International News in 2006
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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 2006
New rights for living artists
A new EU directive that is expected to be enforced this month may lead to some countries changing their laws in regards to intellectual property rights of living artists. more >
National Cultural Trade Research Base launched
The National Cultural Trade Research Base of China has been launched in Beiijng, at the Communication University of China (CUC). more >
Pro Helvetia president takes stock
The outgoing president of the Swiss Arts Council, Pro Helvetia, says she is leaving it "in very good shape". more >
SAC requests doubled funding
Chairman of the Scottish Arts Council Richard Holloway has called on the Scottish Executive to double his organisation’s funding to £134 million a year. more >
Ministry seeks public opinions on cultural heritage
The Ministry of Culture has unveiled a list of 501 such heritages online, so as to solicit public views about China's most important living cultural heritage. more >
Birthplace of a cultural revolution
Gateshead and Newcastle have led the way in using the arts as a tool for urban regeneration - but it hasn't always been plain sailing. more >
Center for Arts and Culture Closes
The Center for the Arts and Culture, a resource for news and information on policies affecting the arts, has shut down its operations. Although an official reason for the closure of the nonprofit, nonpartisan group has not been announced, a letter on the Center's website indicates the organization closed due to lack of funding. more >
Arts row rings English alarm bells
The chairman of the Arts Council in England (ACE) has warned that moves by the Welsh Assembly Government to fund the biggest artistic companies in Wales directly could set a dangerous precedent. more >
Cultural Heritage Day designated
The State Council, China's cabinet, has designated the second Saturday of June as the Cultural Heritage Day to strengthen heritage protection in China. more >
State councilor outlines cultural development in coming 5 years
State Councilor Chen Zhili on Monday called on local governmental officials to improve culture-related work in the next five years. more >
Stressed workers enjoy art for heart's sake
Visiting an art gallery may be the perfect antidote to stress, according to research. Analysis of 28 City high flyers who spent their lunch break viewing art found their stress levels fell by 45% after 40 minutes at the Guildhall art gallery in London. more >
Cultural sector sees progress in 8 aspects
Chinese Minister of Culture Sun Jiazheng said here Tuesday that China's cultural sector saw progress in eight aspects in the past five years, when China carried out its 10th five-year (2000-2005) plan. more >
Downloading takes away music passion
Downloading music has led to a generation of people who do not seriously appreciate songs or performances, a research study has suggested. more >
Wales opposition backs Pugh
The war of words over political interference in the arts intensified yesterday after opposition parties branded Culture Minister Alun Pugh a "philistine" over his handling of the Arts Council. more >
What's booming in New York? Building for dance companies
In the supposedly impoverished world of New York dance, where honorable artists are driven out of town or to the outermost outer boroughs or into the arms of academia, where choreographers can't pay the rent and creative energies have reportedly shifted to Europe, the city finds itself in the midst of an almost pharaonic building boom. more >
Detained film-maker sues New York City
An award-winning Indian documentary-maker is suing New York City because police ordered him to stop filming in public in 2005 and held him for four hours. They apparently suspected he was plotting an attack. more >
Mexico asks for Montezuma's headdress back
The Mexican Parliament has issued a formal request to Austria to return a traditional headdress worn by Aztec emperor Montezuma. more >
Cultural industry to drive consumption
Just as housing and cars drive today's consumption in China, the cultural industry including cultural and entertainment products and services will be an engine of economic growth, a top Beijing-based think-tank says. more >
Undercover playwright
For years, a fearful Adil Kadhim hid the works dearest to him. But not any more. Now, with Saddam himself in prison, Kadhim, 64, no longer needs to smuggle his writing out of the country. more >
A failed coup d’état in Guantanamo Bay
Danish artists’ group Parallel Action attempted to culturally hijack Guantanamo Bay last month with the aid of a ghettoblaster and a recording of Beethoven’s Third Symphony, but their performance piece did not go quite according to plan. more >
Cultural sector urged to deepen reform
Cultural institutions across China are urged to deepen the structural reform, according to a circular recently issued by the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). more >
Culture-related spending hit 830 bln yuan in 2005: report
Culture-related expenses such as education and entertainment took 830 billion yuan (103.75 billion US dollars) out of Chinese pockets last year, said a report issuedby the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) Thursday. more >
Drive to Join Top Heritage List
Campaigns to have Mombasa Old Town and Fort Jesus listed as World Heritage Sites gathered momentum yesterday. But it emerged that there were no clear laws for the conservation of historic sites, despite the fact that if the campaigns succeed, tourism at the Coast would triple. more >
Film-Makers Petition Government
Film-makers have called upon government to implement a film policy to attract foreign investment and help to develop the sector. more >
Publishers claim book prices rose 4.5 percent last year
The price of books published in South Korea last year rose 4.5 percent from a year ago, statistics released by a local association of publishers showed Sunday. more >
Last-gasp increase for Scotland's arts falls short of £100m target
Government funding for the arts in Scotland will be increased, it will be announced this week, although the figure looks set to fall significantly short of the extra £100m recommended by the Cultural Commission. more >
Ministers fight to put arts at heart of nation
Jack McConnell, Scotland's political Prince Charming, was in his brutalist palace on the edge of Calton Hill, rushing to the defence of a culture of which Scottish Ballet is a leading - some say elitist - part. Talk is of 'frustrated' cabinet meetings, last-minute work and McConnell as a First Minister who has had to re-engage with this area of life. more >
Cultural projects will lose £130 million a year by 2008
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) is facing “extremely hard choices”, according to its chairwoman Liz Forgan. The challenge is “matching our resources to the growing demand for support for heritage projects”. more >
Dept of Culture and Youth to establish cultural village
The Department of Culture and Youth has secured P500 000 for the design of the national cultural village to be established near Toutswe Mogala Hill at Maope, about 48 km north of Palapye. more >
Executive to be cultural caretaker as it takes on arts funding
Ministers are expected to take direct control over the funding of Scotland's major art companies this week in the biggest shake-up of Scotland's cultural establishment since devolution. more >
Cambodia and Laos culture profiles online
Visiting Arts in the UK has launched two new online guides for international culture. The Cambodia Cultural Profile and the Laos Cultural Profile were developed with the local culture ministries, and aim to map the cultural profiles of the two countries. more >
Arts groups challenge leaders to put culture on the election agenda
Those searching for mention of arts and culture issues in this election have had to dig deep. References to the sector are either buried in parties’ election platforms, or, in the case of the Tories, were not released until the end of last week. In the recent leaders’ debates in Montreal, the candidates were silent on the subject. more >
Protect consumers' digital rights, British MPs urged
A U.K. consumer rights watchdog has urged new laws to protect consumers' digital rights. The National Consumer Council told a parliamentary inquiry into digital rights management that companies are already eroding consumer rights. more >
Music machine to predict tomorrow's hits
Computer scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a computer program which they claim can accurately forecast where a song will appear in the charts. more >
Musicians need formal training
While musicians can obtain playing skills from sources other than formal music colleges or schools, the demands of the industry today compel them to have accomplished managers or seek training on how to run their careers. more >
The Scandal Sweeping Russia’s Art Market
Forgers have been retouching hundreds of works by minor European artists, putting the signatures of major Russian artists on them and selling them for many times their worth. more >
Culture Ministry Delegation Expected in Sudan
The deputy minister of Culture Virgilio Coelho is heading a delegation that will leave Luanda this Wednesday for Khartoum (Sudan) to attend an African Union Summit on 23-24 January, Angop has learnt. more >
Ghana Loses ¢20.2bn Through Music Piracy
Ghana and the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGHA) lost about ¢20.2 billion last year through music piracy, the President of MUSIGHA, Alhaji Sidiku Buari, has said. more >
Dance takes the next step on the DCMS agenda
Culture Minister, David Lammy, today announced the establishment of the first Government Dance Forum at the Critic's Circle National Dance Awards ceremony which took place at the Royal Opera House. more >
Assembly accused of bias against small arts companies
Culture Minister Alun Pugh was accused of discriminating against smaller arts companies last night after awarding inflation-protected grant rises to the six big organisations directly funded by the Assembly Government. more >
Brazil's Culture Minister to Receive UWI Bob Marley Award
The American Foundation for the University of the West Indies (AFUWI) will for the first time present the prestigious 'UWI Bob Marley Award' to Gilberto Gil, Minister of Culture of Brazil at the Foundation's ninth Annual Benefit Gala at Cipriani 42 Street, New York City, on Thursday, February 2, 2006, at 6:30 p.m. more >
UNESCO cultural heritage safeguard ratified by 30 states
Thirty States have now ratified the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage, adopted in October 2003 by the UNESCO General Conference. more >
Thailand, Chile clinch cultural pact
Thailand and Chile on Friday reached a bilateral cultural pact aimed at promoting cultural exchanges as well as mutual understanding between the two countries. more >
£20m revamp for Scots cultural life
The show was over for the controversial Scottish Arts Council yesterday as the quango was scrapped in an overhaul of cultural life which will see another £20 million a year ploughed into the arts. more >
Arts journalists unite
Arts and entertainment journalists from Zimbabwe's print and electronic media have formed an association, the Arts Journalists Association of Zimbabwe (AJAZ). The association seeks, among other things, to bring together journalists involved in arts and entertainment. more >
National training centre opens
The transformation of Masvingo State University to a national training centre for arts and culture could help uplift the arts industry. National Arts Council of Zimbabwe director Titus Chipangura commended Government, saying it had finally responded to the need to introduce programmes that complemented the talents of artistes. more >
Censorship fears eased in Terrorism Bill rewrite
Peers have voted to remove those sections of the Government’s controversial Terrorism Bill that the theatre industry had feared would threaten freedom of artistic expression. more >
Huge increases to foreign artist costs under visa revision
New work permit rules could create “huge” problems and significant extra expense for companies booking foreign artists to perform in the UK, according to arts organisation and immigration law experts. more >
Parliaments to influence culture policy?
The Nordic Council Culture Committee has mandated a new working party to draw up proposals for a long-term Nordic cultural policy. more >
Clamour for arts endowment still pricks nation’s ear
Established under section 52 of 1991 National Endowment for the Art, was part of government effort to alleviate the living conditions of Nigerian artists. But years after establishing the decree, the clamour for the launching of the fund has dominated discourse in every art and culture forum for some time. more >
Facts differ from Arts Minister's claim
Culture Minister Alun Pugh appears to have misled AMs by greatly exaggerating the extent to which better-off people in Wales benefit more from arts events than the poor. And last night it seemed he did not understand the difference between those who attend arts events and those who participate in them. more >
S Korea trades film quota for US free trade
South Korea said today it would reduce by half its screen quota for domestically produced films in a move aimed at facilitating free trade talks with the United States. more >
Arts and the Budget
This is the time to encourage and re-establish the Entertainment Industry. It will be right and only fair, to build Theatres and Performing Centres to enhance Entertainment. Give the Arts a full ministry and let it enrich this nation and strengthen our economy. more >
Denmark's greatest hits
The minister of culture unveiled the nation's cultural canon yesterday, turning up the volume of the debate that has been raging ever since he announced plans to create the list. more >
Welsh minister to sign guarantee of cultural freedom for arts groups
Welsh culture minister Alun Pugh has promised to sign a “memorandum of understanding” guaranteeing the artistic freedom of the country’s six national arts companies which are due to be funded directly by the government from 2007. more >
Who will helm Heritage?
The last time it looked as if a Stephen Harper government would take office, in June, 2004, Canada's cultural industries were in panic mode. more >
Cultural policy and factionalism
Since the birth of the Third Republic, Poland has had 14 Ministers of Culture over 16 years. Given this, it is impossible to say which Ministers and which policies have been more or less beneficial. more >
New report critical of money spent on 'diversity' arts
There is no doubt that in the last decade or so, arts in the UK has seen a massive injection of money for new projects and exhibitions. more >
Academi scathing over direct funding reforms
One of the "Big Six" arts organisations in line to be funded directly by the Assembly Government has directly challenged the Culture Minister to explain why they are being picked on. more >
Dance body recognises Bollywood as an artform
Bollywood is to be recognised as a professional dance form, with its own syllabus and accredited examinations. Honey Kalaria, director of Honey’s Dance Academy, has launched the world’s first Bollywood dance syllabus through industry training organisation the International Association of Modern Indian Arts. more >
Nearly half of Equity members earn less than £6,000 a year performing
Almost half of all performers in the UK earned less than £6,000 from the profession in the last 12 months and most spent the majority of their time doing other jobs, according to major new research by Skillset and Equity. more >
'African Unesco' Gets Go-Ahead
The African Union (AU) has backed plans to create a scientific and cultural branch modelled on the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). more >
CEMAC arts organisations - this concerns you!
An initiative to compile a list of arts and culture organisations active in the CEMAC region (Cameroon, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Rep. of Congo, Gabon and Central Africa) has been launched by the Collective Resources for the Arts and Talents Enrichment (CREATE). more >
Minister victim of 'political mischief-making'
Wales’s Culture Minister tried today to dismiss the controversy that has engulfed him over arts funding as “political mischief-making“. more >
February 2006
Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage to Enter into Force on 20 April
Thirty States have now ratified the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage, adopted in October 2003 by the UNESCO General Conference, allowing it to enter into force on 20 April 2006, that is three months after the 30th instrument of ratification has been deposited. more >
The optimist versus the PM in the chase for a renaissance
Our cultural growth needs clear direction, David Throsby tells Sunanda Creagh. more >
Dancers are different, say scientists
Hebrew University researchers in Jerusalem say they've determined dancers are genetically different from the general population. Psychology Professor Richard Ebstein and colleagues say DNA examinations have determined dancers show consistent differences in two key genes from the general population. more >
Finnish Embassy Gives Big Bucks to Arts
The Finnish embassy will donate $N1,6 million into Namibian arts and culture development this year. more >
The ideas interview: Sara Selwood
Why are the highest ranks of arts administration still dominated by men? John Sutherland meets the woman who plans to shake things up at the top. more >
China is the world’s second largest exporter of art
A UNESCO report on global trade in cultural goods and services includes two surprises. The first is that China has now become the second largest exporter of “visual arts”, accounting for 19% of world exports in this category (particularly statuary). more >
Welsh Assembly forced into direct funding u-turn
Wales culture minister Alun Pugh’s plan to split the country’s six largest performing arts organisations from Arts Council Wales and fund them directly from central government has been overturned by a coalition of opposition parties in the Welsh Assembly. more >
Ontario's Bev Oda named new heritage minister
Beverley Oda, the first Japanese Canadian elected to the House of Commons, has been named the new Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women. more >
'Churlish' Pugh accused of rubbishing strategy
Plaid Cymru claimed last night that Culture Minister Alun Pugh had "rubbished" virtually the entire communications strategy of the Arts Council of Wales. Owen John Thomas, who shadows Mr Pugh for Plaid, made the allegation after obtaining a copy of the draft strategy which had been annotated by the Minister. more >
Tiptoeing around China's ire
What is it about ballet dancers and politics? During the cold war, the defection of Russian ballet dancers to the West - most famously Rudolf Nureyev in 1961 - was a regular feature of the political landscape. Such defections were viewed by Western politicians as useful propaganda events to signal the west's superiority over the Soviet system. more >
Call for cultural policy review
The Federal Government has been told it needs to show leadership in developing a new cultural policy for Australia. more >
Iranian paper holds Holocaust cartoon contest
Iran's bestselling newspaper has launched a competition to find the best cartoon about the Holocaust in retaliation for the publication in many countries of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed. The Iranian daily Hamshahri said the contest was designed to test the boundaries of free speech - the reason given by many Western newspapers for publishing the cartoons of Mohammed. more >
Minister Considers Cultural Research Low
The minister of Culture Boaventura Cardoso on Tuesday here recognised that scientific research in the cultural field is still low, despite the effort being made by the institution`s Scientific Board. more >
Small Gains for Cultural Programs in Bush Budget Plan
The small increases for cultural institutions and federal agencies presented yesterday in President Bush's 2007 budget request to Congress will curtail any expansion in new programs. more >
“You aren’t a dealer until you’ve been robbed”
As art prices continue to rise, and the sums paid are publicised, theft has become an increasingly serious problem at arts and antiques fairs. Not surprisingly, fair organisers are worried that publicity will discourage exhibitors, and despite the fact that the scale of theft is difficult to establish. The FBI estimates that about $6 billion worth of art per year is involved. more >
For art's sake?
As artists and policy makers become wrapped in an ever tighter embrace, Munira Mirza challenges the modern consensus that the arts can transform society, and asks if the emphasis on producing art for the public good is causing long-term damage. more >
Italian opera out of notes
Italian opera, one of the country's most treasured cultural assets, is in financial crisis, with three top houses admitting that they are on the verge of bankruptcy. La Fenice in Venice, the Carlo Felice opera house in Genoa and the San Carlo in Naples all blame government spending cuts. more >
Minister warns Arts Council to shape up
The future looks uncertain for Arts Council England after the culture minister David Lammy strongly criticised it and called for reforms. more >
£250,000 for art's sake, but nothing to show for it
From a book of sonnets on the G8 to a circle of 32 ancient stones, they are lauded as Scotland's most prestigious cultural works. But six years since the inception of the Creative Scotland Awards, an investigation by Scotland On Sunday can reveal that more than £250,000 has been paid out to projects that have still not been finished. more >
Renewed cultural policy to go to Cabinet soon
In Barbados, a new piece of legislation will be added to the cultural policy. The policy has been created over the past few years, the policy is expected to go to Cabinet next month. more >
Museum chief exhibits fine timing
The J. Paul Getty Museum has confirmed its status as the richest and most indulgent -- and also the most riven -- art gallery in the world with the resignation of Barry Munitz, its president and chief executive for the past eight years. more >
Cultural Policy of Bangladesh
Bangladesh is developing its first cultural policy. The National Cultural Committee submitted its draft text to the government for approval in July 2005. The new cultural policy, intended to give the fragmented world of culture in Bangladesh more cohesion, was compiled based on the Unesco culture conventions. more >
Culture Ministry to push exchanges with emerging markets
The Culture and Tourism Ministry said yesterday it will increase cultural exchanges with key emerging countries known as BRICs in a bid to strengthen the country's edge in the entertainment sector. more >
Americans for the Arts sponsors continuation of the Cultural Policy Listserv
We are very pleased and gratified to be able to announce that Americans for the Arts has graciously agreed to continue our listserv, which has grown to over 5,000 subscribers in the space of just a few years, and provide for future access to the Center’s many policy and research publications. more >
The arts column: sinister shadow falls over arts funding
After a quiet start as Culture Minister, David Lammy has fired his first shot across the bows. At the Association of British Orchestras' conference last month, his speech made rumbling noises about that old bugbear, the Arts Council, an agency funded by his own Department of Culture, Media and Sport. more >
Minister offers compensation
The Minister of Culture and Communication and minister in charge of the Montreal region, Mrs. Line Beauchamp, announced today that a sum of $2.5M will be reserved for assistance to the artistic and cultural organisations which underwent losses because of the boycott of cultural activities last autumn. more >
An Italian offer U.S. museums shouldn't refuse?
Buttiglione called the Met's agreement to swap the contested antiquities for long-term loans "a model" for resolving the disputes with other museums, including the J. Paul Getty Museum, which houses more than 40 objects that Italian authorities claim were looted. more >
Arts education can boost confidence, test scores
Every now and again, standardized testing in public schools alerts us to some problem in our educational system. Presented with declining test scores, educators and administrators must struggle with how to remedy these problems in the face of personnel, budgetary and time constraints. more >
Upheaval at Getty Trust unearths flaws
The resignation last week of Barry Munitz, the embattled president and chief executive of the Getty Trust, the country's biggest art philanthropy, is the latest proof that there's a problem built into the whole enterprise. It's been there since the trust was founded nearly a quarter of a century ago to administer the estate that J. Paul Getty left behind. more >
Indigenous Knowledge
The Department of Canadian Heritage entered into the exploration of Indigenous Knowledge and policy development with 2005’s National Gatherings on Indigenous Knowledge. more >
Americans for the Arts sponsors continuation of the Cultural Policy Listserv
We are very pleased and gratified to be able to announce that Americans for the Arts has graciously agreed to continue our listserv, which has grown to over 5,000 subscribers in the space of just a few years, and provide for future access to the Center’s many policy and research publications. more >
New web resource for library staff working with disabled people
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) has launched a new web resource to provide information and learning for public library staff relating to access and equal opportunities for disabled people. more >
Starving artist becoming a term of the past?
A revolutionary idea is sweeping through arts communities and threatening to make the term “starving artist” obsolete. This new idea was hatched in a taxi cab in New York City three years ago and the Artist Pension Trust has already spread from Los Angeles to London with plans for expansion from Mumbai to Moscow in the very near future. more >
Gauteng artists lead the NAC's grants list
Is the National Arts Council (NAC) propping up provinces that can't get their act together and fund artists who live there? Or, by contrast, is it funding rich, urbanised provinces to the detriment of artists elsewhere? more >
Parthenon fragment returned to Greece
A fairly nondescript piece of stone could have an impact on the future of the Parthenon Marbles dispute. Last month Heidelberg University decided to return its small fragment of the frieze to Greece. more >
London cartoon museum opens
London's first cartoon museum, with 3,000 books and 1,200 images, covers three centuries, from Georgian Rowlandson watercolours of ancient bawds selling off country maids to wrinkled rakes, to scurrilous suggestions so recent that the ink is barely dry, teasing out the tangled affairs of Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and George Bush. more >
Joint initiatives 'could bring the US and Muslim world closer'
Joint partnerships in the media, technological and cultural fields could help bridge the gap between the US and the Islamic world, leaders who convened here for the Third US-Muslim World Forum said yesterday. more >
Keep Arts Council chief, Minister urged
Culture Minister Alun Pugh has been urged to reappoint Geraint Talfan Davies as chairman of the Arts Council of Wales by one of the nation's most important music societies. more >
Poll claims Scots lack interest in the arts
Scots are a nation of stay-at-homes compared to the rest of the UK when it comes to art galleries, theatres and arts events, new research suggests. more >
Writer fears ban for opera on bomber
A Welsh playwright fears he could be prosecuted under planned new laws banning the glorification of terrorism after he penned an opera about a Palestinian suicide bomber. more >
Rocked to our foundations
Genocide, crimes against humanity, religious persecution: Slobodan Milosovic isn’t short of charges to face at his trial in The Hague. But one charge in particular is intriguing: “The intentional and wanton destruction of religious and cultural buildings of the Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat communities.” more >
'Beware of Big Brother control of the arts'
Professor Phil Cooke, director of the Centre for Advanced Studies at Cardiff University, claims in a hard-hitting report for the Institute of Welsh Affairs that the Assembly Government and its Culture Ministry 'are principally interested in exerting control upon rather than inducing innovation in the arts in Wales'. more >
Picasso, Dali paintings stolen from Brazil museum
Gunmen have robbed a Rio de Janeiro art museum of their most valuable paintings including a Picasso, Matisse, Monet and Dali, the Chacara do Ceu museum director said. more >
First Nordic Culture Forum
Artists, administrators from the culture sector, politicians and civil servants from throughout the Nordic Region gathered for Culture Forum in Copenhagen on Monday 27 February. Key figures in Nordic culture came together for the first time to discuss an interdisciplinary platform for the development of Nordic art and culture. more >
Bahamian Culture Under Threat
A working draft of the National Cultural Policy for The Bahamas confirms what many observers have been saying for years: key aspects of Bahamian culture are under threat and in some cases face extinction. more >
Seoul to spend W7.6tr on cultural drive
Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to spend around 7.6 trillion won ($7 billion) on expanding cultural facilities over the next 10 years. more >
March 2006
Bahamian minister reveals national policy draft
The Bahamas Minister for Culture, Prime Minister Perry Christie, made his first address in the new role. At the National Cultural Conclave, the Minister offered up a working draft of a national cultural policy. more >
It's official: music is good for children
Youth Music, the music charity responsible for the distribution of £10m a year of Lottery funding, has announced the results of a study into the role of music in childrens’ development. more >
Arts funding to break 'log jam'
The Scottish Arts Council unveiled plans to break what it called a "log jam" in arts funding yesterday. Fifty organisations picked for new "foundation" funding status will get a share of an extra £4 million, it said. more >
UNESCO looks at bettering arts education
Teachers, artists and politicians from around the world are gathering in Lisbon to discuss how teaching the arts can keep young people in school. more >
Online CD swapping by-passes copyright laws
A new online music service called La la Media aims to offer full-length CDs for $US1 by letting members trade used physical discs, in a new twist on the popular but legally challenged practice of online song swapping. La la founders argue that, unlike underground online file-sharing services, which have been sued for copyright infringement, La la is protected under an exception to the US Copyright Act. more >
Time to break the stranglehold of state funding
The air is heavy with rumours of an arts shakedown. Nothing to do with the fate of the Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell whose stay in office has barely scratched the creative surface. No, it is the Arts Council of England that is on the brink, awaiting one last internal reorganisation at the end of the month, and this time it’s really the last. more >
Conference charts development of arts
A two-day conference that wrapped up in Hanoi yesterday discussed ways in which the arts could develop and expand from now until 2010. more >
Department of Arts withholds funding to foundation
The Department of Arts and Culture of South Africa is sticking to a decision to discontinue funding the National Film and Video Foundation. They will withhold R12 million, until the foundation fulfils conditions of its funding arrangement. more >
Museum Collections Shrink As Tribes Reclaim Artifacts
The halls of the United States' museums, like those inside the public history museum here, are filled with thousands -- if not millions -- of American Indian artifacts. But slowly, many of the country's tribes are working to reclaim them. more >
Sixty Years of Standard-Setting in Education, Science and Culture
The Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Koichiro Matsuura, today opened a symposium on “UNESCO: Sixty Years of Standard-Setting in Education, Science and Culture”. He noted that “perhaps surprisingly, this symposium is the first of its kind in which UNESCO’s standard-setting practices and experience are the subject of a general overview". more >
Namibia launches National Heritage Council
The National Heritage Council for Namibia was recently opened by John Mutorwa, the Minister of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture. more >
Review to go ahead for Welsh arts
Arts in Wales will be reviewed, with the plan for an independent panel to do so being accepted by the Assemby's culture committee. more >
Tax ruling says dancers are independent contractors
A federal tax ruling handed down last week could have implications for arts groups across Canada and their performers. more >
S. Korea to start cultural exchange project with Asian artists
South Korea will invite 150 cultural experts and artists from other Asian countries this year, the start of a 10-year program aimed at boosting cultural interaction in the region, the Culture and Tourism Ministry said Wednesday. more >
Heritage minister demands answers on FilmFest failure
Both the Quebec and federal governments are probing what led to the failure of the New Montreal FilmFest last fall. The first and only FilmFest launched last October with the help of $2 million in federal, provincial and municipal funds but fizzled out, leaving a $1-million deficit. The festival’s organizer, L'Équipe Spectra, declared FilmFest dead in February. more >
Movies in a world slump
Final box-office figures show movie revenues took a plunge worldwide and in the U.S. in 2005. more >
Foreign media ownership laws to be relaxed
The Federal Government has unveilled its plan for a major relaxation of media ownership and digital broadcasting laws. Communications Minister Helen Coonan announced the proposals at a conference in Sydney. more >
WIPO establishes Creative Industries Division
WIPO has recently established the Creative Industries Division. This has been done in response to the growing interest and needs of the Member States of WIPO to address the economic developmental impact that intellectual property policies and practices have on the creative industries. The objective of the Division is to provide a focal point for related policy and industry discourse. more >
The 'culture industries' offensive
"Creative economy''? "Creative industries''? People out there could be excused if they show little or no understanding about what such questions mean. more >
Heritage wars
Heritage is in demand. Ever more of the world's heritage is looted, destroyed, mutilated, shorn of context, hidden from scrutiny, auctioned on eBay. Why? Partly because its virtuous stewards treat nations and tribes as enduring entities with sacred rights to time-honoured legacies. more >
Agency for Cultural Affairs' Budget Remains Stable for 2006
The Agency for Cultural Affairs' annual budget for this year has been announced. The Agency will head into financial year 2006 (which begins from 1 April) with 100.6 billion yen (AUD$1.15 billion), 0.9% less than they did last year. more >
Uganda: Govt in Cultural Promotion
The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development has started a national culture policy to ensure that Uganda becomes culturally vibrant, cohesive and progressive. more >
Creativity cult fails to deliver goods
Here is an heretical thought: The focus on creativity and innovation to create wealth is misguided. It has not produced the expected results in economic development over the past decade. more >
Four Years After Scrapping Entry Charges - Free Admission Is Still A Growing Success
More than five million extra visits have taken place at once-charging national museums since entry fees were scrapped by the Government in December 2001, Culture Minister David Lammy announced today. more >
The rise of clip culture online
The telecommunications and broadcast industries' vision of the future of the internet invariably involves its convergence with television. more >
Syrian city is Islamic cultural capital
Hundreds of Arab and foreign dignitaries have gathered in the Syrian city of Aleppo for the opening ceremony at the start of its time as the Arab world's capital of Islamic culture for 2006. more >
Culture Division Lauded for Spearheading Protection of Country's Cultural Industries
Senator Donna Scott-Mottley has hailed the Culture Division of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture, for leading the charge to protect the country's cultural industries. more >
Wales puts on its dancing shoes
The future of dance in Wales is bright, according to Culture Minister Alun Pugh. more >
Barbados creates national orchestra
The National Cultural Foundation of Barbados is in the midst of auditioning members for a new national initiative. The National Youth Steel Orchestra will be established soon, with auditions taking place over April. more >
French MPs say song downloads must work on any player
The dominance of the Apple iPod hit its first European stumbling block yesterday when French MPs voted to force companies to allow music downloads to be played on all types of digital players, not just their own. more >
Zimbabwe: New Era Dawns for Arts
SIDA is reviewing its funding mechanism of the arts and culture sector in Zimbabwe following the yet to be completed evaluation of the Zimbabwe Culture Fund. more >
REVIEW SUPPORTS ARM'S LENGTH FUNDING
Peter Hain, Secretary of State for Wales and for Northern Ireland, has just announced a major shake-up of quangos in Northern Ireland. But despite making sweeping changes, he has stuck with the principle of arm's-length funding for the arts. more >
South Africa: Summit Creates Platform for African Filmmakers
Spokesperson for the Department of Arts and Culture, Sandile Memela, said the department hoped this would assist in the development of a common policy for film and a strategy that would inform Nepad and the AU. more >
Actors Back Bill to Protect Likenesses
Actors Paul Newman, Christopher Plummer and Charles Grodin, all state residents, said they worry technology has made it possible to access their films, images and voices, and to use that material to produce another product they know nothing about. more >
Arab culture center to open in Latvian capital
The first center promoting Arab culture in the Baltic states is to be opened in the Latvian capital, Riga, the Libyan-born director of the center said on Friday. more >
China, Spain seek new channels to cement cultural exchanges
China and Spain are making joint efforts to promote the founding of an Institute of Confucius in Spain and a branch of the Cervantes Institute in Beijing in the near future, according to a document issued Wednesday at a China-Spain forum. more >
ACCC closes Indigenous art probe
A second major investigation into the Aboriginal art industry has been closed after it was unable to establish concrete evidence of fraud and misrepresentation. more >
Film industry needs talent, technology, support
Despite its advances in re-cent years, Viet Nam’s film industry still lacks professional talent, modern technology and needs more Government support, HCM City filmmakers say. more >
Six cultural institutions get millions in Ontario budget
The Art Gallery of Ontario and several other major cultural projects got a $49-million boost from the Ontario government in its annual budget. more >
Back to the drawing board
Not since the golden days of Disney have animated feature films been so popular ... and profitable. more >
Ringtones? MP3s? Beethoven would have been proud
What marks out classical downloading from pop-based genres is that classical music has so much more to gain. Digital technology is fast becoming the new vanguard in the fight for audiences. more >
Angola: Third Conference On National Culture Set for September
The Culture Ministry announced Monday the holding on 12-16 September, here, of the Third Conference on National Culture to bring into focus the analysis of the institutionalisation process of the National Culture Council, which started in 1976. more >
S. Korean minister to promote arts to Asia
South Korea's new culture minister has stated that he will be promoting exchanges with Asia in order to boost the country's cultural image. He hopes to boost ties with Asian countries that have embraced Korean cultural products. more >
Report launched on culture and politics
A new report on culture will be launched this week in London. John Holden will be presenting his new thesis, Cultural Value and the Crisis of Legitimacy, which explores culture, politics and the public. more >
Namibia: Art a Vital Career Tool
With the ever-increasing failure and dropout rates at high school level, there is a need to encourage school-going children to develop their artistic talents while young as this would come in handy in future. more >
International discourse on non-Western Cultures in art
One of the outcomes of globalization has been a greater engagement with art from non- Western centers. The cultural specificities of these locations and issues related to the process of assimilation into the mainstream were the focus of a recent seminar held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. more >
ASSESSING POLICIES FOR SOCIAL INCLUSION OF ETHNIC MINORITIES
This project proposes to evaluate the cultural policies introduced in National Action Plans on Social Inclusion under the European Union’s Open Method of Co-ordination by six member states in terms of their impact on promoting social inclusion of ethnic minorities, including Roma/Sinti groups. more >
Calls for arts row Minister to resign
Culture Minister Alun Pugh yesterday rejected claims he broke the ministerial code of conduct for public appointments. more >
More participation from the public, creative power and variety of cultural elements
Cultural affairs are continuous. They take time to cultivate. Speaking of cultural policies, Chairman of Council for Cultural Affairs, Chiu Kun-Liang said, "Cultural affairs should be based on current society and expand its width and depth." more >
Cost of visas stop tours
One of Britain's leading symphony orchestras has been forced to scrap an American tour, partly because of the "mind-blowing palaver" and cost of securing visas for 100 players and staff. more >
Britons lead spending on culture and recreation but government takes a more miserly approach
France and Germany might be regarded as cultural strongholds, while the United States and Australia are known for their fondness of sporting and leisure pursuits, but according to figures released yesterday, Britain beats them all by spending more per household on recreation and culture than any other developed country. more >
Making the Case for Culture
Early findings show U.S. households among leaders in industrialized nations in spending on recreation and culture, but Government spending lags near bottom. What is the ROI of culture? How do we understand the value of investment in cultural activity? Who are the world's 'cultural superpowers?' These are some of the questions that "Making the Case for Culture," a new research project made possible by the collaboration of the Louise T. Blouin Foundation with the OECD, will seek to answer. more >
April 2006
Experts stress national cultural policy
Senior culture experts have underlined the need for His Majesty's Government to prepare a 'National Culture Policy' for the preservation and promotion of the country's rich cultural heritage. more >
NGOs and the state: a cultural debate
An interview with Tzvetelina Iossifova, one of the founders and directors of the Red House Centre for Culture and Debate. more >
Arts sector needs democracy boost, insists culture minister
David Lammy has urged the cultural sector to become more like the BBC and the NHS in the way it engages with the general public, if it is to achieve an improved funding settlement in future budgets. more >
Vietnam-Japan Cultural Exchange Festival
The fourth annual Vietnam Japan Cultural Exchange Festival will be held in Hoi An town, central Quang Nam province, from August 5-7. more >
Fed Govt moves to clean up Indigenous art fraud
The Federal Government is set to investigate allegations of criminal activity and exploitation in the Aboriginal art industry. more >
Measuring emotion at the symphony
The movements of a conductor's baton, his free hand, and even his eyes guide an orchestra's performance. But what about when a conductor throws back his head, hops around the stage, or leaps into the air? Are these ego-driven excesses of exuberance, as some critics say, or an integral part of helping the musicians and the audience truly feel the music? more >
UK charity the Art Fund embraces the new
We know it for its tireless dedication to British heritage: without financial support from the Art Fund, some of the greatest works in museums throughout the UK would not be here, including The Rokeby Venus by Velázquez in the National Gallery in London. But now the Fund may be about to embark on a new adventure: to help the collecting of contemporary art. more >
Brazil and England discuss the economics of creativity
Minister of Culture, Gilberto Gil, and the deputy minister of Foreign Relations of the United Kingdom, David Triesman, met in London on Tuesday to discuss the establishment of an International Center for the Creative Economy. more >
Creative economics
The UK government is kidding itself if it thinks designers can revive the economy. more >
Angola: Country Attends Afro-American Culture International Conference
The Ministry of Culture will participate this Monday, until 15 April, with two specialists, in the 9th International Conference of African and Afro-American Culture, taking place in Santiago city, in Cuba. more >
Vietnam – Denmark Cultural Development and Exchange Fund launches
The Danish Embassy on April 7 launched the Vietnam - Denmark Cultural Development and Exchange Fund in Hanoi. more >
Emerging Artists: No Room to Grow
According to a recent Freelancer's Union report, New York city's creative sector—comprised of artists, photographers, designers, composers and writers—is facing increasing economic uncertainty related to a lack of stable employment. more >
Intangible cultural heritage convention comes into force
The UNESCO convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage 2003 will come into force next week. The Convention will encourage and emphasise the role of communities and groups as bearers of intangible cultural heritage. more >
Survey on artists and health
The University of the Poor is seeking submissions for their new survey. It will focus on the issues facing artists, cultural workers and the healthcare system. more >
Dutch Secretary of State Nicolaï: 'Culture directly promotes tourism'
Overseas cultural legacy is gaining significance in the Netherlands. But would developing countries not prefer to forget reminders of the Dutch slave trade and colonialism? Secretary of state Atzo Nicolaï: "Most Dutch people are completely unaware of the monuments that we have left in other parts of the world." more >
P.E.I. artifacts turn up on eBay
Prince Edward Island's cultural affairs minister is planning to introduce legislation to make it harder to sell Island artifacts, after learning that they have been turning up on an online auction site. more >
Arts funding joint statement
All sides involved in UK theatre and orchestras have issued a joint statement on future public funding. The statement asks the Arts Council "to give consideration to the structural problems facing the theatre and orchestral sectors..." more >
Cultural policy of Vietnam
For a long time, communist ideology determined the limits of cultural expression in Vietnam. Even though culture still serves social development, artists have enjoyed more artistic freedom for a decade now. more >
WIPO Committee on Traditional Knowledge and Folklore
The Ninth session of the World Intellectual Property Organisation Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore ("the IGC") will take place in Geneva, 24-28 April 2006. more >
Indigenous Languages in Final Throes
Hundreds of languages disappeared from Latin America and the Caribbean over the past 500 years, and many of the more than 600 that have survived could face the same fate in the not-so-distant future. more >
Into Africa: British Museum's reply to ownership debate
A circumcision mask from western Kenya and a headdress made from human hair from Uganda are among 140 artefacts from the British Museum that have gone on show in Nairobi - the first time the museum has lent objects to Africa. But the exhibition has sparked debate about whether such objects should be returned to their home countries for good. more >
Visual Artists Forge Ahead
A strong call and appeal was made for the de-politicisation of Namibian visual arts for harmony and progress last Friday evening during the long awaited inauguration meeting of a new and more representative arts body in the country. more >
Zimbabwe film industry needs boost
The continued downfall of Zimbabwe's film industry has come as a blessing in disguise for South Africa, which has managed to lure local top-notch actors, producers and directors more >
Artistes Should Learn From Cuba - Manjata
Zambian artistes should learn from Cuba, community development minister Stephen Manjata has said. more >
SAC funding decisions to be made public
Performing arts companies in Scotland will have official judgements on whether they are worthy of subsidy made public by the Scottish Arts Council, in what the funding body has described as an attempt to increase ‘transparency’. more >
Our cultural deficits
At a press conference yesterday in Beijing, an assistant to the Minister of Culture illustrated a "seriously unfavourable imbalance" suffered by the country in its international cultural exchanges. more >
Galleries sell five times more than auction houses
French art dealers have been cheered—and rather surprised—by the results of a study released last month, which showed that art galleries in France turned over five times more than auction houses in 2004. more >
Guideline Prepared to Design Five-Year Tourism, Culture Strategic Plan
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism said it has prepared a guideline that would help design a sustainable five-year tourism and culture strategic plan. more >
Arts Officials Suspended On Fraud, Theft Charges
Two art officials have been suspended from their duties with immediate effect by the Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture. more >
Funding withdrawal 'an insult'
Welsh musicians want Wales to follow England by producing a music manifesto to secure the future of music education in schools. more >
Japan, a would-be cultural guardian
In the latest in a series of initiatives aimed at elevating its international status, a group of Japanese lawmakers is preparing a new landmark law to promote its crusade for the preservation of valuable cultural assets abroad. more >
Chinese artists cross the red line
Police stage political crackdown on Beijing's booming contemporary gallery district. more >
The biggest theft in British history
The Art Newspaper can reveal that the works of art stolen from property developer Harry Hyams on 1 February were worth around £80 million, making it Britain’s largest robbery ever. more >
Australia's IP policies could drag us back warn experts
Australian and International speakers have debated whether Australia’s intellectual property laws are holding the country back from becoming a knowledge-based economy at a recent conference. more >
Ethiopia develops five year plan
The Ethiopian Ministry of Culture and Tourism has prepared a guideline that will help create a sustainable five-year plan for culture. This includes a re-organisation of the Ministry, established in October 2005. more >
EUCLID launches new portal
EUCLID has launched a new website designed to be the first port-of-call for those interested in finding out the deadlines for European Union and UK funding. more >
Ndebele Focuses On Culture in His Budget
Premier Sbu Ndebele of South Africa has revealed plans to establish exhibitions and a new multimedia centre in his new budget. more >
Agenda 21 for culture
The Agenda 21 for culture is the first document with worldwide mission that advocates establishing the groundwork of an undertaking by cities and local governments for cultural development. more >
Launch of A New Voice: The Canadian Music Creators Coalition
Canadian musicians, songwriters and producers unite to provide a new voice in Canadian copyright and cultural policy. Canada's leading artists to speak for themselves. more >
Survey reveals ‘shocking’ fee results
Three-quarters of people paying up-front fees to agents in the entertainment industry receive no work from them in the following 12 months and in more than 90% of cases find that they fail to live up to expectations, according to The Stage’s nationwide survey, completed this week. more >
CCA Chairman visited Europe for cultural interaction
Chairman of Council for Cultural Affairs visited Europe to boost cultural interaction from March 31 to April 11. In this trip, Chairman Chiu Kun-liang visited France, Germany, and Poland. more >
May 2006
Big Five arts companies to share £2m Executive bonus
A £2 million boost in funding for Scotland's national performing arts companies will be announced today by the culture minister, Patricia Ferguson. more >
Minister in France defends iPod law
Describing the act as "courageous" and "forward thinking," the French minister of culture said the government would press ahead with a law that would effectively outlaw Apple's popular iTunes online music system. more >
Players want arts policy
Like a blind man searching for his way without a guide, so is the going for arts and culture bodies in the country. Unlike other sectors which have national policies to guide and regulate their activities, this industry is like a stray dog. more >
It's All About Funding
Delegates from 37 African countries meeting in Johannesburg last month spent six days discussing the factors that hold back African cinema. more >
Malaysia open Muslim media center
Malaysia said on Tuesday that it will host an international center for Muslim journalists aimed at countering attacks on Islam and negative images of the religion. more >
Ballet school director to move to Canada Council
Heritage Minister Bev Oda has chosen Robert Sirman, who has guided the National Ballet School of Canada since 1991, as her recommendation for the next director of the Canada Council for the Arts. more >
Zimbabwe govt tries to silence musicians
The Zimbabwe government, running scared in the face of mass anger at the economic hardships caused by its failed policies, is desperately trying to stifle any independent voices - including those of musicians and artists. more >
Recognizing Role of Handicrafts in Tourism Development
The First International Conference on Tourism and Handicrafts will be held from 13-15 of May 2006 in the seminar hall of Iranian National Broadcast in Tehran. This conference has been organized by the United Nations World Tourism Organization and Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization in order to discuss the role of handicrafts in promoting tourism industry which will result in job creation and earning more currency through attracting more tourists. more >
Launch of African World Heritage Fund
A fund to help the States of sub-Saharan Africa improve the preservation of their cultural and natural heritage will be launched in South Africa on 5 May. The African World Heritage Fund will also be used to help boost the number of African sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. more >
Kemp consults Aboriginal artists
Following a three-day trip to central Australia this week, Arts Minister Rod Kemp has promised to consult the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to find ways of cracking down on unethical behaviour in Aboriginal art. more >
Arts boss was sacked for opposing Pugh
Documents have been released proving for the first time that former Arts Council of Wales Chair Geraint Talfan Davies was removed from his post because of his opposition to Culture Minister Alun Pugh's plan to directly fund six big arts companies. more >
Music's Merger Mania
San Diego has nine ballet companies. At least four opera companies compete in Chicago. And in Northern Virginia, there are three symphony orchestras within a 10-mile radius. At a time when performing-arts groups are facing slumping attendance and rising deficits, how many symphonies, opera companies or dance troupes does one city need? Increasingly, the answer is one - or, in a few cases, half of one. more >
China to mark first national cultural heritage day
Chinese State Councilor Chen Zhili on Monday called for nationwide efforts to mark the first national Cultural Heritage Day. more >
Japan to promote diplomacy with pop culture
Japanese manga, animation and music, with their growing global popularity, will be used as new ways to promote Japan's diplomacy, local media reported Monday. more >
Arts Council raises fears over Festival's financial state
The Scottish Arts Council has called for the Edinburgh International Festival board to be overhauled because of its "precarious" financial position. more >
Reader Interest in Turkish Authors Increases
Statistics from Turkey suggest that over the last six years there has been an increase in interest in Turkish authors and a decrease in publication of translated books. more >
Lethal RIAA Broadcast Treaty
The World Intellectual Property Organization Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights held its 14th Session in Geneva to determine the fate of the controversial Broadcasting Treaty on May 1-5. more >
Arts Council England Research Archived
Arts Research Digest is now home to Arts Council England's electronic research archive. Browse and search on the research database to access 11 years of research the digest has featured together with documents from the Arts Council England electronic archive. more >
Netherlands Opts For Strategic International Cultural Policy
Culture State Secretary Medy van der Laan and Foreign Affairs State Secretary Atzo Nicolaï intend to streamline the Netherlands' international cultural policy. More attention will be paid to political and economic relevance and to the influence of other cultures on Dutch art, according to a letter they sent to the Lower House yesterday. more >
Welsh artistic freedom defended
Eleanor Burnham AM today launched a vigorous defence of artistic freedom in Wales. Her campaign to preserve artistic freedom has already received the backing of the National Campaign for the Arts. more >
Half of UK 'infringing copyright'
More than half of British consumers are infringing copyright law by copying CDs onto other players they own, according to the National Consumer Council. more >
Fury as SAC puts damning reports online
Scotland’s arts council is facing a backlash from many of the country’s leading theatre organisations after it published a series of damning assessments of their work. more >
SURVEY SHOWS ART GROUPS SUBSIDIZE ARTS EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS
New York City cultural institutions spent almost $58 million, or 12.6 percent of their 2004-05 budgets, on education programs in the city's public schools, including millions that they raised for the programs, a new survey from the Arts in Education Roundtable finds. more >
Our Own Creative Land
Professor Michael Geist's 2006 Hart House Lecture, Our Own Creative Land: Cultural Monopoly and the Trouble With Copyright, was delivered at the University of Toronto on March 30. more >
Rattled by cultural confusion
The debate over the proposed West Kowloon cultural district boiled over in February and the government finally yielded to public opinion and pressure from legislators. more >
UNESCO's Cultural Diversity Week
UNESCO has named this week, 15-21 May 2006, as the Cultural Diversity Week to stress the importance of diversity of culture in today’s world. more >
Highlighting the Role of Handicrafts in World Economy
The last day of the First International Conference on Tourism and Handicrafts was held today in the seminar hall if Iran’s National Broadcast. more >
Chinese heritage specialists training
At least 100 Chinese heritage specialists will be trained in protecting the cultural heritage sites and relics along the Silk Road over the next five years as part of a joint project between China, Japan and South Korea. more >
Council braces for changes
The future of Australia Council chief executive Jennifer Bott seems less certain following David Gonski's surprise announcement last Friday that he will retire as chairman on June 30. more >
Cultural movement gathers momentum
UAE nationals have expressed their happiness and deep gratitude with regard to the establishment of the Emirates Appreciation Award for Science, Arts and Literature, by the Ministerial Service Council. more >
Talawa cash to create four new ethnic arts centres
Public cash pulled from Talawa’s aborted project to build the UK’s first black-led theatre in Westminster will now be used to set up at least four “centres of excellence” for ethnic performance groups across the UK. more >
Mixed media: The melding of art and business skills
As arts-and-cultural leaders increasingly become intertwined with finances --fund raising, endowments, balanced budgets -- more seem to be turning to people with a business background. more >
More Chinese prefer electronic reading
Electronic books, e-bookstores and digital libraries are becoming more popular in China. more >
A city in harmony with its music community
What the city of Austin does for its music scene will blow your mind. They offer parking perks, free electricity audits to clubs and music at council meetings. more >
Call for cultural policy makers
A call for cultural policy professionals is being made around the world. If you would like to assist the next generation of policy makers, then read on. more >
Riyadh aims to save folk culture
A new project in Saudi Arabia aims to preserve the kingdom's disappearing folk culture, but some say the new programme has come too late. more >
Sign petition to protect artists rights to mobility!
In order to protect artists rights to mobility, and in reaction to the ongoing multiplication of incidents at the European Union borders, the Schengen Opera Collective and its 70 companions ask you to join them by signing the online petition just launched. more >
Development or Cultural Heritage? Where goes the Priority?
A few weeks ago, Iranian cultural heritage authorities announced that UNESCO's Director of World Heritage Center, Francesco Bandarin, would come to Iran to examine and discuss a number of issues regarding some cultural heritage sites within the country that are put in real jeopardy as a result of the country's development projects. more >
Interculturalism: What is it?
What do we, in fact, talk about when we talk about interculturalism? What do we refer to when, more and more often and with an ever greater eagerness, or even casually, we use (or even abuse) this ambiguous, powerful, strongly superfluous culturological term, a term which, since the end of the 1960s, has in an imposing manner grown into a respectable methodological category? more >
Flood on the Tyne
David Ward finds a cultural revival in full spate on the banks of the Tyne. Perhaps losing the contest to be European capital of culture was the best thing that ever happened to Newcastle-Gateshead. more >
Foreign cultural ministers expect more co-op with China
The fast development of China's cultural industry brings increasing opportunities for cultural cooperation, said cultural ministers from many foreign countries, who were attending a cultural fair in the South China city. more >
Namibia: More Funding Needed for Art And Culture
By her own admission, government funding for arts and culture development in the country has thus far been insufficient, presumably in light of more pressing issues such as HIV/AIDS, education and training sector financial needs. This is the view of the Deputy Prime Minister, dr Libertina Amathila, who yesterday spoke at the official inauguration of the refurbished art gallery at the Visual Arts Department at the University of Namibia. more >
Saatchi site seeks Arctic Monkeys of art world
First internet sites such as MySpace turned the music world on its head, enabling bands like Arctic Monkeys to become hugely popular without the patronage of radio stations or record labels. Now a new website set up by the Britart patron Charles Saatchi that aims to have a similar effect on the rarefied gallery world is attracting work from hundreds of artists every week. more >
Qatar restructures its culture ministry
The State of Qatar has restructured its National Council for Culture, Arts and Heritage, the organisation which oversees all cultural activity in the energy-rich Gulf state. The move follows the arrest last year of the NCCAH’s former chairman Sheikh Saud Al Thani and our revelations of his misappropriations of public funds. more >
International study on the governance of diversity
Queen's University, the Université du Québec à Montréal and the University of Toronto that will explore ethnic politics and the complexities of democracy in multi-ethnic and divided states. The researchers will build on Canada's experience in accommodating linguistic and cultural diversity to find solutions for governance of multi-ethnic states around the world. more >
The arts of the state could yet prove a political weapon
Labour can knock the happiness-touting Cameron into nowhere with examples of its cultural record. more >
Government approves support for art
The government today approved the programme of more efficient support for art in 2007-2013, which could fundamentally affect state funding of culture, Culture Minister Vitezslav Jandak told reporters after the government meeting today. more >
June 2006
Public art helps cities express themselves
About 30 years ago, cities across the country busily began making art part of capital improvement projects. Modern sculptures were routinely installed in parks, public squares and city plazas. In recent years, many cities have re-evaluated their approaches to public art and are incorporating new ideas, while other cities remain stuck on the original model. more >
New arts chief means business on funds
The new chairman of the Australia Council, James Strong, wants to encourage greater support for the arts from the private sector and bring arts and business closer together. more >
Rls 10 Billion for Public Libraries
Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hossein Saffar-Harandi has announced the allocation of 10 billion rials for the purchase of books for public libraries. more >
Angola promotes arts education
The Angolan Culture Ministry recently ran a seminar on the importance of artistic education in the country. more >
Blair encourages culture as part of 2012 Olympics
Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of England, has encouraged culture as a feature of the 2012 Olympics. more >
Call for tenders on cultural diversity
The Organisation of Latin American states for Education, Science and Culture are calling for tenders. The information will be used to create a UNESCO international report on cultural diversity. more >
Case studies for new cultural publication sought
The Commonwealth Foundation is seeking contributions for a new resource on culture. The Commonwealth Culture Reference Toolkit will present examples of work to increase cultural understanding, celebrate artistic talent, and will draw together a range of projects around the Commonwealth. more >
Cultural proposals sought
The European Commission Representative Office for the West Bank and Gaza Strip is seeking proposals for cultural events and projects. more >
CulturesFrance - new agency for international cultural exchange
A new agency has been launched in France, CulturesFrance, dedicated to international cultural exchanges. It unites two existing organisations AFAA and ADPF. more >
Please, sir, we want some more
As James Strong prepares to take the helm of the Australia Council, the Herald asked people in the arts community what his priorities should be. more >
MP Opposes ICHTO, Handicrafts Organization Merger
While the legal procedures for the proposed merger of the National Organization for Handicrafts and Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization have not yet been worked out, a member of the Parliament’s Cultural Commission has come out against the move. more >
General Assembly of the States Parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Culture
During its first session, and in accordance with Articles 4.2 and 5.1 of the Intangible Heritage Convention, the General Assembly will adopt respectively its Rules of Procedure and will elect an Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. more >
Scottish orchestra seeks new national anthem
Scotland's national orchestra launched a competition on Sunday to find the country's most popular song that might eventually become its national anthem. more >
7 years of democracy: The story of art and culture...
Seven years after the enthronement of democracy in the country, the culture and tourism industry has found it's spiraling round the center of definition, trying very hard to locate itself within the defining elements of national reckoning. In this review, Sunday Vanguard Arts takes a dispassionate look at this yet to be untapped economic booster. more >
Canadians spending more on cultural imports
Canadians are increasing the amount they spend on foreign cultural goods such as books, music and films, but exporting fewer goods to foreign markets, according to Statistics Canada. more >
Contemporary Art: Istanbul set to stamp its culture credentials
The European Union and its bureaucracy are sometimes lampooned for living in a parallel universe. Looking at the voluminous proceedings of its committees that decide on the annual European cities of culture, you could be forgiven for thinking that in 2010 the eyes of the Continent will turn to the German mining city of Essen and the obscure Hungarian city of Pecs. more >
Arts chiefs unite for funding bid
Leading figures from the arts world including National Theatre artistic director Nicholas Hytner, London 2012 arts, culture and education chair Jude Kelly and Royal Opera House chief executive Tony Hall, have joined forces with representatives from the museum, gallery and library sectors for the first time to make a united bid for sustained public funding, as the government’s next spending review approaches. more >
Dutch Embassy Funds Rwandan Cultural Visit
The Royal Netherlands Embassy is sending 20 Rwandans to an international Dutch festival in an effort to improve cultural and business ties. more >
Making hit music into a science
A computer program has been developed that the makers claim can dramatically increase your odds of scoring a hit. more >
Jowell defends Arts Council
The culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, last night stated her total commitment to Arts Council England, despite a deeply critical speech by the arts minister, David Lammy, earlier in the year in which he urged its reform, saying the funding body was seen as "a passive cash machine". more >
Summit of arts and culture
The biggest ever World Summit on Arts and Culture will culminate on Sunday with a visit to Hadrian’s Wall and Kielder Forest. more >
The passion and politics of stolen art
It's not just about art. It's also about passion, politics, power. When a beloved art object is stolen, the loss often pushes human "hot buttons" linked to the collective identity of a nation, culture and history. more >
Viet Nam Culture Festival opens in Italy
A month-long Vietnamese culture festival commenced in Rome, Italy, on June 16 with the opening of an exhibition introducing modern works of Vietnamese popular artists at the Museum of Vittoriano, one of Rome's most prestigious museums. more >
Skilled American Labor Heads Overseas, in Toe Shoes
American dancers join a growing wave of travelling artists that move in order to find professional work. more >
Copyright Law Faces New Test On Thursday
On Thursday, lobbying group the Digital Media Association will propose an amendment to Congress that would simplify the hoop jumping that digital music providers currently have to go through to obtain rights to music — or completely rewrite copyright as we know it. more >
Proof how art can change your life
When it comes to using the power of art to change lives, the North East is a leader. And just to show the rest of the world what it has been missing, the region has played host to the biggest-ever World Summit on Arts and Culture. more >
Task Force to promote cultural heritage
The Federal Ministry for Culture is taking steps to set up a task force for the promotion of the country’s rich cultural heritage at the national and international level. more >
Internal Turmoil Over Festival Preparations Reveal Gov. Interference
South Korea's preparations for the 2006 ARCO art fair hit an obstacle last week after the director and 12 other organizers resigned claiming excessive government meddling. more >
LAB FOR CULTURE LAUNCHED
A new online resource has been created for those working in the arts in Europe. LabforCulture offers case studies, stories of cross-border collaborations, cultural news and newsletters, information, and funding tips. more >
Opening address by Paulina Urrutia
In her opening address, iSummit 2006, Paulina Urrutia, Minister of Culture, Chile, stated that since the return to democracy Chile has developed a strong State policy to foster artistic and cultural creation. more >
Flexible copyright to nurture a creative milieu
So closely is copyright associated with the phrase "all rights reserved" that some people have difficulty imagining any other system. But an unusual global alliance of artists, scientists and lawyers have been working to forge a "creative commons" that allows artists to decide which rights they want to retain and which they would rather share. more >
Arts Council holds meeting in Killarney
The Arts Council is holding its annual policy meeting in Killarney today and tomorrow, Monday 26 and Tuesday 27 June. more >
Ministry Holds Debates On Third Cultural Symposium
The Angolan Ministry of Culture will organise from July 27 to September 06 this year in Luanda, various debates in the ambit of the third Symposium on National Culture, slated for September 11-16 under the theme "Culture, Forge of Angolanness". more >
UNESCO Holds Meeting on Intangible Heritage
The first meeting of UNESCO state parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage will start today, June 27 2006, and will run for three days. more >
Why city art is being put on the map
Belfast is getting a new culture trail, with public art in the city going on the map. more >
Assembly accused over music fund move
The Assembly Government was accused of 'cultural vandalism' yesterday for cutting a schools music scheme against the advice of arts chiefs. more >
Canadians' entertainment spending on the rise
Canadian spending on entertainment outside the home is increasing faster than other household spending, according to a study by Statistics Canada. more >
Developing countries start their own news service to counter western 'bias'
"NAM News Network," a joint effort of the 116 member countries of the Nonaligned Movement, was formally inaugurated Tuesday by Malaysian Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin, although it has been live online since April 17. Zainuddin urged members to develop their media and use technology to forge better communication links between them. more >
Minister targets councils who misuse live music laws
Music minister Shaun Woodward has called on councils to avoid using the Licensing Act to impose heavy handed conditions which discourage venues from hosting live entertainment. more >
UNESCO Aims to Protect the Intangible
This week in Paris the countries that ratified the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage are meeting -- without Germany. But what is it that they want to protect? more >
Art under control in North Korea
What does a totalitarian regime expect from its artists? Jane Portal explores the role of art in North Korea. more >
Call for £40m arts funding boost
The Arts Council England has called for at least £40m of public money to invest in visual arts. more >
Theatre at heart of ACE funding bid
Theatre and orchestras will form the cornerstone of Arts Council England’s bid to persuade the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to maintain investment in the cultural sector as part of its imminent spending review. more >
Ohazulike Tasks Nigerians On Culture
One of the key players in the nation's entertainment industry, Prince Chito Tokas Ohazulike has urged Nigerians to take the nation's culture seriously to ensure the survival of their heritage. more >
July 2006
City culture chief bows out before curtain falls
Edinburgh's culture chief is to quit his job after it emerged his department is to be scrapped under new plans for a major shake-up of council services. more >
Farmers to get their own biennale
Just when you thought farming in the UK was in terminal decline, help may be at hand from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Representatives from the UK’s Rural Cultural Forum recently met with officials from the DCMS at Tate Britain to request funding for the first Farmers’ Biennale of Art and Agriculture. more >
Sharjah to have department for museums
Sharjah will have a special department for museums as part of its effort to establish the emirate as a cultural and tourism destination. more >
South Africa's Market Theatre celebrates 30 years of revolutionary theatre
Cries of protest and the crack of gunfire sound again in a dim theatre plastered with slogans, transporting a young, multiethnic audience back to apartheid's darkest days. more >
Makeover of US art museums is complete
The building that houses two of America's great art museums reopened yesterday after a six-year, £153m makeover. more >
Call for contributions - What makes festivals sustainable?
Research contributions are being sought for a one-day workshop being organised by the European Festivals Research Project. more >
ICCPR 2006 registration deadline
Registrations for the 4th International Conference on Cultural Policy Research (Vienna, Austria, 12-16 July), close on 6 July. more >
Rome’s eternal sites are eternally at peril
Terrorism, temblors, traffic, tourists are challenging the city's fabled antiquities. more >
Sharing Best Practice in the Creative Industries
T-Shirts and Suits is working in partnership with UNESCO's Global Alliance and Creative Cities Network on a project to research and share best practice in the creative industries. more >
Website upgrade for EUROCULT
The European Cultural Foundation has relaunched its website to make the resource more easily accessible. more >
Liverpool's city of culture plans in tatters as boss quits
When Liverpool beat Newcastle for the coveted title of 2008 European Capital of Culture, the city anticipated 14,000 new jobs, 1.7 million extra visitors and £1bn in investment. Instead it increasingly seems that Merseyside may have a fiasco on its hands. more >
Spain's Ministry of Culture to devote more money to cinema
According to Fernando Lara, director general of Spanish Film Institute, "the health of Spanish cinema is not as ideal as we would like to, but it is good in an overall sense." more >
WIPO meets on traditional cultural expressions
The ninth session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (the IGC) took place in Geneva from April 24 to 28, 2006. more >
Is National Arts Council Relevant?
Is the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe still relevant? Or still, what is the difference between the arts council and the National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe or the Zimbabwe Football Association? more >
Steps to upgrade Arts Council pledged
Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan has called for activating the Arts Council of Pakistan and undertaking coordinating and constant steps for making it an exemplary centre of art and culture. more >
Keeping Kiwis creative
In Peter Biggs' six years as chairman of Creative New Zealand, the organisation has gone from arts funder to arts development agency. more >
'Diversity' art project accused of snobbery
A curator taking part in a programme to combat a lack of ethnic diversity in the art world has complained of class snobbery within the scheme. more >
Britain Plans to Replace N. Ireland Murals
Britain unveiled a $6 million program on Monday to replace Belfast's towering paramilitary wall murals in the most hard-line Protestant areas with more positive, less threatening art works. more >
Guggenheim to build museum in Abu Dhabi
The Guggenheim Foundation has embarked on its most ambitious outpost yet: a 300,000 sq ft modern art museum designed by Frank Gehry on an island off the coast of Abu Dhabi. more >
Arts Council chief tackles 'political prejudice'
Politicians are still prejudiced against seeing the arts as a vote-winner despite strong evidence to the contrary, the head of Arts Council England will claim tonight. more >
China popularises cultural heritage among youngsters through cartoons
China is attempting to popularise cultural heritage protection and traditional culture among young people through the medium of cartoons. more >
Egyptian artists worry about growing Islamic fervor
Many Egyptian artists say they worry about growing Islamic fundamentalism in a nation long known for being a cultural and secular center in the Arab world. more >
$10m needed for Museum
The Fiji Australian Community Development Incorporated will have to spend $10 million for a Fiji Museum it plans to build. more >
Art student caravan to promote Iran’s tourist attractions in foreign countries
The Peace Envoy caravan, consisting of 40 Iranian art students, is to travel to Turkey, Greece, Italy, and France in mid-August to familiarize people with Iran’s tourist attractions, the Persian service of CHN reported on Saturday. more >
Museums becoming things of the past
Britain's museums are in crisis, according to one of the country's leading arts charities, which has released research showing that historic institutions are being neglected by cash-strapped local authorities. more >
The financial culture club
Kazimierz Michał Ujazdowski, the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, is responsible for the national cultural policy. He spoke with WBJ about the Ministry's vision of financing institutional and independent theaters in Poland. more >
10 years, £165m and a row about art. That’s Amélie's real new Paris
President Chirac will fulfil a ten-year-old dream on Tuesday when he opens a spectacular but controversial museum by the Seine that will be the first significant new gallery in Paris since 1977 and the world’s biggest showcase of non-Western art. more >
Maori chief named World Heritage Committee chair
New Zealand paramount chief Tumu Te Heuheu has been elected chairman of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee. more >
Former Arts Agency Head to run National Art Centre
At a recent press conference it was announced that Hideki Hayashida, a bureaucrat in the national government who in the late 1990s headed up the Agency for Cultural Affairs before moving to the Imperial Household Agency, will be the first director of Japan's fifth national art facility, the National Art Center, Tokyo. more >
View on World Summit on Arts and Culture
The third World Summit on Arts and Culture, co-organised by the Arts Council England and IFACCA, took place in Newcastle upon Tyne, a city which truly reflects the regeneration theme of the event “Transforming places, transforming lives”. More than 500 cultural leaders and policy makers from over 82 countries gathered to discuss, debate and network more >
Essential Services for Aging Artists
How does a visual artist age and still remain active? What are the distinct disadvantages to being an older artist, and what are some of the behavioral patterns that might lead to such disadvantages? A group of graduate students at Carnegie Mellon University has recently taken on these questions in a report that outlines the needs of aging visual artists and recommends several changes that may help older artists with specific challenges they’re likely to face. more >
In a Berlin museum, under surveillance
Germany has opened its first museum dedicated to the history and culture of the old East Germany. more >
Fabled Casbah on Brink of Collapse
The UNESCO heritage site known as the Casbah, once home to pirates and freedom fighters, it is literally imploding from neglect more >
Pop revolution to rock Great Hall of the People
Beijing's Great Hall of the People is set to become the Great Hall of Pop when it stages its first ever pop concerts in August. more >
New link launched to boost UK-China cultural tie
An initiative designed to strengthen cultural links between the United Kingdom and China was launched on Thursday. The program, named "China-UK: Connections through Culture", will support cultural organisations in both countries to build understanding of and links with partner organisations, leading to increased cultural activity between China and the United Kingdom. more >
Performing Arts Survey
Public support for Canada's performing arts remained strong in 2004, both at the box office and in the form of grants, subsidies and donations from various government and private sector sources. more >
Call To Protect Cultural Items
Swahili scholars are concerned by the disappearance of manuscripts containing important cultural and literary content from the Kenyan Coast. more >
Guebuza Inaugurates Music Festival
Mozambican President Armando Guebuza on Wednesday declared that culture can become a powerful means of communication for popular mobilisation against poverty, and for recovering "our self-esteem". more >
Iran bans Da Vinci Code
Iran has banned the best-selling novel "The Da Vinci Code" after protests from the country's Christian clergy, the culture ministry said on Wednesday, but the Persian translation is already in its eighth edition. more >
Creativity seen as economic key
If Toronto invests time, money and energy to turn itself into a creative city, the economic and social benefits could be huge, especially for at-risk youth in need of good-paying jobs. more >
Actors Urged to Be Professional, Transparent in Activities
Professor George Hagan- Chairman of the National Commission on Culture (NCC) - has urged the Ghana Actors Guild to be professional and transparent in their activities. more >
I don't want my MTV
Music television is the endangered species of the pop world, and is learning the hard way that it must adapt to the Internet age, or die. more >
Namibia: Youth Forging Ahead With Arts
The newly established National Arts Council of Namibia (NAC) has growth pains due to a limited budget and the slow pace by which the statutory body is getting appropriate infrastructure in place. more >
NIC Promises More Support to Liberian Artists
The Chairman of the National Investment Commission (NIC), Mr. Richard V. Tolbert has told a gathering that the NIC would provide more support to Liberian Artists. more >
Public Funding for Evangelical Rap Group
Former gang members from New York's hardest ghettoes rap 'we wanna rock wit' you, that's all we wanna do'. But listen closely and the lyrics are far from a stereotypical rap homage to all things bling. more >
China considers karaoke club copyright fees
The Chinese government could soon force karaoke clubs to fork over as much as one per cent of their revenue to pay for the copyright of the music and videos they use, according to several news reports. more >
Act like a business? Why aim so low?
In his recent monograph, Good to Great and the Social Sectors, Jim Collins makes a rather bold statement: "We must reject the idea -- well-intentioned, but dead wrong -- that the primary path to greatness in the social sectors is to become 'more like a business.'" more >
Finances published online in an effort to rebuild reputation
The J. Paul Getty Trust has announced it will publish detailed financial and governance information on its website (www.getty.edu) this month in an effort to restore its tarnished reputation. more >
India to host world culture forum
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations has signed an agreement with the World Culture Forum Alliance to host the world culture forum in January 2008. more >
The Prado will never cater to the masses
The director reveals his plans to show more contemporary art and criticises the “commercial climate” of museums today. more >
The show must go on
Are Edinburgh's festivals too successful for the city's own good? more >
August 2006
Creative Financing for Struggling Artists
Unlike other countries, which give artists individual grants and will pay to send them to international exhibitions, there is no direct funding for individual artists at the federal level in the United States. Philanthropic groups and some for-profit ventures have stepped into the gap. more >
Creative financing for struggling artists
Being a struggling artist isn't what it used to be. In fact, it might be worse. Andrew Falkowski thinks so, and it's easy to understand why. The suburban Chicago resident and his wife have a combined five art degrees and six figures in debt because of them. more >
AU Calls for Preservation of African Languages
The African Union (AU) Commission urged member states on Monday to preserve languages of the continent it said are "disappearing or are in the brink of disappearing." more >
Monet's art may reveal Victorian London's smog
Monet could have been an early pollution monitor, recording Victorian smog levels in his paintings. At least that is the hope of environmental scientists who have analysed a selection of the artist's work. more >
The Research and Innovation of Culture
One of the reports accompanying the pre-budget document issued by the government last Saturday contains an extraordinary statement about culture. more >
Dreams under fire
Beirut's Al-Madina Theatre has issued a statement calling for support. more >
Words into art
Those in London this summer could do worse than take the tube to Russell Square, where the British Museum is hosting a season of events on the contemporary Middle East, writes David Tresilian more >
Culture Ministry reprimands Hermitage director for improper work
Mikhail Piatrovsky, the director of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, has been reprimanded for improper execution of duties following a large-scale theft of museum exhibits, the Ministry of Culture said Friday. more >
Namibia: Film Should Be a Favoured Sector
"It is a paradox that the film industry through the cowboy genre has taught the world the essentials of finance and yet Africa's film industries have not put these essentials into practice," said a film executive from South Africa. more >
Ministry Of Culture Runs Seminar For Journalists
A seminar on cultural journalism will be held from 22-23 August in Luanda, sponsored by Angolan Ministry of Culture in anticipation of the 3rd Symposium on National Culture scheduled for September this year in Luanda. more >
Guggenheim Museum Receives $1 Million Grant
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum today announced it has been awarded a $1 million grant by the U.S. Department of Education to evaluate the impact of its pioneering arts education program Learning Through Art (LTA) on students’ problem-solving skills. more >
Museums Establish Guidelines for Treatment of Sacred Objects
As Native Americans and other groups become increasingly assertive about protecting and preserving their cultural heritage, and federal laws enable tribes to reclaim works outright, museums are struggling to strike a balance between the traditional practice of collecting indigenous objects as art and the often competing interests of the people whose ancestors produced them. more >
Korean short stories debut in Hungary
A collection of Korean short stories is to hit bookstores in Hungary in a local language edition, its sponsoring agency said Monday. more >
China bans foreign cartoons from prime-time television
Regulators have barred foreign cartoons from TV from 5 to 8 p.m. in an effort to protect China's struggling animation studios more >
Students learn traditional arts in new project
Vietnamese students are learning more about the country’s traditional art forms, through a long-term cultural project funded by the Ford Foundation more >
Tough choices for 'peace' orchestra
The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra is an extraordinary ensemble from the Middle East. About half of its 100 musicians are Jewish Israelis. Most of the rest are Arabs. more >
Calligrapher Politicians from Japan and China Hold an Exhibition in Beijing
While there are plenty of issues that divide Japanese and Chinese politicians, the two countries' shared tradition of calligraphy is one pastime they both seem to enjoy. more >
Namibia/Zimbabwe Look to the Arts
Namibia’s deputy minister of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture has declared the arts to be "an industry with potential to grow and generate income”. more >
Cultural policy of non-western countries: Colombia
The latest instalment from Power of Culture's Cultural Policy of non-Western Countries series, outlining the cultural policy context in Colombia and linking to items of interest. more >
Does Australia need a cultural policy?
Panel discussions about the direction of Australian culture have been something of an ongoing conversation over the past couple of years. more >
Industry must become creative to open new streams of possibility
Subsidy for the performing arts has been predicated on a front-seat view rather than from behind the scenes. Future support for cultural enterprise should recognise creativity in all its forms, says Katharine Brisbane. more >
Mutorwa Argues for Culture
The current trend towards cultural relativism and ethnocentrism was sharply criticised by Minister of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture John Mutorwa yesterday. more >
Mwanawasa Calls For More Money for Artists
President Levy Mwanawasa has implored business houses that use talents of artists to promote their product and corporate images to pay them money commensurate to the quality and standards of their work. more >
Mexican Culture Festival in Hong Kong
The 8th Mexican September Cultural Festival will kick off in Hong Kong on 1 September. more >
Is President Chirac’s long-awaited museum of non-Western art a success?
The Musée du Quai Branly in Paris is visually stimulating, but not always enlightening. more >
New UNESCO Observatory for Australia
The UNESCO Observatory brings together people with shared interests in the arts and encourages activities that cross disciplinary divisions, drawing on the combined expertise of national and internationally recognised researchers. more >
UNESCO Observatory E-Journal Invites Submissions
UNESCO Observatory e-journal invites submissions. more >
Culture at the Centre E-book
NCPSG presents an ebook version of Lia Ghilardi's Culture at the Centre report mapping the development and current understanding of cultural planning in Scotland. more >
If it's Tuesday...
The Internet brings news about music, films, books and other art forms 24/7. But there's so much information out there it's impossible to sort through and separate the wheat from the Milli Vanillis. Now Internet arts curators are trying to help. more >
Creative types get a bit of business schooling
As it distributes grants to artists, the Creative Capital Foundation also tries to teach them how to succeed in the wider world. more >
French-style academy bid to aid Gaelic
Scotland's Gaelic language quango is proposing a French-style academy to regulate new words and correct spelling and grammar. more >
Minister of Culture Defends Promotion of Vernacular Languages
Angolan minister of Culture, Boaventura Cardoso, has spoken out for the promotion of vernacular languages as a fundamental support for cultural identity. more >
Insurance for Art Collectors
It seems that as more and more money pours into the fine-art-purchasing market from all over the world, more money is being invested in fine-art insurance. more >
Cultural Heritage Must be Viewed as an Investment - Assamba
The Minister of Tourism, Entertainment and Culture, Aloun Ndombet Assamba, has stressed the importance of viewing the Jamaican cultural heritage as an investment, which has economic benefit for the country. more >
Festival Head: 'Films Should Be Viewed As Tools for Social Development'
The executive director of the Zimbabwe International Film Festival Trust (ZIFFT) has declared that films should be viewed as tools for social development. more >
Cultural Connections the Key to US-Korea Relations
South Korea and the United States should concentrate more on cultivating personal and institutional relations that would outlast any political tensions, an American cultural director has said. more >
Afghan cultural festival to open in Tehran
Afghanistan’s first Art and Culture Festival is scheduled to open in Tehran on August 30. more >
Libraries hold key to growth of the ‘knowledge economy’
England’s public libraries are playing a crucial, but often overlooked, role in the growth of the knowledge economy, a new study has found. more >
UNESCO to Meet On Cultural Heritage
An extraordinary session of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the International Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage will be held on 17 October at UNESCO Headquarters. more >
Creativity conference
How are the culture industries getting on in the Nordic Region? What potential do they have? more >
A Nation Divided Over Piracy
A pro-"piracy" party is threatening to revolutionise Swedish politics. more >
September 2006
Cultural Heritage Must be Viewed as an Investment - Assamba
Jamaica's Minister of Tourism, Entertainment and Culture, Aloun Ndombet Assamba, has stressed the importance of viewing the Jamaican cultural heritage as an investment, which has economic benefit for the country. more >
Martin Stepanek accepts ODS's offer of culture minister post
Actor and journalist Martin Stepanek will probably be culture minister in the new government being formed by Civic Democrat (ODS) chairman and Prime Minister designate Mirek Topolanek, Stepanek told CTK after a meeting with Topolanek today. more >
Museums and charities fear partial-gift tax-law change
Stumped by fractions? Consider the problem Congress has handed certain donors of art and other tangible personal property. Museums and other charities fear they may not be part of the donors' solution. more >
UNESCO to assist Lebanese early recovery in culture and education
UNESCO will assist the Lebanese government by providing support for vocational education, children and youth traumatized by recent events, and helping to preserve the country's rich cultural heritage. more >
Asia catches biennale bug
Asia this month sees the opening of no less than three biennales. more >
Federal grant to fund arts education research
The U.S. Department of Education is to study the effects of arts education. more >
Opening the doors to Jewish culture
Seven Swiss cities and communes are on Sunday offering a glimpse of the cultural and historical heritage of Judaism during the European Day of Jewish Culture. more >
Ahmadinejad vows to rid schools of liberal influence
Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Tuesday vowed to cleanse schools and universities of liberal influences, continuing a drive to restore revolutionary values to the Islamic republic. more >
Discussions On Indigenous Languages Still Underway
South Africa's Education Minister Naledi Pandor says discussions regarding the use of indigenous languages in higher education institutions are still taking place. more >
Provincial Meeting On Culture Starts Tuesday
The first provincial meeting on Culture in Angola's eastern Moxico province started Tuesday, in Lwena city, to assess and debate themes related to local culture, which will be presented to the third National Symposium of the sector, expected for this month. more >
New Organization Will Fund Individual Artists
Four foundations have put up a total of $20 million to create a new charity to support working artists, starting with a grant program that will be one of the most generous in existence, the New York Times reports. more >
Towards Promoting Cultural Education in Nigeria
The National Institute for Cultural Orientation, NICO, will hold a two day sensitization workshop between September 11 and 12 at its Lagos office, National Theatre Annex, Lagos. more >
"Plan Uganda" Empowers Rurals Through Art
Plan Uganda, a children-centred development organisation, has organised an art exhibition to explore the country's values. more >
100 million to study Chinese worldwide by 2010
You may be able to find a Chinese teaching class close to your home sooner than you think. more >
Interacting with art crime
The trade in looted antiquities has been a controversial topic among museum heads and cultural patrimony officials in recent months. more >
Namibian Minister: All Can Preserve Culture
Namibia's Culture Minister has called on "leaders at all levels, parents and learners to assist the government in the restoration, consolidation and development of culture". more >
Musicians sound alarm at aircraft rules
Many fear that London's status as a cultural centre will suffer if curbs on cabin baggage continue. more >
Georgia To Establish Council of Culture
According to the decree of Georgian president, Council of Culture and Culture Fund will be established at the president’s office. more >
Minister wants youths to exploit job opportunities in culture sector
Nigerian youths have been urged to exploit the abundant job opportunities in the nation’s culture industry. more >
Singing from the same hmmm sheet - but for how long?
Amidst much hand-wringing - not least from me - control of Scotland's national companies passed, earlier this year, from the Scottish Arts Council to the Scottish Executive. more >
"Regulation" for Foreign News Agencies in China
Xinhua News Agency on Sunday promulgated a set of measures to regulate the release of news and information in China by foreign news agencies and the subscription of such news and information by users in China and to promote the dissemination of news and information in a sound and orderly manner. more >
Kenya bishop leads anti-evolution fight
The world's most important collection of human fossils may soon be hidden from public view - if religious leaders get their way. more >
S. Korea to build cultural library in Irbil, Iraq
South Korea's military said Sunday it will spend about 3.6 billion won (US$3.6 million) to build a library in the northern Iraqi town of Irbil by 2008. more >
Cultural Policy Covers All Domains - Head Of State
Angolan head of State, José Eduardo dos Santos, Monday in Luanda said the country`s cultural policy and its strategy "are clear enough and strictly cover all domains of the nation`s cultural affairs." more >
GRISELDA POLLOCK ON FEMINISM
Pollock presents her views on feminism and art created by women. She is critical of quotas, such as the 'fifty-percent women's art' policy supported by JA!, a Swedish feminist art group, arguing that there is a risk that quotas are simply cosmetic. more >
Launch of new cultural website NZLive.com
New Zealand's Prime Minister and Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Helen Clark said a new government-funded website launched today has the potential to enrich New Zealand's cultural life by harnessing the web to promote activities and events. more >
Call for Papers
ICOM-ICTOP, the International Committee for the Training of Personnel, is holding its Annual Meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, from 8-10 October 2006 more >
Global tourism proves crisis resistant
International tourism experts meeting in Switzerland say natural disasters or terrorist attacks have not affected growth in an industry where competition is fiercer than ever. more >
Indigenous Rock Art to be Sacrificed
Australia's Minister for Heritage and the Environment, Senator Ian Campbell, plans to sacrifice some ancient Indigenous rock art in order to build a gas processing plant. more >
Iran allows banned paper to publish again
Iran has given the green light for a government newspaper that was banned for printing a cartoon that led to ethnic riots to publish again after its chief editor was acquitted, the official IRNA agency reported Saturday. more >
Texts 'do not hinder literacy'
Pupils who send regular text messages may not be at risk of becoming poor readers and writers, researchers say. more >
Writers' e-mails to be saved for library archive
The National Library of Scotland has revealed a plan to create an archive of blogs, journals and e-mails written by leading Scots. more >
The Music of Democracy
Gambia’s musicians have recorded an album of election songs in a bid to help educate the electorate on the importance of free and fair elections, and their right to vote, more >
Literature, music and rap keep Romansh language alive
Many American and French rappers invent their own vocabulary, but Romansh hip-hop groups and singers use the language of their ancestors. more >
Polynesian sailing myth all at sea
The Polynesians had trouble reaching remote South Pacific islands, according to a new study that dents their reputation as great seafarers. more >
A new intellectual and cultural community
The Laboratory of Art and Ideas at Belmar, the newest addition to the Denver metropolitan area cultural scene, can lay claim to at least one first. more >
Australian gas project near rock art
The West Australian government will allow Woodside Petroleum to develop a new gas installation in the Pilbara provided it moves part of it away from a massive Aboriginal rock art collection. more >
A dream come true
The European Dream Festival, simply by paying these performers to show up, distinguishes itself: European nations are willing to fund under-the-radar art. Maybe not for long, though. more >
LA FICAAC FUE PRESENTADA A RESPONSABLES DE POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS PARA LAS ARTES ESCÉNICAS DE AMÉRICA LA
El 14 y 15 de septiembre de este año tuvo lugar en Bogotá, Colombia, la Reunión Técnica Preparatoria para el Programa Cumbre IBERESCENA, que busca establecer un fondo para la financiación de proyectos en artes escénicas, organizada por la División de Cultura de la Secretaría General Iberoamericana (SEGIB). more >
IFACCA INTRODUCED TO LATIN AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS POLICYMAKERS
On the 14-15th September 2006 the IBERESCENA Program Preparatory Technical Meeting took place to establish a financial fund for projects in the performing arts. more >
Training for Trainers
On-The-Move is organising a new training course for trainers on the subject of 'Mobility and cultural cooperation in the age of digital spaces'. more >
Historic sites up for funding - if they get votes
A new program that will supply financial assistance to 25 Bay Area historical treasures is using a unique approach: residents can vote for worthy projects in an online election right out of the popular "American Idol" television show. more >
Am I pro-Palestine or pro-Israel?
The computer game Global Conflicts: Palestine has an ambitious objective: to shatter the traditional approach of the games industry, which typically cultivates a single, prevailing, schematic narrative. more >
NCC Introduces New Strategies to Fight Piracy
The Nigerian Copyright Commission has started gathering information on manufacturers of optical video plates such as CDs and VCDs, for use to develop a database which would assist the Commission in fighting piracy. more >
The new critics
New York-based playwrights, critics, directors, academics and assorted drama fans are using blogs to have conversations about theatre culture, post reviews, challenge critical consensus, respond to breaking news and plug their productions. more >
Liberty, Equality ... Diversity?
Scott McLemee muses over links between diversity, multiculturalism and racism. more >
Sixth European Museum Advisers Association in Budapest
Their work is vital for the survival and quality of museum services, yet they receive very little public attention: museum advisers support museums across Europe. more >
Brits nearly all Celts under the skin
A major genetic study of the population of Britain appears to have put an end to the idea of the "Celtic fringe" of Scotland, Ireland and Wales. more >
France, Russia to hold year of culture for each other
A French Culture Year will be celebrated in Russia in 2009 while the Russian Culture Year activities will take place in France in 2010, French President Jacques Chirac announced Friday. more >
Novelist cleared of
Bestselling Turkish novelist Elif Shafak has been acquitted of the charges of "insulting Turkishness" brought against her under Article 301 of Turkish law. more >
Lecture dwells on Islam’s role in arts
Islam’s contribution to arts through ornaments was the subject of a thought provoking lecture delivered at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar. more >
Students flock back to the arts
Not so long ago the common wisdom was that dead languages were useless and that the best educational investment was in vocational knowledge. more >
Cultural Unification Identified As Instrument Of African Unity
Civil Society Cultural Advocates and enthusiasts of African Culture have prescribed cultural unification as a pertinent instrument for African unity. more >
George gives thumbs up to the best arts schemes
One of Glasgow's most innovative sculptors today gave the thumbs up to a new arts awards scheme. more >
Culture from the Middle East in Denmark
Every third year the Danish Centre for Culture and Development organises a huge cultural festival focused on a specific region in the world. more >
First Ladies Launch U.S.-Pakistan Site
Hoping to bridge their countries through an understanding of arts and culture, Laura Bush and Pakistan's first lady, Sehba Musharraf, launched a new Web site Thursday geared toward educating youth. more >
English classes on the radio
Despite many advances in communications technology, electronics and wireless communications, radio remains a significant resource for the classroom teacher. more >
The BookBox project: how television can shape literacy
It is an idea with great promise. Transforming children’s stories into animated books for television and digital media, using Same Language Subtitling (SLS), can change how millions read in India. more >
Cultural heads agree on arts priorities
Arts ministers from around Australia and New Zealand met in Wellington last week to discuss ways to boost cultural cooperation, and what to do about a worsening picture for Indigenous arts. more >
The big bang
For many generations of Maltese and Gozitans, the annual village feast has been the high point of both their religious and cultural year. But is this still the case? more >
Produce Malawian films- Mussa
Some Malawians might have enjoyed the premiere of European Music Festival at the Kamuzu College of Nursing on Friday but that should not be the end of it because there is a lot Malawians can learn from the festival. more >
European television : keeping culture on our screens
At a time when European broadcasters are increasingly looking to their advertising revenue to finance their operations and adapting their programming to maximise their audiences, it’s worthwhile considering the forces at work to keep cultural programming on European television screens. more >
Funding boost for Zimbabwe arts
The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe has distributed funds to 33 arts organisations and associations from all around the country. more >
Call for Arts System in Namibia
Namibia’s Permanent Secretary of Culture, Dr Peingindjabi Shipoh, has bemoaned the country’s lack of a adequate system to identify, develop and expose artistic talent. more >
Ugandan National Cultural Policy Approved
The Ugandan Government will seek to preserve local literature and develop dictionaries in local languages, in a new national policy on culture announced this week. more >
Creating Arts for Economic Empowerment
The latest project of Arts For Global Development aims to emphasize the role of arts in economic development and highlight the significance of preserving and protecting humankind's major cultural heritage sites and artistic creations. more >
Innovative Models for Growing the Creative Economy
The University of Ulster will host creative industry experts from all over Europe in Belfast this week to explore how the arts can become a driving force in the new global economy. more >
Museum handbook translated for Portuguese African countries
Professionalizing museums in the Lusofone countries of Africa was the objective of the work conference organised in Nairobi in late August. more >
Funding for Arts Month in October
A popular event in all five of the Foundation Center's locations, Funding for Arts Month returns for its fifth consecutive year. more >
OIF cultural diversity meeting for Togo Tuesday
Delegates from 30 countries are expected to convene the second international meeting of French-speaking cultural professional coalitions and organisations in Lome Tuesday, organisers announced here Friday. more >
Cultural Policy of Chile
The Pinochet dictatorship oppressed the right to free speech and every type of collective action for a long period of time. Today culture plays a major part in re-establishing unity and solidarity among the Chilean population. more >
Teen daydreams and mischief drive net creativity
There is a shift from entertainment, information and popular culture being provided ‘for the people’ to one ‘by the people’, says cultural researcher Professor John Hartley. more >
Thinking about Canadian cultural policy, art and technology
The Canadian government is still trying to figure out what a policy shift from cultural or creative "content" to cultural or creative "industries" might mean. more >
Arts and business film premieres
Two departments at the University of Buffalo, USA, are sponsoring the U.S. premiere of documentary film "Masters of Business Art," directed by Pierre Guillet de Monthoux. For years business administration has looked to science as a means of learning about life in organizations and enterprises. Monthoux aims to push the spotlight from science to the arts. more >
Assembly warned 'don't interfer with arts'
Former Westminster Culture Secretary Chris Smith has warned the Assembly Government that if it directly funds Wales' 'big six' arts organisations it must not interfere with their creativity. more >
Japanese bid to extend copyright
A group of 16 Japanese organizations of writers, artists, musicians, cartoonists and publishers has issued a statement asking the Cultural Affairs Agency to extend copyright protection from 50 years after their deaths to 70 years. more >
House approves Ester Martinez native language bill
Preservation of native cultures and language could get a boost thanks to legislation approved by the U.S. House that would establish grants for governments, colleges and other Indian language educational organizations. more >
Cuts reduce US role abroad
American culture is ubiquitous. Yet since 2001, driven by the global war for hearts and minds, Washington tripled its investment in cultural diplomacy programs. more >
October 2006
Politics of identity
FOR many years, attacks on "multi-culturalism" in Britain were confined to the far Right, which argued, like its counterparts in other countries, that the nation could only survive if it was homogeneous, welded together by a single racial, religious or cultural identity. more >
Bush Nominates Dana Gioia To Another Term As Head Of NEA
President George W. Bush intends to nominate Dana Gioia to another four-year term as chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts. more >
Cuts reduce role abroad
Canadian arts groups could be staying home after the Conservatives slashed funding which supports cultural exchanges. more >
Culture Shines on World Stage
India’s soft power should be her vehicle to becoming a superpower, if one goes by Samuel P Huntington’s “Clash of Civilisations” thesis that the next fault-lines of geo-political power conflict will be cultural. more >
Mozambique And Mauritius Renew Cultural Agreement
The governments of Mozambique and Mauritius renewed in Maputo on Monday an agreement on arts and cultural exchanges between the two countries, that was initially signed in 1993. more >
Ukrainian magnate opens Kiev’s first international contemporary art centre
Last month, Kiev saw the opening of the Pinchuk Art Centre, funded by 45-year old Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk. more >
Spotlight Falls On Indigenous Language for Academic Purposes
Education Minister Naledi Pandor says the future of South Africa's indigenous languages as areas of academic study and research is a matter of pressing concern. more >
Namibia: Hope for Nam Music in the States
Some valuable ideas on how to promote Namibian music in the United States in particular were last Wednesday given to the local fraternity during a live video conference by an American expert. more >
Botswana: Government Should Promote Cultural Music
One of the issues that featured prominently in the newspapers after the consultative conference between the private sector and government in Francistown a few weeks ago was the issue of 'branding Botswana'. more >
What is arts policy?
What do terms like 'policy' and 'policy formulation' mean? Why are they important? This month Barry Hessenius discusses 'policy' with other experts in the USA, including Robert Lynch of Americans for the Arts and Anthony Radich of Westaf. more >
Saudi schools to teach more moderate Islam
Saudi Arabia, homeland of 15 out of 19 of the September 11, 2001 hijackers in the United States, is readying a more moderate Islam curriculum for use in the kingdom's schools. more >
Congress Should End Special Tax Breaks for Art Gifts
Wealthy donors have long received extraordinarily generous tax breaks when they donate art to museums. more >
The end of 'the two cultures'
A paper recently presented by the European Cultural Parliament, in which culture is placed 'at the heart of a knowledge-based economy', indicates why the polarisation between the sciences and culture and the arts is bogus. Of course they are different, and policies that do not recognise this are so 20th century. more >
Hunger vs. the Arts
Today's philanthropists want to fight disease and poverty - shortchanging operas and museums. How high culture is fighting for its share of the charity dollar. more >
Comeback for Egypt's veiled stars
Egyptian actresses who left the film world for a more pious lifestyle are now back on television screens, in a bid to reinvent their image as more in line with the country's growing Islamic trend. more >
Annual culture fix renewed
City museums, galleries and cultural institutions open their doors after-hours on Annual Culture Night for an evening of unusual and sometimes bizarre experiences. more >
Industry alarm at ACE ‘talent drain’
Arts Council England’s restructuring of its national office has come under fire from the theatre industry, with leading figures warning that the loss of talent and experience ahead of the impending Comprehensive Spending Review is a “major concern”. more >
Washington Opera To Set 'Butterfly' Free on the Mall
In its continuing efforts to win a wider audience, the Washington National Opera plans to present its second free live simulcast from the Kennedy Center to the Mall on Nov. 12. more >
Promoting continuity through music and the arts
Are bars and coffeehouses becoming America's new synagogues? Is hip-hop becoming the newest form of prayer? more >
Culture often neglected in efforts to reduce poverty
Developing countries often assign a minor role to culture in their plans to reduce poverty. more >
Beijing to build 10 open-air theatres by 2008
Beijing plans to build 10 open-air theatres before 2008 - Olympics year - and will ensure that every urban community can project films, local government sources announced on Wednesday. more >
The Met's $20 push for a new audience
Jaws no longer drop at the thought of paying $375 for a prime seat at the Metropolitan Opera. It's the $20 orchestra seats that have people gaping. more >
Big queues at new museum hailed as 'Berlin's Louvre'
Queues formed Thursday outside the relaunched Bode Museum in Berlin, after arts reviewers had dubbed it Europe's premier museum of sculpture and acclaimed it as a rival to the Louvre in Paris. more >
Palestinian cinema fights the odds
Public cinemas are very rare in Gaza and the West Bank Cinema in Gaza and the West Bank has been given a shot in the arm by the start of a new festival that aims to showcase female Palestinian film-makers. more >
MUSEUMS LIBRARIES & ARCHIVES SET THE PACE FOR 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES
The Museums, Libraries and Archives (MLA) Partnership has issued a rallying call to the sector to participate in the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in London during summer 2012. more >
Remaking history
South Africa's dynamic new museums are not just showcasing the past - they are reinventing the country's identity, writes Andrew Meldrum more >
China to stage series of African cultural events during China-Africa forum
A series of African art performances and exhibitions will be staged in Beijing during the third ministerial meeting of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum in November, said a Ministry of Culture (MOC) official on Wednesday. more >
Bards to wax poetic in Tehran this winter
Tehran will play host to the first Fajr International Poetry Festival in January 2007. more >
Arts groups pursue tech's best features to enhance appeal
Arts organizations -- dance companies, classical music ensembles, art museums and the like -- are by their nature old-fashioned. They also depend on attracting a constant flow of ticket-buyers and other funding to survive more >
The elephant in the Arts Council room
Even in the Gadarene rush of Blairites leaving Whitehall ahead of the Gordon Brown regime, the mass exit from Arts Council England seems almost indecently hasty. more >
Ensuring the Survival of the Classical Arts
In order for the classical arts to survive in Mongolia, the theater management makes strategic partnerships locally and globally and follows a cultural policy in a move toward sustainability and preservation. more >
1st Pan African Cultural Congress to Be Held in Ethiopia
The African Union (AU) will hold the first Pan African Cultural Congress (PACC) in Ethiopia from 13-15 November. more >
The creativity mantra
Can the concept of Creative Industries be transformed into a new vision? more >
Kenya Won't Grow On Song And Dance
Culture - what anthropologists call a people's way of life - is not something that serious Kenyans want to spend too much time on, beyond the entertainment it provides. more >
Arts sponsorship reached record high of $32.7m last year
Arts sponsorship reached a record high last year, with 235 corporations and 44 individuals contributing $32.7 m to the arts. more >
National Museum highlights global civilisation
Dignitaries speaking at the National Museum recently had all praise for opening of the World Civilisation Gallery. The new gallery features artifacts, paintings, statues, carpets and many more from China, Iran, Korea, Japan, Switzerland, India, Bhutan, Bangladesh and more. more >
Koreas launch first joint literary association
The two Koreas launched a joint private association of literary writers Monday, the first such organization since they were divided more than 60 years ago. more >
November 2006
Government supports £10m National Skills Academy
The UK Government has earmarked £7 million for the first-ever National Skills Academy for the live performing arts sector, in an attempt to boost backstage and technical training. more >
Labour has failed arts, says MU/BACS report
Labour has consistently failed to consider the effects of its legislation and policy making on Britain’s artists, despite an expressed aim to make the UK the “creative hub” of the world, according to a major new report. more >
Art sales: a feast of the old-school East
Any pundit will tell you that two of the fastest rising sectors of the art market are modern and contemporary Indian and Chinese art. Artists whose work was difficult to sell at any price in 2001 can now command six-figure sums. more >
Participation in Arts, Society Linked
People who participate in the arts, even if only reading literature, are twice as likely to volunteer in their communities as those who don't, according to a new study from the National Endowment for the Arts. more >
Ministers criticised for their absence
"Is it down to lack of interest that none of the Nordic Ministers of Culture are here to present the new culture reform?" Lars Wegendal, the Social Democrat chairperson of the Nordic Council Culture and Education and Training Committee asked during Thursday's debate in Copenhagen. more >
Heritage key to education for Natives
Alaska Native students tend to complete high school, enter college and finish degrees at lower rates than their counterparts because their cultural heritage and very identity is missing from Alaska education systems, leaders in Alaska Native education say. more >
Survey finds a decline in attendance for the arts
A new report by the National Endowment for the Arts on arts attendance and how it relates to volunteerism shows Americans 18 to 34 increasingly tuned out from the arts and the broader community. more >
India to ratify UNESCO Convention on cultural diversity
The Indian Government has decided to ratify the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, under which international assistance could be obtained to protect and promote cultural diversity. more >
The Case For Public Arts Funding
What should the future role of public funding be in the UK arts scene as more of the world transitions to an American-style system of private philanthropy? more >
India storms the world cultural scene
India is back in the reckoning on the global cultural map with its cuisines and festivals proving to be a rage in various countries. more >
“What is publicly owned is not publicly accessible”
A new study of art in Britain's public institutions says that "over 80 percent (120,000 pictures) are probably held in storage or in buildings without access. more >
Dept Calls for More Cultural Exchanges
Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Sue van Der Merwe has called on all foreign missions in South Africa to work towards increased cultural exchanges with the country. more >
Cultural Giving by Companies: a Two-Way Street
Partnerships between cultural institutions and corporate entities have gone creative. more >
InnoCentre the one-stop shop for HK designers
The InnoCentre, Hong Kong's first facility dedicated solely to designers, has opened in Kowloon Tong, offering a one-stop shop for the design community, especially small and medium-sized design houses, Chief Executive Donald Tsang says. more >
AU Calls On Member States to Promote African Culture
Member States of the African Union were called up on to promote and value African culture and languages in their day to day activities. more >
Chinese premier urges writers, artists to speak the truth
"Chinese writers and artists should reflect reality in society and encourage people to seek the truth," Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told delegates of Chinese art and literature organizations in Beijing on Monday. more >
Investing in the arts
This week, Boston is hosting nearly 300 members of Grantmakers in the Arts, the national organization of donors, trustees, and staff of public, private, and corporate foundations dedicated to supporting arts and culture. more >
The Man Who Saved the NEA
Businessman-poet Dana Gioia has steered the once-moribund arts agency in mostly mainstream directions—and it's thriving. more >
Art Museums Ask Congress to Rethink Limits on Fractional Giving
The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York has displayed Willem de Kooning's ``Untitled VII' at least four times since 1984, while owning just 10 percent of the painting. more >
Deconstructing Culture in Africa
It is easy to forget that culture is ever evolving and we are what we are today. more >
Korean cultural center to open in Hanoi
A Korean cultural center will open in in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi to become the first such facility in Southeast Asia this weekend, South Korea's cultural ministry has announced. more >
Culture's Next Great Sales Technique
The YouTube phenomenon may be old news in some circles, but for fans of low-tech forms like classical music, opera, and dance, the video site is still being discovered as a valuable resource. more >
Fractional Gifts
Museums are trying to have it both ways: benefiting from tax subventions because they supposedly can’t survive in the marketplace yet stepping into the marketplace when they deem it appropriate. more >
Executive claws back National Theatre cash to fund quango
Funds earmarked for the National Theatre are being clawed back by the Scottish Executive to pay for a controversial new arts quango. more >
Colloquia on "Valuing the Historic Environment"
'Valuing the Historic Environment' is a new, cross disciplinary research cluster for the discussion of frameworks of value in relation to the preservation of historic environments. more >
Los Angeles Arts Funding Remains at 2000 Level, Despite Non-Profit Growth
A new study reports that funding for the arts in Los Angeles has stayed flat in recent years, even though arts activity has grown by 20 percent. more >
SPANISH LABFORCULTURE.ORG NOW ONLINE
LabforCulture.org, a source of online information, debate and research on European cultural cooperation, is now available in Spanish. more >
National Theatre Structure Progressing Well
Last week the eighth Assitej-Namibia town-based centre was successfully established in the southern town of Mariental. more >
In the recent election, Americans cast a vote for the arts
For people who believe taxes or bonds issues should be used to support the arts, Nov. 7 was a great day. more >
The race for art island: Louvre and Guggenheim battle it out
It is one of the greatest art collections in the world whose miles of galleries range from the treasures of antiquity to Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. But Paris's Musée du Louvre could soon become Europe's biggest cultural export by opening a vast new outpost in the Middle East as part of President Jacques Chirac's desire for greater understanding between east and west. more >
To the NEA, News-Laden NPR is Making a Classical Mistake
A new report from the National Endowment for the Arts blasts public radio, saying it fails to fulfill its obligation to provide music that commercial stations won't touch. more >
Breaking the deal
I hired an artist to paint a portrait. I offered $500. He agreed. We had a deal. He painted the painting. I liked it. I gave him the money. A few years later he returned. “You owe me another $450” he said. more >
Cultural Policy of Mexico
The latest in Power of Culture's 'cultural policies of non-western countries' series is on Mexico. more >
CHILE CALLS FOR PROMOTING CULTURAL CO-OP WITH CHINA
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said on Thursday that Chile and China should strengthen cultural cooperation in order to boost the comprehensive development of bilateral ties. more >
Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen
Culture Minister Patricia Ferguson today announced the appointment of Dr Richard Holloway to be the Chair of a new joint board for the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen. more >
Small Nations: Big Subject
The University of Glamorgan is leading the way in academic research, establishing a research centre for the study of media and culture in small nations. more >
COOPERATIVE SET UP TO BOOST CHINA'S CULTURAL INDUSTRY
More than 50 academic institutions, universities and companies from China's mainland and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan on Friday launched a platform dubbed the China Cultural Industry Cooperative (CIC), which aims to promote and coordinate the booming sector. more >
Cooperative set up to boost China's cultural industry
More than 50 academic institutions, universities and companies from China's mainland and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan on Friday launched a platform dubbed the China Cultural Industry Cooperative (CIC), which aims to promote and coordinate the booming sector. more >
UN shows interest in supporting creative economy projects
The director of the SSC/SU (South-South Cooperation Special Unit), Yiping Zhou, stated yesterday (26) at the World Cultural Forum, that "the conventional form of thinking of business is not working. more >
UK study could see Beatles songs lose EU copyright in 2013
The UK treasury is set to refuse extending copyright on sound recordings from 50 years to 95 years when a report looking at intellectual property rights in the UK is published next week, in a situation that could see EU copyright expire on some Beatles songs in 2013. more >
Egypt becoming an Islamic state, say intellectuals
Intellectuals accused Egypt's embattled culture minister Tuesday of caving in to Islamist pressure by proposing to set up a religious committee tasked with supervising the country's artistic production. more >
Culture at arm's length
In a Nordic context, Iceland is the 'odd one out' in the cultural sphere with cultural life flourishing nicely without too much interference from the public sector. more >
December 2006
S. Korean artists oppose talks with U.S. for free trade deal
Dozens of South Korean artists took to the streets Friday to oppose a free trade deal with the United States, adding their voice to protests just days before the trade talks were to resume. more >
'WE DON'T WANT BORING' CANADA COUNCIL DIRECTOR SAYS
The new director of the Canada Council for the Arts is taking the pulse of Canada's arts communities in a cross-country tour. more >
INDIA AND CHINA IN CULTURAL RACE
Beijing plans to spread the message of "cultural harmony" by spending a whopping 10 billion dollars to build 100 Confucius Centres across the world by 2010. Now, India is looking at ways to leverage its "very considerable soft power". more >
ECO-MUSEUM TO EMPOWER THE RURAL PEOPLE SAYS EBOREIME
The Director General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Dr. Joe Eboreime, has explained that the concept of the Eco-based museums is to empower local communities, especially the youth, women and the physically challenged persons dwelling in the rural areas. more >
ZIMBABWE: PIRACY SIMILAR TO STOCK THEFT
A Zimbabwean Minister has likened piracy to stock theft and called for stiffer penalties. more >
EMBRACING THE RIGHT TO ART
The Glasgow City Council is the first local authority in the UK to become a signatory to a campaign aiming to make access to art and visual culture a right of all UK citizens. more >
U.S. MUSEUMS HAVE BIGGEST BUDGETS FOR ACQUISITION: STUDY
A British study of spending on acquisitions by the world's greatest museums shows the biggest spenders on arts and artifacts are U.S. institutions. more >
New webpage for concepts and theories
The first instalment on a new part of the EFAH website dedicated to developments in theory and expert opinion comes from Raj Isar and is on cultural diversity. more >
Govt to unveil National Design Policy
It is currently working on setting up of a design university, and upgrading status of the National Institute of Design. more >
Arts Council publishes report into Creative Commons
OpenBusiness.cc and the Arts Council of England have published a report looking at the attitudes towards copyright amongst British creatives. more >
Classical Audiences Are Aging
We have to stop saying that the orchestra audience has always been the age it is now. Clearly that isn't true. And we don't even have to go back to 1937 to make this point. The orchestra audience has aged during the past 30 years more >
The World Cultural Forum Rio
A view of the World Culture Forum held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 2006, from Felix Meritis Foundation Fellow Dragan Klaic. more >
Kennedy Center's Kaiser Aims to Expand U.S. Cultural Exchanges
Michael Kaiser, president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, is redefining the way the U.S. participates in international cultural exchanges. more >
Operating Support Must Be Large, Long-Term to Be Effective, Study Finds
Operating support is important to nonprofit organizations, but only when grants are larger and awarded for a longer term than those typically provided by even the nation's largest foundations, a new report from the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Center for Effective Philanthropy finds. more >
Integrating Culture Into Nigerian Education
By and large, modern education practices that are more abstract and often not relevant to the child's immediate surrounding eroded important traditional education tools and methodology like the 'apprenticeship' and 'participatory observation.' more >
Singapore’s Cultural Policy
Like many major government decisions in Singapore, the city-state’s national cultural policy is informed by economic rationale. more >
Venezuela's Magnum Opus
For 31 years, an ambitious state program aimed at instilling a love of classical music in children - particularly poor children - has drawn the admiration of conductors from as far away as Berlin and Boston. more >
NCAC Hosts Africa 2009
National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), hosted the 21st session of the Africa 2009 from 11th-13th December, 2006, at the Baobab Lodge in Bijilo. more >
Chancellor offers £5m for pursuit of pirates
The UK government yesterday endorsed calls for a stringent clampdown on music and film piracy and an end to restrictions on copying music for personal use. more >
The trouble with art fairs
As the sheer number of annual events continues to grow, curators, collectors and dealers are starting to feel fatigued. more >
Just Like Us? Not Likely
The world is moving toward a uniform material culture, dominated by mostly material American influences: technological innovations, fashion, Hollywood and the celebrity culture it promotes, hip-hop, and rock 'n' roll. more >
Museums Are No Longer Stores for the Mysterious
The concept of museums belonging to dark archives in the same realm as colonialism, Nazism, racial bigotry and the likes has long been overtaken by events. more >
The Write Stuff - Writers Adopt New Charter
The New Zealand Writers Guild has adopted a bill of rights for script writers. more >
Museums boost economy by £1.5bn a year, says report
Report says Britain's museums are not only vital to the economy, but also bind communities together. more >
The face of the national cultural scene is changing
Faces are changing rapidly in the arts, with the formal announcement yesterday of key appointments at the ABC and the Australia Council. more >
Former arts chief Boyle attacks bill as weak and 'born to fail'
James Boyle, the man Jack McConnell tasked to rewrite cultural policy in Scotland, yesterday attacked the culture bill as a lacklustre document "born to fail". more >
Arts Education to Be Pushed in Schools
Namibian arts have enormous educational value and potential, presenting a multitude of learning and teaching opportunities to learners in the country. more >
Sport beating art in the sponsorship stakes
Private funding for the arts in Scotland has sunk by 20 per cent over the last five years to £22 million, despite a rise elsewhere in the UK, new figures show. more >
Goethe-Institut and GTZ study links between culture and development
"Investing in culture is the most sustainable type of development cooperation," said a participant at the Culture and Development conference Putting Theory into Practice held in Berlin in November 2006. more >
International Convention on Cultural Diversity to Enter Into Force March 18, 2007
A convention that entrenches in international law the right of countries to apply cultural policies will enter into force on March 18 after 14 European Union member countries filed their ratifications with UNESCO headquarters in Paris earlier today. more >
SA's art heritage shame
South Africa's art heritage is being lost to the country because the government budget for buying art has been slashed to the point where the entire annual allocation for purchases cannot cover the cost of any single major work. more >
COLOMBIA PREPARES FIRST INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH
The First International Theatre Festival for Children and Youth will take place in Bogotá from the 7th to the 22nd of July, 2007 and will gather theatre companies from Colombia and the rest of the world interested in artistic innovation and quality. more >
IBERESCENA PROGRAM PLANS ADVANCED
Performing arts authorities of Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Spain and Venezuela gathered together in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 14 and 15 December to continue the discussions on the Iberescena program, run by the Iberamerican General Secretariat (SEGIB), which aims to promote the mobilization of Iberamerican artists among the member countries. more >
ARTS COUNCIL OPENING LIAISON OFFICE IN INDIA
On 8 January 2007, Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council, is opening a liaison office in New Delhi, India, its first in Asia and its fourth overall after Cape Town, Cairo and Warsaw. more >
Academic fears ministers will control arts body
Leading cultural academic Philip Schlesinger has launched a broadside against new arts body Creative Scotland, raising fears over its autonomy from ministers and claiming its formation is a "convenient" way to cut quango numbers. more >
Cultural Policy in El Salvador
El Salvador has a network called Casas de La Cultura, government centres that offer cultural programmes and stimulate local artists. more >
AVANZA LA CONSTRUCCIÓN DEL ESPACIO ESCÉNICO IBEROAMERICANO, IBERESCENA
El pasado 14 y 15 de diciembre se reunieron en Buenos Aires las autoridades de artes escénicas de Argentina, Colombia, Chile, España y Venezuela para dar continuidad al programa Iberescena que apoya la circulación de artistas entre los países miembros y que es dirigido por la Secretaria General Iberoamericana (Segib) con sede en España. more >
COLOMBIA ESTÁ PREPARANDO EL PRIMER FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE TEATRO INFANTIL Y JUVENIL
En Bogotá se abrirá el telón para el Primer Festival Internacional de Teatro Infantil y Juvenil, entre el 7 y el 22 de julio de 2007. Se contará con espectáculos, artistas y compañías profesionales de teatro de Colombia y del resto del mundo que tienen propuestas innovadoras y de alta calidad artística. more >
MONUMENTA LAUNCHED
From 2007, the Grand Palais in Paris will become the venue for a new, annual contemporary art event initiated by France's Ministry of Culture and Communications. more >
Coming to a town near you: national museums
What's happening is nothing less than a revolution in federal museum policy. more >
£1.2m funding puts everyone in the frame for a bit of culture
A series of arts projects involving the very young, elderly, disadvantaged and isolated in Scotland has been launched to test the idea of "cultural entitlements". more >
Website opens up discreet Arts Council Collection
For years the Arts Council Collection has been a mysterious entity. Formed in 1946 and built up through taxpayers' money, it has no permanent home beyond a discreet storage facility in London and another in Yorkshire, both inaccessible to the public. more >
An unpalatable truth
Scottish art lovers are a fickle bunch. They aren't afraid to engage with difficult contemporary work when it's displayed in public galleries ... but when it comes to buying art for themselves, they suddenly come over all traditional. more >
The international who's who in cultural policy, planning and research >