International News in 2007
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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 2007
Cultural Democracy Vital
The Chairman of the African Union Commission Alpha Omar Konare launched the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance at the official opening of the First Pan African Cultural congress of the African Union held on November 13, 2006 at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. more >
Adoption for art lovers
Instead of writing a check, an art lover writes from the heart about a work – and the artist takes it in exchange for art. more >
Quiet libraries morphing into busy community hubs
It's business as usual at the library — but it's a new type of business. The quiet buildings once devoted solely to reading and research have become busy community hubs. more >
Can culture be China's next export?
As China's economy has continued its double-digit growth, entrepreneurs are beginning to ask if the country's rich cultural heritage backed by 5,000 years of history would be translated into products of universal appeal? more >
Where are the black visitors in my gallery?
The National Gallery is not just for the white middle class, it is for people of all races. The trick is to entice them inside. more >
Bridging the Generation Gap in Arts and Culture Leadership: Taking the First Steps
This is the second of two articles on the generational transitioning of leadership in the arts. more >
Call for trust to run capital culture
A single cultural trust should be created to fund and oversee theatres, galleries, and even festivals in the Scottish capital, the city's departing director of leisure and culture has urged. more >
Swiss extend cultural links with India
The Swiss Arts Council, Pro Helvetia, hopes to foster a strong cultural exchange with India with the opening of a liaison office in New Delhi on Monday. more >
American director's theater foray into China
Drama in Beijing is no longer only the preserve of the top-billing, professional artists at the Peking Opera House. Community theater has come to Beijing -- and in English. more >
Former Cuban officials resurface, enrage artists
Cuban officials who purged cultural circles in the 1960s and '70s have reappeared in public, causing outrage among the island's intellectuals and artists. more >
Palestinian International Arts Academy sees light
The Palestinian International Arts Academy, the first in the region, has become a reality after four years of anticipation and Palestinian artists can now pay their dues to their society through artwork presented in a creative and innovative atmosphere. more >
U.S. Overseas Image Gets New Focus
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will announce today the creation of a new annual award to honor a company, academic institution or other nongovernmental entity that does the most to promote the U.S. image abroad through intercultural understanding, State Department officials said. more >
ARMENIAN PRESIDENT, MINISTER OF CULTURE DISCUSS SITUATION IN SECTOR OF CULTURE
Armenian President Robert Kocharian and Minister of Culture and Youth Affairs Hasmik Poghosyan have met to discuss the situation in the sector of culture and steps to improve it. more >
Teaching English bardly
The Bard may soon return to Queensland schools as the Federal Government considers making Shakespeare compulsory for English students. more >
Youth Theatre is Growing in Leaps And Bounds
Various national youth theatre projects are to be implemented this year by Assitej-Namibia (Organization of Theatre for Children and Young People), it was announced by the executive committee of the organization. more >
Do You Culture?
Do you culture? Do you care? Does it challenge? Does it change? What is the role of culture in 21 st century Malta? What does the future hold for Maltese artists? more >
An artful dilemma
The Israeli government is struggling with a measure that would promote the cultural exchange of artworks and artifacts from abroad. more >
Skills for Arts Managers: A Local Point of View
What does a Lithuanian drama club and a German intercultural project or a Polish hospital foundation with a Finish dance company have in common? more >
St Patrick’s Festival man is Irish arts policy adviser
Irish arts minister John O’Donoghue has appointed a new arts policy consultant, his third in a little more than two years. more >
UK Government under fire over plans to slash museum budgets
Government plans to slash museum and art gallery budgets will set institutions back a decade, leading art-world figures have claimed. more >
EU rules changes on '07 horizon
After years of political wrangling, plans to overhaul EU audiovisual and media rules are expected to finally complete their convoluted journey through the European decision-making machine by the middle of this year. more >
£1billion needed to keep the finest works of art in Britain
The Government is being urged to set up a £1 billion emergency art fund to ensure that 25 of Britain's most prestigious paintings are not sold abroad. more >
Predecessor’s grievances haunt Tehran Symphony Orchestra conductor
Nearly two years since the resignation of former Tehran Symphony Orchestra conductor Ali Rahbari, the current conductor is complaining about the same things that caused Rahbari to quit: financial problems! more >
Bloomberg and Council Change Arts Financing
Declaring that they had wearied of their annual dance over arts financing, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the City Council announced yesterday that they would make more money available to arts groups, award it on a merit basis and widen a peer-review process to level the playing field. more >
India's art market booming
The auction market for Indian art alone was worth $150 million last year, up from $52 million the year before. more >
The homeless home of Scottish theatre
The National Theatre of Scotland has had a fantastic debut year, but is that because of, or despite the fact that it doesn't have a building of its own? more >
Hopes for Brandis as breath of fresh air
Calling one's prime minister a "lying rodent" shows considerable courage and flair - two qualities admired by the arts community. more >
Ontario report urges help for artists
The median income of arts workers in Ontario is $10,000 a year. Can the new Report on the Socio-Economic Status of the Artist in Ontario, written for the Ministry of Culture under the aegis of arts lawyer Aaron Milrad, change that? more >
Czech President appoints Jehlicka new culture minister
Czech President Vaclav Klaus appointed senator Vaclav Jehlicka (Christian Democrats, KDU-CSL) new culture minister. more >
French Cultural Policy: A healthy economy is the cause, not effect, of a healthy cultural sector
Adrian Ellis' view on a series of measures announced by French Minister of Culture designed to boost the vitality of the contemporary visual arts scene in France. more >
February 2007
Waiting for the axe to fall
The most worrying aspect of the coming Ice Age is the way it has split the arts into rival camps, performing and visual, and sundered London from the rest of the country. more >
Indian city seeks transformation through arts festival
Can an arts festival transform an entire city? In Europe, certainly. Cannes, Salzburg and Edinburgh have all benefited enormously — in jobs, tourism and image — from being branded as festival cities. So why not also Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, India's largest state? more >
A Vision in the Desert
Abu Dhabi is on the verge of an audacious leap. Over the next decade or so it aims to become one of the great cultural centers of the Middle East: the heir, in its way, to cosmopolitan cities of old like Beirut, Cairo and Baghdad. more >
Massive Cairo book fair sets religious tone
At the Cairo Book Fair, the largest and most important event of its kind in the Arab world, religious works dominate, while literature and scientific texts are often pushed to the margins. more >
Hong Kong ADC Launches New Awards
The Hong Kong Arts Development Council (ADC) is aiming to “enhance the social status of arts practitioners” with a new set of Arts Development Awards. more >
The revolution will not be satirised
How can theatre tell the truth if it can't criticise? How can dancers perform if they can't touch? Brian Logan travels to Iran to see how its artists tackle taboos and censorship. more >
Barbican chief Tusa joins Tory taskforce
Sir John Tusa, widely respected for having turned round the fortunes of London's Barbican centre, is to lead a new Conservative taskforce on the arts. more >
National Arts Council Should Replace The BNCC
The Botswana National Cultural Council, as it currently stands, is outmoded, superfluous and redundant. more >
Indie Music Takes on the Majors
If indie music were a major label, it would be the biggest in the world - and in a way, that's what's about to happen. more >
Musiga Chairman Challenges Country's Musicians
A Chairman of the Musicians' Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) laments that a lack of appropriate cultural development strategies and funding has undermined the capacity to fully exploit the cultural potential of African music. more >
Cultural Agencies See Boost From Bush Budget
The federal cultural agencies and museums received solid support yesterday from the White House in the proposed budget for fiscal 2008. more >
Ancient Temples Face Modern Assault
A rapid rise in tourism is overwhelming Cambodia's ability to protect fragile sites. more >
Just pay the piano player
It's Use It or Lose It time for the artists of Canada. more >
Italy increases arts spending
Italy has upped arts funding 17% to a total Euros 441 million ($573 million) for 2007 in the first tangible sign of the center-left government's more pro-arts stance compared with the days when Silvio Berlusconi ran the country. more >
Cultural property advice portal sets sale online
If you are thinking of buying or selling art, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) has created a website that should be every art and antiques enthusiast’s first port of call. more >
Cultural Policy of Belize
The Latin American country along the bay of Honduras – the Maya name of which means 'muddy water' – has a relatively well organised cultural policy. more >
Surreptitious Snapshots
The proliferation of digital cameras is changing the museum experience for visitors and the institutions themselves. more >
INCD MEMBERSHIPS DRIVE
The International Network for Cultural Diversity (INCD) has issued an urgent call for members. more >
AGENDA 21 WORKING GROUP REPORTS
United Cities and Local Governments Working Group on Culture adopted two documents at its meeting on 24 October 2006 in Barcelona. more >
Oscar quartet plead for more theatre subsidy
Britain's finest hopes for the Oscars - Dames Helen Mirren and Judi Dench, director Stephen Frears and writer Patrick Marber - are calling on the government to continue its support for British theatre. more >
Culture Ministry And Agents Sign Financial Agreements
The Ministry of Culture and national cultural agents Thursday signed financial contracts in the light of State's programme of support to artistic cultural activities of 2006. more >
Accounting for taste
What's behind the Arts Council's anniversary appeal for a 'national debate'? more >
Armenian diaspora invited to church opening
Turkey has invited members of the Armenian diaspora and Armenian religious leaders to the opening of a restored ancient Armenian church in April. more >
Human knowledge eroded as endangered languages die
"The extinction of ideas we now face has no parallel in human history," says K. David Harrison in the book "When Languages Die," more >
Cities of no culture
The inspirational role of town halls in bringing art to the people is rapidly becoming a dim memory more >
Art Cash Plea
Bahrain Information Minister Dr Mohammed Abdul Ghaffar is asking the government for more money to spend on promoting arts. more >
New publication gives global voice to Vietnamese artists
Aart, a new publication chronicling and promoting contemporary art in Viet Nam, has been released in HCM City by Mogas Station, a collective of international artists based in the city. more >
His pitch for the arts has kept NEA alive
Dana Gioia has made education programs the top priority for the once-embattled agency. more >
It's curtain up on Edinburgh's campaign to retain arts body
Leaders from the business and arts worlds joined forces with politicians today to launch a campaign to keep Scotland's main arts body in the Capital. more >
Arts Organizations Adjust to Decline in Funding
Arts groups are going to increasing lengths to secure marketing support. more >
Country Dances to Dar's Tune
Officials of Kenya's presidential Music Commission are currently studying Tanzania's music policy in the hope of incorporating sections of it in a final draft of a proposed policy of its own. more >
Americans for the Arts to survey arts environment
On February 13, CEO Robert L. Lynch announced "a strategic planning initiative that will have a significant impact on the future of the arts" — a comprehensive scan of the arts landscape, to see how well they've done, and find out what yet needs to be accomplished. more >
Giving Europe a Soul?
In a speech delivered at the conference "A Soul for Europe," German filmmaker Wim Wenders says Europeans must believe in the power of their own imagery. more >
Drama despite the Establishment
At last December's press conference heralding this year's Tokyo International Arts Festival, Artistic Director Sachio Ichimura was in a less than festive mood. more >
Why a clean-up would be a clear-out
The art market is the last significant unregulated market in the UK and the US, subject to only the most rudimentary oversight. more >
20th Arts Advocacy Day to be held in Washington DC
In March, arts advocates from all over the country will gather in the nation's capital for two days of workshops, presentations, and visits to members of Congress to lobby for increased public funding for the arts. more >
Arts venues fear ‘devastating’ cuts
Arts Council England has drawn up secret plans for sharp cuts in funding to theatres, galleries and music venues. more >
400 years later, opera looks to the next act
European opera managers and directors gathered in Paris to address the central question: What is opera's place in the 21st century? more >
Tchaikovsky Goes to the Cineplex
Movie theater simulcasts by the Metropolitan Opera have created a new, hybrid form of entertainment, says Philip Kennicott, "and so the scattered but substantial audience for a very old and elite art form is suddenly made manifest, to itself and to the rest of the world, by gathering in theaters designed for mass entertainment." more >
INTER-AMERICAN COMMITTEE ON CULTURE UNVEILS AMBITIOUS PROGRAMS
An ambitious hemispheric agenda for culture will examine effective culture and arts programs from around the Americas that help young people resist the allure of gangs. more >
MEPs to criticise 'big-bang' policy on music rights
MEPs in the European Parliament's legal affairs committee are set to adopt a report on collective cross-border management of copyright saying a "big-bang" style introduction of competition into the collective management of authors' rights could damage cultural diversity in Europe. more >
March 2007
Why should artists be agents for the government?
Did you know America has a Hip Hop Ambassador appointed by The US Department of State? Or that the ice skater Michelle Kwan holds the office of American Public Diplomacy Envoy? You can now rest at night, knowing the future of the world is taken care of with skating and rapping. Soon a similarly influential role could be coming to an artist or cultural organisation near you. more >
'Inside the wire'
The pressures of confinement in Guantánamo Bay have led many in the controversial detention camp to turn to poetry. But American authorities are very reluctant to let the world see them. more >
Of poetry and princes
It's no longer compulsory for western poets to starve in garrets, but they are expected to survive on meagre advances and the occasional public handout. In the United Arab Emirates, this Romantic image of poetic poverty holds little sway. more >
Blair's speech on the arts in full
Tony Blair delivered a wide-ranging speech on cultural policy at London's Tate Modern earlier this month. This is the full text. more >
B.C. arts groups to get $6.5M for new works
A public-private partnership called Arts Partners in Creative Development will give British Columbia arts organizations $6.5 million in new funding over the next three years. more >
Policy by donor countries
What part does culture play in the development cooperation policy of the various donor countries? more >
Cultural Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago: A Lesson for Nigeria
Dr. Biko Agozino offers a few tips for "cultural industries" in Africa. more >
Global capital of culture
The past 10 years have been a golden age for British arts, and Blair can take some credit. more >
CULTURE MINISTER SAYS MUSEUMS ARE HEART OF UK CULTURAL RENAISSANCE
Less than a week after Prime Minister Tony Blair hailed the success of Britain's creative economy and the arts, Culture Minister David Lammy has made a speech placing the nation’s museums at the heart of the UK’s 'cultural renaissance'. more >
Metropolitan Museum Will Let Art Historians Use High-Quality Digital Images Free
The Metropolitan Museum of Art unveiled today a long-awaited program that will make high-resolution digital images of works in its collection freely available to scholars. more >
Educators charge arts lag under No Child Left Behind
Critics say that No Child Left Behind, the massive education reform act that President Bush signed into law in 2002, has "left behind" arts education. more >
Congress holds first hearing on arts funding in 12 years
Jazz musician Wynton Marsalis, actor Chris Klein and BET co-founder Sheila Johnson pressed Congress on Tuesday to restore funding for the arts to levels from 15 years ago - before those funds were slashed. more >
Arts Management, Capacity Building Vital for Cultural Sector
The cultural conference that was held on Goree Island off Senegal last week identified four primary concerns that need urgent attention if the African cultural sector is to make much headway. more >
Brazilian Government Invests in Culture of Hip-Hop
An official government program that is helping to spread hip-hop culture across a vast nation of 185 million people. more >
Online skills site finds a creative new home
ProjectsETC - the information-sharing site for people creating digital projects - will be taken over by Creative & Cultural Skills (CC Skills) when Culture Online closes at the end of March 2007. more >
In French campaign, artists have little to say
Is culture losing its political clout in France? That may seem a bit of a stretch, since the government still pours €2.9 billion into the arts every year — or 30 times the budget of the National Endowment for the Arts in the United States. more >
Americans for the Arts Lobbies Congress for Increased Arts Funding
At the first congressional hearing on arts funding in twelve years, D.C.-based Americans for the Arts called on the federal government to restore funding of the National Endowment for the Arts to levels not seen since the 1990s. more >
Art world looks to Asia for painters and patrons
Art collectors, dealers and auction houses are increasingly looking east for inspiration and investment opportunities, eyeing the rising stars of Asian painting as well as the region's super-rich patrons. more >
Arts purse strings loosened ahead of federal budget
Canada's Heritage Minister Bev Oda has made a flurry of arts funding announcements in the past week, ahead of Monday's federal budget. more >
Kenya Drawing Up Patent List
Kenya has began drawing a list of artefacts it wants patented by a United Nations agency to ward off increased intellectual piracy from the developed world. more >
A battle to confine art treasures within city limits
Recent deals have revealed a struggle over the ownership of community-beloved art. more >
Kilts won't be obligatory if it controls culture budgets, says SNP
Will the arts become a battleground during this May's election? What would Scottish cultural policy look like if the SNP could indeed forge a governing coalition? more >
Art Boom? What Art Boom? Collectors Head to Japan for Bargains
Here is the scorecard for the recent contemporary art auctions around the world: New York, $240 million; London, $229 million; Hong Kong, $67 million; Tokyo, $1.1 million. How can this be? more >
Iranian Academy of Arts to submit to UNESCO declaration against “300”
The Iranian Academy of Arts has prepared a declaration against onscreen Hollywood production of “300” to offer the UNESCO. more >
Diversity Makes the Difference
Europe’s cultural sector has called for cultural cooperation between the EU and third countries to form a strong part of EU foreign policy. more >
Sofia Hosts Meeting of Culture Ministers Council from SE Europe
Culture plays a key role in the EU integration of the countries from Southeast Europe and in the Balkan region as a whole, Bulgaria's PM Sergey Stanishev said at the opening of the meeting of the Council of Culture ministers. more >
Museums are Theatres
Museums are no longer ivory towers, but local theatres open to the community, claim French economists. more >
Cultural diversity? A pipe dream
The UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions entered into force on March 18. Rüdiger Wischenbart gives a quick overview of the realities behind translation. more >
ACE demands rise in Treasury funding after Olympics bruising
Arts Council England chief executive Peter Hewitt has warned that, following the loss of more than £100 million of arts funding to the 2012 Olympics, the culture sector needs a real terms funding rise in the forthcoming spending round to avoid a “return to the days of boom and bust”. more >
Leaving Room for the Troublemakers
The more successful a museum grows, the more elitist it tends to become. more >
`Golden Era' for the Arts Will End After Blair: Norman Lebrecht
The U.K. has fostered a mixed economy in which state funding, corporate and individual sponsorship and box office provide roughly equal thirds of the revenue of major arts institutions. That happy equation is about to change with the waning of the Blair regime. more >
Museums Increasingly Receiving More Than Just Art
In years past, museum directors could be confident that when a patron called to discuss an in-kind gift, it was to talk about donating a work of art. more >
Canadian artists celebrate Canada Council birthday
Some of the country's best known artists are in Ottawa paying tribute to the Canada Council for the Arts on its 50th anniversary and sharing stories about how the agency helped them get to where they are today. more >
Battle for Venice Exhibition Space
French billionaire Francois Pinault and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation are neck and neck in the race to turn a disused Venice customs building into a contemporary-arts center. more >
Artistes Urged to Plough Back Into Communities
Artists should plough back into the communities rather than being perceived as hapless and helpless people in perennial need of assistance, National Arts Council of Zimbabwe deputy director Elvas Mari has said. more >
Joburg lands World Arts Summit
Johannesburg has won the bid to host the fourth World Summit on Arts and Culture in 2009. more >
I am the Ministry
Culture Ministry Director General Eitan Broshi insists he has no political agenda. Others beg to differ. more >
Oda defends museum policy
Conservative government is standing by its policy that the nation's museums need to stop expecting public money to be available whenever they need it. more >
New Music Economics (Part 3): Keeping Up With the Rent
Orchestras are frequently criticized for not playing enough new music. But less attention is focused on the cost of such "adventurous programming," both from the viewpoint of orchestras renting new scores and the publishers and composers producing them. more >
National Cultural Policy Document Launched
Zimbabweans should venture into manufacturing of cultural products to save foreign currency being used in the importation of the commodities, Vice President Joice Mujuru has said. more >
This Arts Council cut will devastate theatre
Two weeks ago it was announced that £675million of lottery funding would be diverted from the arts in order to pay for the Olympics, but nobody realised quite how quickly and painfully the cuts would start to bite. Now we do, and it hurts a great deal. more >
Visa costs threaten to silence visiting musicians
Foreign musicians hoping to perform in the UK are running up against a slew of exorbitant new visa fees. more >
April 2007
India ratifies Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention
India's Tourism and Culture Minister, Ambika Soni, has welcomed and enthusiastically ratified the Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention. more >
Zimbabwe German Society Brings Artists Together
The Zimbabwe German Society is rapidly becoming a Festpielhaus for artists from Zimbabwe and those laden with the cultures and traditions of Germany and other countries. more >
Nations urged to preserve traditions and customs
The first Regional Meeting for the Arab States on Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage got under way on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair yesterday, bringing countries together to encourage the preservation of traditions, beliefs and customs. more >
The future of American opera finds its roots in the heartland
The cost and logistical difficulty of presenting opera used to mean that only the largest metropolises could afford to put on anything innovative or impressive. But times are changing. more >
First Gulf Art Fair lays the foundations
The desert emirate of Dubai has a seven-star hotel, an indoor ski slope, the world’s biggest shopping mall—and soon the tallest building. Work goes on round the clock to construct three off-shore residential complexes, one of which replicates the globe in a series of islands. All the place needed was an art fair, and now it has that too. more >
UNESCO MEETING OF EXPERTS ON INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE CONVENTION CONCLUDES
A UNESCO meeting of experts on Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Convention has concluded in Dehli. more >
Arts Council of England's Grants Budget Cut by More Than One-Third
The Arts Council of England has had its budget for grants — that is, the government money given to large and small organization alike to support their operations and programming — cut by 35%, effective April 1. more >
Global Conference Tackles Kenyan Arts
Kenyan literature and culture was the subject of various panels at this year's African Literature Association. more >
Intelligent art is a foolish concept
Why does the art world still measure artistic talent in academic terms? more >
State funding breathes life back into arts
A few years back, many state coffers were bare. When budgets had to be slashed, arts funding was one of the biggest casualties. Now that money is coming back — and it has everything to do with local economics. more >
Arts supremo attacks Brown over funding
National Gallery director hits out at Treasury for its failure to help protect artworks in the UK. more >
The perils of everything-but- the-kitchen-sink drama
In its funding priorities for 2007-2011, the Arts Council has decided to "give particular emphasis to experimental practice and interdisciplinary practice, circus and street arts". more >
Shake-up behind closed doors
Two months into her new job as Australia Council chief executive, Kathy Keele needs no convincing of the importance of small to medium arts companies in Australia more >
Proposal for an indigenous art database
The federal government should adopt a national online database system to crack down on indigenous art fraud, a Senate committee has heard. more >
Goverment to assist film makers
The Barbados film industry stands to benefit from a new structure of assistance coming from government. more >
Cultural treasures on lists to be protected in war
The Government is drawing up lists of New Zealand's most important cultural treasures so they can be protected in time of war. more >
The Arts Council must act like a partner - not a parent
Artists are finding it hard to trust the Arts Council, but it's not too late to repair the relationship. more >
China publishes dictionary of intangible cultural heritage
The Encyclopedia of China's Intangible Cultural Heritage was published Friday, using more than 3,000 pictures and 600,000 Chinese characters. more >
Teachers Urged to Promote Art Education
The Deputy Minister of Education this week encouraged greater understanding and appreciation for arts and handicrafts, as well as the importance of culture in the country's education system. more >
Long-Term Arts Agreement Signed
Bank Windhoek has signed a 15-year agreement with Namibia's National Art Gallery. more >
Debate focuses on a bright future for Scotland's arts
Plans to launch Creative Scotland as a super arts body and the threat to Edinburgh's festivals from other cities were two topics debated at a cultural hustings at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh. more >
Hello, 'cultural diversity' – goodbye, sovereignty
A new U.N. treaty entered into force on March 18, 2007: the "Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions." more >
The charge that Labour is philistine is absurd
After a week of criticism, the Culture Secretary comes out fighting in defence of arts funding. more >
Royalty Resale Scheme dismissed by art dealers
Art dealers say a royalty for artists whose work is re-sold for higher prices would be a bureaucratic waste of time. more >
High-tech battle against fakes
Can a new labelling system stop fraud in Aboriginal art? more >
Is Ghana a victim of cultural imperialsim?
It is in the general interest of the United States to encourage the development of a world in which the fault lines separating nations are bridged by shared interests. more >
New Director of Culture sets agenda
The new director of culture wants the image of culture to be revamped and is preparing to draft a policy that would spell out a new direction. more >
Business urged to help arts
ANZ chief economist Saul Eslake says business should start directing its generosity to the arts instead of sport. more >
I’m sick to death of meddling philistines
Government arts policy is forged by ignorant bureaucrats and posturing barbarians, writes the furious Barbican chief. more >
Copyrighting culture: Tulalips assert rights to stories
The World Intellectual Property Rights Organization wants to use Tulalip law as a model for other indigenous groups worldwide. more >
Arts leaders turn on Jowell over Olympics
Some UK senior arts and sports administrators warned that cuts in lottery funding to pay for the Olympics would undermine the future of their institutions and actually reduce participation in sport. more >
Artists Voice Anger Over 'Impracticality' of Copyright Law
Hundreds of artists, publishers and producers of Ethiopian music have staged an unprecedented demonstration to complain over the ineffectiveness of copyright law. more >
$33-million spent – and no one's happy
Organizations are critical about how Canada Council distributed special funds. more >
First Annual National Arts Policy Roundtable Recommendations
Research in the USA suggests that the arts are in the midst of a major shift in how nonprofit organizations are supported. more >
Free entry is still just the ticket
Steep declines in visitor numbers to Swedish museums show that paid entry is not the answer to current money troubles. more >
Zimbabwe All Set for Disbursement of Culture Funds
Preparations for the disbursement of culture funds are at an advanced stage, an official has said. more >
Payment sparked right royalty controversy in global art scene
The Ministry of Culture's Resale Royalty Rights Discussion Paper revives debate in the arts/law field technically known as droit de suite. more >
Arts Council Gets New Seven-Member Board
The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe has a new seven-member board that will oversee the affairs of the council for the next three years. more >
Bill encourages artists’ donations (again)
For the fifth consecutive session of the US Congress, a bill has been introduced that would allow artists to deduct the fair market value of works of their own creation from their taxes, if they donate them to museums and libraries. more >
Cash for cultural festivals at centre of funding flap
Federal Tories are denying a "boondoggle" over a summer sponsorship program for local arts and culture festivals announced in the March budget. more >
Angola, Cuba Sign Protocol in Artistic-Cultural Training
Angolan and Cuban Ministries of Culture have signed a cooperation accord in the domain of artistic-cultural training, seeking the transmission of knowledge to future teachers of the county`s cultural subjects teaching institutions. more >
Culture Sector Neglected
Cultural issues are not being given enough attention in Uganda, the Amakula's East African Congress coordinator has noted. more >
Keep Moving
One museum's solution to the problem of crowds. more >
Swiss Muslims plan giant Islamic centre
One of the largest Islamic cultural centres in Europe could be constructed in the Swiss capital, Bern. more >
Nonprofit Arts Groups Face Leadership Gap as Boomers Retire, Study Finds
Nonprofit arts organizations must act now to forestall a looming leadership crisis that will occur as the current generation of arts administrators and volunteers starts to retire, a new report has found. more >
STAFF ARE CONED OFF FROM CHATTING
Scottish Executive staff have been ordered to put a yellow plastic cone on their desks - to stop colleagues speaking to them if they are busy. more >
May 2007
What happened to dance under Blair?
Our venues are shinier than ever, but the recent cuts in funding could spell disaster for the next generation of dance talent. more >
Artwork - Tool for Fighting Food Insecurity
Artwork is emerging as a pivotal aspect of winning the war against hunger. more >
Can culture dictate the way we see?
A new study suggests that culture may shape the way our brains process visual information. more >
Raising Japan's Cool Quotient
Japan, long admired for its manufacturing excellence, is boosting its cultural influence globally by exporting its particular brand of hip. more >
New International Initiative: Museums & Community Collaborations Abroad
The American Association of Museums (AAM) is pleased to announce a new partnership in cultural diplomacy with the US Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), called Museums & Community Collaborations Abroad (MCCA). more >
Better protection for performing artists working outside their home country
The employment conditions for performing artists who move around Europe as part of their work should be improved, and they should be better informed on how to transfer their social rights, says the Culture Committee in a report adopted on Monday calling for better protection for artists and the introduction of a special electronic social security card. more >
Government to Stop Sponsoring Arts Courses
Uganda's leading university "may soon have no arts students admitted". more >
Tunes That Pay
Just as the rapid growth of piracy and illegal online downloading appeared to be strangling the music industry, a share rise in publishing has thrown a vital lifeline to the recording industry. more >
Uniting People Around Culture
The uniqueness of African culture is in gradual decline. more >
Culture department ‘is wasting millions renting swanky offices across London’
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is wasting millions of pounds on lavish offices at some of the best addresses in London. more >
Saving libraries from extinction
In many countries, libraries are being closed because of a lack of resources. Jay Jordan is promising to save them from extinction, but to do so he is planning to completely change the way the library is constituted. more >
Cultural Policy of Papua New Guinea
Ever since Papua New Guinea gained independence from Australia in 1975, the country's government has faced a complicated challenge: which language will unify the country? more >
Do not neglect culture
The Rand Corporation's recently published 'The Beginner's Guide to Nation-Building' covers the basics with clarity and objectivity, but contains almost nothing about what is clearly the Achilles heel of recent nation-building adventures: culture. more >
Ottawa eyes new copyright, museums policies
The federal Department of Canadian Heritage is planning a new museums policy and revamping the nation's copyright law. more >
City plans to fall for free arts events again
For the second straight year, arts organizations in Baltimore plan to offer free performances, lectures, exhibitions, workshops and other creative experiences in the fall. more >
Rock 'n' roll PM: Blair's cultural legacy
Ten years after Tony Blair's first election win, we perhaps forget how much the cultural mood music of government changed. more >
Nicholas Motsatse about the World Arts Summit in Johannesburg
The eyes of the culture world are on South Africa as the country prepares to host the fourth World Summit on Arts and Culture in 2009. more >
The gift that keeps on giving
The Royal Opera House's new £10m endowment shows the way forward for the arts - a future in which there’s no need to rely on state handouts. more >
State Too Dumb to Respect the Arts
There are hardly any governments which can claim to have "the soul" - or the heart - to appreciate good art, music, literature or drama. more >
12 nations put on copyright piracy list
China, Russia and 10 other nations are targeted by the Bush administration for failing to sufficiently protect American producers of music, movies and other copyrighted material from widespread piracy. more >
Jordan, Japan discuss cultural cooperation
Japanese Cultural Attaché, Amman Susumu Yamashita, has expressed his country’s desire to contribute to celebration marking Irbed the “City of the Jordanian Culture” as one of the projects that move cultural activities to areas outside the capital city of Amman. more >
Iranian culture minister meets Tajik counterpart
The Culture Ministers of Iran and Tajikistan have met to discuss ways to boost cultural cooperation. more >
A Cultural Crossroad for Romania and Bulgaria
What is the role of state support for this sector today and is there any promising future? This and other questions were put to prominent artists, arts managers, curators, researchers and policy-makers from Romania and Bulgaria. more >
TURKMENISTAN: WHERE AUTHORITIES EMPHASIZE THE CULT IN CULTURE
Despite its inconsistencies, the goal of Turkmen cultural policy has always been clear: to establish a uniform myth of national identity that is closely identified with the country’s dictatorial first president, Saparmurat Niyazov. more >
Are you a network junkie?
Many cross-European cultural networks have moved quickly to extend their online presence, but this has had the side-effect of throwing a considerable amount of information into the public domain in an unregulated fashion under the name of 'knowledge', when it is really only 'data'. more >
NEW ARTS FUNDING PROGRAM TO FAN INNOVATION AND RENEWAL
The Beattie Government has announced a new funding program for small to medium arts organisations to further strengthen and develop this vibrant component of the arts industry. more >
Government Clarifies On Sponsorship of Arts
The Ministry of Education and Sports has refuted press reports that the government will stop sponsoring arts courses. more >
Amateur hours
When everybody is an artist, what happens to the art? more >
Sarkozy backs France's "unique cultural identity"
French President Nicolas Sarkozy promised on Sunday to maintain state support for France's cinema industry and pledged to keep up the country's traditional notion of its own "unique cultural identity". more >
Minister Launches Culture Week
The arts and cultural industries are critical in nation building as they enable us to have a sense of belonging by motivating us to define ourselves as a people, uniting and rallying us towards a shared vision, a Cabinet minister has said. more >
Entertainers Day proposed
The Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry has suggested that the Government set aside a “Hari Seniman” (Entertainers Day) to mark the contributions of those in the entertainment industry. more >
ALBANEL APPOINTED MINISTER OF CULTURE
Newly elected French president Nicolas Sarkozy has named Christine Albanel as minister of culture. more >
State Committed to Funding Museums
Government is committed to the funding and development of museums at all levels, Manicaland Governor and Resident Minister Cde Tinaye Chigudu has said. more >
The Obasanjo Years: Motion without movement for arts, entertainment
Akintayo Abodunrin appraises arts and entertainment during the eight years of the Obasanjo government and concludes that it has not been a sweet tale for the sector. more >
New Resource on Laws for Protection of Traditional Culture
A new resource, accessible on the WIPO Website, provides a selection of national and regional laws, regulations and model laws on the protection of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions (expressions of folklore) against misappropriation and misuse as well as legislative texts relevant to IP and genetic resources. It also includes complementary resources, such as comparative tables of laws. more >