Category: issues

It seems like every public space and event has a corporate sponsor these days. “The marketing idea behind this trend is consumer impressions. The more often we see a company’s name, the theory goes, the more likely we’ll trust that company and, in turn, buy its products or services when the opportunity arises. Thus, we get corporate names on the sports facilities and concert venues we attend, ubiquitous product placement in the movies, TV and cable shows we watch, even in the air we breathe (thanks, Fuji blimp).” But instead of complaining, maybe we should see this as an opportunity. “The biggest untapped avenue for sponsorship may just be us. Individuals. You and me…”

Alaska state legislators are attempting to abolish the state’s public art program.

A new survey of workers in the UK suggests that “60 percent of employees feel that music or art in the workplace would prove both motivational and inspirational. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of respondents – who either worked full-time or part-time – said that they would like to see art in their workplace, however, only 48 percent said that their employer invested in workplace art.”

Florida’s Senate votes to zero out state arts funding. “Gov. Jeb Bush in January recommended slashing more than 50 percent from last year’s $27.9 million funding for the arts. The House also voted unanimously Tuesday for its budget, which offers only slightly better prospects: $6,115,000 in state funding for museums, arts in education, cultural program support and other programs. In the next two and a half weeks, Senate and House committees will work out a compromise budget to send to Bush.”

The chair of the Miami-Dade Cultural Affairs Council writes to protest proposed cuts in Florida’s state arts budget. “The Senate is proposing zero dollars for the state’s Division of Cultural Affairs’ grants programs and the elimination of the Cultural Institutions Trust Fund, one of three so targeted out of the state’s 450. For years, the Trust Fund has provided a stable, dedicated source of funds for the state’s arts grants programs. The House’s position is $6.1 million in cultural support, a 78 percent reduction from the current year. Gov. Bush’s fiscal-year 2004 budget of $12 million for culture is a 57 percent reduction from the FY 2003 state budget. These cuts are disproportionate to other reductions proposed to address the state’s budget crisis.”

States across the country are slashing their arts budgets to the bone in order to patch holes in their overall revenue streams. In Massachusetts, cuts to the arts are nothing new, but a recent survey suggests that the residents of the Bay State do not view these cuts as a positive development. 94% of those surveyed “consider the arts to be as important a part of basic education as math and English, and that 92 percent favor state funding for arts programs in public schools. Eighty-seven percent said that nonprofit cultural organizations were important to the quality of life in their communities, and 84 percent said they favored state funding to support public programs of cultural organizations.”

A new survey of workers in the UK pokes a few holes in the notion that the arts are of interest only to wealthy elites, or beyond the monetary and cultural reach of your average blue-collar guy. Among the survey’s findings: “Workers would rather have ticket concessions for art events than gym membership; nearly nine out of ten workers enjoy arts events in their free time; and just under half of those surveyed had visited the theatre in the last year (43%), while over a third of workers had been to a museum (37%), art gallery (34%) or concert (33%).”

It’s getting more and more difficult and expensive (and arbitrary) trying to get artists into America to perform. “In general we are talking $1,000 for the performer’s petition, plus $1,000 for the technical staff petition, plus a $130 per-application fee each. That’s $2,260. Plus, the AGMA and IATSE unions now charge $250 per letter of support. That’s $2,760. You either have a huge budget that can accommodate that kind of extra money, or you’re doing less international work, or you’re more motivated to collaborate with partners.”

The lack of mid-sized (300-to-500 seat) venues has long been a problem for theater troupes and other performers in Boston. But now, a new economic redevelopment plan promises to fill the gap with a wealth of renovations and restorations in the city’s Midtown district. Still, a number of significant hurdles remain to be cleared before the projects can be completed.

The New York Times on this year’s winners of The Pulitzer Prizes for Letters, Drama and Music:
• Fiction: ‘ Middlesex ‘ by Jeffrey Eugenides
• General Nonfiction: ‘ “A Problem From Hell” ‘ by Samantha Power
• Biography: ‘ Master of the Senate ‘ by Robert A. Caro
• History: ‘ An Army at Dawn ‘ by Rick Atkinson
• Poetry: ‘ Moy Sand and Gravel ‘ by Paul Muldoon
• Drama: ‘ Anna in the Tropics ‘ by Nilo
• Music: ‘ On the Transmigration of Souls ‘ by John Adams