“Backed by the might of private philanthropy, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre was launched at the weekend to a grand fanfare of concerts and fireworks. Except it hasn’t actually opened, nor has an opening date been announced. Both the national library and opera house have been gifted a further €5m to relocate here, but funding beyond that remains up in the air.”
Category: issues
Carnegie Hall’s Pugnacious Ex-Chairman Gives $75 Million For World Trade Center Arts Complex
“Less than a year since he stepped down as the chairman of Carnegie Hall after clashing with its staff, Ronald O. Perelman, the billionaire businessman, announced Wednesday that he was donating $75 million to revive plans to build a performing arts center at the World Trade Center site.”
New York Times Classical Music Editor Says Lincoln Center Should Combine All Its Summer Festivals Because He Can’t Tell Them Apart
Zachary Woolfe: “Even critics paid to know the ins and outs of all the presentations find themselves confused at what belongs in what container – and how, exactly, audiences are served by the clutter of brands. … I propose that all of these be rolled into a single entity called, say, Lincoln Center Summer.”
Do Some Artists Create Too Much Art?
R. F. Luchetti has written 1,551 books. Woody Allen has directed 46 movies. Some artists are incredibly prolific – and successful – at the their work. But is there such a thing as too much? Have Damien Hirst or Stephen King made too much? Here’s a list of high producers in various art forms.
Is ‘Art For Art’s Sake’ Just A Conceit Of The Privileged?
Pankaj Mishra: “Artists in America and Western Europe have been allotted a share, however small, in their nations’ wealth and power. … Art itself in [less prosperous and open societies] may seem the prerogative of the socially privileged; but it has to flourish for the sake of much more than art.”
Rivka Galchen: “Art that directs our feelings about contemporary events, even when well intentioned, quickly reads as dated, corrupted, almost always wrong. … Art for art’s sake avoids false warmth; it is untamed, but orderly.”
A Hostile University Revolution That’s Disrupting Education
“For, whomever or whatever you might blame for the current state of affairs, the recent hostilities have been distinctly unfriendly to the creating and sustaining of intellectual energy. Universities need to get beyond these disputes, at least to some degree, if they are going to retain any meaningful chance to fulfill their social missions.”
Nearly Half Of English Public Against More Arts Funding: Survey
“Only 9% of English adults think Government spending on the arts should be increased, compared with 45% who think it should be decreased, according to new research by consultants ComRes. It also found that more than half know ‘nothing at all’ about Arts Council England (ACE), and the vast majority (89%) don’t think that it is good at communicating the value of arts and culture.”
Local School Board Votes To Charge Students $100 Each To Participate In School Plays
With strapped school budgets, the school board is looking to close its budget by making families “pay to play”.
Brexit’s Impact On The Arts – It Comes Down To Money
“The chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne (who warned against Brexit), might not have been popular among the culturati but he did genuinely value the arts and, especially in the latest spending round, went out of his way to protect funding for our national institutions. All those old conversations we used to have about arts funding (“instrumental” versus “intrinsic”) will disappear—quaint reminders of indulgent times past.”
What Boston Loses As The Globe “Refocuses” Its Arts Coverage
“The truth is, “compelling” stories can be found just about everywhere online; arts groups regularly post feature material on their websites. What are we losing? Something that is becoming increasingly rare in the world of professional journalism — invitations, via criticism, to think seriously and honestly about artistic accomplishment and failure. Let’s not pretend it is a fair trade.”