UK musicians are protesting what they claim are outrageous visa fees for visiting the US. “A singer hoping to perform in the US can expect to pay $1,300 (£680) simply for obtaining a visa. Groups including the Musicians’ Union are calling for an end to the “raw deal” faced by British performers. US acts are not faced with comparable expense and bureaucracy when visiting the UK for promotional purposes.”
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Critics Assail Plans For Thai Tsunami Museum
Critics have attacked the Thai Government’s plans for a tsunami museum. Particularly insensitive, they say, are plans to create the simulated tsunami attraction as part of a memorial museum.
Will Henry Moore Arch Ever See The Light Of Day Again?
What happened to grand marble arch created by sculptor Henry Moore that used to reside in London’s Kensington Garden’s area? “A note in the guidebook Buildings and Monuments in the Royal Parks says that the Arch (as the sculpture is officially called) has been “temporarily removed and dismantled for repair”. But it has been broken up for nearly a decade. Nor is there much prospect that this grand piece, made in 1980 by Britain’s most famous sculptor for the people of London, will be repaired – or indeed seen by the public again.”
Is The Museum Building Boom At An End?
It seems like every museum in America has expanded in the past few years. But is all this growing sustainable? Is it warranted? Eric Gibson: “Every business sector goes through cycles, and there’s no reason to believe museums are an exception. Instead of continuing to assume visitorship will grow indefinitely and that they should build accordingly, their officers should begin to imagine a future where demand slackens, as people find other ways to replenish themselves. It may already be here.”
Film: Power Language Of The Future?
“At a time when street gangs warn informers with DVD productions about the fate of “snitches” and both terrorists and their adversaries routinely communicate in elaborately staged videos, it is not altogether surprising that film school – promoted as a shot at an entertainment industry job – is beginning to attract those who believe that cinema isn’t so much a profession as the professional language of the future.”
Australia’s Artist Support Legacy
Ten years ago, then-Prime Minister Paul Keating of Australia instigated a support scheme for artists, chossing and paying some of them decent wages to live on. The program eventually shrank and died after Keating left office, but it helped create a legacy for the country worth celebrating…
TV News In Crisis
What’s wrong with TV network news in Australia? “It’s clear there is something of a crisis in TV news and current affairs. Big money is being spent to secure personal stories, talents are being shuffled around like the proverbial deckchairs, presenters are being cosmetically overhauled and yet, still, the viewers are turning off.”
Arts And Business In Europe: A Merger Of Interests?
“Arts and business, once parallel worlds in Europe, are merging as never before. More companies than ever back the visual arts: Patronage has more than doubled in the past 15 years in the U.K. and more than tripled in France. The difference is that, where once companies funded the arts selflessly and on a whim — the chairman’s, or his wife’s — they now seek bang for their buck: their name in the show’s title, free museum access for staff and client parties, the right to advertise their sponsorship, and the right to run spinoff educational and social programs. And when all is said and done, they conduct studies to make sure it was worth it.”
Two Museums, One Increasingly Tangled Mission
Minneapolis’s Walker Art Center is about to unveil its huge expansion, turning the city’s modern art showcase into an even more prominent local landmark than it already was. But a few blocks away, the more tradition-bound Minneapolis Institute of Arts is preparing to open 27 new galleries, and it, too, will be putting the focus on recent art. “Officials at both the Walker and the MIA dismiss the notion of a rivalry, even though they clearly are fishing for donors in the same relatively small pool of big-time Twin Cities area art collectors.”
The New Wave Of Grassroots Censorship
British culture has become ridiculously hypersensitive, says Mark Lawson, and the UK’s theatre scene is becoming rapidly less relevant as self-censorship and a desire to please everyone become the norm. The religious-based campaign against the national tour of the Jerry Springer opera is only the latest example of the war being waged against creative expression. Worse, “while attempted censorship in the 1970s made artists more determined to speak out, there’s a risk in this mind-your-language climate of subjects becoming no-go areas for the arts.”
