Category: issues

What happens when the fate of local colleges is not up to the public decision but to a single politician? In Alaska at least, it has meant the decimation of the state’s higher-education budget. – The Atlantic

Because the benefits of the jobs – it’s work that’s interesting, even fun… – are worth it? – The Telegraph (UK)

“Independence National Historical Park [is] the fourth-most-visited national park in the country. It welcomed 4.6 million pilgrims last year alone — ahead of Yellowstone, Yosemite or Zion (and the Statue of Liberty, too). Independence Hall is one of only 11 UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites in the United States. It’s Philadelphia’s (democratic) Versailles. Yet the curation” — not to mention the physical upkeep — “is more on par with a half-abandoned cathedral in a random village in the South of France. How did we get here? There’s plenty of blame to go around.” – Philadelphia Magazine

“When $444 million in line-item budget vetoes were announced Friday, the [Alaska State Council on the Arts] was given notice it would have two weeks to shut down, said Benjamin Brown of Juneau, who has been chairman of the council since 2007. If the $2.8 million veto is not overridden by legislators, it would make Alaska the only state or territory in the United States without a state arts agency.” – Anchorage Daily News

Called POST, the new complex will feature arts and music venues, entertainment spaces, creative workspaces, dining and shops. – dezeen

Despite concern over both the huge amount of daytripper traffic by passengers and the physical damage that the enormous ships cause to both the Venice Lagoon and the low-lying city itself, the mayor and city government favor continuing to dock cruise vessels at the terminal in the city. And they’re pushing UNESCO to accept their plans, despite the availability of other options. – The Art Newspaper

The Melbourne International Arts Festival, the city’s premier showcase for “high art,” and White Night, a late-winter outdoor festival, will unite into a new 18-day festival under a new name in August-September 2020. The joint artistic directors are Hannah Fox, who specializes in large-scale sound or visual installations, and Gideon Obarzanek, who founded Melbourne’s leading contemporary dance company, Chunky Move. – The Age (Melbourne)

“While squabbles over session approval are not uncommon at academic conferences, the conflict in medieval studies feels like a struggle for the future of the field, one that sometimes pits older scholars against a younger generation, and those with a traditional approach against those with a more activist bent. And it’s turned personal at times, even nasty and disturbing, with medievalists lobbing insults over Twitter, squaring off in blog posts, and calling for colleagues to be more or less excommunicated from the discipline.”  – Chronicle of Higher Education

Ed Vaizey, who was Conservative PM David Cameron’s minister for culture: “Safe to say, the arts and cultural policy have not featured highly in the many debates and hustings that have taken place in the last few weeks of campaigning. Nevertheless, there is some hope for the arts, when one analyses the background of the main contenders.” (Vaizey goes on to compare Johnson to Marmite.) – The Art Newspaper

New Cairo City, currently under construction on the edge of the metro area, about 25 miles from central Cairo, will become Egypt’s administrative center; the “city of arts and culture” within it, to be completed in 2022, will have a 2,000-seat opera house, two other theaters for music and drama, cinemas, museums, art galleries, and libraries. While Egyptian arts figures welcome the facilities, they’re warning that audiences won’t come from the old city unless the government makes sure there are things worth seeing. – Al-Monitor