“The closing date for applications to be the Arts Council’s new chair, to succeed Sir Christopher Frayling, is tomorrow. So sharpen those pencils, potentials! Names being bandied about include Richard Eyre, apparently favoured by his successor at the helm of the National Theatre, Nicholas Hytner; and Genista McIntosh, also formerly of the National Theatre, who so thoroughly whipped ACE into shape in her report into the debacle over the last funding round.”
Category: issues
Science-vs.-Creationism Debate Rages in Muslim World
A Turkish writer who says that “All terrorists are Darwinists” and that the impending return of both Jesus Christ and the Mahdi is “scientific fact” is gaining a growing following and claims to have sold eight million books.
Report Card: Congress Scores Higher On The Arts
“Support for the arts in the House of Representatives increased appreciably during the soon-to-conclude legislative session, according to Americans for the Arts, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy organization, which released its Congressional Arts Report Card Sept. 22.”
Another Political Convention, But This Time It’s Art
“‘Democracy in America: The National Campaign’ at the Park Avenue Armory is a nonpartisan, nonelectoral but intensely political convention-as-art-exhibition timed to coincide with the 2008 presidential race. Like its Democratic and Republican counterparts, it lasts just a few days (it opened on Sunday and closes on Saturday) and involves lots of speeches, music, funny hats and parties. But there are differences.”
Madison’s Overture Center Loses Endowment Fund to Wall Street Turmoil
“The fund, refinanced three years ago, was originally intended to produce enough income to pay off the building’s debt service as well as help fund its maintenance and operations. However, it failed to perform well in the volatile markets since Sept. 11, 2001 and reached the point at which the controlling banks said they would liquidate it this week.”
Financial Crisis Could Lead To Art Slowdown
The world of arts and culture could face damaging cutbacks as sponsors rein in their spending due to the global financial crisis, industry experts say. The turmoil convulsing world markets has already claimed some victims.
How Will Economic Meltdown Change Art?
“If the economic crisis does become this century’s Great Depression, how will art be changed? That seems hard to answer without also considering politics.”
How The Arts Fight For Human Rights
“Politicians and nation states play a crucial role in the fight for human rights, but for many people – particularly the young – heartfelt pleas for social justice are better received through novels, movies and music.”
Canadian Government Arts Funding Has Slipped
“A close look at federal budget documents suggests that nearly $45-million in recent federal funding cuts are symptomatic of a larger trend under the Conservatives that has seen dollars gradually shifted away from arts and culture, and funnelled instead into other branches of the Department of Canadian Heritage that focus on the department’s social mandate.”
The New Intolerant Elite
The cultural elite in Christian Lander’s Stuff White People Like blog have specific tastes. Their favorite activities (watching political documentaries, “raising awareness,” foreign travel), which they complacently embrace as broadening, are in fact lazy and tend to be intellectually and politically stultifying: White People “like feeling smart without doing work–two hours in a theater is easier than ten hours with a book.”