Category: issues

“People would be able to chat, drink coffee and watch videos in English libraries under a new government proposal… Andy Burnham, the Secretary of State for Culture, will today launch a consultation on changing the face of libraries which he believes are out of touch.”

The £10 million collection, to be housed in London and called Proud Nation, will include ancient papyri, medieval documents on same-sex partnerships, the door to Oscar Wilde’s jail cell, and the 1970s doll Gay Bob, complete with closet to come out of.

Canada’s federal election is coming up next week, and one of Toronto’s dailies is running a special series assessing each party on its commitment to arts and culture. Not surprisingly, the ruling Conservatives, who have slashed $45m from arts budgets over the last two years, come off looking none too good. The Liberals, meanwhile, talk a good game, but would they deliver on their promises?

“An exhibition celebrating a century-old piece of legislation may not seem an obvious crowd pleaser. But for the curators, it’s a way of arguing that Italy’s art treasures would be vastly diminished were it not for its strict — some assert, draconian — cultural-heritage laws.”

JoAnn Falletta, the music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Virginia Symphony has been appointed by President Bush to the National Council on the Arts. “The council advises the National Endowment for the Arts on programs and policies. Council members help oversee grant applications, funding program guidelines and national initiatives.”

“It’s not easy trying to modernize a massive institution known more for historic artifacts than for cutting-edge technology.[Wayne] Clough says hopes in 500 years, visitors to the museums will say those people in 2008 had their act together.”

The moderator of tonight’s presidential debate, NBC’s Tom Brokaw, sits on the board of LA’s Norton Simon Museum of Art, and has a long history of supporting art and culture. But in the midst of a global financial meltdown, will even Brokaw manage to work in a single question about cultural policy?

A former US poet laureate is urging writers to use their words to publicly take a stand against human encroachment on nature and the effect of climate change on wildlife. Robert Hass “claimed that there has been little if no news reporting on the plight of these… animals as he made his case for international literature as an effective way to send out warnings.”

Arts organizations in Massachusetts say they’re bracing to hear from “loyal givers squeezed by the economy. To prepare, they’ve been making lists of potential cuts, enacting hiring freezes, and shifting reserve funds so they’re better protected and easier to get at.”

“Is the audience for live performance really aging, dying and disappearing, never to be replaced?” Well, the numbers say that audiences are, in fact, older than they used to be. But orchestra attendance is up across the US, and the country as a whole is older than it used to be, too, thanks to aging baby boomers. So how concerned should arts groups actually be?