“Storefront theaters and other small, non-profit performing arts venues that haven’t had the means to bring their spaces up to City of Chicago building and fire codes may be eligible for help from the city’s largest philanthropy.” Arts organizations with budgets under $500,000 will be the beneficiaries of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s new $660,000 fund.
Tag: 01.12.07
California Arts Funding To Stay Stuck In Deep Freeze
Five years ago California’s state funding on the arts was decimated, leaving the state 50th in per capita spending on the arts. There was hope that this year there would be some increases in arts funding, but that was just a passing fancy…
Missouri Artists Attack Symphony
Missouri arts spporters are pressuring the Kansas City Symphony to drop its lawsuit aainst the state for more funding. “Six statewide arts groups signed a letter asking the Symphony to reconsider its position because they feared Gov. Matt Blunt would cut all arts funding from his Jan. 24 budget proposal.”
The Louvre For Sale (Any More Bids?)
“After months of rumors and a week of protests, the French government has finally confirmed that in exchange for a sum said to be $800 million to $1 billion, it will rent the name, art treasures and expertise of the Louvre to a new museum to be built in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.”
Protests Over English National Ballerina
Protestors stood outside the theatre where principal dancer Simone Clarke was dancing. She was named in a newspaper last month as a member of the British National Party. “Campaign group Unite Against Fascism called for Clarke, 36, to stand down, saying she has been used to “promote and prettify extreme right-wing politics.”
EMI Sales Declines Prompt Exec Firings
Music giant EMI dismissed two senior execs after disappointing holiday sales. “We have now had seven consecutive years of decline in the recorded music market. EMI shares, boosted throughout 2006 by regular takeover speculation, fell over 10 percent in early trading
Another Sign Movies Are Moving Online
“Nearly half of the short films being screened at this month’s Sundance Film Festival will be available for purchase at Apple’s iTunes store”
French Rent-An-Art Programs Have Some Worried
With major French museums loaning (renting?) some of their significant art to museums in other parts of the world, a debate about the practice has broken out. “Such deep cooperation goes far beyond the typical museum loans for exhibits — and the sheer number of operations in progress has some in the art world worried that France’s museums will be put under strain.”
Can A City Just Give Away Art?
A Los Angeles artists is unhappy that a piece he made for the city was given away as a going away present last summer to Margie J. Reese, former general manager of the city’s Cultural Affairs Department.
France’s Cartoon Character
The US dominates the worldwide cartoon market, using its proven formula of family friendly plots, fuzzy animal characters, and name-brand voices. But France is making increasingly sophisticated high-budget animated features.