International News in January 2009
Show all of 2009
Sir Christopher Frayling's valedictory lecture
The lecture, ‘Slaying the Sixth Giant: On being Chair of the Arts Council’, was chaired by TV presenter Kirsty Wark. The ‘Sixth Giant’ of the title refers to the aim sixty years ago of the newly founded welfare state to ‘slay the five giants of physical poverty’. The Arts Council set out to tackle the sixth giant, poverty of aspiration. more >
Parliament ratified 11 members of the Arts Council
Canadian government to boost arts funding
The conservative government of Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, which angered arts leaders last year with $45 million in cuts to arts funding, is trying to repair its relationship with cultural institutions, the Star (Toronto) reports. more >
Pakistan’s Pashtu artists flee Taliban repression
When his captors released famous Pashtu comedian Alamzeb Mujahid after a week of horror and humiliation in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan’s conflict-ridden North West Frontier Province, they gave him the lone choice of abandoning showbiz. more >
Artists look to federal stimulus packages for hope
Artists and the nonprofit organizations that employ them hope that funds will materialize in the economic stimulus package to boost hiring in creative fields. They are stating their case with ad-hoc online petition campaigns for the appointment of a national “arts czar” and for the arts to get 1 percent of any stimulus package. more >
Jerusalem: Capital of Arab Culture events jeopardized by occupation, political fragmentation
Jerusalem, Palestine's occupied capital, was designated the “Capital of Arab Culture” for 2009, but organizers are now finding that plans to hold the cultural festival in the city are near impossible due to Israeli access restrictions and organizational challenges more >
National Ballet entertains migrant workers and farmers for free
The National Ballet of China is staging free shows in response to a government call for quality entertainment for people on low incomes and in remote areas. more >
New ACT programmes supports South African creativity
This year the Arts and Culture Trust (ACT) celebrates 15 years of proudly supporting South African creativity. A strategic planning process by the ACT Board of Trustees has determined how ACT resources should be applied for maximum impact going forward. more >
Minister of Culture Debate
Ronald Bailey debated the former head of the National Endowment for the Humanities William Ferris about his proposal for a U.S. Minister of Culture. more >
Nigeria: Home At Last for Two Culture Institutes
The long drawn argument that trailed the establishment of the Institute for African Culture and International Understanging came to an end penultimate week with the formal launching of the Institute at the controversial Chief Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential library, Abeokuta, Ogun State. more >
Porto hosts international Culture and Creativity Forum
Next month the city of Porto, in Portugal, will host the Culture and Creativity Forum (FCC) 2009, the first official event of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation. more >
Bruised chief steps down bemoaning 'beer and skittles' level of debate
Sir Christopher Frayling calls for deeper discourse after five years of 'venom'. more >
Art of politics, heart of nation
On 15 January 2009 an exhibition opened on the premises of the European Council in Brussels to mark the beginning of the Czech Republic's six-month presidency of the European Union. The authors were, until the day of the launch, believed to be 27 artists from each of the EU's member-states, but media attention and political turmoil in Bulgaria forced the true - and single - author to declare his hoax on 13 January. more >
Artists call for Obama to create a Secretary of Culture
Music producer Quincy Jones is leading a call for president-elect Barack Obama to create a Cabinet-level post — perhaps a secretary of culture — for the arts and humanities, reports the Washington Post. more >
Arts funding is safe, Heritage Minister says
Two weeks before a hotly anticipated federal budget, Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore is preaching sustained cultural funding, saying the CBC's budget is safe and the Conservatives intend to deliver on their election promises despite the financial downturn. more >
ASEAN and partners discuss culture preservation
Culture management officers and specialists from ten ASEAN member nations, as well as China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK) gathered in Bangkok, Thailand on Jan. 13 for a forum on risk management for the conservation of cultural heritages. more >
Behind the curtain of Obama's arts policy
So far, we’ve seen only glimmers of how arts policy might look in the Obama administration. But Robert L. Lynch, head of Americans for the Arts, a nonprofit group that worked through the campaign season to give the arts a new political visibility, says he’s met with members of the Obama transition team and that nine proposals the group released Tuesday reflect where things are heading. more >
BHU boasts of biggest library in country
Head, department of Library and Information Science, BHU, Prof HN Prasad said that it is the regular use of upgraded and updated technologies in the library that have improved the services offered in the library. The National Mission for Manuscripts, ministry of culture, New Delhi has recently recognised the library as Manuscripts Conservation Centre for its rich collection. more >
Cambodia plans to regulate internet and blogging
Cambodia’s Ministry of Information is drafting a law that will extend the current print media regulations to other forms of media, including the internet. According to unofficial surveys, there are more than 70,000 regular Internet users in Cambodia today. more >
China selects top national museums
Eighty-three museums, including the Palace Museum, were selected from 149 applicants throughout China as National Level I Museums. "Rating museums is an effective way to enhance management of the museums," said Cai Wu, Minister of culture, at the award ceremony. more >
Cuban Culture in the Digital Era
Transdisciplinary specialists in Havana recently discussed equal access, new carriers of knowledge and digital security threats. more >
El Parlament ratifica a los 11 miembros del Consell de les Arts
El Parlament ha ratificado hoy el nombramiento de los 11 miembros del Consell de les Arts propuestos por el Presidente de la Generalitat, José Montilla. more >
EPA opens European market to entertainers
Experts in Jamaica's creative and cultural industry have said that the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between Cariforum countries (Caricom and the Dominican Republic) and the European Union (EU) has provided a tremendous opportunity for local professionals in the arts to penetrate the European market. more >
Farewell to Liapis as Hellenic Minister of Culture
Mihalis Liapis stepped down as the Hellenic Minister of Culture on January 8, 2009 after 16 months in office (press release). The incoming minister is Antonis Samaras. The speeches for the ceremony have been released. more >
Govt aims to attract international film production
The government last week urged the Ministry of Culture to do more to promote the Kingdom as a destination for international film crews as the ministry hopes to welcome growing numbers of foreign film productions. more >
How can the cultural sector survive the financial crisis?
The global financial crisis is already having a significant impact on philanthropic giving and non-profit organisations. more >
Illustration of Obama presented to the National Portrait Gallery
Los Angeles artist Shepard Fairey presented the original of his oft-copied illustration of Barack Obama — it's red, white and blue and contains the word "Hope" — to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., on Saturday. Copies of the image showed up on posters, coffee mugs, T-shirts, even hats during the presidential campaign. more >
Iranian culture minister meets Bahraini counterpart
Iran’s Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hossein Safar Harandi met with his newly appointed Bahraini counterpart on Monday. During his visit, Bahraini Minister of Culture and Information Sheikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa and Saffar Harandi discussed ways of extending cultural ties between the two countries. more >
La Cultura Cubana en la Era Digital
Especialistas transdiciplinarios discutieron sobre acceso equitativo, nuevos portadores de conocimiento y amenazas a la seguridad digital la semana pasada en Cuba en el Instituto de Investigación Cultural Juan Marinello. more >
Stakeholders puzzled at N2bn spending on Abuja Carnival
Stakeholders, including culture promoter and founder of African Refugee Foundation, Ambassador Segun Olusola said ‘I don’t think the Abuja Carnival can be reviewed on the basis of how much money was spent, but on how many people that took part in it, and its short and long term impact on cultural and tourism development. Money is not the indices to be used in this respect.” more >
The Dianne Haylock decision
The President of NICH (National Institute of Culture and Heritage), Dianne Haylock, has been at the center of a firestorm of controversy and yet, the likelyhood is, that her contact will be renewed on February 19th. more >
The Parliament ratifies the 11 members of the Arts Council
The Parliament ratified today the appointment of the Arts Council members nominated by José Montilla, the Generalitat’s President. more >
Threats to Greek Culture Minister with death
Greece’s newly appointed Minister of Culture Antonis Samaras has been receiving death threats since the moment he joined the new Greek government, Antena TV informs. There is a record distributed on the Internet, which says “You will die soon”. more >
Turksoy celebrating its anniversary in Ankara
The Joint Administration of Turkic Culture and Arts (TURKSOY) celebrated its 15th anniversary at the Bilkent Concert Hall in Ankara. The event was attended by Azerbaijan Minister for Culture and Tourism Abulfaz Garayev, and Head of the Azerbaijan Union of Writers Anar. more >
¿Cómo puede el sector cultural sobrevivir a la crisis financiera?
Está claro para todos que la crisis financiera global ya está teniendo un impacto significante en los donativos filantrópicos y las organizaciones sin ánimo de lucro. more >
4 centimeters long golden rod, stamp & other articles discovered from Lakhiyon-Jo-Daro
A four-centimeter long rod of gold, a stamp and other antique articles were discovered by the Archeology Department authorities on Friday during the digging of Lakhiyon-Jo-Daro, the city of nine thousand years old civilization. more >
Ad-free? Only in France
Urged by the government to break free from “the tyranny of audience ratings,” the five national public broadcasting channels took the singular step last week of eliminating all advertising after 8 p.m. By 2011, French public TV is supposed to go entirely commercial-free. more >
An Old, Bad Idea for the Arts
Why a cabinet-level czar wouldn't help them. more >
Arts industry wishes for new media, mentorship funds in federal budget
New media and mentorship programs for young people should benefit from new arts and cultural funding expected in federal budget to be delivered on Tuesday, said an industry group. more >
Arts leaders urge role for culture in economic recovery
As the Obama administration tackles the challenge of shoring up the economy through infusions of capital and job creation, cultural leaders are urging the president not to forget arts institutions, which are also reeling from the market downturn. more >
Arts need ‘urgent’ reassurance of funding in credit crunch
Arts industry chiefs are seeking urgent reassurance that culture secretary Andy Burnham will fight to maintain the current level of government spending, which is being threatened by the global financial meltdown. more >
Arts network for children and youth asks for email support for proposals to government
The Arts Network for Children and Youth has submitted “proposals” to the Federal Government for the “Stimulus Package” and the Province of Ontario’s “Standing Committee of Finance”. more >
ArtsPolicyNow
ArtsPolicyNow, a group of about 60 Downtowners, wants to use culture to help rebuild the country. more >
Australian writer who insulted Thai Monarchy shares prison cell with child molester, weapons dealer
Harry Nicolaides is not the first writer to be imprisoned for a passage he wrote, but the Australian, who was sentenced Monday to three years in a Thai prison, was surprised his self-published, semi-autobiographical debut novel was enough for an arrest. "The Land of Smiles," as Thailand promotes itself, ranks in the bottom third of world nations in Reporters Without Borders' 2008 Press Freedom Index.
more >
Baku to become capital of Islamic culture of 2009 from February
From February of this year Baku will be declared the capital of Islamic culture. Ministry of Culture and Tourism Firudun Gurbanov noted that the main topic of the meetings on February 18-19 at the ceremony of declaring Baku the capital of Islamic culture will be intercivilization and intercultural dialogue. more >
Bolshoi Theater nears re-opening
The main state of the Bolshoi Theater, one of the best known Russian landmarks, won't open its doors earlier than in late 2010, although the theater's management denies that the global downturn added to problems with financing the ambitious renovation project. more >
Cartoons show solidarity with Gaza
The Ministry of Culture held a cartoon exhibition last week at the Culture House expressing Yemeni solidarity with Gaza. The exhibition was opened by Minster of Culture, Dr. Mohammed al-Maflehi, who told Saba News Agency that the cartoon artists expressed their thoughts about events in Gaza and the silence of the Arab world through their work. more >
Celebrating Scottish culture
Scotland’s Minister for Culture, Strathaven-based MSP Linda Fabiani will be meeting young people at an event in Glasgow this Saturday to celebrate Scottish culture. more >
Change coming to the NEA
The $825 billion economic recovery package proposed by congressional Democrats last week includes a modest allocation for the National Endowment for the Arts, Artnet reports. Under the plan, the NEA will receive a $50 million boost to its current budget of $144.7 million. more >
Chinese troupes open Chinese New Year festivities in Bangkok
Select art troupes from China led by a Chinese culture deputy minister on Monday unveiled a series of festivities in Bangkok to celebrate Chinese New Year around Thailand. more >
Culture minister lauds crown prince support to national heritage
A pledge by crown prince and chairman of the economic development board (EDB) Shaikh Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa to protect national heritage, mainly Bahrain landmark archaeological mounds, which date back thousands of years, was highly acclaimed by the culture and information ministry. more >
Estonia and Russia sign cultural co-operation programme
Upon the invitation from the minister of culture Laine Jänes, minister of culture of the Russian Federation Aleksandr Avdejev is arriving in Estonia on Monday in order to sign the programme for cultural co-operation between Estonia and Russia for the years 2009-2011, writes the National Broadcasting/LETA. more >
FG wants speedy passage of 2009 budget
The Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation Senator Bello Jibrin Gada said in Abuja yesterday that government regretted its inability to execute many crucial projects in the 2008 fiscal year sequel to the delayed passage of the budget that year, promising the prompt passage of the 2009 for timely release of funds to its ministries and establishments for the execution of more crucial projects and services. more >
House Museum of Nariman Narimanov in Tbilisi to be repaired
The house museum of Nariman Narimanov in Tbilisi will be re-paired. The house museum collapsed in December 2008 during construction work by a foreign company. Narimanov Nariman (1887-1925) was a outstanding state person, a writer and a member of Bolshevik party since 1905. more >
Iran issues renewed warnings to BBC
Iran’s minister of Islamic Culture Mohammad Hossein Saffar Harandi voiced renewed warnings against the BBC Farsi-language television network following a cabinet meeting. more >
Iran to set up art galleries in Dubai, London
Iran will open art galleries in Dubai and London in the near future, the director of the Visual Office of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mahmud Shaluii told IRNA on Tuesday. more >
Joint MICA-MFA Statement: France and Singapore sign agreement on enhanced cultural cooperation
France and Singapore have signed a framework agreement to enhance cultural cooperation between the two countries. The agreement was signed in Paris by Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the French Republic Bernard Kouchner on 20 January 2009. more >
Music Industry eyes future at MIDEM
8,000 participants, spanning all sectors of the global music business, from over 80 countries left Cannes saying that MIDEM 2009 had served as a launching pad for them to examine new business models that embrace digital and that they are facing the future with confidence. more >
Music legend Pandit Bhajan Sopori awarded
Legendary Santoor Maestro and Music Composer Pandit Bhajan Sopori have been honoured with the prestigious "Baba Allaudin Khan Award". The award was presented to him in a glittering function in Delhi at India Habitat Center. more >
National art gallery gets a new wing with a view
The new wing of the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) was thrown open to Delhiites on Monday. The new wing, six times the space available at present in Jaipur House, was inaugurated by Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Also present was Union minister for culture and tourism Ambika Soni. more >
Now look here: let's set the agenda for 2009
Next week, Liz Forgan takes over as chair of Arts Council England - at a time when the financial crisis and the digital revolution are presenting serious challenges to Britain's artistic community. What should Forgan's priorities be? more >
President of India inaugurates National Folk Dance Festival ‘Lok Tarang’
The Union Ministry of Culture in association with the seven Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) has organized a six day ‘National Folk Dance Festival’ as part of the ensuing Republic Day celebrations. more >
Purvītis Prize in visual arts to be awarded in Latvia for the first time
11 February 2009 will see the first Vilhelms Purvītis (1872–1945) Prize for outstanding achievements in visual arts awarded in Latvia. The prize will henceforth be awarded every two years to an artist or a group of artists representing Latvia with an outstanding work. more >
Steelbands get $2.4m aid
The Ministry of Culture, Community Development and Gender Affairs yesterday distributed $2.45 million in cheques to help fund over 100 unsponsored steelbands preparing for the upcoming Panorama competition but its not enough. more >
The future of the music industry
Music bigwigs have been in Cannes trying to chart the future of their troubled industry. The mood around the Palais des Festivals in Cannes during the 43rd Midem was as changeable as the weather outside. more >
Warhol, Hirst works sold by dealer D’Offay to show across UK
Works by Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst and Gerhard Richter, part of a collection sold to Britain by the art dealer Anthony d’Offay, will hang in galleries from Scotland to southern England from this year. The collection was valued at the time at 125 million pounds. more >
Weaker libraries unite: Azerbaijani Culture and Tourism Ministry
Weaker libraries are coming together, the Azerbaijani Culture and Tourism Ministry reported. "Libraries are not closing,” Library Division Director at the ministry Latifa Mammadova told Trend News on Jan. 22. “Only the weaker libraries are closing that could not or did not want to unite their readers." more >
With fans, sponsors might be interested
A Centre for Tourism Research in Africa study found that more than half of the audience that attended the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in 2007 came from outside South Africa with 35, three per cent from the rest of the continent while 15.9 per cent came from the rest of the world. more >
French Government Proposes New Cultural Policy
Believing that the current economic crisis has incited the need for stronger French identity, President Nicolas Sarkozy has proposed increased investment in arts and cultural institutions, Artforum reports. more >
The New New Deal, Part 2 - A New WPA for Artists: How and Why
Aside from reporting on recent developments, this second essay focuses on two new additional aspects of the topic: what a new WPA might look like, and a summary of strong public policy arguments for its creation. more >
Along With a New Play, a Symposium on AIDS
A play about a young single mother dying of AIDS and the decisions she makes about how to care for her young son is the catalyst for an unusual nexus of art and science. more >
Seven ways to support artists
Artists are more highly trained and educated than the population at large, but their incomes lag far – nearly 40 per cent – behind the average living wage. more >
Spain’s government plan to foster cultural industries gains pace
The Cultural Industries Fostering Plan was recently presented by the Spanish Culture Minister, César Antonio Molina, therewith fulfilling his government’s promise to give a strong support to the cultural industries and contribute to their consolidation, modernization and relevance. more >
Obama's call to arts
The president-elect's proposed Artists Corps is one plank in his push to revitalize the arts in education. more >
The ten first steps that Barack Obama could take to renew the arts
Even in the midst of the current economic crisis, there is a palpable feeling of optimism in the American art community. more >
Your Cultural Policy Has Expired
Beyond recognising the new, in some areas our policy and our conversations have continuously failed to recognise what's actually been there all along. more >
Central European University Department of Public Policy Adds a Cultural Policy Stream
The aim of the stream is to provide the understanding of cultural policy making, its protagonists and their interests, and to examine the broad palette of policy instruments applied, their rationale and effects, in a strong comparative perspective. more >
Crecen recursos para la cultura durante 2009
Presupuesto del Consejo Nacional de la Cultura sube a $62.555 millones. Fondos concursables aumentan en un 20% y dinero para infraestructura en un 128%. CNTV recibirá más de $4.000 millones. more >
Culture’s Budget will increase in 2009
Chile’s Arts and Culture Council budget will rise to Chilean pesos (CLP) $62.555 million. Funds for public application will rise by 20% and budget for infrastructure by 128%. CNTV (National Television Council) will receive more than CLP $4.000 million. more >
European Year of Creativity and Innovation launched
As the economic crisis continues to get worse, creativity and innovation are key to strengthening Europe's competitiveness and must remain on the EU agenda beyond the current European Year, leading EU politicians stressed at the its launch event in Prague. more >
440 artists and writers call on MSPs to kill off Creative Scotland
More than 400 artists, writers, and producers have signed a letter to MSPs urging them to vote down the next attempt to establish Creative Scotland, the merger between the nation's main cultural bodies, the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen. more >
Arts Council announces 2009 grants
The Arts Council, the Government agency for funding and developing the arts, has made its major grant allocations for 2009, distributing almost €60 million to 352 organisations, venues, festivals and communities across the country. more >
Awards to promote culture in Armenia
The Ministry of Culture of Armenia prepares awards for the journalists and mass media for covering cultural events. “The journalists should help us, to analyze and show both the good and bad sides of our work, of course based on facts,” said the Minister of Culture Hasmik Poghosyan. more >
Bailing out the arts
With investment banks, auto manufacturers, and various other industries getting multi-billion dollar bailouts from the federal government, and Congress debating a major economic stimulus package that could include everything from major infrastructure spending to more tax cuts, is now also a good time to invest more federal money in the arts? more >
Cabinet votes to suspend Dianne Haylock
President of the National Institute of Culture and History, Dianne Haylock, will be suspended without pay for a month – that is the decision of Cabinet after meeting with Haylock today. Reports are that Haylock explained to the Cabinet the justification for entering into the contract with David Gegg’s Cruise Solutions and fielded questions about the contract. more >
Culture Minister of Latvia considers resigning due to health condition
By the end of January, Culture Minister of Latvia Helena Demakova (People's Party) plans to decide on whether or not to cease active participation in politics for some while and to resign from her position due to health condition. In a press release, Demakova notifies that medical expertise has established that she has a rheumatic condition. more >
Czech EU Presidency cultural programme presented
Today the Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs, Alexandr Vondra, the Culture Minister, Václav Jehlicka, and the Deputy Foreign Minister, Helena Bambasová, presented the cultural programme of the Czech Presidency of the European Union. more >
Downturn cuts arts groups' endowments, attendance
Arts groups in the city are cutting their budgets or delaying projects in response to falling donations, ticket sales and the stock market woes' squeeze on their endowments. more >
Fiction Reading Increases for Adults
After years of bemoaning the decline of a literary culture in the United States, the National Endowment for the Arts says in a report that it now believes a quarter-century of precipitous decline in fiction reading has reversed. more >
Israel strikes Hamas culture ministry
Israeli forces have hit the Hamas ministry of culture in the Gaza Strip, as the offensive turns into an urban battle with resistance fighters. more >
Musicians add second careers to their repertoires
Working on a dual track is a sound idea for some, delivering artistic as well as financial rewards. more >
Obama’s pledges for the arts
Artists and arts organisations are hoping for greater support than they received from President Bush when President-elect Barack Obama takes up office. Mr Obama was the only candidate during the election to distribute a detailed programme of initiatives. These include plans for an “Artist Corps” of young artists to promote art in schools and low-income communities, increased funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), health care for artists, and allowing artists to deduct the market value of any works they donate to museums or public institutions. more >
Over 200 foreign scholars head to Tehran’s Persian literature congress
Over 250 Iranian and foreign scholars will attend the 6th International Congress of World Teachers of Persian Language and Literature, which will be held at the University of Tehran on January 14 and 15. Foreign guests of the congress are scheduled to have several meetings with cultural officials from Iran’s Ministry of Science, Research and Technology. more >
The arts fall to our concerns over more basic needs
In 1943, psychologist Abraham Maslow suggested that individuals were motivated by a five-level “hierarchy of needs.” If that hierarchy is applied to society as a whole, it can safely be said we have slipped a notch. It is being reported in Indianapolis - and surely the same story could be told almost anywhere - that the economic crisis is hammering the arts. We must concentrate on our more basic needs, so “culture” - which helps society be all it can be - suffers. more >
Yemeni campaign celebrates al-Quds as Arab Culture Capital 2009
Cultural Exchange between Cuba and Venezuela to be maintained in 2009
Cuba and Venezuela will maintain the cultural exchange, specially that which started in 2008 with the Corazón adentro Mission, which saw its first results in the transformation of life in the Venezuelan communities. more >
Culture minister denies accusations of contacting Israel
Culture Minister Farouk Hosni lashed out against a recent article published in Al Balagh Al Gadid, a weekly independent Egyptian newspaper, accusing him of communicating with Israeli officials asking them to support his nomination for the UNESCO’s Secretary General position. more >
Culture Ministry donates music instruments
Ministry of Culture (Mincult) Thursday Evening donated music instruments and sound equipment to the cultural agents in northern Kwanza Norte province. The offer donation was handed over by the incumbent minister, Rosa Cruz e Silva, to the provincial governor, Henrique Júnior, who thanked for the Mincult's gesture, aimed at lessening the shortage and difficulties faced by local artistes. more >
Government to provide security to visitors
Cultural activities as well as recreational programmes will be promoted in the province and all-out measures will be taken to provide security to visitors, Minister for Culture and Youth Affairs Dr Tanveerul Islam said on Saturday. Addressing a meeting of resident directors of all the arts councils of Punjab following explosions outside Al-Falah and Tamaseel theatres. more >
It’s always been homeless, but now NTS can’t even get a Shed to stay in
A question mark has been raised over the proposed future home of the National Theatre of Scotland, a former engineering shed. more >
Art for art's sake; money for God's sake
Art is its own reward, but it has always helped to have a generous patron. more >
Government in France increases cultural spending
The French government has allocated an extra €100m to the ministry of culture to spend on arts and museums. more >
Government in Germany increases cultural spending
The federal cultural budget of Germany has been increased—the fourth time in a row—by 3.5%, reaching €1.14bn in 2009. more >
National Cultural Centre opens
Sri Lanka's first ever National Cultural Centre was opened at Veyangoda by Cultural Affairs and National Heritage Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, recently. more >
Ian Rankin launches drive for more books in Braille
On the 200th anniversary of the birth of Braille's inventor, bestselling crime writer Ian Rankin has launched a campaign calling on writers, publishers and booksellers to make more books available to the visually impaired. more >
The international who's who in cultural policy, planning and research >