International News in January 2006
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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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
'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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
The international who's who in cultural policy, planning and research >