Hawaii’s Bishop Museum has “adopted a more activist role in contesting Native Hawaiian claims on cultural artifacts in its possession by asserting that it, too, qualifies as a ‘Native Hawaiian organization’ under federal law.” The museum says “the move will place the museum on equal footing with other groups that seek to gain custody of cultural items and lays out its intention to defend its possession of most items. The museum’s new stance is drawing fire from some in the Hawaiian community who say the policy defeats the intent of federal law enabling the return to native people of cultural treasures held by museums.”
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Stolen Paintings Seized In NY
“Two paintings allegedly stolen from an Italian castle in the 1990s were seized after federal authorities learned that Christie’s was putting the works on the auction block, officials said Thursday.”
Rosenberg: Money Plays Role In Leaving SF Opera
Pamela Rosenberg confirms that San Francisco Opera budget cuts played a big role in her leaving the company. A smaller budget means fewer new productions. “That part of the job has always been my most creative — being a midwife to artists and projects, and getting new productions conceived and done,” Rosenberg explained Thursday in a phone call from her office in the War Memorial Opera House. It looks like I won’t be able to do that in the future — we’re taking the budget down by 20 percent, and that will mean we will have the means to do a maximum of one new production a year for at least the next three seasons. At this point in my career, that’s just not enough for me.”
UN: Urbanization Threatens World’s Cultural Heritage
Unesco is considering 48 nominations for new designation as World Heritage sites. The UN body says that urban growth is the biggest threat to conservation of the world’s important cultural heritage. “What is most important at the moment is the very, very big urban development… which in many cases is made without proper respect for historical sites.”
Is Seattle The Nation’s Best Arts Town?
“According to a new study by Americans for the Arts titled ‘The Creative Industries,’ the Seattle-Tacoma area has more arts-related businesses, institutions and organizations per capita than any area of the country… The study is the first to measure not just non-profit arts groups, but also for-profit arts businesses… Eleven metropolitan areas have more than 10,000 arts-related businesses. The New York area leads the list with 54,894. Next is Los Angeles, with 48,862, followed by San Francisco (21,232) and Washington, D.C. (16,360.)”
Preemptive Protest in South Texas
It’s only a staff recommendation, but a report suggesting that funding for many San Antonio arts groups be zeroed out to help balance the city’s budget is drawing early fire. The Cultural Arts Board has recommended killing all funding for the long-embattled San Antonio Symphony, the ballet, and the Josephine Theater, and proposed heavy cuts for several other groups. “The issue of entitlement has been the largely unspoken bone of contention at the core of this funding cycle, with much of the anger from applicants focused on the peer panelists who have been called unqualified at worst and unprepared at best.”
Attendance Up In Cincinnati
In another sign that the American orchestra crisis may be abating, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has announced a second straight year of increased ticket sales. Overall sales jumped 2% for the 2003-04 season, with a 4% jump in subscriptions and a 12% uptick in online sales. An average of more than 1,900 concertgoers attended each CSO performance.
Janet’s Flash May Cost CBS
The FCC is proposing to fine CBS the maximum allowable amount – $550,000 – for the now-infamous on-air baring of Janet Jackson’s right breast during the Super Bowl halftime show. The fines would officially be levied against 20 CBS “O&O’s” – affiliate stations which are owned and operated by the New York-based network. The FCC, which has been accused in recent months of being on a witchhunt, had vowed to review the incident, which prompted the recent government crackdown on supposedly indecent material airing on American TV and radio.
Bringing Some Color To The WTC Memorial
J. Max Bond, the architect in charge of the World Trade Center memorial, is a master of diplomacy, of bridging differences between competing artistic personalities. He is one of the most respected men in his profession. And he is African-American, astonishingly enough the first to be involved in the Ground Zero project in any way. “With the inclusion of Bond (and Richard Franklin, another African American colleague from his firm), the white male club at Ground Zero has been integrated. It is the story of Bond’s life.”
Times (NY) Raids Times (LA) For Culture Writers
“In the past week, the NYT captured three high-profile entertainment/culture writers from the LAT — film critic Manohla Dargis, music business writer Jeff Leeds and architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff. Already in the dumps over parent company Tribune Co.–ordered layoffs, the LAT newsroom was in a bunker mentality anticipating the dampening effect the NYT’s body snatching would have on its Pulitzer-pumped national prestige. And someone needs to argue with the LAT’s bean counters that the year-old controversial subscription model for its online Calendar coverage may be sending at least some of its superstar scribblers into the arms of the enemy.”