Category: issues

“Many students and faculty believe that there is no place for technology in small liberal arts colleges, a belief they cherish and are loathe to let go of. But technology doesn’t have to be the great invader, the destructor of the special nature of a liberal arts college education. It can, in fact, make that education better and more sustainable.”

An anti-animal cruelty group in Northern Ireland is up in arms over the suffocation of 90 white rats in a supposed piece of performance art in Belfast, and a decision by authorities not to prosecute the perpetrator. “Blood stains indicated that the animals had turned on each other after being dropped [into a see-through but airtight case.] The design made escape impossible.” Prosecutors announced this week that they lacked sufficient evidence for a prosecution.

New performer licensing laws in the UK have made things difficult for small acts. “When the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, launched the licensing laws on November 24, the media focused almost exclusively on the new 24-hour opening rules and the fears of a wave of binge drinking. Hardly anyone reported that at the same time the regulations required every small-scale entertainer, from folk musicians to street artists to charity carollers, to obtain a public entertainment licence before putting on a paid-for performance.”

“A French government crackdown on digital piracy has backfired because lawmakers rebelled by endorsing amendments to legalize the online sharing of music and movies instead of punishing it. The vote last week by members of France’s lower house dealt a setback to Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, who introduced the draft legislation… Under the original proposals, those caught pirating copy-protected material would have faced $360,000 in fines and up to three years in jail. An 11th-hour government offer to give illegal downloaders two warnings prior to prosecution was not enough to stem the rebellion. Instead, the amendments voted would legalize file-sharing by anyone paying a monthly royalties duty estimated at $8.50.”

“University Circle, Cleveland’s cultural and educational district, is a classic underachiever. It’s like a brilliant but nerdy student who never lives up to his potential, socially or academically… The district holds a magnificent collection of great institutions, from Case Western Reserve University to the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Orchestra and University Hospitals… Nevertheless, the place looks and feels dead most of the time. It is marred by wide, heavily trafficked streets; by inwardly oriented buildings that fail to animate their surroundings; and by a paucity of housing, retail shops and restaurants.” Still, the corporation that made University Circle what it is has recognized that a change is necessary, and is taking steps to make the entertainment district more… well, entertaining.

The Sydney Festival has slashed its average ticket price by 25% and set aside a certain number of tickets to be sold for $25, regardless of the pricing of other tickets for the event. This year’s edition of Australia’s largest summer festival, which begins in early January, will feature Elvis Costello performing with the Sydney Symphony, French ballerina Sylvie Guillem, and a new staging of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. So far, the ticket discount appears to be paying dividends: sales are 60% ahead of last year.

Ronald L. Olson is charged by the Getty Trust with investigating how the organization does business. “In all likelihood, the essence of our investigation is going to be made public at some point. As I see this assignment that the special committee has, it’s all about enhancing, reaffirming, some would say rebuilding, the integrity of the Getty. And how do you do that? Very often, sunlight is an important part of it.”

“Whatever non-Christian aspect of Christmas you treasure (maybe it’s your mom’s shortbread), you needn’t feel guilty. Even though this is the time of year when many people say our society has lost sight of the true meaning of the season, there’s no reason you shouldn’t enjoy all of the magnificent secular infrastructure that now surrounds Christmas. It’s too good to pass up.”

African ministers of culture met in Kenya this week to talk about the need for cultural policy. “The meeting with the theme Culture, Integration and African Renaissance’ was quite relevant at a time when the impact of the globalisation on the African continent and its culture can no longer be ignored. This was therefore a watershed conference that gave direction to the member states of the African Union on the need to curve out common approaches to cultural matters within the international cultural forum.”

Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center has a debt of $30 million that is plaguing its finances. Peter Dobrin suggests looking at the things that could be right with Kimmel. “I’m not so much advocating a government or philanthropic bailout as I am making the case that the Kimmel today is unfinished – as surely incomplete as it would be if the glass dome were never fully glazed. Without proper endowment and a financial structure that allows the contents of the building – the art itself – to flourish, we will never know whether our huge civic effort was worth the work. Let’s finish the Kimmel. The building is done. Now it’s time to finish building the institution.”