Category: issues

“You guessed it: contributions to nonprofits have gone south with the economy. Among those organizations suffering the most are the ones catering to the arts.”

“Culture was supposed to be Naples’s salvation, as so often is the hope in former industrial centers. The steelworks that drove much of the local economy had mostly closed by the end of the 1970s. The earthquake in 1980 compounded the misery. Then things looked up, for a while.” But the change wasn’t permanent. “The big question is how much culture ever does to turn around a struggling city. “

“President Bush on Monday signed into law legislation creating a copyright czar, a cabinet-level position on par with the nation’s drug czar. “

“The Pasadena Playhouse announced that an anonymous donor has stepped up with $3 million, the largest gift in its history. It rings down the curtain on a five-year capital campaign that raised $11 million, exceeding the goal by $2.5 million. … The Pasadena Symphony, meanwhile, is canceling two shows while cutting its 2008-09 budget by $1 million.”

“What did we learn? That first and last lines are hard, however old you are. That “incredible” and “amazing” are a dead end when it comes to getting to the heart of what makes something wonderful. That the best reviews aren’t always the most polished: wherever you had fun, we had fun, too.”

While smaller institutions aren’t immediately affected by the vagaries of the stock market, they might be the most vulnerable to the “ripple effect” as consumers reduce spending and funders cut contributions.

The entertainment industry claims that piracy has cost the US economy 750,000 jobs and $200 to $250 billion. “These statistics are brandished like a talisman each time Congress is asked to step up enforcement to protect the ever-beleaguered U.S. content industry. And both, as far as an extended investigation by Ars Technica has been able to determine, are utterly bogus.”

Desperate times bring dire questions. “Should arts groups be willing to call it their mission to preserve the arts community as a whole, even if that means merging with another — or in the extreme, shutting down altogether?”

“Fortunately for anyone who wants to maintain a busy cultural calendar but hears the call of frugality — and for those of us who pinch pennies regardless — New York is … the home of the bargain ticket, with an array of discounts, promotions and freebies for everything from poetry readings downtown to the glamour of opera at Lincoln Center.”

The Philadelphia arts center has announced that “it has pledges in place to meet its goal of a $72 million endowment.” This year the Kimmel also achieved a $1.2 million operating surplus and retired its $30 million debt.