Category: issues

“The bill would have secured $75 million in guaranteed annual funding for the California Arts Council but was frozen last week without a vote. Now advocates aim to persuade legislators and Gov. Jerry Brown to give the agency at least a modest increase as they determine the state budget for the coming fiscal year.”

“International art critics are increasingly turning their attention to Poland, and talking about Warsaw as the new artistic hub of central Europe with the enthusiasm and excitement once reserved solely for Berlin.”

No. It was always about far, far more than that.

“Price’s description of a blond, blue eyed, tall man, matches Michael Townley, the CIA double agent who worked with Chilean secret police under Pinochet. Townley was taken into the U.S. witness protection program after acknowledging having killed prominent Pinochet critics in Washington and Buenos Aires.”

“A San Francisco-based online ticketing service that handles sales for hundreds of theaters, concert halls and sports venues nationwide says its records were hacked this spring and that customers should watch their billing statements to make sure intruders haven’t rung up fraudulent purchases on their credit cards.”

“The Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme has grown again, with a 6.5% increase in shows in this year’s event compared to the previous one. … However, for the first time in years, the percentage of shows classed as comedy has reduced from 36% to 33%, with a corresponding growth in spoken word and cabaret shows.”

“Westminster City Council has confirmed it will go ahead with its 100% cut to arts funding despite a petition in opposition to the proposal. The petition called on the local authority to reject the proposal that would see £350,000 currently allocated to arts organisations phased out by 2014/15.”

Well yes, but does anyone pay attention?

“On a foggy April morning in 2010, the Polish president’s plane crashed over Smolensk in eastern Russia, killing him and 95 other members of Poland’s political and military elite, traumatizing the nation and opening a bitter political divide over what caused the disaster. Now the fissures have spread to the cultural realm, as filmmakers, writers and artists fiercely debate how – or even whether – to portray this still-visceral history.”

“On the whole, people with cancer who were assigned to creative arts treatments reported less depression, anxiety, and pain and a better quality of life during the programs than those who were put on a wait list or continued receiving usual care.”