Category: issues

The current push by musicians, writers, and publishers for ever-increasing levels of copyright protection seems to have taken on a life of its own, and it may just be threatening everything we take for granted about the freedom of information. “In less than a decade, the much-ballyhooed liberating potential of the Internet seems to have given way to something of an intellectual land grab, presided over by legislators and lawyers for the media industries.”

“A bitter, months-long dispute within the American Library Association – the largest nation-based organization of librarians in the world – continues as to whether to demand that Fidel Castro release 10 imprisoned independent librarians found guilty of making available to Cubans copies of George Orwell’s 1984 and the United Nations’ Declaration of Human Rights.” The ALA had the chance, at its recent convention, to call for the release of their Cuban colleagues, but a motion to this effect was overwhelmingly defeated in favor of a tepid statement of “deep concern” over the imprisonments.

“Boston cultural affairs commissioner Esther Kaplan has abruptly resigned after five years as Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s liaison to the city’s arts and cultural community. Neither Kaplan nor Menino would discuss what led to the resignation… News of Kaplan’s departure surprised many in Boston’s tight-knit cultural community, but only a handful expressed disappointment… Over the years, the heads of midsize and large arts groups privately complained that Kaplan functioned more as an advocate than a leader, focusing her energy on grass-roots and neighborhood efforts, sometimes at the expense of those with far bigger audiences.”

Hélène Chalifour Scherrer fears that she may have gotten off on the wrong foot with Canada’s arts community, and she wants to make amends. The newly appointed Heritage Minister, who (apparently unintentionally) terrified arts leaders when she told a reporter that sports was the part of Canadian culture that interested her the most, is taking great pains to point out that she also loves opera and theater. She also wants everyone to know that her lack of experience in the arts won’t affect her ability to run the ministry: “Culture is a tool. And you need a vision to be the guardian of the Canadian identity. You don’t necessarily have to know what books were published last week.”

Butler, Pennsylvania is a former farm town about 40 miles north of Pittsburgh, which in recent years has grown to be a distant suburb of the Steel City, with the result that Butler’s residents are now desirous of something more of a civic identity than grain elevators can provide. “In response, the local arts council has designed a five-year plan to develop Butler Cultural Village, a one-block area in downtown Butler” which will bring together the town theater, orchestra, and a new museum in one complex.

Florida arts advocates hoping to rebound from deep cuts in state funding last year got no help from Governor Jeb Bush’s 2004 budget proposals. “Buried in general revenue appropriations is $8.5 million recommended for arts grants. That’s below Bush’s $12 million recommendation last year, although slightly above the $6 million actually approved by the 2003 Florida Legislature.”

Sedan, Kansas is a prairie town that not long ago looked like it was dying. But the town has reinvented itself as an art colony. “As word spreads, artists have begun arriving. Some are refugees from what they say are overcommercialized art scenes in places like Santa Fe, N.M. One, Stan Herd, a pioneer of environmental art, has built a monumental stone work called “Prairiehenge” on a hilltop outside town.”

A poll conducted by the Glasgow Herald finds that there is little public support for public funding for opera, classical music and ballet. “Out of five art forms, opera and ballet polled lowest, with only 2% of respondents wanting to see money spent on them above the others. More than 35% of those questioned believed theatre should have the most funding, with 31% voting for traditional Scottish music. The poll echoes recent research by the Scottish Arts Council showing a large appetite for drama in Scotland. Around 38% of adults polled by the SAC attended a theatrical event at some point during the previous year, 15% a classical music event, 13% an opera or operetta, 10% a ballet and 20% a traditional music event.”

Marketing of the arts is getting more aggressive. And one of the models arts organizations are looking to is…professional sports. “People have always assumed that the sports audience and the arts audience are two entirely different entities. But our surveys have shown that people who go to professional sports events are the most likely to attend professional arts events. It’s about having a robust social life, and as more people realize that there is a crossover of these two audiences, we’ll see this type of marketing increase.”

A survey of American charitable institutions reports that while many organizations raised more money in 2003, their expenses were also higher. “While 64 percent of the 236 organizations across the country that responded reported more income, 66 percent said they had higher costs for health and liability insurance as well as for wages and salaries and other expenses. More than half of the respondents reported being in “severe” or “very severe” financial stress.”