The Art Newspaper is out with its annual survey of museum attendance. “Our survey of exhibition attendance in 2003 reveals a decline in the number of visitors to museum shows on both sides of the Atlantic. Only 190 exhibitions in this survey pulled in more than 1,000 visitors a day in 2003, compared with 215 in 2002. In 2002, over 320 shows attracted more than 760 visitors a day while in 2003, only 259 exhibitions hit the same target. The reasons for this fall can be found in the global economic slump and the decline in international tourism which followed the war in Iraq.”
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The NEA Reborn
So George Bush is proposing that the National Endowment for the Arts get a big increase in funding. Roger Kimball writes that while there’s still plenty of room to debate whether the arts should be publicly funded, the NEA has reinvented itself into an institution that suddenly matters. “After a couple of decades of cultural schizophrenia, the NEA has become a clear-sighted, robust institution intent on bringing important art to the American people.”
Was Hutton’s BBC Report A “Whitewash?”
Thom Yorke is disappointed by the Hutton Commission’s findings on the BBC. “Lord Hutton’s damning report of the BBC is a whitewash. The result will create fear at the Today programme, where there should be pride. As so many times before, they were there with a story that nobody else would touch. And I still cannot see why Gavyn Davies and Greg Dyke have had to resign. It flies in the face of reality, ripping all evidence to shreds.”
Dyke: Report On BBC Is “Wrong”
On his way out as director of the BBC, Greg Dyke lashed out at the Hutton report that severely criticized the BBC for its coverage of the Iraq war. “We were shocked that it was so black and white. We knew mistakes had been made by us but we didn’t believe they were only by us.”
Warning: Canadian Film Production May Decline
A new report on movie and TV production in Canada warns that the industry is in danger of its first downturn in years. “The grim prognosis is due to a precipitous drop in homemade TV dramas, a slide in international financing, and increased competition from other countries’ production incentives.”
Porn Sites Sue Credit Card Companies Over Piracy
The music and movie industries have been combatting digital copying and downloading. Now the porn industry, which has led the web in many of its money-making innovations, is suing to protect its content. Last week adult entertainment businesses sued credit card companies that service websites that offer stolen porn. “The reason it was so hard to make money is because while we were paying for our content, there were many websites out there that were competing against us that were stealing theirs. It’s pretty impossible to compete in that situation.”
Robert Harth, 47
Carnegie Hall’s Robert Harth was the right director at the right time. He “fostered collegiality, demystified the director’s post and continued with the Carnegie Hall mission: to present the great artists and ensembles of the world, both fledglings and masters; to devise educational offerings; to bring music students to the institution for training workshops; and especially to commission and perform new works. His attitude toward contemporary music was refreshingly free of agenda. Living composers were not some special cause or somber obligation. Rather, it was only natural for anyone interested in the great heritage of classical music to be curious about what’s going on today.”
Lincoln Center’s NYP Rapprochement
Observers of the New York Philharmonic and Lincoln Center have been watching to see the repercussions of the Philharmonic’s aborted move to Carnegie Hall. “Lincoln Center had been widely expected to make the orchestra pay a price for its flirtation with Carnegie Hall. Instead the center appears to be the one trying to make amends, and the Philharmonic, rather than being weakened and chastened, continues to show a strong hand.”
Stolen Ivories Returned
Five ivory sculptures stolen from the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto a few weeks ago, have been recovered. “The palm-sized sculptures – valued at $1.5 million – were dropped off at the office of Toronto lawyer Dennis Morris, who turned them over to police on the weekend.”
Sydney Opera House Looking To Lower Floor
The Sydney Opera House may be an architectural icon, but its acoustics have needed upgrading. How to accomplish it? One plan would be to lower the floor. “It is understood the project would cost more than $300 million but would vastly improve the theatre. A lowered floor would mean more cubic metres of volume, which in turn would make a huge difference to the acoustics of the Opera Theatre.”