Several of the UK’s most important culture jobs are vacant, and a talent search is underway. But where is the talent for those top jobs going to come from?
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Arts Council Chief: Politicians Don’t Get The Arts
The head of the British Arts Council says politicians are out of step with how popular the arts have become. He “warned against excessive political interference in the arts and ‘the gradual amputation’ of the arm’s-length policy that protects artists from direct political tampering. Arguing that politicians are out of step with huge popular support for the arts in Britain, he said: ‘Since 2001 the percentage of adults who believe that arts and cultural projects should receive public funding has increased from an impressive 74% to an even more impressive 79%’.”
Politicians Are Arts-o-Phobic?
“Sir Christopher’s suspicion that it is ‘almost as if politicians are embarrassed to be associated with the arts’, rings horribly true. Labour leaders are happy to be pictured with sports stars and TV personalities, but their alarm bells ring when an artist, playwright or composer gets within snapping range.”
US House Passes Stiffer Fines For Broadcasters
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that radically hikes fines for broadcasters charged with indecency. “The bill, passed by 389 votes to 38 on Wednesday, boosts the maximum penalty for firms and individual entertainers to $500,000. But the bill, supported by the White House, cannot become law until the Senate approves similar legislation. Legislators said stiffer fines were needed to force broadcasters to clean up their programmes and protect children from inappropriate material.”
St Louis Symphony Strike Drags On
The St. Louis Symphony musicians’ strike is taking its toll. Musicians are hurting for money, the orchestra says it’s lost $700,000 in revenue. “Fifteen subscription concerts have been canceled. Thousands of schoolchildren have missed out on educational concerts at Powell Symphony Hall, a cavernous former vaudeville theater built in 1925. Half a dozen of those were canceled, along with 20 concerts in churches, schools and homes for the elderly in poor neighborhoods that were part of the orchestra’s lauded outreach program.”
Cooper-Hewitt Wants To Expand
New York’s Cooper-Hewitt Museum is proposing a “$75 million expansion that would create three new floors beneath the spacious gated garden of its home, the landmark Carnegie Mansion on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. ‘In visitation and profile, Cooper-Hewitt is struggling to gain traction in the competitive cultural environment of New York City’.”
Copyright Bullies
Are corporations bullying the rest of us with the copyright lawsuits? “David Bollier argues that the court’s willingness to let corporations get away with such bullying is increasingly eroding our “cultural commons” — the collection of images, stories, sounds and other creative expressions that, due to their significance and prevalence, no longer belong to any single person or company.”
So This Is News? Study: Local TV Ignored November’s Elections
Local American TV all but ignored last November’s elections, says a new study. In the month before November’s election, local viewers saw 17 minutes of candidate ads for each minute of local TV news coverage. That disparity was one of many striking findings in an intensive study, released yesterday, that found local political races were given short shrift by newscasts.”
Dallas Museum’s New Riches Among A Cultural Boom
The Dallas Museum gets $400 million worth of art and cash, making it a major center of modern art. Moreover, “the gifts arrive amid a Dallas cultural building boom: a new $275 million performing arts center includes an opera house designed by Norman Foster, a theater designed by Rem Koolhaas and an arts high school. They will become part of the Dallas Arts District, which already embraces the Morton H. Myerson Symphony Center.”
Study: States Increase Arts Funding Again
After a couple of brutal years in which state arts funding was cut, US states are increasing their arts budgets again, says a new report. “While most of the funding changes were 10% or less up or down, there were notable exceptions, including Colorado, up 150.0%; Florida, up 135.7%; the District of Columbia, up 126.0%; and New Jersey, up 51.5%. Of the 56 arts agencies surveyed by NASAA, 44 reported level funding or increases this year, while only 12 suffered cuts.”