Washington, D.C. is getting a fringe festival, and about time, too. “Capital Fringe will be concentrated downtown along the Seventh Street corridor, offering multiple events in 20 venues, ranging from traditional theaters to alternative spaces such as galleries, lobbies, vacant storefronts and outdoor areas.” The ten-day festival will launch in summer 2006.
Tag: 04.28.05
Why Tony Blair Never Talks About The London Phil
Great Britain is in the midst of an election cycle, with Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair fighting desperately for a third term as the opposition Tories seek to prove to the nation that they deserve another shot. And yet, as the campaign winds down, there has been not a single significant mention of the position of the arts in British culture. The sad truth is that, while British art and culture is thriving like never before, and while the UK has a long tradition of government support, the country lags far behind its European brethren in the establishment of a stable cultural identity which can be used as political capital.
Gimme A Pound Of The Roast Beef, And One Of Those Tom Clancy Things
Independent booksellers may be dying by the dozens, but a new frontier is fast being established to compete with the oh-so-alluring chain stores. You’ll find it wedged between the Cheerios and the artichoke hearts. “Grocery stores have gone beyond the traditional spinning racks of pocket-size paperbacks, adding mahogany fixtures, sitting areas and cafes, and often placing their book sections in the center of the store, where shoppers are likely to stroll. Eye-catching displays of new hardcovers are sprinkled throughout the stores, encouraging impulse purchases.”
New Generation Of Collectors Tilts Art Market Towards The New
Spring auction season is almost upon us, and indications are that new will be the new old this year. “A decade ago the big money was primarily to be found in Impressionist and modern art. But during the next two weeks of back-to-back evening auctions, newer art is expected to be where hungry buyers will gravitate. Fueled in large part by a passionate group of multimillionaire hedge-fund managers, with deep pockets and a taste for the 20th and 21st centuries, they relish the competition of bidding at auction and will often pay whatever it takes to bring home the best.”
Harper Lee Emerges, For A Moment
Harper Lee, author of the classic American novel To Kill A Mockingbirg, is famously reclusive and publicity-averse. In fact, she hasn’t given an interview in over forty years. “But like her reclusive character Boo Radley, Lee recently emerged to perform an act of kindness. The author signed a first edition of her book that will be sold to raise money for the seriously ill son of [a] Cookeville, Tenn., police chief.”
Another Indie Bookstore Gives Up The Ghost
Bound To Be Read, a large-scale independent bookseller operating stores in Albuquerque and the Twin Cities has announced that it will close its doors within a few months. The company had sought to attract consumers who would ordinarily shop at large chain stores by offering a wide array of products and services (including a coffee bar and on-demand CD burning) in addition to a huge in-store stock of literature. 68 employees at the two stores will be laid off – the Albuquerque store had been open for fifteen years, the St. Paul outlet for five.
From Bad To Worse In Denver
“The departure of Colorado Ballet’s executive director two weeks ago has set off a chain reaction of resignations, including the company’s board chairwoman, its head of sales and marketing and five other board members. At the same time, the company still owes the city of Denver $146,629 in rent and other fees from its fall production of “Dracula” in the Buell Theatre. And it will owe about $150,000 more at the end of the current run of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. As a backdrop to all this, Jane Hermann, the New York agent for internationally renowned choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, said the company is in breach of contract with him.”
A Kinder, Gentler, TV Turnoff Push
It’s Tilt-At-Windmills Week again, otherwise known as TV Turnoff Week, when do-gooders across the U.S. beg, plead, and otherwise cajole us to snap off the tube and for-God’s-sake-do-something-with-our-lives. But this year, you may not notice the usual screeching about the evils of television, because proponents of the turnoff effort are taking a new tack, and you probably won’t even know they’re working on you unless you’re paying close attention.
Monet For Money: The Boston-Vegas Art Exchange Continues
“It was a gamble when [Boston’s] Museum of Fine Arts decided to loan more than a dozen Monets to a Las Vegas casino gallery last year. Art critics and museum curators were not pleased, saying that it violated the mission of the nonprofit institution. But the MFA received a reported $1 million, and the show at the Bellagio Gallery of Art will draw about 450,000 people by its May 30 closing.” So naturally, the Bostonians will shortly be sending more works to Vegas for the casino’s next show, in exchange for a now-undisclosed amount of money.
Blogging The Written Word
In today’s lowbrow world, face-to-face conversations about serious literature can be hard to come by. But then, that’s what the Internet is for, and a new generation of lit-blogs has sprung up, to the delight of obsessive readers everywhere. “It’s infinitely appealing for a person who loves to read and aims to write to slip through the wardrobe into a parallel world where other people actually care about books; where Michael Chabon and Jonathan Lethem aren’t just boldface names but animated superheroes forced to face the wrath of supervixen Candace Bushnell.”