Arguably, science has never been more important in our lives. “Science offers a way of finding out about, and changing, the world around you. As such, it is increasingly central to all our lives. It touches everything that we hold dear, from communication, to nutrition, to reproduction – and now promises to take us into a strange world of cyberspace, biotechnology and nanoscience. The pride and scorn for science, that saw most people through the 20th-century, is now giving way to fear. Why the change? Jargon and methodology, more than ever, are raising the wall between the cognoscenti and Everyone Else.”
Blog
Alaska Pols Looking To Kill Public Art Program
Alaska state legislators are attempting to abolish the state’s public art program.
Workers Want Art, Music In Workplace
A new survey of workers in the UK suggests that “60 percent of employees feel that music or art in the workplace would prove both motivational and inspirational. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of respondents – who either worked full-time or part-time – said that they would like to see art in their workplace, however, only 48 percent said that their employer invested in workplace art.”
ABT – Ads For A Younger Audience
Trying to appeal to a younger demographic, American Ballet Theatre has commissioned a hip new ad campaign. “Rather than targeting the ballet’s traditional audience, older patrons and aficionados of the arts, the campaign takes aim at younger set. According to the U.S. Census, young adults ages 18-24 is the fastest-growing segment in arts attendance. The “Be moved” campaign aims to change people’s perception of the company from stodgy to sensual. ‘We wanted to really make it aspirational, but also accessible’.”
Florida Lawmakers Vote To Slash Arts Funding
Florida’s Senate votes to zero out state arts funding. “Gov. Jeb Bush in January recommended slashing more than 50 percent from last year’s $27.9 million funding for the arts. The House also voted unanimously Tuesday for its budget, which offers only slightly better prospects: $6,115,000 in state funding for museums, arts in education, cultural program support and other programs. In the next two and a half weeks, Senate and House committees will work out a compromise budget to send to Bush.”
Funding Cuts Threaten Florida Culture
The chair of the Miami-Dade Cultural Affairs Council writes to protest proposed cuts in Florida’s state arts budget. “The Senate is proposing zero dollars for the state’s Division of Cultural Affairs’ grants programs and the elimination of the Cultural Institutions Trust Fund, one of three so targeted out of the state’s 450. For years, the Trust Fund has provided a stable, dedicated source of funds for the state’s arts grants programs. The House’s position is $6.1 million in cultural support, a 78 percent reduction from the current year. Gov. Bush’s fiscal-year 2004 budget of $12 million for culture is a 57 percent reduction from the FY 2003 state budget. These cuts are disproportionate to other reductions proposed to address the state’s budget crisis.”
Arthur Miller To Get Jerusalem Prize
American playwright Arthur Miller has been chosen to receive the presitgious Jerusalem Prize. “The prize, awarded every two years, singles out literary achievements in the field of freedom of the individual in society, the prize committee said in a statement.”
Frankfurt Fair To Stay In Frankfurt
After long debates and threats to leave town, “the Frankfurt Book Fair, the world’s largest publishing trade fair, will stay in Frankfurt. Threats to relocate to Munich have lost currency and that’s the end to all that. This decision was made public Tuesday following an extraordinary meeting of the publishing association’s management board.”
Bones To Dust
“There is a growing feeling amongst many in the museum profession that old human remains should be returned to where they were originally found.” But “the bones are evidence from the past that speak to us about life from between one century to many thousands of years ago. Under scrutiny they reveal patterns of migration, the effect of environment upon body form, and the relationship between different populations. We can learn who lived where and when, about patterns in health, origin, gene flow and microevolutionary change. When the law changes, large and significant collections could be broken up and sent away.”
The Promising Young Writer Who Says He Won’t Write Again
Who is Dan Rhodes? “At 30, he is one of the youngest authors to be chosen for Granta’s reputedly generation-defining Best Young British Novelists list. His first novel, ‘Timoleon Vieta Come Home,’ has attracted a flurry of plaudits.” But there’s a catch on the way up the literary ladder. Rhodes declared that he will never write again.