Category: issues

“Adam Mars-Jones, the novelist and critic, was last night named the winner at a booze-up held in Soho’s Coach and Horses pub, for his wielding of the literary hatchet over By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham. Cunningham, a Pulitzer winner for The Hours, made the error of filling his latest novel, the tale of an art dealer’s midlife crisis, with repeated references to earlier, and possibly greater works in the literary canon.”

“Four in 10 children have never seen the inside of an art gallery, while 17 per cent haven’t visited a museum with their parents. The research … also revealed that a quarter of children haven’t been to the theatre, while six in 10 have never heard or been to a classical music concert. … And half of parents admit they make little effort to educate their children on culture or history, relying on schools to do so.”

“The government, led by Viktor Orban, stands accused of systematically replacing key figures in cultural institutions, staging pro-government exhibitions, rethinking permanent museum displays and replacing historic statues to fit its political agenda.”

“While higher education is generally regarded as a good (mainly because folks with college degrees make more than folks who lack such degrees), there has been considerable debate in the United States as to whether or not higher education is a public good” (and thus deserving of funding by taxpayers). A look at a few of the arguments pro and con.

My Image Studios, in the ground floor retail space of a new condominium building on West 116th Street in Manhattan, will combine a restaurant “with three theaters for live entertainment and independent films, as well as post-production studios, all to create a $21 million ‘living room’ of black and Latino-flavored arts and culture.”

“The Islamic Republic’s morality police, fighting ‘Western intoxication’ as the dispute over nuclear technology has raised fears of war, last month went on a drive against Barbie,” and the country has since banned action figures based on characters from The Simpsons. Yet “Superman and Spiderman were still welcome in Iran – because they do battle for the oppressed.”

“European activists who participated in American Internet protests last month learned that there was political power to be harnessed on the Web. Now they are putting that knowledge to use in an effort to defeat new global rules for intellectual property.”

“Many of these barriers are a consequence of the distinctive structure of the creative labour market – the sector is characterised by a prevalence of SMEs [small and medium enterprises], micro-businesses, start-ups, freelancers and project-based work. This structural feature is responsible for an overall market failure in which there is under-investment in human capital, fewer training opportunities, insufficiently structured career progression and unfair access to jobs and opportunities.”

“Reporters for the Chronicle found specific donations of at least $1 million to arts and cultural institutions by 12 of the 50, totaling $213.4 million. The Philanthropy 50, as the Chronicle calls them, gave $10.4 billion in total charitable donations in 2011, more than three times the $3.3 billion they donated in 2010.”