Category: issues

Italy’s Appian Way, the ancient road connecting Rome to Brindisi, has fallen into disrepair, courtesy of vandals, congestion, “and, some of its guardians grumble, illegal development… These days some residents seem indifferent to the roadway’s archaeologically rich past.”

“A critically acclaimed Pakistani film on Islam has been released across cinemas in India. It is the first Pakistani film to get a wide commercial release in India in over four decades… Officially, India and Pakistan have banned each other’s films since going to war in 1965.”

“Arts Council England would like to know which sex you fancy before letting you sit on one of its boards. A minister for culture wants more women to run the arts. A leading playwright calls for a national survey of sock colors. Three scenes from an Alan Ayckbourn farce? Nope, just a slew of evidence this week that the British way of running the arts has fallen into terminal disarray.”

Laura Cumming says that the UK’s Culture Minister is off base complaining that there aren’t enough women in top arts jobs in Britain. “We’ve heard it all before – glass ceilings, obstacle races, no room for women at the top… Leaving aside these gross stereotypes, what about the actual truth of Hodge’s claims?”

“Abu Dhabi earns an estimated $25m a day from oil, and has between 40 and 100 years of oil left. And with these bottomless pockets, it is buying culture… But can money alone create culture in the desert?

“The House of Representatives voted this week to speed up the visa approval process for some foreign artists and entertainers… Now, those seeking entry must run a bureaucratic gantlet that can include having to establish their artistic credentials, hire a lawyer, pay visa fees and visit a United States embassy or consulate.”

“Following months of increasing financial troubles for the Mount, Edith Wharton’s home in Lenox, Mass., the president of the organization that owns and maintains the property has resigned rather than accept a new position in a restructured management.”

Under new requirements put in place by Britain’s Arts Council, organizations applying for grants will be “asked to state how many board members are bisexual, homosexual, heterosexual, lesbian or whose inclinations are “not known”.” The council says it’s trying to broaden its definition of diversity.

Are there too few women in leadership positions at UK arts organizations? The country’s culture minister says yes, and some of the men at the top of cultural groups agree. “We need women to reach the top in the arts, so that they can mentor and champion others.”

“The first excavation for more than a generation at Stonehenge began yesterday, looking for evidence that the most famous prehistoric monument in the world was the Lourdes of the bronze age, where the sick and troubled sought healing from the supernatural power of bluestones brought from west Wales.”