Eight mobile cinemas are hitting the roads of Afghanistan, bringing movies to Afghans, many of whom have never seen one. “Last year, the mobile cinema attracted 450,000 people in six weeks. This year the goal is ambitious; we hope to attract 900,000 Afghans.”
Tag: 07.25.03
What A New Editor Might Mean To NYT Cultural Coverage
So will New York Times’ coverage of culture change under new exective editor Bill Keller? He’s said to have a healthy interest in culture and can be expected to take it seriously. He “takes over with a Raines-named troika newly in charge of the NYT’s cultural coverage. In October 2002, former foreign correspondent Steven Erlanger was anointed culture editor; in January of this year, cultural kahuna Frank Rich was given even more power; and, just two weeks later, 28-year-old Jody Kantor, the New York editor for the online magazine Slate, was named editor of Arts & Leisure.”
Austin Looks To The Future, Struggles With The Present
In Austin, civic leaders are banking on the idea that a dramatic new performing arts center slated to open in 2006 will secure the city’s performing arts scene for decades to come. But the PAC has to get built first, and supporters are finding that that’s no easy task in the current economy. The hall is expected to cost $110 million, and the city only has $62 million in hand, forcing organizers to move to a phased building plan which will not alleviate the city’s performing space crunch anytime soon. Still, the PAC will eventually allow the city’s arts groups to perform in a top-notch space at relatively low cost.
Pioneering Denver Museum Falls On Hard Times
“The private museum that helped transform a gritty Denver street into a cutting-edge spot for art galleries is in a deep financial and management funk. Museo de las Americas, an 11-year-old institution that two years ago had plans for a $10 million expansion, now finds itself running a bare-bones operation… The institution’s executive director – who was working for free – resigned in June after less than six months on the job. Twelve of its 15 directors have left in the past year, and past-due bills are piling up. Salaries run about $21,000 per month and expenses run $15,000, but the Museo has only about $60,000 banked.”
Turgeon’s Bilingual House Hit With A Lawsuit
Stephen Williams, the Canadian author who has sold 37,000 copies of his book Karla: A Pact With The Devil since it was released five months ago, is suing publisher Pierre Turgeon and his bilingual publishing house, Cantos, claiming that Williams has been paid only a fraction of what he is due from the book’s proceeds. The book in question, which examines the case of a notorious Canadian serial killer, has been exceedingly controversial, and was at one point thought to be in violation of a gag order issued in the case. Turgeon claims that the controversy has hurt sales, and denies that the book has turned a profit.
Finishing What They Started
The UCLA Hammer Museum in Los Angeles has been mostly finished for a decade. When the building opened in 1990, a design for a theater was incorporated and roughed out, but never fully built. The Hammer Museum has now received a $5 million gift from the widow of director Billy Wilder, with the money to be used to complete the theater project. “The Wilder donation gives a much-needed boost to the museum’s fund-raising campaign for its planned $26.5-million renovation.”
Money Talks, Diversity Walks
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is absurdly dedicated to a tiny circle of seven specific artists, thanks to its stubborn founder, and yet it still receives an inordinate amount of backing from the provincial government of Ontario, says Sarah Milroy. “Attempts to gracefully loosen the grand vizier’s grip of steel have come to naught, with the province appointing successive waves of like-minded souls to the board to defend the rough-hewn ramparts from the encroachments of contemporaneity. No sticky incursions of race will be welcomed in this Mighty Whitey chapel of Canadiana, thank you very much.”
The Pianist Who Lives In Gershwin’s Head
Kevin Cole has carved out a niche for himself as America’s leading interpreter as Gershwin’s piano music, and has solidified his reputation as a crowd-pleaser with performances from coast to coast. But Howard Reich sees potential in Cole that goes far beyond simple performance. American orchestras all seem to struggle when called upon to plan a concert of classic American music (Copland and Bernstein aside,) and Reich thinks that Cole “ripe for an artistic directorship that doesn’t yet exist, but ought to.”
Playing The Parent Card
The new generation of teens and pre-teens are, naturally, more computer-savvy than any previous bunch of kids. And that means that they do a tremendous amount of file-sharing, and they know exactly where to find the free (and illegal) music. Furthermore, they do not appear to be terribly responsive to begging or threats. So the recording industry is trying to get to them in the only way they think might have an effect: they’re calling the little pirates’ parents.
Universities Seek A Middle Ground On File-Sharing
“University officials are working with the music and movie industry to find a peaceful solution to the piracy problem, even as they’re fighting a firestorm of subpoenas seeking information on their file-swapping students. The universities are exploring technologies that would control illegal peer-to-peer file sharing. In addition, they are working with digital music and movie companies to offer downloading services tailored to universities.”