Category: issues

“Social media are a boon when it comes to expanding audiences – if you get it right. Users want the full Monty – intimacy, conversation, all the bells and whistles of “rich media.” Fail to deliver, and they won’t hesitate to give you the dreaded “unfollow” treatment.”

“The image of an oral telling may be caught on paper, film or in digital format, but recordings are not the word shared live. The presence of teller and audience, and the immediacy of the moment are not fully captured by any form of technology.”

“We need a real debate about whether the well-intentioned but increasingly archaic central role of the Australia Council has had its day. Formed in the 1970s by the Whitlam government, the ”OzCo” introduced meaningful support for artists and organisations across theatre, dance, visual arts and literature for the first time. But times have moved on.”

“Arts leaders warn that threatened cuts – 25% or more – mean one in four of the 200 Arts Council-funded bodies will close, theatres will go dark, museums will shut for part of the week, with few blockbuster exhibitions or new commissions.”

“The exemption permits professors to use ripped content in non-classroom settings that are similarly protected under “fair use” — such as presentations at academic conferences.”

The institution, whose jaunty slogan is “Come for a memory, leave with a mission”, is the latest victim of the economic downturn.

“For some Indonesians, as mastery of English has become increasingly tied to social standing, Indonesian has been relegated to second-class status.” It’s not unknown in Jakarta to find children of the rich who barely speak Indonesian at all. The national language is one of the key things holding the wildly diverse archipelago together.

“In 2003, the Brazilian government [under culture minister Gilberto Gil] created an initiative called Points of Culture: thousands of community and arts projects of all sizes and types that would work to strengthen people’s involvement in the life of their neighbourhoods and the larger society.”

“The President and CEO of Dallas’ brand new, Performing Arts Center has quit, effective immediately… Mark Nerenhausen (left) helped launch the $354 million center eight months ago, and had been on the job less than two years.”

“This is the first time artists have had access to sound, well-evidenced arguments for the economic value of the arts. It’s no longer in question: the arts are affordable and the arts are profitable. If the government is interested in saving money, it would be idiotic to cut them.”