Category: issues

“University of the Arts London and other major arts colleges forced to look elsewhere for funding as cuts hit.”

“So how should an understanding and appreciation of architecture be approached in schools? Building blocks aside, how can we nurture not just the Frank Lloyd Wrights of the future but a public who will push these budding architects, rather than sniping from the sidelines that all modern buildings are terrible?”

Baskets and marshmallow peeps notwithstanding, “Easter has retained a stubborn hold on its identity as a religious holiday. This is all the more surprising when you consider what an opportune time it would be for marketers to convince us to buy more stuff. … So what enables Easter to maintain its religious purity and not devolve into the consumerist nightmare that is Christmas?”

According to Le Monde, “the attack is related to protests against the exhibit that were mobilized over the weekend by a Catholic institute called Civitas,” whose stated goal is a “political and social reconquest seeking to re-Christianize France.”

“[Zahi] Hawass has lent his name to a men’s wear brand: a line of rugged khakis, denim shirts and carefully worn leather jackets that are meant, according to the catalog copy, to hark ‘back to Egypt’s golden age of discovery in the early 20th century’.”

“It’s worth restating that private philanthropists are less minded to give away their money at a time of economic penury, that the government has so far failed to create anything approaching a favourable tax system to generate a more fulsome culture of giving, and that individuals would rather give their money to sure-fire successes rather than as start-up cash for innovative new projects.”

“Ticketmaster said Monday that it is introducing new technology to let artists and sports teams raise or lower ticket prices to reflect demand during the initial sales period — a move it said will crimp the profits of scalpers and boost revenue for performers and teams.”

“Dressed in a police uniform, Aman Mojadidi once set up a fake roadside checkpoint to hand out real money to befuddled Afghan motorists used to paying, not receiving, bribes. Then, during last fall’s parliamentary elections, the Florida-born Afghan artist took his antics a step further by covertly pasting Kabul walls with faux campaign posters that featured him in a black turban with a gold-plated pistol hanging around his neck.”

“The Canada Prizes for the Arts and Creativity was part of the 2009 Conservative budget but not a single prize or a single penny has been handed out. Backed by the founders of Toronto’s Luminato Festival, along with the National Ballet School’s Jeff Melanson, the prizes were to be bestowed on top international artists in various disciplines at the Toronto festival.”

“The New Jersey Performing Arts Center is undergoing the first major change to its top leadership position.”