Category: issues

London’s Royal Opera House has removed Alberto Vilar’s name from the house. “Vilar pledged £10 million to the ROH development appeal in 1999, but paid only a fraction of that. As a result, the iron and glass atrium centrepiece – which was named the Vilar Floral Hall – will be renamed the Floral Hall with immediate effect. Mr Vilar is currently facing charges of fraud and money laundering in the US.”

“The channelling of public money into the arts is now so widely accepted as a worthwhile thing to do, it would seem churlish to question it. Who could ever wish to return to the dark ages – pre-Australia Council, pre-state and regional arts councils – when creative artists struggled for recognition and support? But there are a couple of questions that should be raised from time to time, if only to assure ourselves that our money is being spent wisely. Who is supposed to benefit from arts funding? And what is the nature of the benefit?”

“In a city full of venerable architectural gems, Valencia’s City of the Sciences and Arts is the 21st-century ultimate. It is an enormous complex, more like a world’s fair than a museum plaza. Its science museum is the biggest in Spain, its aquarium the largest in Europe. Its reflecting pools could submerge several football fields. Opening in October, the final piece — the Performing Arts Center — will put the crowning touch on this remarkable complex.”

Science museums and other institutions around America are struggling with how to deal with increasingly aggressive challenges to the theory of evolution. One company, called B.C. Tours “because we are biblically correct,” even offers escorted visits to the Denver Museum of Science and Nature. Participants hear creationists’ explanations for the exhibitions.

Is Montreal starving its cultural life? “Montrealers love to mock Toronto’s obsession with becoming a ‘world-class’ city, but they also hate to acknowledge signs that their city is being left behind. Montreal had access to the same kind of funding, and what did it use the money for? New pipes and sewers. The big capital projects in Montreal these days are a pair of hospitals and several academic buildings. Like the sewers, they’re needed, but they’re also draining money away from the city’s cultural base.”

IBM has started a program to financially back any of its employees who want to go into teaching. “The goal is to help fill shortfalls in the nation’s teaching ranks, a problem expected to grow with the retirement of today’s educators. Math and science are of particular concern to companies in many U.S. industries that expect to need technical workers but see low test scores in those subjects and waning interest in science careers.”

The blessing of technology for artists? The ability to make your art and distribute it without the middleman. “New technology means creative types across the board—from filmmakers to visual artists to authors—are finding it easier to bypass traditional middlemen, like record labels or galleries, and reach out to appreciative audiences themselves. The market has become so fragmented and audience tastes so specialized, it’s no longer possible for big companies to cater to every niche. But individual artists can.”

Miami’s glittering new performing arts center will open a year from now, albeit without a primary tenant, and backers are hoping that its arrival will herald a new and better era for South Florida’s often scattered arts scene. Some proponents are even draw comparisons to Washington, D.C.’s Kenedy Center, which opened in 1971 and sparked a cultural renaissance in the city.

The contentious negotiations to build a new performing arts center in Kansas City have taken another turn, this time sparking a return to the original plan to build the PAC on a downtown hilltop. “The decision ends months of uncertainty that began in April when the center board voted to examine an alternative — renovating the historic Lyric Theatre at 11th and Central streets and adding a new concert hall. Backers said the concept did not save enough money to justify abandoning the earlier plan.” Funding for the project, which is estimated to cost $304 million, is still somewhat uncertain, but backers are hoping to start construction by fall 2006.

Katrina struck at the very heart of the Deep South’s cultural community, and while some individual organizations may have escaped relatively unscathed, the rebuilding effort for the arts will take many, many years. The head of the National Endowment for the Arts points out that “culture is the second largest industry in Louisiana,” and across the Gulf Coast, venues have been damaged or destroyed and artists themselves are scattered to the winds. And while overall relief efforts are well underway, priorities of safety and livability are necessitating a “hurry up and wait” approach for many arts organizations.