The mother-lode of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver objects discovered on a Staffordshire farm last summer “will remain on display in this country, after they were ‘saved for the nation’ through a combination of local fundraising and a government heritage fund.”
Category: issues
From Under The Burmese Generals’ Thumb, Alternative Art Sneaks Out
“Art exhibitions, some featuring risky hidden political messages, open nearly every week in Yangon, Myanmar’s main city. Yangon has a festival of underground music, including punk bands, twice a year. Fans of the most popular musical genres, hip-hop and electronic dance music, wear low-slung baggy pants to regularly held concerts here.”
In Report, UK Cultural Leaders Argue For Stable Funding
“Arts institutions worry that grants will be cut after the general election, which Labour Party briefing documents suggest will be on May 6. … More cuts might result in building shutdowns, fewer exhibitions and performances, and fewer opportunities for the young, they warned.”
Why The Resentment Of Good Criticism?
Glenn Kenny: There’s “an odd tendency I’ve seen more and more of over my quarter-century of doing something that sometimes resembles criticism–that a lot of people look at the critical impulse, and the work that it sometimes produces, as some kind of attempt to kill their buzz. And, beyond that, to force-feed them stuff that they don’t like.”
LA County Halves Its Arts Management Internship Program
“Last year the county spent $500,000 to sponsor 125 interns; this year there will be 75. … The county-funded internships place students who live in L.A. County or attend college here with performing arts organizations.”
Arts Policy Geeks, A Webcast Just For You
Friday morning’s meeting of the National Council on the Arts “will be the first one that is viewable online. The webcast as well as [NEA Chairman Rocco] Landesman’s cross-country travels are part of an effort to ‘connect the NEA with Americans wherever they are,’ says an agency spokeswoman.”
LA’s Dept. Of Cultural Affairs Shrinks As Jobs Fall Away
“Additional layoffs and early retirements loom over a department that expects staffing to fall from 63 last summer to 36 by July 1. The $9.6-million Cultural Affairs budget already had been trimmed by $700,000 through furloughs and unfilled openings.” The city also wants to unload some of its neighborhood arts centers on private operators.
Barbican’s Sheffield To Head Hong Kong Cultural District
“Hong Kong says it has picked the artistic director of London’s Barbican Centre, Graham Sheffield, as chief executive of the city’s HK$21.6 billion ($2.8 billion) West Kowloon Cultural District.”
Where Are Arts Institutions Making Themselves Relevant? Montreal
Kent Nagano and the Montreal Symphony are pursuing new audiences by rejuvenating their repertoire and appearing at hockey games. The Opéra de Montréal, nearly bankrupt five years ago, has made opera seem cool and is attracting young people in droves. The city’s Museum of Fine Arts has seen attendance rise by 83% since 1993. Montreal’s vibrant contemporary dance scene is known around the world.
Unlike Hanoi, Saigon Has No Time For The Arts
“[One] might conclude that this expansive metropolis, which is experiencing dramatic growth and is quickly turning into a major Asian business center, is a city of culture. It isn’t. … [The] arts are such a hard sell in a city where the old Saigon is being pushed aside by tall modern buildings, fancy shops and hordes of international hustlers looking to make a killing.”