Indigo Books, Canada’s largest bookstore owner, says its diversifying its store offerings, de-emphasizing books. “We imagine over the next three or four years that books, which are now 80 or 85 per cent of our offering, will evolve to be approximately 60 per cent of our offering, although the selection will still be as meaningful.”
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Cleveland’s Dance Hotbed
A host of small new dance companies has sprouted in Cleveland. It’s a great development for fans of dance. But others wonder: is there enough of an audience to support the new activity?
Seattle’s Big New Sculpture Park
The Seattle Art Museum announces art for its ambitious new $85 million sculpture park. Works by Calder and Serra will anchor the park, on the shores of Puget Sound. The park is scheduled to open in 2006, after several years of delay.
DC’s National Mall: No Vacancy
“Is there any space left on the Mall? With the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian Sept. 21, the officials in charge of Washington’s main savanna have hoisted a “No Vacancy” sign.”
The Smithsonian’s Ocean Of Expansion
The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History is to undergo the biggest renovation in its history. “Ocean Hall will cost $60 million and cover 28,000 square feet — 3,000 more than the successful makeover of the Hall of Mammals last year. It will bring together for the first time all 50 of the museum’s marine scientists and government specialists in what’s being called the Smithsonian Ocean Science Initiative.”
Feeling Poorly? Then Play!
Is the way to better health found in playing games? “Dozens of games have been developed in recent years to train physicians, educate patients, improve fitness and help treat the addicted and the mentally ill. Dozens more are on the way.”
There’s Art In Them Thar Schools
There’s art in Philadelphia public schools – as much as $30 million worth of art. “The school district had commissioned a survey of school buildings over the past year to see what art existed. It expected to find a few interesting pieces in odd places, but nothing like this. There may be as many as 100 museum-quality pieces in the Philadelphia schools’ collection.”
The Radical Librarians
US librarians are getting radical in their fight against the USA Patriot Act. “What got many librarians’ dander up was Section 215 of the law, which stipulates that government prosecutors and FBI agents can seek permission from a secret court created under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to access personal records — everything from medical histories to reading habits. They don’t need a subpoena. In fact, they don’t need to show that a crime has even been committed. And librarians, stymied by a gag order, are forbidden to tell anyone (except a lawyer).”
The One And Only? (What A Concept!)
“Ever since Impressionism, we tend to associate a unique visual style with an authentic expression of some inner feeling of the soul of the artist. Then if he does it over again, you think, ‘Wait, how authentic was this?’ Certainly, many artistic masterpieces are singular, but the ideal of the unique, individual work of art is fairly new — it emerged 200 or so years ago as part of the artistic movement known as Romanticism.”
Renegotiating The (Major) Orchestra Contract
“It is contract negotiation time at some of the nation’s most important orchestras, when the world’s most exquisitely trained musicians go into hard-hat mode and artistic administrations act like cost-cutting bosses. But this year is unlike any other. In an extraordinary alignment of the stars, four of the so-called Big Five orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, coincidentally have multiyear contracts expiring now, precisely at a moment of serious economic hardship.”