International News in 2005
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Arts and culture policy-related news from online news services. Subscribe to our newsletter, ACORNS. To alert us to international news please email us.
January 2005
Nigerian Government investigates cultural festivals.
In line with the Federal Government's policy of improving the tourism sector for economic growth, Kogi State Government has directed the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to take inventory of cultural festivals in the state for full integration into the mainstream of its culture and tourism policy more >
A culture clash in the capital
NIS 4 million. That is the sum the Jerusalem municipality invested in culture this year. But there is no clear criteria for supporting culture, which is leading to some peculiar discrepanies. more >
Collectors pool resources for cultural 'buy-back'
Private collectors of Chinese national treasures, who have returned many valuable artifacts from overseas in recent years, are planning to pool resources to repatriate more of the country's heritage. more >
Parliamentary inquiry into public support for theatre
Arts Council England and key theatre bodies across the UK will come under scrutiny as a Parliamentary committee launches a comprehensive inquiry, which could change the face of publicly subsidised theatre. more >
French museums take steps away from home
For the French, culture is culture and commerce is commerce and the twain should ne'er meet. That at least is the theory. more >
Preserving traditional music in global process of cultural exchanges
A seminar on Vietnam’s traditional music preservation and training in exchange with global music was held recently in Hanoi, with the participation of many researchers, professors and renowned artists from foreign countries, including Britain, France, the US, Thailand and the Philippines. more >
Going digital on the cheap
A controversial proposal to digitalise Germany's cultural heritage with the help of the country's new one-euro job scheme is ruffling feathers at the German Cultural Council. more >
Tibetan language website launched
A Tibetan language website on Tibetan culture and progress in areas inhabited by Tibetan people opened recently in Qinghai Province, a multi-ethnic area in northwest China. more >
Funding the arts in a world of rapid change
The Australia Council has adopted a new system of art support, writes Jennifer Bott. more >
UNESCO to help restore libraries in tsunami affected regions
UNESCO will provide US $100,000 for the restoration of all destroyed libraries in the tsunami affected countries in the South Asian region. more >
Art appreciation 2005: Log on and print out affordable art that's good
Few who frequent art museums, galleries and seek out art on the streets can afford to buy the kind of ambitious work they've learned to appreciate. more >
Guadalajara is American Capital of Culture 2005
The city of Santiago has ended its term as American Capital of Culture 2004. From Saturday 1 January, Guadalajara, Mexico, will take its place as Capital of Culture for 2005. more >
Tax victory for Australian artists
After years of lobbying pressure from the creative industries, the Australian Taxation Office has today signed off on a landmark taxation ruling for professional artists. more >
7 new members appointed to Media Development Authority Board
Seven new members have been appointed to the board of the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA). The seven newcomers comprise individuals from both the public as well as private sectors, and together with the 10 other re-appointed members, will help guide and set directions for the MDA to help Singapore become a global media city. more >
Millionaire musicians to lose Irish tax free status
The tax free status accorded to writers, artists and musicians in the Irish Republic is to be reviewed, with a minimum tax rate or sliding scale of reliefs likely to be introduced for top earners. more >
Lee calls for `cultural revolution'
Former Taiwan president Lee Teng-hui yesterday said that the nation must rid itself of Chinese culture by creating a new 'common culture' based on the diversity of Taiwan's ethnic groups. more >
New Countries sign on to Intellectual Property treaties.
In 2004, the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), monitored 61 instances of new countries adhering to intellectual property treaties, a record for the organisation. more >
Cultural promoters told to seek new sponsors
Angolan minister of Culture Boaventura Cardoso today in Luanda announced the end of State assistance to his sector, recommending cultural promoters seek new partnerships and sponsorships for the implementation of their projects. more >
Koizumi Launches New Council to Advise on Cultural Diplomacy
In early December 2004 Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announced the establishment of the Council on the Promotion of Cultural Diplomacy. more >
Runrig singer and ex-bishop chase top Arts Council post
Former Runrig singer and would-be MP Donnie Munro is in the running against a retired bishop to chair the Scottish Arts Council. more >
Babylon wrecked by war
Troops from the US-led force in Iraq have caused widespread damage and severe contamination to the remains of the ancient city of Babylon, according to a damning report released today by the British Museum. more >
Problems for huge Hong Kong arts hub
A huge multi-billion dollar arts hub planned for Hong Kong's famed harbourside is in doubt as public opinion gathers against it and influential businessmen and politicians declare the proposal flawed. more >
China urged, again, to protect copyrights and patents
Donald L. Evans ended his fourth and final visit to Beijing as the United States secretary of commerce on Thursday with the same demand he brought on three previous visits in the last three years: that China strengthen its protection of copyrights and patents. more >
Democratise arts and culture to promote democratic values
Professor George Panyin Hagan, Chairman of the Ghana National Commission on Culture, has called for arts and culture to lead the way in promoting democratic values. more >
UNESCO conference a great success
As reported in the International Network for Cultural Diversity (INCD) newsletter, the January conference, Globalisation, Cultural Diversity, and UNESCO: Imperatives for U.S Arts and Cultural Practitioners and Organisations, was a great success. more >
Healing arts for Tsunami survivors
The International Child Art Foundation is facilitating a healing arts program to assist the 1.5 million child survivors of the tsunami tragedy. more >
EU refurbishes Livingston Museum
The European Union has refurbished the Livingston Museum at a cost of about $476,000 in readiness for the Visit Zambia Campaign 2005, National Museums Board executive secretary Dr Francis Musonda said yesterday. more >
Hong Kong-Shanghai rivalry goes creative
Over the past decade, China's premier business centers, Hong Kong and Shanghai, have engaged in a friendly rivalry. Now they are waking up to the theories of a growing number of experts that cities must nurture their "creative capital" in order to entice capital of a more conventional sort. more >
National Cultural Department Regulation Announced
The Angolan Ministry of Culture has announced it will implement greater internal regulation to ensure it meets its broader national goals. more >
Can hi-tech save Peking Opera?
Chinese cultural researchers will adapt modern computer and video technologies to set up a national audio and video database for Chinese traditional opera. more >
Involve Chiefs in Keeping Sites
The Council of Chiefs has called on the Department of National Museums and Monuments to work with traditional leaders in maintaining the country's historical sites, to preserve sacredness and cultural values. more >
Film Unit Wants Bigger Cut
The National Film and Video Foundation, the statutory body for the film and video sector, is calling on government to increase its annual budget for film projects from the current R25-million to R10-billion in the next two decades. more >
Air of dissent as Cork fears a cultural damp squib
When Cork launched itself as this year's European capital of culture - the smallest city on the smallest budget to take on the role - expectations were high. more >
Scots museum to return tattooed Maori heads
The tide continues to turn against the international practice of housing Maori human remains, with a Scottish museum agreeing to return two 'toi moko' (tattooed heads) this year. more >
Musharraf for promoting art, culture
President Gen Pervez Musharraf has emphasised the need for promoting Pakistani art and culture as part of efforts to promote a soft image of the country. more >
Middle East's publishing industry bears huge potential
Some 300 delegates from publishing houses and media organisations across the world are attending the inaugural Middle East Publishing Conference, launched at Dubai's Knowledge Village. more >
Youth Arts Award Launched
A new arts qualification for young people was announced by the Government today. The Young People’s Arts Award will recognise achievements in music, dance and art. more >
UNESCO begins work on blueprint to safeguard Jerusalem’s cultural heritage
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation today began work on a blueprint for safeguarding the cultural heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem. more >
UK theatre support in spotlight
Public support for theatres in the UK is being examined by the theatre arm of the Culture Select Committee in the House of Commons. more >
Call for more investment into £135m Edinburgh festivals
A new study says that the Edinburgh Festival generates £135 million for Scotland’s economy and generates 2,900 full-time jobs. more >
At last, professional artists catch a tax break
Professional artists will be entitled to new tax breaks, after years of lobbying from arts organisations. more >
London's Tate Modern art gallery plans to expand
Tate Modern, the modern art gallery in London that receives more than four million visitors a year, announced plans to expand by more than half of its current size. more >
Minister warns 'hoarding' museums
Too many works of art and historical artefacts are hidden from public view, the government has said. Arts minister Estelle Morris says major museums in England should allow smaller galleries to exhibit undisplayed items. more >
Toronto to be named a cultural capital of Canada
The federal government plans to name Toronto a ''cultural capital of Canada'' and give the city $500,000 for that designation, effective this September through August, 2006. more >
Board changes irk artists
The Australia Council's changes to funding for new media and community projects appear to be set in clay, if not in stone. But that hasn't stopped angry artists from raising their voices about the restructure. more >
Plans for £25.7m 'super' museum
Plans for an ambitious £25.7m 'super' museum which would be home to more than 500,000 artefacts are gathering pace. more >
French to aid Cultural Centre
French Ambassador Hubert Fournier yesterday announced a merger between the French Cultural Centre and the Alliance Francaise in Nairobi. The merger, he said, is aimed at providing better services to the public. Fournier was speaking at the French Cultural Centre, which has been spearheading cultural activities. more >
National project for translation supported at 10 million Egyptian pounds
During his inauguration of the 37th session of the Cairo International Fair for book, the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak gave great support to the national project for translation at a cost of 10 million Egyptian pound. more >
New foundation established in Eastern Europe
BalkanKult, formerly a regional association based in Sarajevo, has now become an entire foundation, with a new set of ambitious goals and objectives. more >
New Zealand Disability Arts Festival a world first
As part of the Auckland Festival, New Zealand will be featuring its first disability arts festival, Giant Leap. Featuring international professional disabled artists, this is the first disability festival in the world to be incorporated into a mainstream arts festival. more >
Seoul to Become Hub for Culture
As Seoul becomes increasingly vibrant on the cultural front, the government has come up with a series of plans to strengthen its cultural infrastructure. A huge performing arts complex dedicated to classical music and costing over 40 billion won will open on Nodulsom, an island in the Han River, by late 2007. more >
Arts/Business Survey yields surprising results
The Business Committee for The Arts, a not-for-profit organisation based in New York, has released the surprising results of the survey they commissioned into the state of American arts and business. more >
February 2005
UNESCO announces Asia-Pacific Symposium
This week UNESCO announced that it will convene a symposium, Asia-Pacific Creative Communities - a Strategy for the 21st Century, in Jodhpur, India, between 22 and 26 February 2005. more >
Getting bums on seats
Across Australia, small and medium-sized theatre companies are failing to attract enough funding to produce new work. The result could be disastrous for Australian culture as a whole. more >
Arts bodies tussle over takeover plan
The Government's peak grant-giving body, the Sydney-based Australia Council, has proposed taking over its newer sibling, the Melbourne-based Australia Business Arts Foundation, whose raison d'etre is to foster sponsorship and philanthropy for the arts. more >
Rift over museum funding change.
Directors of national museums are starkly divided over a government suggestion that direct funding of national museums and galleries could be scrapped in favour of a single funding body. more >
Councils swing axe over arts funding
Theatre companies preparing for a predicted £30 million shortfall in Arts Council England income over the next three years were warned this week to expect even worse news from their other main funder. Chair of the National Association of Local Government Arts Officers Sue Isherwood said cuts by local councils - which provide more than 50% of all core revenue grants to arts groups - are now inevitable. more >
Nigerian Government moves to safeguard cultural heritage
The Federal Executive Council of Niger has ratified four international Conventions on culture, in an effort to combat a growing trade in stolen and looted cultural heritage. more >
NCCA launches National Arts Month in Philippines
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts has launched its 2005 National Arts Month 2005 with the theme, Sining Gising: Crafting Identities for Social Transformation. more >
Centre for Arts and Culture to affiliate with George Mason University
George Mason University and the Centre for Arts and Culture announced today their agreement to affiliate, bringing the strengths of Northern Virginia's premier university to the Centre's groundbreaking work in the field of cultural policy. more >
European Museums Go Corporate as Governments Cap Handouts
Europe's flagship museums - the Uffizi, the Musee du Louvre in Paris, and the British Museum in London - are feeling the pinch. Thrifty governments facing European Union deficit limits are capping cultural handouts and compelling museums to make money on the side by seeking sponsors, hiring out halls and selling snacks and knickknacks. more >
Couchepin calls for a liberal culture policy
Culture Minister Pascal Couchepin has called for a more liberal and less politically-influenced cultural policy in Switzerland. more >
Federal Cultural Programs Suffer Little Pain From Bush Budget
While the president's proposed 2006 budget, unveiled yesterday, slashed hundreds of domestic programs, cultural groups did relatively well. more >
Urgent Action Needed to Save Age-Old African Rock, Kofi Annan says
With African rock art providing one of the oldest and most extensive records on Earth of human thought, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on the continent's leaders to play a more active role in saving a priceless cultural heritage of all humankind that is under severe threat, above all from neglect and thieves more >
ACE salaries rocket as arts funding stays frozen
Arts Council England salaries have increased by an average of 66% in the past six years, despite a £10 million reorganisation in 2001 which was designed to cut costs, new research has revealed. more >
US indecency fines could rocket
Legislation allowing indecency fines against US TV and radio broadcasters to be increased by 15 times the current level has been approved. more >
Give us our heritage - Ghana Filmmakers appeal to Government
The Ghana Academy of Film and Television Arts (GAFTA) on Thursday criticised the sale of the Ghana Film Industry Corporation (GFIC) under the divestiture implementation programme, saying it has deprived filmmakers of the opportunity to expand and improve upon the film industry. more >
Russia will consider return of WWII art
Russia will return so-called trophy art taken from Nazi Germany during World War II only on a case-by-case basis, an official said Friday, arguing that most of the cultural treasures Moscow retains were seized as compensation for huge Soviet wartime damage. more >
Significant' civic-culture aid planned for Toronto
Toronto's culture sector can expect "significant assistance" from the federal government in 2006 to help the city mark its Year of Creativity, Canadian Heritage Minister Liza Frulla said yesterday. more >
UK Museums Trapped In Vicious Cycle
UK museums are facing a funding crisis with no end in sight. The reality is that a decade of expansion has left many British museums struggling to pay for running all those shiny new buildings they have only just opened. At the same time, the abolition of admission charges two years ago raised expectations about visitor numbers. more >
Who now will save our museums?
Strike action will close London's Science Museum on Wednesday. Though it received almost £40 million towards its running costs last year from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the museum is still so strapped for cash that it can't afford to pay even that. But underlying this cash crisis is a much bigger issue that affects all Britain's major museums. more >
United arts groups set $10.75 million goal
The goal for the 2005 Fine Arts Fund is $10,750,000. The figure represents a 3.3 percent increase over last year, when the Fine Arts Fund raised $10,404,560 from over 43,000 donors, the largest total, in both dollars and donors, of any united arts fund in the U.S. more >
Americans for the Arts and Arts & Business Council to Merge Operations
Americans for the Arts and Arts & Business Council Inc. announced today that the two organisations will merge their operations, creating the largest-ever advocacy group for the arts in America. more >
New faces for Hong Kong Arts Development Council
The Hong Kong Arts Development Council has begun the new year with a new team of Council members, charged with leading the organisation through 2007. more >
'Rough Row' breaks out on diversity
A ”rough row” has broken out between the United States and a host of other countries on protection of cultural diversity. more >
Brazil touts support for the arts
Brazil's culture minister, a musician who helped found the Tropicalia movement in that country in the 1960s, says his government's support of the local arts could help boost Brazil's economy. more >
Go to the pub? We'd rather see the opera
The biggest national survey of its kind, conducted by the Office of National Statistics for the Arts Council of England, has conclusively shown that music, drama and the visual arts really are second nature to the English. more >
Linguists fear loss of languages
Almost half the world's spoken languages are dying out at a dramatic rate, the Pan South African Language Board has said. more >
Arts world rounds on government over 'cuts'
The Government is facing a backlash from some of the most important figures in British culture, who accuse it of betraying promises to support the arts. more >
Beauchamp stays in charge of Quebec Culture
Quebec Prime Minister Jean Charest has renewed the appointment of Mrs. Line Beauchamp as Minister for Culture and Communication. more >
Jowell rejects arts 'betrayal' claims
There will be no return to the stop-start funding that disrupted the arts under the Tories as long as Labour is in power, Tessa Jowell, the Secretary of State for Culture, has pledged. more >
Intercultural innovation
Our cities can profit from the creativity that cultural diversity brings, says Phil Wood. more >
'McMafia' help arts council to remind London of Scots' talents
The Scottish Arts Council hosts a glitzy Whitehall reception today to make the case for the Scottish arts in London. more >
Art bill for long suffering practitioners
Namibian artists should be retrospectively compensated for hardships and losses they have suffered in the absence of a legal platform to protect their rights, said Deputy Prime Minister, Hendrik Witbooi, in a debate on the National Arts Fund of Namibia Bill in the National Assembly. more >
ACE independence threatened by Whitehall, warns Frayling
Arts Council England chairman Christopher Frayling has used his first public speech at the Royal Society for the Arts to warn that the principle of arm’s-length funding has been undermined to the extent that ACE is now considered as merely an extension of Tessa Jowell’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport. more >
Budget contains boosts for the arts
The first details to emerge from Wednesday's federal budget appeared moderately encouraging for Canadian arts. more >
British Museum would rather export cultural diplomacy than return artefacts - MacGregor
The British Museum would rather export cultural diplomacy than return artefacts taken from countries around the world, its Director, Neil MacGregor, has said. more >
Glasgow ‘squandered benefits of being City Of Culture’
There is a widespread belief within Scotland’s artistic community that the legacy of Glasgow’s year as European City Of Culture has been squandered by politicians, according to a new study. more >
Revenue set to reveal list of artists who benefit from tax breaks
More than 2,000 artists who received tax breaks are to be revealed by the Revenue Commissioners in a move prompted under the Freedom of Information Act. more >
Cultural relics see high-tech crime risk
The protection of cultural relics is under severe threat from increases in illegal excavation, theft and smuggling in recent years, Chinese heritage officials have warned. more >
The Arts Bill - Control Or No Control?
'Art must awaken and disturb, open new horizons and move society forward', offered Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Minister for Womens Affairs and Child Welfare, in the second reading debate on the National Arts Fund Bill in the Namibian National Assembly last week. more >
March 2005
Minister apologises for art bill delays
It took the Namibian Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and Culture a decade to develop a proper arts and culture policy before it was finally tabled as a Bill in the National Assembly. more >
Database of native art planned
The Bill Reid Foundation is teaming up with Simon Fraser University to establish an online database of native art. more >
Taxpayer support for artists: too much of a good thing?
The Netherlands is an intriguing case study in the debate over how much public funding should go to the arts. more >
New Legislation Makes Arkansas the Nation's Leader in Arts Education
Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee signed a piece of landmark arts education legislation designed to provide music and art instruction for all Arkansas school children. more >
RAND Corporation to conduct national analysis of cultural support in 11 cities nationwide
The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and the William Penn Foundation have announced a grant by the Foundation to the RAND Corporation, a non-profit national research organisation, to conduct a comparative analysis of culture in major American cities. more >
BBC Gets New Lease on Life, but Government Calls for Overhaul
After months of rancorous debate over its status and standards, the British Broadcasting Corporation won a reprieve on Wednesday when the government approved a further 10-year Royal Charter guaranteeing compulsory public financing. more >
European Commissioner speaks of important role for the arts
In his speech at a European Commission conference held in February, Commissioner Jan Figel said that the Arts had an important role to play in creating a 'new' Europe. more >
Writers plan to break away from ‘catch-all’ Scottish Arts Council
Literature is a special case within the arts and should be governed by its own funding body, according to a proposal submitted to the Cultural Commission. more >
Are culture wars inevitable in the arts?
Controversial art is nothing new in American cultural life. Over the past 20 years, scandals have erupted on numerous occasions, in which government funds have gone to subsidise the production or exhibition of art considered by some to be obscene, blasphemous, or offensively unpatriotic. more >
Jordan hosts book fair to replenish Iraqi libraries
Around 300 Arab publishing houses will take part in a 10-day book fair in the Jordanian capital this week aimed at restocking Iraqi libraries, victims of UN sanctions and wars. more >
Using Arts to Craft Higher Self-Esteem
An Innovative Program In Alexandria Gives Troubled Girls a Chance To Improve Their Lives And Living Quarters more >
Arts are crucial for UK economy, says opera chief
Increased government funding of the arts is a "no brainer" as the creative industries become more and more important to the British economy, according to Tony Hall, the chief executive of the Royal Opera House. more >
Restructuring and repair of Kenyan museums underway
A major restructuring and refurbishing programme at the National Museums of Kenya is on course, National Heritage Minister Najib Balala said yesterday. more >
Libraries 'in scandalous state'
A "significant deterioration" in the quality of public library buildings is a "scandal", MPs have said. more >
UNESCO Programme Grants Funding to 51 New Media Projects in Developing Countries
The Bureau of UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication granted US$1,050,000 million to 51 media projects in developing countries and countries in transition at its meeting at Headquarters, (March 7 - 9), which was chaired by Torben Krogh from Denmark. more >
America needs a new system for supporting the arts
Bill Ivey, former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts and now director of the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise, and Public Policy at Vanderbilt University, calls for "a new model for building a vibrant arts landscape" in the US. more >
Funding is vital for the arts
In its submission to the body charged with recasting Scotland's cultural strategy, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities has adopted a policy of pre-emptive strike. more >
New Study Reveals that Arts-Related Businesses Provide
Americans for the Arts today released Creative Industries 2005: The Congressional Report, which presents detailed analysis of arts-related businesses, institutions, and organizations in all 435 Congressional districts and the District of Columbia. more >
African-Americans Offer Hope to African Film
"We'll be back," vowed American actor Danny Glover as he prepared to jet out of Africa's top film festival. That pledge could be just what Africa's cash-strapped film industry needs as it strives to sell its films to global audiences and get funds to make more. more >
Are Culture Wars Inevitable in the Arts?
Controversial art is nothing new in American cultural life. Over the past 20 years, scandals have erupted on numerous occasions, in which government funds have gone to subsidize the production or exhibition of art considered by some to be obscene, blasphemous, or offensively unpatriotic. more >
Downtown Arts Plan Remains Uncertain
In the nine months since four arts institutions were selected to take up residence at ground zero, the groups have been under pressure to prove themselves all over again. more >
Creative Commons Is Rewriting Rules of Copyright
When Chuck D and the Fine Arts Militia released their latest single, "No Meaning No," several months ago, they didn't try to stop people from circulating free copies on the Internet. They encouraged it. more >
Benefits of Arts Funding Questioned
AUDIO REPORT: A new study by RAND Corp. questions the assertions made by arts advocates who have argued for the link between well-funded museums, theaters and other arts outlets and the health of local economies. more >
No cultural capital without the artist
To be seen as a good place to live, work and play, Singapore must invest more in artists and perhaps less in arts infrastructure. more >
Foreign box offices contribute most to Hollywood's coffers
International box office receipts for Hollywood films surpassed those in the US for the first time last year. more >
A louder knock on government's door
Arts Council England chief executive, Peter Hewitt, is on a four-month sabbatical to research "current and prospective governments' perceptions" of the council, the case for the arts and the "Arts Council of the future". As part of the mission, Hewitt spent 10 days in Australia recently. more >
Chinese arts managers study Canadian ways
Chinese delegation is studying how Canadian performing arts centres are funded in an effort to modernise China's cultural institutions. more >
Arts groups hit by funding cuts
More than 120 arts organisations are to have their funding cut by the Arts Council, it has been announced. more >
Cultural Heritage Chief to Visit Dokdo
South Korea's top cultural heritage policymaker will visit the Dokdo islets, officials said Friday. more >
Abolish the arts council, SNP tell review
The SNP are calling for the effective abolition of the Scottish Arts Council and the creation of a Scottish Academy instead, in a submission to the Cultural Commission review. more >
French counter-attack on Net culture
French President Jacques Chirac has vowed to launch a new "counter-offensive" against American cultural domination, enlisting the support of the British, German and Spanish governments in a multi-million euro bid to put the whole of European literature on-line. more >
MLA launches Disability Experts database
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council has launched a new online tool, 'Disability Experts', to help cultural and heritage organisations meet their disability access needs. more >
‘Stop-start’ funding inevitable unless DCMS cuts reversed, warns ACE
A return to ‘stop-start’ funding of cultural organisations is inevitable by the end of the decade if the government fails to listen to the arts community a second time, Arts Council England theatre director Nicola Thorold has warned. more >
Casualties in Russia's culture wars
Culture wars over blasphemous art, such as Andres Serrano's urine-dipped crucifix or Chris Ofili's elephant dung-decorated Madonna, have flared up periodically in the United States in recent years... more >
Nunavut aims to repatriate Inuit artifacts
The government of Nunavut is hoping to find enough money to build a cultural centre to house thousands of Inuit artifacts dispersed around the world by explorers and anthropologists. more >
MPs condemn arts funding freeze
An influential group of MPs has criticised the government's decision to freeze funding to Arts Council England. more >
Orchestras 'safe', but no new funds
Symphony orchestras around Australia were told categorically yesterday player numbers would not be cut. That just left the ticklish problem of how they would be funded. more >
Ballot-box blues, why politicians can't understand the arts
Art is all the things politics isn't, says Richard Eyre, so no wonder the government ignores it more >
Seoul to reach out to cultural leaders in Asia for partnership
South Korea is planning a budget to build a network of artists and cultural experts around Asia who will promote Korean culture in their home countries, officials said Thursday. more >
Labour proposes wealthy artists should pay tax
The Labour Party has suggested that authors, artists and musicians who earn more than €100,000 each year should lose the tax-free status on their artistic income. more >
April 2005
Arts and humanities get own research council
Today, arts and humanities scholars get their own long-awaited research council, a sign of the growing economic respect the government has for the cultural and creative "industries" in the UK. more >
A cultural brand for Malta
Is Malta's cultural branding consistent with its economic branding? "The time has come for us to correlate what we are trying to achieve as a nation and to ensure that what we highlight as our cultural achievements fit in with that vision." more >
NEA's Gioia Testifies Before Congress
Dana Gioia, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, used his recent testimony before a congressional subcommittee not only to summarise his achievements during his first two years on the job, but to make as clear-cut a case as possible for funding his agency - specifically, $121 million for the 2006 fiscal year. more >
NIPAN announces funding to support science and music
The National Institute of Performing Arts and Music (NIPAM) has announced that over 10 million Euros has been allocated to boost funding of music, poetry, dance, theatre and circus. more >
Cube design centre loses funding fight
One of Britain's most successful design centres is to close next month after failing to win rescue funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. more >
Phase out the screen quota
Kang Chul-kyu, chairman of the Korean Fair Trade Commission, has announced that the government is considering phasing out the Korean film quota. This editorial calls for the Ministry of Culture to 'clarify its position on the screen quota, however belatedly, and then persuade those in the film industry, while presenting them with an industry-specific development plan.' more >
Program aims to revive downtown Beirut
Legislator Bahiya Hariri, sister of slain prime minister Rafiq Al Hariri, on Friday announced a series of cultural, musical and arts activities in downtown Beirut. more >
Suzhou to establish folk arts protection system
East China's Suzhou City will carry out a general survey on its folk arts and crafts and build a comprehensive database within the next ten years. more >
Giving by Foundations hits record $32.4 billion in '04
Giving by US foundations hit a record last year, reversing two years of declines thanks to gains in asset values and a continued stream of gifts from philanthropists. more >
Resale royalties for painters and sculptors
From next year, living artists and their heirs will earn royalties from the resale of their work in Britain, instead of watching it make dealers and collectors rich - but the argument continues about potential damage to the British art market. more >
Artists Review Art Bill
A suggestion that the only formally registered artists' union in the country be assured and afforded automatic representation in the to-be-formed Arts Council was last Friday unanimously accepted by invited artists who took part in a discussion forum. more >
Environmental Film Festival to Open in Accra
An environmental film festival that is expected to create awareness about the environment will be held in April at various locations in Accra. more >
Artists pull together for one of their own
A big-name art auction to be held to benefit artist and educator Steven Kurtz is the latest in a sequence of events that would read more like a performance strategy than real life, were the implications not so sobering. more >
Art lovers snap up junk exhibit
"My Play-station", by Turner Prize- nominated artist Tomoko Takahashi, consisted of 7,600 bits of rubbish - most of which was taken by visitors. more >
Cultural Policy Conference for Dutch postings in Latin America
Interest in cooperative cultural projects to be performed in Latin America is growing in the Netherlands. more >
Under construction: an arts renaissance
With more than $1 billion being raised for new museums and other arts facilities, Boston is in the midst of an unprecedented cultural boom, one that museum directors hope will elevate the city as a cultural mecca without overbuilding or saturating the market. more >
Taking the bull by the horns
Today's public art is everywhere, but it's either ephemeral and elusive or very limited and literal. Why is so much money and energy being spent on so much that is insubstantial when we could do better? more >
Revealed: civil servants’ attack on arts council
Fears that a comprehensive review of cultural policy is a thinly veiled bid to axe the Scottish Arts Council (SAC) have been rekindled by the publication of civil servants’ stinging criticisms of the quango. more >
Disquiet over Australia Council changes
The Australia Council is to go ahead with restructure plans that will have a severe impact on community arts and new media, but has guaranteed that existing budgets will be maintained at least until 2007. more >
UK Minister unveils £6 million fund to boost innovation in the arts
Subsidised ticket schemes, bursaries to help nurture young talent, or projects to involve more children and young people are among the arts and culture projects the government say could benefit from a new £6m challenge fund. more >
A model of employment in the arts
Professor Franco Papandrea from the University of Canberra and Dr Rob Albon from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) have published a paper examining models of employment in the arts through an economic lens. more >
A model of employment in the arts
Professor Franco Papandrea from the University of Canberra and Dr Rob Albon from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) have published a paper examining models of employment in the arts through an economic lens. more >
Artists turn works into pensions
A pension scheme has been set up to help artists to save while in the early stages of their career. more >
Tusa attacks watered down arts programmes
John Tusa, the Barbican managing director and former BBC executive, will today become the latest arts grandee to join the dumbing down debate, launching a withering attack on the "flight from ideas" in British broadcasting. more >
Taiwan eyes international arts scene
US-based Taiwanese artists Cynthia Chuang and Tsai Erh-ping announced the establishment of a "regional platform for the arts" last Saturday, as a means of establishing a better connection between Taiwan and the international arts scene. more >
New program of national arts forums to take place in 20 US cities
MetLife Foundation and Americans for the Arts have announced the creation of a new program of National Arts Forums, designed to address current and pressing issues affecting arts organizations across the country. more >
Reflecting on Shooting Through Decades of Battle
Three of the finest war photographers of the last 40 years shared their views about the futility of war on Tuesday night without always agreeing on the state of combat photography today. more >
'Close the Arts Council, let children in for free - and give us money. Lots of money'
Fifty leading arts figures in the UK postulate: 'What would you do for culture if you were running the next government?' more >
Creative NZ gives away $1m - but doesn't know where it's gone
Since 2000, Creative New Zealand has given out 96 grants totalling $1.03 million, for which it has received no reports back from artists detailing how the money was spent or if the projects have been completed. more >
New finance measures to support Québécois arts and culture
The Minister for Culture and Communication and minister in charge of Montreal, Mrs. Line Beauchamp, has warmly welcomed the injection of an additional $10M into the economy of culture. more >
Baltic art centre appoints US director
The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead has appointed Peter Doroshenko, as its new director. Mr Doroshenko, originally from Chicago, was until recently director of Belgium's largest contemporary art gallery, SMAK (Stedelijk Museum Voor Actuele Kunst). more >
Art museum falls foul of red tape
One of France's richest men is on the brink of ditching plans to build a spectacular contemporary art museum outside Paris because he is fed up with the red tape and inertia of the local authorities. more >
History lost in dust of war-torn Iraq
It is two years since looters ravaged one of the world's most important museums, in central Baghdad. more >
Arts in education launched
Antigua has officially launched its Performing Arts in Education Programme, funded by the UN Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC). more >
Xinjiang's music may join world heritage list
Uygur Mukam, the melodious centuries-old music from Xinjiang, might soon become an art form deemed to be internationally-recognized intangible cultural heritage. more >
Throwing light on the arts
'The arts are a good thing." Discuss. Good for whom, the sceptical academic might enquire: the individual or society? Or both? Over the next three years, Professor Oliver Bennett of Warwick University's centre for cultural policy studies will seek some answers. more >
UNESCO cultural adviser talks about Cultural Policy
UNESCO Cultural Adviser, Alwin Bully recently spoke to Island Government departments and some non-governmental organisations about establishing a cultural policy for the Caribbean islands. more >
How cities become great
Why do cities have brief golden ages, but then languish? Why are Athens or Florence or Vienna no longer creative powerhouses? Why have Manchester and Glasgow and Berlin, once workshops of the world, given way to Guangzhou and Shanghai? Why do some few cities - London, New York - seem to retain, or regain, their power? more >
Tessa Jowell opens CRESC
Tessa Jowell, UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, has formally opened the new Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change at an event attended by nearly 200 guests. more >
Morocco, Mexico resolved to boost cultural cooperation
Morocco and Mexico have voiced resolve to back projects able to reinforce bilateral cooperation in the field of culture. more >
May 2005
Leading service Organisaton for the performing arts restructures dues
The Association of Performing Arts Presenters has announced dues restructuring to allow small and mid-size arts organisations to be part of the largest network in the performing arts. more >
A new arts foundation with a focus on creativity
What happens to the brain when you write or read a poem, beyond the moment of creation or enjoyment? What do the arts mean for jobs and economies? How can creativity be taught and fostered? more >
Bringing the arts to "culturally poor"
An initiative was announced today aimed at bringing specialised training in music, dance and other artistic disciplines to Scottish communities deemed "culturally poor". more >
Mobile museum funded by Renaissance is a huge success
A groundbreaking mobile museum, funded by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, is proving a massive success. more >
Case of a pot calling the kettle black to halt artifacts loss
An official Chinese government campaign to reverse the outflow of China's cultural and artistic heritage has sparked off an impassioned debate about the pros and cons of free trade in art. It also questions the dubious record of the Communist Party leadership in protecting its cultural patrimony. more >
EU chief proposes online culture library
The European Union is backing calls to put European literature online amid fears that plans by Internet giant Google to create a global virtual library could wipe out Europe's diverse cultural heritage for future generations, officials said yesterday. more >
Museum day celebrations to get underway
More than 30 museums and cultural institutions from Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Macau will participate in International Museum Day 2005 on May 14 and 15. more >
Baku hosts Int'l conference on creation of GUUAM Observatory of Cultural Policy
Yesterday, at the Museum Center, a two day international conference devoted to the creation of GUUAM’s cultural policy began [GUUAM: Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Moldova]. more >
Arts Council could be axed in scheme for super-quango on Scottish culture
A super-quango for the arts called Culture Scotland would be established under plans being considered by the Scottish Cultural Commission. more >
U.S. creative class requires nurturing, scholar insists
The author of The Rise of the Creative Class is back with a new book, The Flight of the Creative Class (Harper Business). It will be no less controversial, but like its predecessor, it is essential reading for understanding the challenges that America, and every city and state, faces. more >
Cultural commentators to gather in Beijing
World-renowned US film producer Lawrence Bender will join other distinguished speakers at a special Cultural Roundtable discussion to be held as part of the Fortune Global Forum in Beijing May 16. more >
Do the arts matter?
Next month, John Carey, emeritus professor of English Literature at Oxford university, publishes 'What Good Are the Arts?' It's the queen bee of questions. And it leads to a swarm of others: What is art? Who decides? Are there absolute standards? Can art make us better people? more >
Curiouser and curiouser
'The arts must ask its audience to throw out a lifeline to curiosity in all things in order to survive and prosper,' says Robyn Archer in her Alfred Deakin Innovation Lecture "Imagination and the Audience: Commissioning for Creativity" delivered on Saturday at the Melbourne Town Hall. more >
What Happens When the Bubble Bursts?
Although the US economy has remained stagnant throughout the last several years, the market for contemporary art is booming. What accounts for this upturn, and will the art market crash like the dot-com stocks did in 2000? more >
British government scraps key database
The British government has quietly dropped plans for a database of stolen art and antiquities, although this was a key element in helping to enforce a new law. more >
SAC launches financial support scheme for young artists
The Scottish Arts Council has launched a £20,000 initiative in partnership with Young Scot, the national youth information agency, to provide financial support for people under the age of 26 wishing to participate in dance, drama and music. more >
Proposed UNESCO Convention moves a step forward
The International Network for Cultural Diversity reports that the UNESCO Executive Board has received a consolidated draft text of the proposed Convention on the protection of the diversity of cultural contents and artistic expressions. more >
The proposed Convention on Cultural Diversity: a developing world perspective
Mike van Graan, from the Performing Arts Network of South Africa, discusses the UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity. more >
NEA funding vote this week?
The U.S. House of Representatives was scheduled to begin considering funding for the National Endowment for the Arts as early as Wednesday of this week. more >
170b rials allocated for construction of museums
The sum of 170 billion rials has been allocated for the construction and upgrading of Iran’s museums, the director of museums of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organisation announced on Monday. more >
Abolish the DCMS
Not for the first time it is being rumoured that the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is to be dismantled. The bloated ministry is in the firing line because the New Labour government wants to reduce public expenditure. more >
Cultural divide exists over Russian war loot
A week ago, on the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and President Vladimir Putin appeared together on Red Square in a symbolic nod to the historical reconciliation between Germany and Russia. Yet a few blocks away, a museum exhibition suggested how the war's dark legacies continue to divide the two countries. more >
Memorial museums: cabinets of misery
Museums that document trauma and conflict have proliferated across the globe in the past decade, and more are planned. more >
Why are Chinese museums on the edge of survival?
A recent photo in a Chinese newspaper showed foreign visitors to a Chinese museum staring at the museum staff as they held basins to catch raindrops under the leaking roof in the museum's exhibition hall. more >
Cave art hoax hits British Museum
Fake prehistoric rock art of a caveman with a shopping trolley has been hung on the walls of the British Museum. more >
Canada Council unveils new visual arts grant program
After holding cross-country consultations with visual artists, the Canada Council for the Arts has revamped the way it distributes its visual arts grants. more >
Developing a cultural policy for the International Space Station
The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded the independent arts organisation the Arts Catalyst in London a contract to carry out a 6-month study on possible future cultural utilisation of the International Space Station (ISS). more >
Nanny culture in denial
Every parent knows what I'm talking about. Your little darling can be five, 15 or 25, but the instinct to nurture and protect them, to throw oneself in the way of harm, does not expire. What about when the beloved child is an entire culture? Is there a time to let go and allow our books, films, music and television shows to make their way in the world without further protection? more >
Columbia to Close Arts Journalism Program
The National Arts Journalism Program, founded in 1994 at Columbia University to advance the quality of arts coverage in the press, will close due to lack of funds, the program's advisory board said Monday. more >
Aleppo gears up for colourful cultural celebrations
Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city, is gearing up to celebrate its announcement as the Capital of Islamic Culture for 2006, the country’s Minister of Culture, Dr. Mahmoud Al-Sayyed, said here yesterday. more >
The Artists and the Party People
In a bid to outsmart rival nations at the Venice Biennale, Australia and New Zealand have turned networking and marketing into something of a fine art. more >
Asian league planned
An "Asian Cultural League" is being drawn up to foster regional dialogue among 49 countries and regions in Asia. The idea has come from the Asian Cultural Co-operation Conference which was held in Beijing three days ago. more >
In Britain, Aid for Arts Places 'Ethnic' Before 'Artist'
Along with sports, culture has long offered ethnic minorities a path into the white-dominated societies of the West. Whether in theatre, movies or popular music, leading artists of, say, African, Asian, Hispanic or Arab extraction have often become social trailblazers, demonstrating to peers and to national audiences alike that integration is possible. more >
June 2005
Culture centre kick-started 18 years
The 500 million rupees Arts and Culture Centre, in Islamabad, will be completed within 12 months. more >
International Advisory Committee of Memory of the World Programme to meet in Lijiang, China
UNESCO and the State Archives Administration of China will host the 7th meeting of the International Advisory Committee of UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme in Lijiang (China) from June 13 to 17. more >
Evaluating the way Brazil invests in Culture
Brazil, like most Latin American countries, has been struggling to find an identity away from its colonial past. This struggle has not been easy. more >
Museums: why should we care?
We all know art and art museums are important. But when it comes to articulating our reasons for this belief, we find it very difficult. We'd love to simply say, like our children, "Just because." more >
Nagasaki's Historical Ties with Spain Strengthened with Opening of New Prefectural Art Museum
With the promise to become the "cultural heart" of the region, inaugural director and former art critic Junji Ito celebrated the opening of his Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum on 23 April. more >
Govt Sends Film Industry 'From Pillar to Post'
The film industry has accused the Department of Trade and Industry of reneging on a pledge of R250-million to promote South African film. more >
Hemingway home 'needs protecting'
The Cuban home of Ernest Hemingway is on a list of the United States' most-endangered historic places. It is the first time a building outside of the US has been featured on the list of places worthy of protection. more >
American Arts Leaders Convene to Demonstrate Arts Use
America’s leading nonprofit organisation for advancing the arts, Americans for the Arts, will hold its annual convention in Austin, Texas, from June 11–13, 2005. more >
Ismail Kadare wins first-ever Man Booker International Prize
Ismail Kadare, Albania's best-known poet and novelist, was named on Thursday as the winner of the Man Booker International Prize, a brand-new laurel for the world's finest writers. more >
Portrait of the Artist as a 17th-Century Oprah
Since the advent of the museum blockbuster in the 1970's, which helped usher in the concept of the museum as a must destination, art's growing popularity with the mainstream public has become something of a double-edged sword. more >
The arts' future is not as black as painted
The Cultural Commission's report prescribing a future for Scottish arts is to land on doorsteps late next month with a resounding thump. more >
Scholars to discuss Chinese culture revival
A team of international scholars are gathering in Beijing next week to discuss what Chinese culture means today, and how to keep it alive while Chinese people are embracing Western ways. more >
Are museum careers no longer affordable?
The UK's Museums Association recently published the results of the first comprehensive survey on museum sector salaries in 15 years. 'Pay in museums' makes predictably disturbing reading but also demonstrates the value of properly conducted sector-wide research to inform debate and policy making. more >
Survey reveals healthy attitude to the Arts
The results of a new Harris Poll, developed by Americans for the Arts, the Ad Council, and the Austin-based advertising agency GSD&M, has revealed that there is strong support among Americans for arts education. more >
Future brightens for cultural heritage
China's intangible cultural heritage should be better protected under moves being made to preserve endangered art. more >
Theatre Museum unveils plans for first database of productions
The Theatre Museum, Covent Garden, has launched a project to set up the UK’s first searchable database of theatrical productions, following a £22,000 grant from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, the national development agency which advises government on policy for the museum sector. more >
Culture Club
Imagine for a moment what it must be like to be in charge of the National Theatre, the Tate Gallery or the Royal Opera House. more >
Buildings that fell between the cracks
The Arab building tradition suffered from systematic destruction during the Independence War, and afterward. Arab buildings were subjected to forced modernisation, and neglect by Israeli institutions and Arabs alike. Tomorrow, the first conference to focus on preservation of the Arab building heritage in Israel is due to take place at the University of Haifa. more >
Baghdad museum director gets used to returning fire
Donny George of the Iraq Museum is more concerned about security than most museum directors. more >
Ireland may abandon tax exemption scheme for creative writers
Ireland, the land of saints, scholars and scribes, still nurtures a guilt complex for banning and exiling its greatest literary names. more >
'Hands-off warning on the arts
Scotland's thriving arts scene will be threatened if the Cultural Commission hands more power to the Executive, the Scottish Arts Council has warned. more >
Island's new future culture plan
Guernsey's politicians are launching the first ever cultural strategy for the island on Monday. more >
Cultural employment represents 2.5% of total EU employment
A press release issued by the European Commission has revealed that cultural employment represents 2.5% of total EU employment. more >
£100m scheme for Scotland
Scotland should spend another £100m a year on cultural provision, bringing spending on the arts up to 1% of the national budget, according to a report by the country's cultural commission. more >
Blueprint for future of arts demands £100 million
The arts in Scotland need a huge cash injection of around £100 million a year as part of a radical overhaul of the way culture is organised and paid for, ministers were told yesterday. more >
DCMS/ACE failing minorities in arts
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Arts Council England are failing to reach their own targets for increasing the involvement of minority groups in the arts. more >
July 2005
Record breaking Shakespeare event
Thousands of British school children are taking part in a potentially record-breaking performance of Shakespeare. more >
Saddam's palaces to become Iraqi cultural centres, minister says
The former palaces of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein will be transformed into cultural centres, Iraqi culture minister Nouri Farhan Raoui said on Wednesday. more >
From here to eternity
If the retirement age is raised, it will cause untold misery for huge numbers of classical musicians. more >
Progress Party wants to rent out Munchs
The populist Progress Party (Fr.P) has made a novel proposal, suggesting that the Munch Museum rent various artworks out in order to raise funds to tend for the collection. more >
Maori dictionary leads Pacific languages renaissance
A world-first dictionary database of reo Maori will be a major catalyst in the linguistic regeneration of indigenous languages throughout the South Pacific. more >
Experiencing world's museums in one day
The world's first comprehensive exposition of museums and culture - the 2005 World Museum Culture Expo - has set a landmark in the history of museums. more >
Cultural strategy should be based on protection rather than restriction: Khatami
President Mohammad Khatami said on Monday that Iran’s cultural strategy should be based on protection rather than restriction and prohibition. more >
Children to Be Included in Museum Programmes
Minister responsible for Local Government, Dr George Chaponda has said that there is need for African societies to use cultural heritage to deal with contemporary issues and plan more effectively for the future by incorporating children's issues into their plans. more >
Palestinian national poet lashes out at militants trying to restrict the arts
It's been a hot summer on the Palestinian arts scene: gunmen broke up the concert of a popular West Bank singer after he refused to limit his repertoire to political songs, and a Hamas-run town banned a music festival to prevent mingling of the sexes. more >
Plug pulled on black theatre plan
Plans to build the UK's first black theatre centre have stalled after millions of pounds worth of essential funding was pulled by the Arts Council. more >
Suicide bombing movie is pulled
A film festival has decided not to show a prize-winning movie about two suicide bombers following the London attacks. more >
Russian revolution as US ballet rebel puts Kirov dancers in a spin
Why is the Kirov - one of the world's greatest ballet companies, alma mater of Rudolf Nureyev and Natalia Makarova - working with an American choreographer once dubbed the "Antichrist" of the ballet world? more >
Africa Gets Category in Mobo Awards
Even as African music faces the challenge of international acceptance, efforts are being made outside the continent to reverse the trend. more >
People awaiting Ahmadinejad’s cultural policy
A senior cultural analyst said the incoming Iranian government will be put to a “big test“, particularly in the cultural arena. more >
As China Raises Its Arts Profile, Officials Try to Catch Up
In a conference room at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the struggling new manager of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra stood and asked a simple and pointed question of Michael M. Kaiser, the center's president: "How do you run a marketing department with no marketing budget?" more >
Committee submits draft of nat'l cultural policy
The draft 'National Cultural Policy 2005' formulated by a committee was submitted to the government Sunday, reports UNB. more >
'Amateur culture' set to explode
The 21st Century is seeing an explosion in the field of amateur culture and creativity, according to leading digital commentators. more >
Italy: Anti-terror plan for art cities
The Italian government will soon unveil an emergency plan to protect the country's major art cities, and the eighty million tourists who visit them annually, from terrorist attacks, Italy's culture minister Rocco Buttiglione announced over the weekend. more >
Theatre thrives in Gaza, despite restrictions
A war zone is hardly a fertile place for nourishing theatre companies and filmmaking ventures. more >
Unhealthy performances to be banned
Cultural and art authorities in China will strictly ban 10 kinds of "unhealthy" and "reactionary" performances so as to make the art performance market develop in a healthy and orderly way. more >
Internal disputes
How is the cultural establishment adjusting to all-round reforms in the buildup to the presidential elections? Rania Khallaf attended a special Supreme Council of Culture board meeting convened by Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni. more >
Kumho Head promises to continue supporting young cultural talents
Park Sam-koo, chairman and CEO of Kumho Asiana Group, knows he has big shoes to fill. Park is taking over as head of the Kumho Cultural Foundation from his late brother, Park Seong-yawng, a beloved figure in the local arts scene. more >
Why rule of 'droit de suite' has a sour taste for some
"Whenever I have met a dealer or a collector, they always seem wealthy; and whenever I have met an artist, they seem poor" - Chris Bryant, M.P. more >
Ethnic comic Fringe award shelved
The Richard Pryor award, aimed at attracting more ethnic minority comics to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, has been shelved after one year. more >
Ethiopian Delegation Leaves for France to Discuss Axum Obelisk Re-Erection
An Ethiopian delegation led by Youth, Sports and Culture Minister Ambassador Teshome Toga has left for France to discuss studies and ways of re-erecting the Axum Obelisk. more >
Games of reason
Culture Minister Farouk Hosni's meeting with the Israeli ambassador this month has re-ignited the perennial debate of normalisation with Israel. Rania Khallaf speaks to two of its most vocal contributors in the literary sphere, gauging representative for and against positions at an ever more explosive juncture. more >
New look at Nazi looted art law
Four Old Master drawings looted by the Nazis could be returned to their original owner by the British Museum under proposed changes to legislation. more >
Philanthropists keeping the arts in business
Individual donors have become increasingly important to the survival of Australian performing arts companies. New figures show growth in private philanthropy last year outstripped corporate sponsorship for the second year in a row. more >
Academics hold Harry Potter talks
Highbrow fans of Harry Potter are holding an academic conference about the teenage wizard this weekend. more >
August 2005
China tightens control over culture
China will bar new foreign television channels and step up censorship of imported programming, adding to a sweeping effort to tighten the government's control over popular culture. more >
Conference on NEA Budget Reaches Deal
Conferees from the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have reconciled the differences between their respective versions of the Interior Appropriations Bill for the 2006 fiscal year, which includes the budget for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). more >
Artists hesitant to serve on Art Fund
The Director of Arts Programmes in the Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture has made one last urgent appeal to the Namibian arts fraternity to nominate suitable candidates for the to-be established National Arts Council and the Namibian Art Fund. more >
The horse is in his stall, all's right with the world
The separation fence has become a site of pilgrimage for a variety of artists. The surreal monument is a ubiquitous image in current art not only for local artists but also for those who come from abroad to see the real thing - the towering, monstrous wall of cement - with their own eyes. more >
Mlambo-Ngcuka applauds women's contribution to arts
Addressing a Women's Arts Festival in Newtown, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has applauded women who have made significant contribution to the arts in South Africa. more >
Project Seeks to Preserve Dying Languages
Every two weeks or so the last elderly man or woman with full command of a particular language dies. At that rate, as many as 2,500 native tongues will disappear forever by 2100. more >
Private fund OK'ed for culture industry
The Chinese Government issued a policy yesterday in Beijing to guide private investments into sectors of the State-owned culture industry. more >
2008 Games starts sculpture hunt
With exactly three years to go before the Olympic flame arrives in Beijing, the Beijing Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad yesterday launched two artistic campaigns of contrasting scale. more >
Arts boost could make Scotland a 'Celtic tiger'
Scotland could become a "new Celtic tiger" if politicians committed to boosting investment in the arts by £100m, says the Scottish Arts Council chairman, Richard Holloway. more >
Whither Programs and Arts Policy?
Are these halcyon days for arts education? One encounters good news on a daily basis; arts advocates and policymakers are actively promoting the arts and arts education. Yet many in the arts education community do not feel that we are experiencing a renaissance period. more >
Funding Puts Spring in Ballet Theatre's Step
Take Anzie Hancock has raised more than R24m for the South African Ballet Theatre over the past four years - a remarkable achievement by professional standards, but even more impressive for a volunteer. more >
New York's heart loses its beat
It was the spiritual home of Dylan, Kerouac and boho culture. But now even the local bible, the Greenwich Village Voice, admits that America's hippest enclave has lost its soul. more >
Performers seek support for bigger cultural budget
Performers all across the country took to the streets, yesterday (10), in 12 Brazilian capitals, where they gathered signatures to encourage the government to increase the cultural budget. more >
Call for a Ministry of Culture
"Federal cultural policy has only fully developed since Berlin has been the capital." For Rüdiger Schaper, the current SPD-Green government's experiment with a Capital Cultural Fund in Berlin and Federal Cultural Foundation was a success. As a next step, he now calls for the creation of a federal Ministry of Culture. more >
Battle over public art commences in Seattle
Following a legal challenge to the City of Seattle’s popular and historic One Percent for Art ordinance, Americans for the Arts has announced that it has filed an amicus curiae brief in order to highlight the significance of the case to the court. more >
Iranian Handicrafts Export Shows Significant Rise
With a 167 % raise in its export value of handicrafts, Iran has gained 51,250,000 dollars from the trade during the first four months of the year. more >
Subsidies for arts 'over-rated'
Better art is produced when artists generate their own income and take risks in the marketplace rather than rely on taxpayer-funded grants, an American economist says. Tyler Cowen, in Wellington as a guest of the Business Roundtable, said the increasing variety of art, music, dance, literature and films made around the world was because of the free market and globalisation. more >
National Arts Council of Zimbabwe releases album
In what could be a first, the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe has released an album. 'The Power of Peace' is a product of the Zimbabwean government and United Nations Development Programme. more >
StatsCan: Culture workers make less money than other Canadians
Canadian culture workers make about $2,000 a year less than the average Canadian worker, according to a Statistics Canada report released Tuesday. In 2000, when the average Canadian worker made $32,123, culture workers made an average of $30,149. more >
Culture/Education - Are They in Synergy?
African governments need to apply their political will to find synergy between culture and education, since education is a vehicle of culture. This is the view of Bience Gawanas, the African Union Commissioner for Social Affairs, who addressed ministers of culture last week in Windhoek. more >
The key to peace
On Sunday, conductor Daniel Barenboim's orchestra - made up of young Arabs and Israelis - performed a landmark concert in the West Bank. But how much can music achieve in bringing hope to a war zone? more >
ACE to improve children’s access to the arts nationwide
Arts Council England will launch its first national strategy for children and the arts in the autumn, to address what officials say are the limited opportunities for young people from deprived areas to take part in cultural activities. more >
NZ, Australia to jointly preserve Asia-Pacific cultural heritage
Heritage management experts from Australia and New Zealand Thursday began a two-day meeting atTe Papa, the National Museum Wellington, to develop a cooperative framework for saving cultural heritage in the Asia-Pacific region. more >
African Cultural Priorities Reaffirmed
THE establishment of a SADC Culture Fund to help promote art and culture and to mainstream regional heritage, are two of a number of priorities the ministers of culture from six Southern African countries last week identified. more >
Visual arts picture isn’t as rosy as it first appears
A RAND Corporation report issued recently suggests that the visual arts picture isn’t as rosy as it first appears, despite record museum attendance, booming commercial popularity, soaring prices for artists’ work and well-publicised museum expansions. more >
September 2005
Google opens digital library
Google Inc. is asking European book publishers to submit non-English material to its Internet-leading search engine _ a move that may ease worries about the company's digital library relying too heavily on Anglo-American content. more >
Art as diplomacy
The appointment of Karen Hughes, one of President Bush's closest advisers, as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy signals the administration's recognition of the importance of repairing America's image around the globe, especially in the Arab world. more >
Europe sets stage for cross-continental arts festival
The European Union and China are celebrating three decades of diplomatic ties with a massive street festival in Beijing - the biggest cultural event ever staged by the European Union in China. more >
Peace tapestry arrives 75 years late
A tapestry intended to symbolise the benefits of peace for the peoples of the world was today unveiled at the United Nations' European headquarters - 75 years after it was commissioned. more >
In case of war: nominations sought for list of cultural treasures to be saved at all costs
Ever considered saving for the day after Armageddon? That opportunity has now arrived. To preserve the nation's heritage in the event of war, the British government yesterday launched a consultation process. more >
National Arts Council Established
Minister of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture, John Mutorwa, yesterday introduced the newly appointed members of the National Arts Council of Namibia, who will administer the country's National Arts Fund. more >
HK, Holland sign cultural cooperation pact
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China has bolstered cultural ties with the Netherlands by signing a cooperation agreement, the government said Thursday. more >
Ecowas Culture Ministers Meet in Abuja
Participants recently gathered for the second Ecowas Culture Ministers' Conference, where the creation of an Ecowas cultural fund to support promotion of art and artists, the adoption of a calender of cultural festivals, and property rights laws of Ecowas member states were among the discussion points. more >
Conference gets to the art of culture
A conference on the future of arts and culture is to be hosted at the Scottish Parliament next week by Green MSP Chris Ballance. more >
View on the Seine is Aboriginal
It seems to be an era of reverse imperialism on the banks of the River Seine. At the bustling construction site of the Musee du Quai Branly, Jacques Chirac's expansive dream of a museum in the heart of Paris dedicated to non-Western art from Oceania, Africa, Asia and the Americas, Australian Aborigines are conquering the Europeans. more >
Entirely new ways are needed to promote the arts
A standing-room only audience crammed itself into a lecture hall at Columbia University on a crisp, sunny morning last May for a symposium titled “Measuring the Muse”. more >
Iranian Poet, Rumi to Be Center Stage in Paris Week of Foreign Cultures
Iran is one of the countries taking an active part in events foreseen for Paris week of foreign cultures from 26 September to 2 October. The week is organised by the forum of foreign cultural institutes in Paris (FICEP), bringing together some 38 cultural centers and institutes. more >
Artists 'get brush-off from business'
Banks and businesses in Scotland have been accused of letting down the country's thriving contemporary art scene by failing to support Scottish artists. more >
Executive set to reject arts super-quango
The Scottish Executive is likely to turn its back on "Culture Scotland", the arts super-quango proposed in its £600,000 policy review, according to those who recommended its creation. more >
Cultural Activist Receives Recognition
Cultural activist Bogadi Sefhako will be amongst the people honoured by President Festus Mogae on Independence Day - September 30 - in recognition of her immense contribution to arts and culture in the country. more >
China strives for Sino-French cultural exchanges: CPPCC leader
Li Meng, Vice-Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said on Friday that both China and France should summarise their experience in holding China-France Cultural Year, and strive for new growth of cultural exchanges between the two nations. more >
Minister's fingers burnt
Bowing to mounting pressure, Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni has resigned. more >
Ministry helps celebrate culture in Montreal
Montreal’s Minister of Culture and Communication, Mrs. Line Beauchamp, has helped to launch the city’s Culture Week 2005 program. more >
Art And Culture Body Established
A new body designed to promote the arts and cultural revival was launched last week with ceremony in the capital. more >
Critic blasts Australia Council for leaving too many artists out in the cold
The arts are an ecosystem and artists are like slime mould, says the cultural critic Keith Gallasch. This, science confirms, is good, because slime moulds can turn themselves into new shapes for survival. But Gallasch believes there's a new omnivore threatening the ecosystem: the Australia Council for the arts. more >
Culture takes centre stage for city governments
Cities are looking to cultural events as a way to attract wealthy taxpayers. more >
Americans for the Arts Offers Aid for Disasters
Hurricane Katrina's devastating impact on the Gulf Coast's arts community has led the nonprofit organisation Americans for the Arts to establish a new emergency relief fund. more >
Artistic Commentary at the Library on the Zeal to Ban Books
An art installation at the Donnell Library Center in Manhattan documents the banning of books throughout history. more >
WIPO members states extend work on protection of traditional knowledge
Member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) have agreed to continue accelerated work on intellectual property (IP) and traditional knowledge, genetic resources and folklore, with a focus on the international dimension. more >
Artists unite to protect cultural diversity
As part of the world movement against free trade in culture, a Swiss coalition for cultural diversity, representing 50 groups, has been formed in Bern. more >
October 2005
Minister's Muslim culture comments upset canon work
Work to establish a canon over milestones in Danish culture has become bogged down. Several members of the canon committee have threatened to resign after the Minister of Culture implied it was a tool to fight Muslim culture. more >
New triennial partnership will to restore heritage infrastructure
Quebec’s Minister of Culture and Communication, Mrs. Line Beauchamp, and the city’s mayor, Mr. Jean-Paul L’Allier, have signed a triennial agreement for cultural development worth $20.9 million. The money will go towards supporting the rapid development of Quebec’s arts, heritage and culture infrastructure. more >
Festival of China opens in Washington
The Festival of China, an unprecedented cultural event cosponsored by China and the United States, has kicked off with dazzling art shows, joyous celebrations and firework displays in the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. more >
Talawa initiates legal action against Arts Council England
Britain’s foremost black theatre company, Talawa, has launched legal proceedings to take Arts Council England to the High Court over its decision to withdraw £4 million funding from the company’s project to build a flagship venue in Westminster. more >
A battle to rebuild looms in New Orleans
Rebuilding 'The City That Care Forgot" represents the greatest urban renewal project in American history, but nearly everyone with a stake in the city's future agrees that the outcome is far from certain: Will officials oversee a process that yields a stunning model for 21st-century living, or will fighting among special interests produce a more homogeneous, tourist-centric New Orleans? more >
Swiss favour Unesco cultural diversity plan
Switzerland will be strongly supporting the cause of protecting cultural diversity and freedom of expression at the 33rd Unesco General Conference. more >
Canada leads fight for culture rights
Backed by unusual unanimity from the provinces and Canada's artistic community, Canadian Heritage Minister Liza Frulla heads to Paris to push for a successful vote on the UNESCO convention on cultural diversity. more >
British Council art goes online
The British Council is making its entire art collection available to view on the internet. It means all of its 8,000 works can be seen together for the first time. The UK's worldwide cultural body boasts one of the largest modern British art collections, including works by Chris Ofili, David Hockney and Damien Hirst. more >
Republican panel recommends ending funding for the NEA
An advisory panel composed of over 100 Republican members of the House of Representatives has recommended ending all funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). more >
Arts marketing website for artists
The fuel4artists.com is a leading arts marketing reference for artists internationally. It is a sister site to fuel4arts and can be accessed using your existing fuel4arts username and password. Fuel4artists is full of useful information and services specifically for the visual artist. more >
European cities unite at culture meeting
Representatives from more than 40 European cities have attended the Eurocities Culture Forum meeting in Brussels to discuss the role of urban culture in European policies. more >
Writers, Poets Express & Debate on the Internet
It is often said that necessity is the mother of invention. Thus Saudis interested in the cultural scene have had to improvise and discover untraditional mediums of communication due to the almost total absence of cultural societies in the country. more >
State Arts Agencies' Fiscal Year Brightens
Americans for the Arts, a national arts advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., and New York City, has compiled data on state arts-agency appropriations for the 2006 fiscal year and concluded that the 50 states will soon fare a little bit better than they have in the recent past. more >
Arts Council Ready to Roll
A two-day workshop to have the Namibian Art Council Act legally interpreted and to put together criteria to financially support the arts and culture fraternity, are two of the decisions taken by the Namibian Art Council last week. more >
Arts council under fire for stockpiling Lottery cash
Arts Council England, along with other Lottery distributors, has been criticised by the Public Accounts Committee for sitting on millions of pounds of lottery money intended to fund projects. more >
Cultural diversity policy voted in
Despite intense pressure from the United States not to, over 150 countries voted yesterday to create an international convention on cultural diversity. more >
Civil servants ‘cherry picking’ arts review
Senior figures involved in producing the landmark report of the Cultural Commission, published in June with more than 100 ideas to transform the arts, believe much of its work is being "ignored" or neutered by Scottish Executive officials. more >
UNESCO votes to protect cultural diversity
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)'s culture commission passed Monday a resolution aiming at protecting and promoting cultural diversity. The 40-page resolution reaffirms the "sovereign right of countries" to pursue policies aimed at "protecting and promoting the diversity of cultural expressions on their territory" and in international trade. more >
ACE continues Talawa funding after ‘clear’ rescue plan agreed
Arts Council England will continue to fund struggling black theatre company Talawa for at least one more year in the hope that the organisation can start “a positive new chapter” after the collapse of its project to build a £7 million venue in Westminster. more >
In Rome, performers on the warpath
Fearing the squeeze of significant cutbacks in public funding, Italy's culture industry is on the warpath and casting ominous predictions that some of the country's most renowned institutions, from La Scala opera in Milan to the Venice film festival, are at risk. more >
Racy Emin upsets faithful of Marrakesh
An attempt to use Britart to foster relations with Morocco has backfired after locals branded the exhibits offensive to their religious beliefs. more >
INCD applauds cultural diversity vote
The International Network for Cultural Diversity has issued a congratulatory statement in the wake of UNESCO's formal vote for cultural diversity, urging for renewed global commitment to the cause. more >
Nation to hold globalisation forum on cultural diversity
China will hold a globalisation forum calling for respect for cultural diversity, according to a press conference held Wednesday. more >
Countries turn backs on Hollywood
Unesco member states have formally voted to support their own film and music industries against globalisation. more >
Cultural Diversity Pact
The overwhelming yes for a UNESCO-backed convention to protect cultural diversity was little less than historic, culturally and economically. more >
Implementing A Holistic Approach To E-Learning Accessibility
A paper on e-learning accessibility and culture. more >
Italy facing opera funding crisis
Culture minister Rocco Buttiglione has threatened to resign if the Italian government does not cancel the 35% cuts it is proposing in funding for the performing arts in next year's budget. more >
Arts endowment all grown up, chief says
For Dana Gioia, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, the culture wars are history. more >
HK to hold Asia Cultural Cooperation Forum
Hong Kong will hold Asia Cultural Cooperation Forum on Nov. 9-12, the Home Affairs Bureau ( HAB) of Hong Kong announced here Wednesday. more >
Vending machines - the new art space
You may see a vending machine on pretty much every corner of the street in the city. You may find some stocked with drinks, others with snack foods. But how many vending machines have you seen stocked with art? more >
Age of reason
There has been an accumulating embarrassment over the past two decades about the amount of grey hair sprinkled around the theatre auditoria of England. This has been largely driven by the Arts Council, in a futile and hysterical attempt to make the theatre more "with it". more >
Art across borders
Today sees the launch of an innovative arts project hosted by Guardian Unlimited. It's called imagine art after, and it brings together 14 artists from across the globe, whose work will be displayed in a specially created online gallery. more >
Culture’s Own ‘Vision Thing’
When the Minister of Culture and Mass Communication, Alexander Sokolov, complained about the lack of funds for his ministry at a government meeting in September, Mikhail Zurabov, the Minister of Health and Social Development, cut him short with the question: “If you had more money, how would you spend it?” more >
November 2005
Music collections closed to the public
Government cultural policy is fixated today on "access". But the whittling away of music on the shelves shows that access is too often achieved at the expense of old-fashioned availability. more >
Mohammed cartoons on the agenda of Mecca summit
Caricatures of Mohammed published in a Danish paper, which have already caused uproar in Muslim communities in Denmark and abroad, will be on the agenda at an Islamic summit in Mecca in December. more >
BFA to hold int'l meeting on cultural industry
The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) will hold its first international conference on the cultural industry in the city of Zhongshan in south China's Guangdong Province from Nov. 18 to 19, said forum Secretary-General Long Yongtu here on Thursday. more >
Giant Painting To Travel World With Message Of Peace
The United Nations has unveiled a giant work of art that is to travel the world bringing a message of peace. more >
France Reconnects to an Old Acquaintance, la Nouvelle Orléans
To show support for the city of New Orleans, French culture minister, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, and the president of the Louvre, Henri Loyrette, have visited New Orleans to announce a series of cultural initiatives. more >
Kennedy Center president receives China culture award
Michael Kaiser, president of the US John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, has received a Prize for Cultural Communication from Chinese Minister of Culture Sun Jiazheng for his role in Sino-US cultural dialogue and exchange. more >
Towards an Arts And Culture Market in Africa
The recent South African Arts and Culture exhibition in Cameroon was both a forum for intercultural dialogue and a launching pad for creating an arts and culture market at continental level. more >
Writers call for blind book funds
Leading authors have called for the government to act to help end the "book famine" faced by the blind. more >
Arts Foundation annual awards hit $1m milestone
The Arts Foundation of New Zealand will have distributed $1.1 million to local artists using income generated from its endowment fund by the end of this year. more >
Way Now Open for Arts And Culture Development
'With all the necessary legislative organs now in place, concrete and tangible development is needed more than ever before in the arts and culture sector in the country,' reassured John Mutorwa, Minister of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture, in a speech on Monday. more >
Artist life to be studied
Culture Minister Trond Giske will use NOK 1 million (USD 151,600) to find out exactly what kind of living conditions artists have in modern Norway. more >
UNESCO funds workshops on digitisation
The Memory of the World Committee of the Barbados National Commission for UNESCO has organised training for 30 local librarians in digitisation. more >
Good causes: Great effects
To celebrate National Lottery Day on 5 November, Arts Council England, together with the five other lottery distributors in Yorkshire, have produced a new publication, Good causes, Great effects. more >
Iran gets tough with culture
Iran’s new culture minister has said that he is purging his ministry of officials that he thinks have failed to protect Islamic values. In particular, books have come under attack, as the Minister proposes that previous government literary censors lacked the will to refuse offending texts. more >
FBI's on the trail of world's biggest art thefts
The FBI has released a list of the world's top 10 art crimes, asking for the public's help in tracking down masterpieces by Cezanne, Van Gogh, Leanardo da Vinci and other precious artwork stolen from museums and private collections. more >
UNESCO celebrates its 60th anniversary
UNESCO, the United Nations scientific and cultural organisation, will mark its 60th anniversary with a symposium chaired by one of the great thinkers of the 20th century, the French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss. more >
Swiss order release of seized art
Swiss authorities have ordered the release of more than 50 paintings belonging to the Pushkin state art museum in Moscow. more >
Iran's new hardline government to get tough on culture
Iran's new culture minister has said that he is purging his ministry of officials that he views as having failed to protect Islamic values. more >
LR Group Spends USD 1m On National Arts, Culture
A total of USD 1 million were made available on Wednesday here by the Isreali LR Group to aid Angolan artists, the national arts and culture works. more >
Cox Report: creative accounting
Once the head of the Institute of Directors, Sir George is now chairman of the Design Council, and he has been drafted in by the Treasury to put some vim into the British economy. The idea is that Britain's much-trumpeted 'creative industries' can make up the innovative deficit that plagues manufacturing. more >
Quebec launches cultural investment program
Quebec has launched a new program entitled 'Investing in Culture', designed to support the growth of private investments in the culture and communication sector. more >
Internet: A New Space for African Languages
Concerns that African languages could become extinct are almost over. The internet is becoming a refuge for the continent's languages that would otherwise become extinct. more >
South Korea tests appeal of Korean culture at APEC
Accompanying the formal talks on regional issues, South Korea hosted several cultural programs alongside the Asia-Pacific forum in Busan in a bid to publicize what Koreans eat, read and appreciate -- and to learn what they can sell. more >
Wreckers put art colony out of the picture
The 126 Chinese, Asian and Western artists in Beijing's leading art community Suojiacun are seeing red, after hearing their illegally built work and living spaces may be torn down in the coming week. more >
U.S. public radio, TV scrutinized for federal fund misuse
The U.S. public broadcasting system will be examined to determine if its television and radio stations used federal funds to lobby against the threat of budget cuts. more >
Internet Can Create, Not Crush, Culture
You cannot resist the Internet, so you might as well bathe in its tidal wave-like wash over the world's cultures, says the director of the centuries old Alexandria Library in Egypt. more >
Foreign ministry pulls plug on play's tour
The foreign ministry has withdrawn its support for the tour of a Swiss play in the West African state of Burkina Faso, apparently for fear of upsetting France. more >
Researcher examines attendance at cultural events
A new report on why people attend cultural events indicates a satisfaction gap with some of the actual experiences, but one that is apparently not great enough to dissuade return patronage. more >
New centre for cultural expertise
A three-year initiative has begun in Vancouver, Canada, with the creation of a Centre of Expertise on Culture and Communities. The Centre, located at Simon Fraser University, will provide research opportunities, outreach and networking, and the ability for participants to exchange in knowledge and ideas. more >
Cultural Comment:
Richard Florida, best-selling author of The Rise of the Creative Class, believes that our future economic prosperity depends on making the most of the creativity and talents of each and every member of society. more >
The Other: About the role of Art and Culture in the Balkans
On 1 December 2005 the ECF, in cooperation with the HIVOS, has organised a conference in the Peace Palace in The Hague entitled The Heart of the Matter, in which more than one hundred policy makers, artists and journalists will discuss the part culture can play in integrating the Balkan into the European Union. more >
Cultural policy of non-Western countries
The Egypt Council keeps a watch on all types of art and is also the primary government financier. But it also receives a lot of criticism. Read part ten of a series of articles on cultural policy. more >
Can culture save downtown?
It is very unusual for any urban renewal plan not to include reference to the role that arts organizations and arts buildings can potentially play in regeneration. But the discussions about arts organizations and those about arts buildings are curiously and uncomfortably divorced. more >
Museums grapple with transparency issue
The Met has a vast collection of Italian antiquities and, in the view of these officials, some of these objects should not be there because, put bluntly, they were stolen. more >
Alert and alarmed: art under fire
Sedition laws have been used to stifle dissent before. They must not be allowed to do so again, say leading Australian artists. more >
One man's multimillion-dollar legal battle threatens chaos in art world
Director of the Hermitage, warns there is a real possibility that no Russian museum will lend works to UK or other European venues unless it receives "concrete guarantees" from host governments that its collections will not be impounded, as a result of a long-running dispute between a Swiss businessman and the Russian government. more >
Call for Scottish works in school
Five hundred writers are set to petition the Holyrood Parliament calling for more Scottish literature in schools. more >
$77,710 to indigenous broadcasting in Canada
The Minister for Culture and Communication and minister responsible for the region of Montreal, Line Beauchamp, and the minister of state for Indigenous Peoples Affairs, Geoffrey Kelley, announced financial assistance of $77,710 to support the management of Indigenous Peoples Community radios on the territory of Nord-du-Québec. more >
December 2005
Keeping audio-visual heritage from fading away
The organisation set up exactly ten years ago to promote the preservation of Switzerland's audio-visual heritage says progress has been slow. more >
UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy launched
UNESCO launched the Confucius Prize for Literacy, the first international award named after a Chinese person, in Beijing yesterday afternoon. more >
Objections to culturally objectionable ads
A member of Moscow's government has called for the creation of legislature that would make Moscow billboard-free. Alexander Krutov, a member of the pro-government United Russia faction, stated that the billboard-free zones would protect the city's cultural heritage against growing commercialism. more >
Germany launches probe into sarcophagus claimed by Egypt
The Berlin state prosecutor has opened an inquiry into the origin of an Egyptian sarcophagus from the Pharaonic period, recently seized in Germany and which Cairo wants returned, his spokesman said on Thursday. more >
Musicians And Producers Happy About Law-Decree Against Piracy
Musicians and producers of Luanda are happy about the latest moves to block music pirates, and are offering full support to the help the government fight piracy. more >
National Lottery survey
The National Lottery in England is seeking participants to take part in a survey on how they distribute money to the arts industries. Every year the National Lottery raises over £1 billion, and plays a large role in funding the arts industry. more >
Questionnaire from International Association for Community Development
The International Association of Community Development is collecting case studies and information on community development, to promote learning and exchange of experiences. As part of our UK focus we are beginning a 6 month consultation with a wide range of community development agencies, practitioners and organisations. more >
Peru may sue Yale for Inca relics' return
Peru is threatening to sue Yale University in America, for the return of ancient mummies, bones and ceramics, that were taken from Machu Picchu. The items were taken by an American explorer nearly a century ago. more >
British films get tax relief
The British Government has announced that film makers will receive a tax credit, with a 16% relief for large budget films, and 20% for smaller ones. The films will also need to pass a 'culturally British' test, in order to determine whether a film's application for tax relief can qualify. more >
Fostering creativity in dangerous times
An insider at Iraq's Culture Ministry discusses challenges and priorities two years after Saddam. more >
For long-pampered artists, Ireland's taxman cometh
Finance Minister Brian Cowen told lawmakers on Wednesday that he wanted to restrict tax loopholes that have created a "phenomenon of tax-free millionaires," including some of the country's best-known artists. more >
Russia threatens to end loans to UK
The State Hermitage Museum is to end all loans to its gallery in London, unless the British government provides guarantees against the seizure of works of art. more >
NCA responds to migration plans
National Campaign for the Arts members in England were sought to respond to proposals made by the Home Office, which may prevent visiting artists from migrating to the area. more >
New members for Americans for the Arts
The Americans for the Arts organisation has appointed new members to its Arts Education Council. The Council, which was created to advise the Americans for the Arts about arts in education, added three new members and one re-elected member. more >
New NCERT deparment to promote creative arts
To integrate creative arts into school curriculum and promote it as a medium of teaching, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has established the Department of Education in Arts and Aesthetics. more >
China to boost cultural development in rural areas
The Chinese authorities have called for efforts to boost cultural development in rural areas. more >
2005 Arts & Cultural Policy Research Directory is released
The Center for Arts and Culture, CPANDA, and the Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies at Princeton are pleased to release the 2005 Arts & Cultural Policy Research Directory. more >
Minister closes Nero's palace
Italy’s Culture Minister, Rocco Buttiglione, has announced the closure of Nero’s palace in Rome for at least two years. The Minister announced the news as the palace is at risk from water damage. more >
Art matters
Yes, society needs the arts to grow and thrive - but there's a much more important reason to fund them, says John Tusa. more >
African Culture Ministers Meet Today in Kenya
Angola attends as from this Wednesday in Nairobi, Kenya, the meeting of African Ministers of Culture, under the motto "African Renaissance, Culture and Integration", with a delegation led by the deputy minister of Culture Virglio Coelho. more >
Tour fears over work permit plans
Musicians wanting to perform in the UK may be hit by government plans to change the work permit system. more >
Without culture there would be no you
The decorum that characterised the presentation of this year’s National Gallery of Art annual distinguished lecture at the auditorium of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution, Abuja, last Friday temporarily receded when questions were raised on the place of cultural policy in the ongoing national reform programmes. It almost turned into a hot debate. more >
World’s top museums compete for Hong Kong development
Top international museums are circling around one of the world’s biggest cultural contracts: the multi-billion-dollar West Kowloon Cultural District. more >
Developing countries losing out in cultural trade
Three countries - the United Kingdom, United States and China - produced 40 percent of the world’s cultural trade products in 2002, while Latin America and Africa together accounted for less than four percent according to a new report by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. more >
UN expert urges 'arts inventory'
A United Nations' expert on intellectual property urged countries to prepare inventories on traditional arts to minimise disputes rising from conflicting claims regarding origin, at a sub-regional meeting on intangible cultural heritage in Bangkok. more >
Zimbabwe arts to step up says former Secretary
Former Secretary for Education, Sport and Culture in Zimbabwe, Stephen Chifunyise, has stated that the multi-billion dollar arts and culture industry will remain in limbo unless there are effective arts organisations to spearhead growth in the sector. more >
Jewish theatre resource launched
If you ever wanted to learn about Jewish theatre, now is your chance. A new organisation has been launched for theatre enthusiasts worldwide. more >
1st Confucius Institute for Africa launched in Nairobi
Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi, the first of such nonprofit school specializing in Chinese language education and culture communication in Africa, was officially launched on Monday. more >
NYSAWC Publishes Set of Workspace Residency Guides
The New York State Artist Workspace Consortium (NYSAWC), 10 organisations in New York, has published two handbooks for artists and arts organisations. The books are designed to create benchmarks for organisations to create successful residency experiences. more >
Police step up search for £3 million stolen sculpture
Door-to-door inquiries are set to be carried out in the search for a £3 million Henry Moore sculpture. A Mercedes flat-bed lorry, believed to have been used in the theft, has already been recovered and is undergoing forensic examination. more >
Plans unveiled for $550 million museum near the Pyramids
Plans have been announced for the $550 million Great Egyptian Museum, to be established near the Pyramids near Cairo. It will be among the world’s largest museums, and is by far the biggest to be built from scratch. more >
Irish book raises €130,000 for tsunami victims
The tsunami aid publication by Irish writers and publishers, 'Moments: Irish Women Writers In Aid of the Tsunami Victims', has raised over €130,000 for the victims of the South East Asian disaster. more >
Purge on Beijing's first gay festival
Organisers had planned to hold their festival of films, plays, exhibitions and seminars on homosexuality at one of the trendiest artistic communities in China, but police shut down the opening of China's first gay and lesbian culture festival in Beijing on Friday. more >
Alternative evaluation techniques in grant assessment
Having trouble with your grant evaluations? GrantCraft will help you. The project, run by the Ford Foundation, is designed to help grant makers understand new evaluation techniques and concepts, and to help you decide which one suits your organisation best. more >
It is time for Africa to search for its soul
The fifth session of the Ministers of Culture Conference kicked off on Tuesday this week at Kenyatta International Conference Centre bringing together members around Africa. more >
Deliberative Cultural Policy Practices
Roberto Bedoya argues that "policy practices and research can strengthen the cultural sector if the arrangement are equitable and research is fair and accurate." more >
US donates $1mill to Kosovo heritage
The US has donated $US1mill to Kosovo, following a 2005 decision to help fund the protection and preservation of the country's cultural heritage. more >
Canada first in protecting cultural diversity
Canada has become the first State to ratify the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which was adopted by UNESCO’s General Conference last October. more >
Australian culture donations improving
Arts and culture donations are improving, according to a survey of "giving" in Australia conducted earlier this year. more >
National Cultural Trade Research Base launched
The National Cultural Trade Research Base of China was launched here Thursday in Beiijng, at the Communication University of China (CUC). more >
The international who's who in cultural policy, planning and research >