Category: issues

The National Endowments for the Arts and for the Humanities, as well as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and arts education at the Department of Education all got boosts in this year’s budget. The 16 percent raise in the NEA budget is the largest given to the agency in the past 24 years

“Standing ovation en masse is thrilling because it implies that individual taste has been transcended and united by great art. Conversely, the solo ovator stands uninvited, demanding that his unshared opinion be dramatically acknowledged, and inadvertently showing the poor actors that not even pity will drive others to join the accolade.”

“Two presentations outlined how computer software could change the way philosophy is both taught and disseminated. One professor discussed how artificial intelligence can help to improve individualized instruction, while another laid out a radical framework for online publication that would leave most of today’s academic press apparatus in the dust.”

“On the eve of Liverpool’s year in the spotlight as European Capital of Culture 2008, the city has run up a £20m debt… The deficit is so large – almost as big as the entire £22m budget for arts projects for the year – that Liverpool council has asked the government to bail it out.”

It was a rough first year for Miami’s $461m Carnival Center for the Performing Arts, with slow ticket sales, administrative chaos, and accusations of overreach. “Its supporters are grappling with the cold truth that if it is going to become a cornerstone of a world-class Miami, both the city and the center have a long way to go.”

“About 38 percent of U.S. consumers are watching TV shows online, 36 percent use their cell phones as entertainment devices and 45 percent are creating online content like Web sites, music, videos and blogs for others, according to a new-media survey…”

“For the contemporary art scene in Beirut, 2006 was a tough year, as it was for nearly every other sector in the country, creative industries and otherwise. Twelve months ago, few might have guessed that 2007 would be worse. But it was.”

“The Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda has won the right to waive U.S. copyrights in films, television and music under an unusual ruling by the World Trade Organization. The landmark decision by the Geneva-based trade watchdog means that the tiny islands are able to violate intellectual property protection worth up to $21 million as part of a dispute between the countries over online gambling.”

The $400 million complex, a concert hall, opera house and theater under one space age span, is designed to be the center of Chinese culture, just as Tiananmen Square next door was designated this country’s political center.

“In Muslim countries, the U.S. has a popularity rating about the same as for waterboarding. And a recent Pew Research Center study found that America’s image is deteriorating even in traditionally friendly countries. Ironically, though, when it comes to bolstering America’s image abroad, showbiz could teach the State Dept. a thing or two about reaching its intended audience.”