Category: issues

“The Labour Party election manifesto … pledges to establish a £1bn Cultural Capital Fund ‘to transform libraries, museums and galleries across the country’. … The manifesto [also] commits to an ‘arts pupil premium’ to fund arts education for every primary school child. This would provide a £160 million annual boost for schools to ensure that creative and arts education is embedded in the system.” – The Art Newspaper

“We hear people saying that the boom is back but that doesn’t seem to be translating into a richer arts and cultural centre. Ireland has a really strange relationship with arts and culture. As a society, we love talking about it. We love owning it. But we don’t fund it very well. We have some of the lowest arts funding per capita in Europe.” – Irish Times

While the disruption has hampered the ability of newsrooms to fully cover communities, it also has damaged political and civic life in the United States, the report says, leaving many people without access to crucial information about where they live. – The New York Times

The World Performing Arts Capitals, a joint project of the International Theatre Institute and UNESCO, “twin a major metropolis like London or New York with a smaller city or town, similar to those selected for the European Capitals of Culture, or a major city with limited budget as found in Africa, Latin America, Asia and parts of Europe.” (Another report says that the first two cities selected are Shanghai and Wrocław, Poland.) – The Stage

For the third time in as many years, the White House has proposed a federal budget that would shutter the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting — which supports PBS and NPR — and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Like last year, the plan provides small appropriations for each agency to facilitate its orderly demise. – Washington Post

“Perth and Sydney have recognised [their responsibilities] by commissioning diverse local artists working in diverse forms. These festivals are engaging with their place in contemporary culture by supporting local artistic communities, and reflecting stories of their cities back to their audiences. Meanwhile, Adelaide has continued down a well worn path … [of] proven successes from Europe, with a preference for male auteurs.” – The Conversation

The story is already legend: In D.C.’s Shaw neighborhood, Donald Campbell had been cranking go-go music from the speakers of his store at the corner of 7th and Florida Street since 1995, and it had been one of the few places one could still hear go-go in a public space in the city in recent years. But, in April, a tenant of a nearby luxury condo threatened to sue Campbell if he didn’t turn the music off. So Campbell let the streets decide, putting the call out to local media, social media, college networks—whoever would listen—that go-go was once again under attack. The response: Thousands of people flooded Shaw’s streets and thousands more signed a petition (80,329 to be exact) – CityLab

“The [London] museum exists thanks to a public fundraising drive, with more than 1,000 people collectively donating almost £50,000. The director, Florence Schechter, says her motivation behind setting up the space was simple. ‘I discovered there was a penis museum in Iceland but no vagina equivalent anywhere else so I decided to make one,’ she says. When asked more about her motivation, she adds with a smile: ‘I just love the vag. I am a bisexual woman.'” – The Guardian