International News in April 2007
Show all of 2007
Business urged to help arts
ANZ chief economist Saul Eslake says business should start directing its generosity to the arts instead of sport. 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 >
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 >
$33-million spent – and no one's happy
Organizations are critical about how Canada Council distributed special funds. 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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
Culture Sector Neglected
Cultural issues are not being given enough attention in Uganda, the Amakula's East African Congress coordinator has noted. 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 >
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 >
Keep Moving
One museum's solution to the problem of crowds. 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 >
Swiss Muslims plan giant Islamic centre
One of the largest Islamic cultural centres in Europe could be constructed in the Swiss capital, Bern. 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 >
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 >
Goverment to assist film makers
The Barbados film industry stands to benefit from a new structure of assistance coming from government. 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 >
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 >
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 >
Arts supremo attacks Brown over funding
National Gallery director hits out at Treasury for its failure to help protect artworks in the UK. 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 >
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 >
Global Conference Tackles Kenyan Arts
Kenyan literature and culture was the subject of various panels at this year's African Literature Association. more >
High-tech battle against fakes
Can a new labelling system stop fraud in Aboriginal art? more >
Intelligent art is a foolish concept
Why does the art world still measure artistic talent in academic terms? more >
Long-Term Arts Agreement Signed
Bank Windhoek has signed a 15-year agreement with Namibia's National Art Gallery. 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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
The international who's who in cultural policy, planning and research >