International News in October 2005
Show all of 2005
Implementing A Holistic Approach To E-Learning Accessibility
A paper on e-learning accessibility and culture. 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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
Cultural Diversity Pact
The overwhelming yes for a UNESCO-backed convention to protect cultural diversity was little less than historic, culturally and economically. 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 >
Countries turn backs on Hollywood
Unesco member states have formally voted to support their own film and music industries against globalisation. 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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
The international who's who in cultural policy, planning and research >