“Created in 1994 by Toronto businessman Jack Rabinovitch in memory of his late wife, literary journalist Doris Giller, the 11-year-old prize honours novels or short story collections. Previous winners have included Margaret Atwood, Mordecai Richler, Rohinton Mistry and M.G. Vassanji, who was a jury member this year.”
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Architect To The Art Stars
For two decades, Richard Gluckman, now 57, has been known as the artists’ architect, designing luminous gallery spaces in Chelsea for clients like Larry Gagosian and Mary Boone and larger projects like the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh and the Museo Picasso in Málaga, Spain. But now, in a case of career following title, he actually has become an architect for artists, designing the personal work spaces for some of the most prominent figures in contemporary art.”
Opera Singers – Does Size Matter?
How much should physical appearance count for opera singers? “Vocal endowment is obviously the most important factor in casting a role, but is it everything? Shouldn’t the element of drama in opera demand that singers look reasonably like the characters they portray? And what about the new generation? Do younger singers who have grown up in a visually oriented age believe that looking good and staying in shape are prerequisites for a career?”
The Women Pianists
The world of concert pianists has traditionally been male. “But things have begun to change, especially in the past decade or so. Although it’s impossible to make precise comparisons, more top-drawer female pianists are probably touring internationally today than ever before.”
Can Boston Sustain A Theatre Boom?
Across Boston, new theatres are being built. “This growth, though, comes with a sobering reality. Theaters have more seats to fill, more competition, and more unknowns. That has some local theater directors a little nervous.”
Ganter Chosen To Lead PS 122
Vallejo Gantner, the director of the Dublin Fringe Festival, has been chosen as the new director of PS 122, New York’s bastion of avant garde theatre and dance. Mark Russell, his predecessor, announced his resignation in December after two decades in the job.
Cuba’s Dance Phenomenon
Cuba has become the breeding ground for some of the world’s best young dancers. How could a poor, blockaded island of 11 million people do this? It cannot just be political engineering…
The Culture Show – A Considered Opinion
The BBC’s new The Culture Show debuted to a million viewers last week. So what do the arts professionals think of the show?
Disposable Idea – Self-Destructing DVDs
Disposable DVDs haven’t taken off with the public as many thought they wold. “Each disc contains a chemical time-bomb that begins ticking once it’s exposed to air. Typically, after 48 hours, the disc turns darker, becoming so opaque that a DVD player’s laser can no longer can read it. (Discs can live as little as one hour or as long as 60 hours.) The format has been around for a few years but hasn’t generated much interest from movie studios, video rental companies — or customers — despite experiments to deliver movies direct to consumers and eliminate late fees.”
Creative History
Evolution is no longer the last word on lerning about life in one Pennsylvania school district. “With a vote last month, a school board in a rural south-central Pennsylvania community is believed to have become the first in the nation to mandate the teaching of ‘intelligent design,’ which holds that the universe is so complex that it must have been created by an unspecified higher power.”