Artists in Egypt “see a disturbing foreshadowing in Egypt’s new constitution, which contains passages, including pointed references to blasphemy and morals, that they fear could be exploited by Islamists to impose restrictive sharia law.”
Category: issues
Parents Desperately Need Britain’s Libraries
“It was an amazing place where I, like my eldest daughter, could discover a world of literature, books that my parents have never heard of before. I couldn’t get enough. It saddens and angers me that there will be generations of children that may never step through the library doors for the first time and discover this magical world of imagination and intrigue.”
Rebuilding Timbuktu’s Sacred Mausoleums: Mud Required
“‘We can restore them,’ [UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova] said. ‘We have all the plans, we have the designs’ for buildings ‘made of mud (for bricks) and local materials.'”
Amazon Patents Protocol For Lending Digital Content
“Amazon.com has been awarded what appears to be a broad patent on a ‘secondary market for digital objects’ – a system for users to sell, trade and loan digital objects including audio files, eBooks, movies, apps, and pretty much anything else.”
Former Gergiev Foundation Chief Indicted For Embezzling €6 Million
Igor Zotov, a former director of the foundation created by conductor and Mariinsky Theater head Valery Gergiev to fund the Moscow Easter Festival and St. Petersburg’s White Nights Festival, has been charged with stealing 245 million rubles ($8 million) to buy six luxury apartments in Moscow.
The Ikea Effect (A Lesson For Arts Professionals?)
“Imagine that, you know, you built a table. Maybe it came out a little bit crooked. Probably your wife or your neighbor would see it for what it is, you know? A shoddy piece of workmanship. But to you that table might seem really great, because you’re the one who created it. It’s the fruit of your labor. And that is really the idea behind the Ikea Effect.”
Remember Roller Derby? It’s Back
“Roller derby, the tough as nails sport that emerged in the U.S. during the Depression of the 1930s,” became a mainstay of 1960s television, “and ultimately faded, is in the midst of an unlikely global resurgence that has seen it catch on everywhere from Dubai to Tasmania.”
A New Dallas Museum Shows How Philanthropy Works
Anonymous donors are scarce in these parts.
Want To Be An Artist – It’s Always Been About Perseverance
“Being a writer in the 17th or 18th century was pretty much the same as being a writer in the 20th or 21st century. It’s an occupation that they knew then doesn’t make a lot of money, and their parents knew that, and said, ‘What’s your backup plan?'”
What Timbuktu’s Archives Mean For Africa
“One of the things that is said over and over again about Africa is that there is no written history, but that is a blatant lie. If you go to Timbuktu you will see it is absolutely not true.”