GES-2, a center for contemporary art(s) designed by Renzo Piano and constructed inside a disused 1907 power station, will open next September. Leonid Mikhelson, the billionaire funding the project, insists that GES-2 “is not a museum”; it will have a 420-seat concert hall/theatre and an on-site workshop as well as exhibition spaces, outdoor event space, and a birch grove. (What Mikhelson won’t say is how much it all costs.) – The Art Newspaper
Category: issues
John Killacky – Artist-Turned-Legislator Changes His View On Arts Advocacy
“Since being elected to the Vermont House of Representatives last fall, my perspective has dramatically changed as to how best advocate for the arts and, in fact, how siloed arts organizations and their funders are. My legislative work focuses on economic development, tourism, heath, education, affordable housing, environment, and agriculture, as well as vulnerable populations: veterans, prisoners, the homeless, those suffering from substance use disorders, and survivors of physical and sexual abuse. Art is barely present in these conversations, but is so needed.” – Americans for the Arts Blog
Max Exodus Of Leadership Of Vancouver’s Arts Organizations
It’s an impressive roll call (and all women): Executive director of the Vancouver International Film Festival, Jacqueline Dupuis. Ballet BC artistic director Emily Molnar. Vancouver’s Chutzpah! Festival artistic managing director Mary-Louise Albert. Kathleen Bartels executive director of the Vancouver Art Gallery. Kelly Tweeddale, executive director of the Vancouver Symphony. And Kim Gaynor, general director of Vancouver Opera. – The Globe and Mail (Canada)
‘The Mountain Retreat For The Liberal Elite’ — A Week At The Aspen Institute
“Though it calls itself a ‘nonpartisan forum for values-based leadership and the exchange of ideas’, it is more accurately described as a cross between a think-tank, a celebrity summer camp and a liberal-arts college.” – 1843 Magazine
The Vermont House Where People Go To Be In Jane Austen’s World
People come for all sorts of reasons: “One woman clearly thought it was going to be like the movie Austenland and she’d meet her husband here.” – The Guardian
Oxford University Student Union Votes To Abolish Clapping In Favor Of “Jazz Hands”
“British Sign Language clapping is used by the National Union of Students since loud noises, including whooping and traditional applause, are argued to present an access issue for some disabled students who have anxiety disorders, sensory sensitivity, and/or those who use hearing impairment aids.” – Oxford Student Union
Fire Breaks Out Near Getty; Area Evacuated
The Getty fire, which broke out near the Getty Center along the 405 Freeway, has burned more than 500 acres. – Los Angeles Times
Can Pompeii Be Saved From The Tourists?
Since concerted excavations began in the middle of the 18th century, Pompeii’s rich homes, tombs and public buildings have been plundered by looters, exploited by profit-hungry private excavators, and (in some early cases) “restored” so aggressively as to spoil the original treasures. – The New York Times
Festivals Worldwide Are Thinking Green
Every industry takes a toll and holds its own responsibility when it comes to environmental impact, and as life goes on, action to minimise this is necessary. Festivals, promoters and event organisers around the world have been cottoning on to the gravity of our current climate crisis, and their efforts to blend music, the pursuit of pleasure and matters of sustainability are being reflected in the public consciousness. – MixMag
What Happened To The Great Cultural Critics?
What has become of the commanding figure of the critic in the last 20 years? Where are the successors to Sontag and Steiner, and to Empson and Richards, FR Leavis, Raymond Williams and Frank Kermode? …They wrote books such as Culture and Society (Raymond Williams, 1958), The Death of Tragedy (Steiner, 1961) and Culture and Imperialism (Said, 1993). They moved literary criticism from poetry and the novel to subjects such as illness and photography, orientalism and the Holocaust. Yes, they were lively speakers, often provocative, but they were also accessible. – New Statesman