins, LoveMusik and Legally Blonde… The most hotly contested acting category is for Leading Actor in a Play.”