Sir Christopher Frayling, the chairman of Arts Council England, has warned that the arts could get edged out of National Lottery money in favor of sports. Frayling points to a number of reasons, adding that “ministers were happy being photographed at football matches, but afraid of being seen at any remotely controversial [arts event].”
Category: issues
Gambling On Culture
The Heritage Lottery Fund has made an impact on culture. But what kind of impact? “So what has HLF achieved in the past ten years? Has it been too conservative? Or too politically correct? Is it right that a non-governmental body, funded by our gambling appetite, should be the last refuge for Britain’s most important distressed buildings, artworks and natural environments? And has the HLF’s change of direction since Labour came to office meant support for too many “inclusive” projects at the expense of the more traditional kind? The HLF has presided over a decade of unrivalled munificence towards the heritage world – £3.33bn awarded to 1,680 projects throughout Britain.”
Pop Goes The Ballet
Recently, some of the UK’s most prestigious arts organizations have taken a walk on the pop side. The Royal Ballet is working on a piece set to music by Jimi Hendrix. But is such pop-lust a good thing for traditional art forms? A debate.
A Decade Of Culture
How have the arts changed in the past ten years? The Telegraph celebrates ten years on the web by looking at the past decade in the arts…
Overnight At The NYT
For the first time in years, overnight reviews are back at the New York Times. “Not all NY Times reviews will be overnights, according to classical music editor James R. Oestreich, only those deemed practical and/or appropriate because of an event’s importance. He told a conference of music critics at Columbia University several weeks ago that the move is part of the paper’s effort to give its arts coverage more zing.”
Belfast Arts Center On Hold
Plans for a major new arts center in Belfast have been put on hold. “The proposal was to house the Lyric Theatre, the Old Museum Arts Centre and the School of Music on a site within the Cathedral Quarter. It was hoped that the move would create a thriving cultural area in the heart of the city. However, the £27m price tag and disagreements over the details of the plan have seen it fail to develop.”
Voting On The Arts (Tuesday)
Alongside the national races Americans will be voting on Tuesday, numerous communities will be deciding on local arts-funding initiatives…
Cleveland’s Arts Problem
“While the arts and cultural base clearly falls among Cleveland’s top three comparative advantages, we haven’t adequately embraced this area in our region’s economic strategy. Arts and culture have an enormous impact on our economy, and yet our region has one of the lowest rates of public support for this sector in the country.”
Per-Capita Spending Falls in NYC Arts Education
The New York City public schools’ revised arts curriculum has yet to reach all students. “The Education Department has a spanking-new arts and music program this fall – but nearly 200 schools lack a full-time arts teacher and more than 500 do not have a music room, it was revealed yesterday. Meanwhile, arts funding has dropped to $57 per student from $63, school officials said yesterday after a City Council hearing on arts education.”
Better Times For Fund-raising?
Giving to America’s 400 most successful fund-raising organizations was up 2.3 percent last year. So does that mean we’re out of the fund-raising hell that has dried up contributions in the past several years? Not necessarily…