Category: issues

Paducah, Kentucky wants artists. And they’ll help you move there if you are one. Paducah’s “Artist Relocation Program has exerted the same magnetic pull on others who’ve dreamed of living, working and, most importantly, owning in a neighborhood of like-minded residents. In 2 1/2 years, nearly 40 people have moved here to transform a beat-up area of homes known as Lower Town into a blossoming art colony.”

The new University of the Arts London is about to launch. “But the launch of the new institution as an “Imperial College for the arts” comes at a time when there is more confusion than ever about what arts students should be taught. A survey this week shows colleges and university arts departments in Britain agree on very little when it comes to the curriculum for future artists, except, bizarrely, black and white photography and silkscreen printing.”

A new initiative aims to raise the value of London’s arts industry by a third to £32 billion and create 200,000 new jobs in 10 years. “London’s creative industries currently employ 500,000 people and are responsible for one in five of all new jobs in the capital. But an investigation by the mayor’s Commission for the Creative Industries found the industry lacks international recognition, and young entrepreneurs often struggle to get financial backing.”

What will London’s new arts initiative look like? “It sets out to make an immediate impact with a step-by-step policy of clearing blocks to arts activities. Its first move is a website which goes online today and which acts as a “space agency” – a clearing house for empty buildings or rooms which could be used for marketing, rehearsals and performances by arts groups.”

The city of Sarasota, Florida has decided that its future is with the arts. “A consultant’s proposal would add up to 375,000 square feet of new cultural space and 300,000 to 600,000 square feet for shops, restaurants, galleries, offices and residences. There’s also a planned three-acre public park, a 10th Street pier and marina, and a baywalk path along the water.”

So Scotland is undertaking a cultural review. But what’s that mean? “A scan down the Cultural Policy Statement was enough to send readers cross-eyed trying to find meaning in the too-polished sentences. I have little idea what an ‘effective, sustainable infrastructure for our arts, heritage, screen and creative industries’ is. Nor do I like the suggestion that creativity is ‘the edge we need in a competitive world’. It’s wrong to evaluate the arts as a pounds-shillings-and-pence tool of business. We should enjoy and pursue them for their own sake.”

Is the Scottish Executive’s plan for the arts just an exercise in delaying a policy? The culture minister says not: “I’m asking the sector to come up with some solutions for itself. I’m tired with the passivity. The system of decision-making suggests we know best all the time. Well, if the arts sector genuinely believes in the contribution it can make, here’s an opportunity for the commission to interrogate that.”

“Florida lawmakers agreed Saturday to boost spending on arts and cultural programs by millions of dollars in the coming year — but killed a plan that would guarantee future funding.” The increase cheers arts supporters, but leaves the arts vulnerable in future budgets.

Small cities often find themselves with a hard row to hoe when they attempt to reinvent themselves as arts destinations, but the much-maligned town of Brampton, Ontario, is determined to give it a try. But Brampton isn’t just looking for artists – it’s embracing all the avant-garde, taboo-defying “weirdo” artists it can get. “Brampton is, after all, the home of Scott Thompson, weirdest and wildest of the Kids in the Hall. This sprawling commuter conglomerate of 400,000 — expected to grow to 700,000 this decade — might just be the Canadian centre for strange, experimental art.”

The top American universities are now more than ever filled with children of the wealthy. “Experts say the change in the student population is a result of both steep tuition increases and the phenomenal efforts many wealthy parents put into preparing their children to apply to the best schools.” Now some schools are trying to diversify the economic makeup of their students.