A Chicago attorney has has filed a series of complaints alleging abuses by the City’s public art program, “including holding meetings without a quorum. But the judge denied the city’s motion on three other counts, which accuse the program of inadequate record keeping and awarding at least $101,400 in taxpayer-funded commissions without proper authorization.”
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Low Pay Threatens UK Orchestras
UK orchestras are endangered because musicians are woefully paid, says a new study. “The average rank and file orchestral musician has been in the job for 21 years and earns £22,500 a year, a Musicians Union survey has found. That is half the average salary of their professional siblings, it says.”
Does Politics Belong In Art?
A show of political art at Arizona State University focuses on presidential democracy. But Richard Nilsen writes that it’s difficult for contemporary art to not be partisan. And is that bad? “It raises in important question about politics and art: Can they be reconciled? Politics is about answers; art is about questions. Politics is about taking sides; art is about ambiguity. Politics is about making a commitment; art is about exploring all the options. Politics values simplicity; art values complexity. And, worse for the sake of visual art, politics is about words; art is about things.”
How To Politically Balance Your Political Art Show
“When New Times first reported that the exhibition was being planned and included many anti-Bush works, Aeizona State University administrators promised that the show would not go on unless it was politically balanced. More than 400 pages of e-mails and correspondence written as far back as February through July 21 between museum staff, ASU administrative officials and the artists who were asked to participate in the show reveal how this ‘balance’ was achieved: Anti-Bush works were eliminated; museum director Marilyn Zeitlin allowed work she called ‘mediocre’ to be included; and ASU administrators with no background as curators, including President Michael Crow, weighed in on the content.”
Films, Celebs, and General Bedlam
The Toronto International Film Festival is one of those cultural events that has risen beyond its stated purpose and become an excuse for a gigantic citywide party in Canada’s largest city. The films are the focus, of course, but the official TIFF-related parties alone could qualify as a whole seperate event. “From long days to even longer nights, it’s just a fact of festival life for the many people in the city that function within or around it. It is, of course, a vast economic boon to the city — $65 million in annual economic impact, according the festival itself, more than half of that in tourist dollars.”
Canada’s New Painting Prize
“Victoria painter Mark Neufeld is off to Berlin after winning the inaugural CAN$25,000 Joe Plaskett Foundation Award, one of the largest visual-arts awards in Canada. The new annual prize, eligible to students across Canada who are studying for their master of fine arts, or have attained an MFA this year, is designed to support a one-year residence in Europe. Most notable about the award — besides its rich purse — is that it is only available to painters.”
The Art Fair Sucks! Let’s Make More!
“The problem: An art trade fair that for 25 years has strip-mined the Midwestern collecting community, resulting in high-ticket dealers and big-spending buyers who no longer come. The solution: Next year hold three. How much does it take to see that this is not an answer?” Chicago actually tried the multiple-fair idea a decade ago, says Alan Artner, and the results were underwhelming. Yes, Art Chicago needs to reexamine itself, but the new push to become “the art fair of the people” seems doomed to failure, since the whole point of an art fair is to pander to the moneyed crowd that wants nothing to do with popular culture.
‘GBH Cancels Arts Show
Boston’s public TV station WGBH has eliminated a monthly program focusing on the arts, citing a lack of funds to continue producing the show. “Arts Close Up was a revamped version of Greater Boston Arts, which had garnered a slew of awards, including 29 New England Emmys, since it began in 1995.” WGBH is PBS’s leading station in the production of programs for national distribution.
Broken Funding Process in South Texas
San Antonio’s Cultural Arts Board is under fire for the way in which it doles out money to the city’s cultural organizations. Critics charge that the process does not allow for input from local artists, and that applicants are treated as if they are signing up for the welfare roles, rather than as organizations which contribute significantly to the community in exchange for public dollars. The cash-strapped San Antonio Symphony, which is preparing to relaunch itself after emerging from bankruptcy, even chose to bypass the Arts Board completely, preferring to appeal directly to the mayor and the city council for funds. Board members concede that changes are needed.
Tanglewood Attendance Slips
Attendance at Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, fell by 11% this year, with BSO staff blaming the decline on lousy weather and a cutback in the number of free tickets available. It was an unusually rainy summer in the Berkshires – 20 rain days in July, and 22 in August – which can directly affect Tanglewood concerts, since many patrons sit outdoors, and even the main Shed, which is covered, has no walls to insulate concertgoers from the rain. Still, more than 320,000 people attended a concert at the famous venue over the ten weeks of the festival.