Category: issues

Popular TV shows have “helped spark renewed interest in even what would have once been considered the too highbrow subjects of opera and ballet in schools. As a result, the Royal Opera House is mounting a major new education programme which will include setting up projects in both arts in more than 120 primary and secondary schools this autumn.”

Foiled by the culture secretary in his attempt to appoint “the former editor of the London Evening Standard, which championed his campaign for the mayoralty, to run the Arts Council’s London branch,” London Mayor Boris Johnson “is prepared to leave an empty seat at the helm of the regional body following the government veto.”

“The Mayor of London tried to install Veronica Wadley, former editor of the Evening Standard, which championed his campaign for the mayoralty, to run the Arts Council in London. He recommended her for the job despite the shortlisting panel judging that she was insufficiently qualified to take the role.”

“In a preliminary ruling, the [Competition Commission] said that the deal would make it harder for new entrants to break into the ticketing marketplace. It also warned that combining the two major players in the music market could mean the price of tickets goes up, or result in concert-goers receiving a poorer service.”

“Funding totalling £3 million is to be made available to disabled artists to create a programme of work in the run up to the London 2012 Olympics, it was revealed today. As part of the Cultural Olympiad, Unlimited will be Britain’s largest ever unified disability arts programme and will aim to bring the sector into the mainstream.”

The dilemma is “how to promote the ‘core values’ of Sesame Street, like optimism and tolerance, while at the same time portraying a version of local life realistic enough that broadcasters will show it … A central premise of each Sesame Street [international] co-production is that the show should be apolitical, but few of the writers seemed to think that made sense in a Palestinian context.”

“A showdown is brewing at [Escondido’s] struggling performing arts center, with City Council members threatening to withhold cash the center needs for bills and salaries unless center trustees accept a new management model that could reduce their authority.”

Why do “we still meet people who would think it shaming to admit difficulty in reading but who boast (sometimes untruthfully) about their incompetence at basic mathematics? How come the phrase ‘computer nerd’ runs off the tongue more easily than ‘painting nerd’?”

“Chicago, thank heavens, thrives on turning insecurity into artistic gold. But even a second city needs a global passion.”

“Not only did he help found [the Upper West Side performing arts center] 32 years ago, he is also closely identified with the organization’s most notable programs. These include [the public radio program] Selected Shorts,  … Bloomsday on Broadway, the annual reading marathon celebrating James Joyce’s Ulysses; and the Wall to Wall celebrations of composers like Bach, Stravinsky and Sondheim.”