Category: issues

The British government has diverted Lottery money to fund the Olympics. Now Arts Council England is warning that the loss of Lottery money means “the culture sector needs a real terms funding rise in the forthcoming spending round to avoid a return to the days of boom and bust.”

“Not only are these nonprofit leaders undermining the public trust, but they are also using money donated by the public, as well as government funds, to benefit themselves and their friends and relatives. The major culprit in the scandals that have rocked not only the Smithsonian but also American University, the Getty Trust, the Shriners, the Nature Conservancy, and other organizations are the board members of these institutions who have failed to exercise their fiduciary and oversight responsibilities.”

“The original proposal to bring the arts to ground zero wasn’t merely to give four lucky arts institutions new homes at the center of the city’s attention. It was also to make sure that the redevelopment site wouldn’t be monopolized by grief or commerce. The plan created a temporary sense of good will — but when that collapsed, it showed Gov. George Pataki exactly which way the political winds were blowing and how to take cover. It was an apt reminder of how weak the national appetite for government support of the arts really is.”

“Canadians are more likely to read a book than attend a movie, and they’re visiting art galleries and historic sites more,” according to a new study. “Intriguingly, attendance at classical-music concerts seems [also] to be trending upward.”

The Edinburgh International Festival will have a decidedly different flair this year, as the fest’s new director attempts to put his stamp on an event run for two decades by Brian McMaster. “With just a year since he was appointed, and only five months in post, Mr Mills has signed up leading US and European theatre and opera companies and orchestras.” The festival will also include a visual arts component for the first time, and will embrace popular music as well as classical.

“No one disputes that it is an unwieldy institution — an amorphous amalgam of arts and sciences, research and entertainment. Because it receives most of its money from taxpayers, the Smithsonian needs a leader who can be an advocate to the public and to Congress. Mr. Small has been ineffective in both roles. The Smithsonian needs a leader who understands and can balance the needs of its many separate museums and entities. As Mr. Small leaves, a new report says the Smithsonian’s eight art museums are drastically underfinanced in comparison with its history and science museums.”

The Smithsonian has made the right move in removing Lawrence Small as director. It’s a move that should have happened much earlier, writes Eric Gibson. “But overdue as it was, Mr. Small’s departure will amount to very little unless it becomes an occasion to address some longstanding problems. The first is the Smithsonian’s governance.”

” ‘Alternative’ and ‘independent’ aren’t just marketing catchwords in Omaha. The blossoming is real and multifarious. It didn’t happen overnight. And it certainly didn’t happen as a result of any grand master plan by the city establishment. Rather, it has been the improbable result of the hard work of a few local heroes.”

“A day after Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence M. Small’s resignation, the names of possible successors began to circulate… Small’s departure provides more than an opportunity to find a new leader. It also gives the Smithsonian a chance to rethink the qualities needed to guide a 19th-century creation through the 21st century.”

Funding for major cultural projects has been harder to come by in Canada since Stephen Harper’s Conservative government took control. But lately, Martin Knelman has noticed that Harper’s budget people are looking more kindly on certain projects: specifically, those in the province of Quebec. Why Quebec? “There’s a simple reason: wooing votes in Quebec is seen as the magic road to a Harper majority in the federal election that hasn’t yet been called.”