The charitable foundation of the family that founded Walmart has given $5.4 million to Spelman College, a historically black institution in Atlanta, and the Atlanta University Center to create an art history and curatorial studies undergraduate program.
Category: issues
Funding The Arts Through National Lotteries Is A Terrible Idea
“Since its introduction in the mid-1990s, the UK National Lottery has made a lot of poor people slightly poorer while equipping Arts Councils to enrich an arts sector that disproportionately serves the better-off. It is not hard to picture an old woman applying coin edge to scratch card, with no more chance of winning the jackpot than of stepping inside the gallery she has helped to build. Can we still claim that the arts are a ‘good cause’ when ill-spent money is increasingly used like this?”
Arts World Wrestles With What To Do With Saudi Arabia Links
MBS’s cultural scope sears far deeper than the upcoming initiative, with the Smithsonian, UK Museum of Natural History, and Sotheby’salso facing their next steps given existing program backed by the Saudi Arabian government. The financial reach of Saudi Arabia has deeply permeated the art world, with many institutions embedded in years-long cultural and fiscal relationships.
The Saucer Has Landed! Taiwan Opens Its New National Arts Center
Part landscape, part architecture, the 1.51-million-square-foot National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts blurs the boundaries between indoors and out, solid and void. Floating at one end of a 116-acre park that had been a military base before the project began 12 years ago, the $280-million complex brings together four performance spaces under one enormous roof and a fifth one on top of it.
How Do You Get Art Closer To The Grass Roots Community? Experiment In Public
BAC operates using a practice model called Scratch, which involves sharing an idea publicly at an early stage of its development, getting feedback and using it to get the idea on to the next stage. We scratch everything. It might sound unfinished, but it actually gives an artist the freedom to creatively go for what they want to achieve, potentially fail, learn and go again – repeating this cycle until they get to where they need to be.
Artist-Endowed Foundations: Why They’re A Growing Force In Philanthropy, And Why They’re Different From Other Foundations
“While a rapidly emerging force in modern arts philanthropy, AEFs are markedly different from other institutional foundations. What’s more, there are different kinds of AEFs, and how these institutions operate is very much a work in progress. AEFs face unique and complex accounting, governance and management challenges that can stymie the best philanthropic intentions.”
Scotland’s Arts Sector Could See A Post-Brexit Exodus
A survey by the Scottish Contemporary Arts Network and the Federation of Scottish Theatre found that 26% of respondents were either considering or planning on leaving the country after Brexit; among respondents who are citizens of other EU countries, the figure is 40%.
It’s 40 Years Since Grand Central Station Was Saved. Is It A Cautionary Tale?
At Grand Central, the victory lap is well earned. This building should not have been destroyed in the name of real-estate profits. Looking forward, though, more nuanced and creative approaches to land and building are surely warranted. Awareness of all the needs of the city may be the best way to honor the past.
As Palestinian Political Prospects Dim, A Turn Towards Arts And Culture
What started out as independent artists wishing to express themselves has grown into a collaborative campaign of sorts, with individuals and cultural organizations banding together to promote Palestinian arts.
Smithsonian To Go Ahead With This Weekend’s Saudi-Sponsored Festival Despite Khashoggi Disappearance
“Saudi Aramco donated $175,000 for the Arab Culture Weekend and other family programs at the Freer and Sackler galleries, the Smithsonian’s Asian art museums. The event opens amid an international backlash against Saudi leaders following the Oct. 2 disappearance and alleged killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The writer was last seen entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.”