Category: issues

“The Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts, which turned venues across the city into a mosaic of Paris-related exhibitions, performances, screenings, and talks during the spring, exceeded the expectations of its organizers, attracting 404,600 visitors to 135 events and generating $55.74 million in economic activity, according to an independent study just released.”

“One reason, an official said, was a noticeable decrease in attendance. In 2009 the festival drew 30,000 people. Last year under 20,000 attended, according to the center.”

“The Segerstrom Center for the Arts plans to celebrate its 25th anniversary season by selling 10,000 tickets to assorted events for just $10, in a discount program dubbed ‘Access for All’.” The promotion uses what the LA Times calls the Forrest Gump principle: “these discounts are like a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re gonna get.”

“Do you think that the press and the arts ought to have some different sort of relationship? More like a partnership?”

“A documentary on the influence of American rock ‘n’ roll on the Soviet Union’s collapse and a traveling exhibition about the King James Bible are among 249 recipients of $40 million in grants announced by the National Endowment for the Humanities. … Digital humanities, a discipline that barely existed a decade ago, has been winning additional financing from the endowment.”

“Of course it is extraordinarily difficult to quantify the impact of the arts. Ironically, its elusiveness is arguably what allows the arts to cross cultural boundaries that can often be otherwise impenetrable, but that same elusiveness is what makes the arts such an easy target for the bean counters.”

“Two men and a woman were arrested Monday morning outside the New York Stock Exchange when they and other artists decided to get naked to protest American and international financial institutions.”

“The box is located on the eastern side of the auditorium and has about 865 years remaining on the lease. When the building was being constructed in the 19th Century, several seats were offered for sale to private individuals on a 999-year lease.”

“Having always come under the remit of the Interior Ministry, bullfighting is now to be the responsibility of the Culture Ministry, the cabinet decided last Friday.”

With the mighty Berlin Philharmonic and Simon Rattle beating all locals in the classical category, and international star choreographers Akram Khan and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui up against Australian artists, some Australian observers argue that the Helpmann Awards should have a separate category for touring foreign performers.