Category: issues

Which Los Angeles Shall It Be?

Los Angeles is “a city re-examining its past. And it comes as the strength of Latino culture is increasingly evident – in everything from the city’s murals to its concert halls and stages. The city is poised for a cultural shift. Latinos will form a majority of the population in the US’s second-largest city within a few years.”

Anime Gives American Pop Culture A Run

“What began as a distinctly Japanese style of visual storytelling has gone global. As culture watchers from Tokyo to London point out, anime is far more than Pikachu and PowerPuff girls. The art form has achieved what no other indigenous cultural expression has managed to do: become widespread enough to challenge America’s stranglehold on entertainment.”

A Plan To Remake Scottish Arts

A long awaited plan for Scottish culture is released: “It contains 124 recommendations for the future of art and culture in Scotland, 29 of which require new legislation. It includes calls for a major funding boost, the abolition of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen, and the establishment of two new national arts bodies: Culture Scotland and the Culture Fund. The former would develop policy and the fund would provide finance. Both bodies, operating as companies, would roughly maintain the “arm’s length” principle – where cultural decisions are made outside government – which most artists and cultural workers in Scotland desired.”

Do We Need Arts Prizes Just For Women?

“Years after feminism was declared history, is there a new trend to single out women for special recognition? Until the 1970’s, in most cultural fields, men created and women consumed. Today, across the West, women are well represented in art, architecture, music and film schools and account for a majority of students attending college literature and creative writing courses. Yet while women no longer regard the creative arts as a male province, when it comes to winning or even making the short list of prizes in fiction, poetry, art, architecture and music, they still fare poorly. Are there fewer women in these fields, are they less talented than men, or are women simply being denied equal opportunity?”

San Jose Nudges Up Arts Funding

The city of San Jose, CA has increased its arts funding a tiny bit – to $2 million next year. “The funding jump, up from $1.8 million last year, is the first since 2001-02 when the city awarded $3.9 million in grants. Before Tuesday’s vote, arts funding had steadily declined each fiscal year, which begins July 1 ends June 30.”

The Cynical Side Of Live 8

“It’s easy to get cynical about Live 8, the much-touted, multi-venue mega-concert aimed at raising the West’s consciousness on poverty in advance of the G-8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. No question the July 2 event is getting huge hype. Didja hear that Pink Floyd is getting back together for the occasion? Or that the memory of the 1985 Live Aid is being desecrated? Or that 2 million text messages in London alone — at about $4 Canadian a pop — were sent during the e-lottery for freebie tickets? Or that some of those tickets landed on eBay for up to $1,000? Yet there’s hardly been a peep about, just to name one thing, the heart-rending videos of orphans and street kids, and the effect of the crushing debt faced by many nations.”

Live 8 – The Responsibility Of Artists?

Are we getting numb to big celebrity-promoted causes? There have been a lot of them. Live 8 doesn’t aim to raise money though; it’s looking to shine some celebrity attention on an issue. “It’s what artists have always done – comment on society and raise awareness. The question to ask is, ‘Are you an artist or an entertainer?’ Because artists do more than entertain.”