International News in January 2003
Show all of 2003
Financial institutions pump in $17 million towards arts awards
Local financial institutions have donated more than $17 million to fund the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe's 2003 merit awards. more >
A multicultural milestone
America passed another multicultural milestone last week, as the number of people who identify themselves as Hispanic became the nation's largest minority group. Estimates released by the Census Bureau show that 37-million people call themselves Hispanic, compared with 36.2-million people who identify as black or African-American. more >
Against backdrop of lower arts funding, Stanford increases commissions
While some corporations and foundations nurture artistic ambition by offering workspace, equipment and cash, their largesse depends a lot on the ebb and flow of the economy. Running against the current tide, the number of Stanford Lively Arts commissions actually has increased in the past four years. more >
Arts are good for your health
It might be the purgative power of watching a great tragedy, the soothing effect of a fine painting or even the robust exercise of singing in a choir, but the arts are good for your health. This is the view of Richard Smith, the editor of the British Medical Journal. more >
Can artists inspire scientists?
The National Research Council has awarded two fellowships to see if a different kind of creative process can stimulate scientific thinking. more >
Growing a culture
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Public Understanding of Science and Technology program spends US$8 million to $10 million a year funding a slew of projects in film, theater, public television, books, radio, and new media. By recognizing that movies and plays shape public perception, the Sloan Foundation has been planting seeds with creative artists, hoping to change the way Americans think about science. more >
The arts vs. the iron fiscal fist
Peter B Lewis recently exercised his philanthropic muscle by threatening Thomas Krens, the director of the Guggenheim Museum, with the loss of his job unless he sharply cut his budget. That bold move has been applauded not only by corporate hard-liners but also by the art establishment and the art press. more >
The music's difficult, so is the life
'Changing the Beat: A Study of the Worklife of Jazz Musicians' was prepared by Joan Jeffri and the Research Center for Arts and Culture under a cooperative agreement with the National Endowment for the Arts and the San Francisco Study Center. more >
ACCD to attend world summit
Members of the newly-formed Australian Coalition for Cultural Diversity (ACCD) will next week represent Australia at the second International Meeting of Professional Cultural Organisations, in Paris. more >
Three sponsors chip in for Museum's CD
A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the Brunei Museums Department and three main sponsors - Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sdn Bhd, HSBC and TotalFinaElf - to produce an Information Resource CD for Brunei Museums Department. more >
Boyle calls for public inquiry into arts funding
The chairman of the Scottish Arts Council has called for a public inquiry to stave off financial catastrophe in the arts and to nurture the sector for future generations. more >
Cultural groups brace for deeper funding cuts
The Massachusetts Cultural Council will soon announce the results of a survey assessing the impact of state arts budget cuts on artists, cultural groups, education programs and local cultural councils. more >
Cultural measure defeated
Lawmakers have killed a measure to give US$60,0000 a year to implement a four-year-old law that ensures American Indian culture is integrated into Montana schools. more >
Cuts mean fewer nights at the opera
Scottish Opera is likely to face cuts in its production programme following the latest annual budget announcement by the Scottish Arts Council. more >
Sydney arts boss heads for Wales
The woman credited with transforming the role of Sydney Opera House has been appointed to run the Wales Millennium Centre project. more >
Dead hand of the bureaucrats threatens to strangle the arts
There's nothing wrong with having a public row about arts funding, just so long as the government doesn't conclude that it can do the job better itself. more >
Museums battle recession, pop culture
Japan's art museums, which include such world-famous names as the huge Tokyo National Museum that specializes in the country's cultural treasures, are facing a serious cash crunch. more >
Rural areas `need centres of entertainment for the young'
Rural areas in Wales need facilities and entertainment of the kind usually found in larger towns if young people are to stay in the area or be attracted back to live, according to a new report from the Institute of Welsh Affairs. more >
'I am not a fuddy duddy'
He has recently attacked 'macho idiot rappers', British art and violent films, but, British culture minister Kim Howells says he isn't really shooting his mouth off. more >
How to save Scotland's arts industry
A sell-out scramble for tickets to see Siobhan Redmond in the Royal Lyceum's production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - but yet there are more headlines on 'cash crisis for the arts' in Scotland. more >
Making an exhibition of museums
The Gulbenkian Prize for museums and galleries, worth over £100,000, seeks to be for the museum world what the Turner Prize is for visual arts and the Booker Prize is for literature. more >
Scottish Arts Council faces axe in shakeup
Two of the Scotland's main cultural bodies, Scottish Screen and the Scottish Arts Council, could be dismantled and replaced in a radical move which would change the face of the arts in Scotland. more >
Tension piles over unique Bulgarian museum ownership
The argument over the ownership of the unique open-air museum Etar, some 220 km north-east of Sofia, has increased after the announcement that a lawsuit will be filed in the local court. more >
'Madame Patronage'
The French government has presented a series of measures aimed at encouraging arts sponsorship and the creation of foundations for this aim, with the intention of helping France catch up with other countries in this field. more >
Artists, doctors warn vs VAT 'long-term effects'
More sloppy movies that would stunt the mind, and higher doctors' fees that would aggravate the body. These are just two of numerous 'long-term effects' that Filipinos might as well bet on once government starts collecting more taxes on 'professionals' such as entertainers, doctors, lawyers and accountants. more >
European 'eCulture' seminar to examine impacts of ICT sector
A conference examining the impacts of the ICT sector on European cultural policies will provide a useful background to the UN World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva this December, organisers have said. more >
Online voting for book award to promote internet access
Online voting is now open for the WHSmith People's Choice Book Awards, described as the only literary competition in which winners are directly voted for by the public. more >
'Demoralisation, resentment, anxiety, stress'
A mounting chorus of voices is articulating a critical disconnect in art museums. Mostly the conflict is between the dramatically changing role of the art museum and the mounting pressures imposed by those changes on the people who have traditionally been the custodians, students, and interpreters of the art objects inside their institutions. more >
Advent of new broadcasting law hailed
The advent of the new broadcasting law which gives 75 percent allocation of airtime to local content was hailed by many as a way of promoting local talent in Zimbabwe's music industry. more >
Egyptian artist's works go on show
An exhibition of paintings and mixed media works by Egyptian artist Dr Adel Al Masri was opened by Mohammed Al Nasr, deputy head of the National Council of Culture, Arts and Heritage at Qatar Fine Arts Society recently. more >
Email offer of half-price tickets to woo arts patrons
The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance is launching a half-price ticket program for consumers in the region. The offer is part of the cultural alliance's efforts to boost the marketing of arts and culture in the region and woo new people to the arts. more >
Funding film industry's major handicap
Lack of adequate funding remains a major obstacle to the development of the film industry in Zimbabwe. The industry is likely to collapse if the Government and other stakeholders fail to come up with solutions. more >
Government assures support to search
The Ministry of Culture in Angola has announced that the creation of stimulus and the elaboration of a regulator legislative of cultural activity of the Angolan creators to project the Angolan culture worldwide are among the priorities of the Government for the forthcoming years. more >
Measuring culture
Until the collection and analysis of data about the impact of the arts is carried out more objectively, and evidence gathered used more constructively, it could be argued that collecting data has been a relatively spurious exercise. more >
Menino outlines fund-raising plan for arts
In a move that is playing to mixed reviews in the local cultural community, Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced yesterday that Boston has begun to raise funds from the private sector and will redistribute the money to artists and arts groups in the form of grants and public resources. more >
Mhonda to represent Zimbabwe at meeting in South Africa
Art critic and sculptor Tony Mhonda has been invited to represent Zimbabwe in South Africa to draft a new Visual Arts Constitution for Zimbabwe and other Southern African Art Critics. more >
New policy sees fresh crop of musicians
Floodgates were opened for many musicians last year after the Government announced a new policy designed to promote works of up and coming local artists. more >
Theatre VS sports: Stat just didn't add up
A statistic on the loose is a dangerous thing, particularly in the cash-strapped performing arts world, where proving the popularity of one's art form can help in the never-ending scramble for funding. more >
Writing wrongs
England's national school inspector has published a searching report about the government's National Literacy Strategy. Standards in reading and writing have not improved for two years, and it is likely that the 2003 targets will be missed, too. more >
13.1 million tourists last year
Tourist arrivals to Malaysia last year was estimated at 13.1 million and this figure is expected to grow as the world flocks to the country to witness first-hand its diverse culture and arts. more >
Arts again lose out in states' funding
After 10 years of steady growth, fiscal 2003 legislative appropriations for state arts agencies fell for the second consecutive year, according to an annual survey released by the National Assembly of Arts Agencies in Washington, D.C. more >
Arts confidence index dips
Cultural leaders surveyed in New York believe that the city's culture industry continued to decline in the last half of 2002 and they are pessimistic about the outlook for the industry through the first half of 2003. This continues a downward trend since 1999, when the optimism had reached a high, and indicates that expectations for the future are now firmly pessimistic. more >
Battle over copyrights brewing
Congress convenes this week, and one flash point will be the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a law designed to prevent unauthorized copying of digital products. Producers of digital software, music, and movies want the law to stand as it is. more >
Expression far from free in today's arts
In an age when artists use pop references and rely on private funding, legal and corporate threats have replaced attacks on the NEA as the biggest threat to creativity. more >
Grants boost art in schools
An increased focus on reading, writing and arithmetic at school has left little room for the artistic side of learning, some say. But the Nevada Arts Council is taking steps to change that, most recently with a new round of grants to teachers. more >
Journeys to ancient Egypt
This week the Egyptian Museum launched a programme to teach Egyptians about their ancient history - the idea of the Minister for Culture Farouk Hosni, in emulation of a similar school at the Louvre in Paris. more >
MacArthur foundation gives $14 million to NPR
A private foundation said Monday it was handing out US$42 million to Chicago area cultural organizations, National Public Radio and other groups to celebrate its 25th anniversary. more >
States see $55 million cut in arts funds
US state arts agencies nationwide have seen their fiscal 2003 legislative appropriations fall by about US$55 million from the previous year. more >
Carnegie cuts stun art experts, Filmmakers
People who make, teach and exhibit film in Pittsburgh were stunned yesterday by the Carnegie Museum of Art's announcement that it was eliminating its venerated film and video department as a way to save money. more >
Furthering our understanding of culture and development
The release of a new book, 'Towards Cultural Citizenship: Tools for Cultural Policy and Development', by Colin Mercer, represents a significant step in our understanding of culture and development, and in designing strategies and policies for integrating cultural policies with development policies. more >
New job for a Brazilian pop star
When Brazil's new government took office on January 1, its culture portfolio went to one of the country's biggest pop stars for 35 years, the singer-songwriter and guitarist Gilberto Gil. more >
Iraqi tots cling to beauty of ballet
Young ballerinas, oblivious of war threats on their country, take their dancing lessons at the Baghdad School for Music and Fine Arts. more >
Free museums a resounding success
Scrapping admission charges at national museums has been a resounding success, leading to many more visitors, the British Government has announced. more >
UNESCO book prize announced
Chilean Antonio Skarmeta and South African Jenny Robson were recently named by UNESCO Director-General, Koichiro Matsuura, as winners of the 2003 UNESCO Prize for Children's and Young People's Literature in the Service of Tolerance. more >
WIPO moves forward on traditional knowledge protections
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has reported that the fourth session of its Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC), held in Geneva in December, made progress on clarifying policy issues and practical tools for protecting traditional knowledge and cultural expressions. more >
Algerian arts festival kicks off in France
A score of top Algerian musical stars were due to usher in the New Year at a mega-concert here Tuesday, kicking off a year-long Algerian cultural bonanza, the first of its kind in France and the latest fence-mending exercise between Algeria and its former colonial master. more >
In Baghdad, art thrives as war hovers
While Iraq is increasingly coming under siege, dozens of galleries have sprouted up in Baghdad. Iraqi painting and sculpture have become a thriving, if clandestine, export industry, filling museums and private collections throughout the Mideast and even Europe. more >
Report on international museum standards released
Resource, the UK's Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries, has released its report on museum standards outside the United Kingdom, entitled 'From Australia to Zanzibar, Museum Standards Schemes Overseas'. more >
Entertainment is India's top export after IT
India's entertainment industry has become the country's largest business next to IT. more >
Measuring culture
The gathering of evidence about the impact of the arts has assumed centre-stage in cultural policy. The rise of statistics has paralleled an extension of government control over the arts, and the tendency to value culture for its 'impact' rather than its intrinsic value. more >
The international who's who in cultural policy, planning and research >