Category: issues

“Are brie and baguettes a vital part of world heritage? Yesterday, the United Nations’ cultural organization (UNESCO) added the French gastronomic experience to the world’s list of intangible cultural treasures. Here are 10 of the more bizarre entries on the list.” (Actually, some of these entries might be legitimate candidates.)

A study has “found that academics constitute a much larger percentage of French émigrés to the United States today than 30 years ago. According to the report, between 1971 and 1980, academics represented just 8 percent of the departing population; between 1996 and 2006, they represented 27 percent of the departing population.”

“David Mirvish, the largest producer of commercial theatre in Toronto, and Dan Brambilla, CEO of the Sony Centre and the biggest impresario in the non-profit sector, have formed a partnership with far-reaching implications for this city’s show business scene.”

“With the economy in freefall, Dublin has quietly become a city of pop-up spaces, with art and design collectives putting on exhibitions, gigs and plays in vacant warehouses and once glitzy retail units.”

“It’s called dynamic pricing, and audiences attending concerts, recitals, and dance and theater events presented by the organization this season may have noticed the difference: The actual ticket price may be lower — or, in some cases, higher — than the one printed in their season brochures.”

“Managing to turn rubbish into art is a valuable skill for a city like Madrid, which is trying to enhance its cultural credentials by opening more galleries, turning old industrial space into art centers and holding festivals in the midst of an unprecedented financial crisis.”

“In just a few years, we’ve seen incredible innovation in terms of delivering content in sophisticated ways, with new technology and rights holders working in partnership, and we’ve discovered that people are willing to pay for the really good ones – and this is just the beginning. I believe it’s detrimental to suggest that creators should be defeatist and not participate in this evolution – that what they’ve created has no value so they may as well give it away.”

“Calgary, in fact, is the country’s most cultural city by expenditures. In 2008, Calgarians spent $1,020 each on arts events and art works, a two-per-cent increase from 2005. Saskatoon was second in 2008, at $1,000 per capita. Canada’s most populous city, Toronto, ranks seventh ($868), Vancouver is 11th ($795) and Montreal 12th ($722).”

Recently, clips from lectures posted on YouTube have mocked lecturers. “Taken collectively, the carefully edited clips play up familiar stereotypes about faculty: there’s the quick-tempered bore (Cornell), the liberal indoctrinator (Louisiana State) and the lazy test-recycler (Central Florida).”

“For 24 nonprofit arts organizations surveyed both in 2005 and 2009, the average price dropped 15.5%, from $29.10 to $24.60, the study found. Paid admissions grew 11.6%, reaching 1.9 million. But the combined box office returns of the 24 arts groups were down almost 6% from mid-decade, from $49.7 million to $46.8 million.”