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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
'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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
Budget contains boosts for the arts
The first details to emerge from Wednesday's federal budget appeared moderately encouraging for Canadian arts. 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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
March 2005
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
Libraries 'in scandalous state'
A "significant deterioration" in the quality of public library buildings is a "scandal", MPs have said. 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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
‘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 >
MPs condemn arts funding freeze
An influential group of MPs has criticised the government's decision to freeze funding to Arts Council England. 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 >
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
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
Arts in education launched
Antigua has officially launched its Performing Arts in Education Programme, funded by the UN Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC). 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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 Alf