International News in July 2009
Show all of 2009
How advocacy, fund-raising can uplift culture
The problems facing Nigeria's cultural sector are multi-dimensional. Few of them were the subject of debate at the quarterly Art Stampede of the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA). more >
10th International Hall and Colloquium of Digital Art
The Hall, to be opened on 3 November 2009 proposes to continue showing current work in that field and to boost the exchange and reflection among the creators and specialists related with this new artistic expression. more >
Controversial sponsors in Venice
Agenda is asking whether billboard advertisements such as the Sisley ad on the Bridge of Sighs and Swatch on the Museo Correr covering cultural monuments in Venice to fund renovation work are an inspired idea or a step too far. Visit the poll created by Agenda and have your say in the debate. more >
The most popular digital tools used by art organisations
How do art organisations respond to the challenges faced by the development of online networking platforms? What are the most popular digital tools and social networks? The results will show you, as a museum professional, the current trends of online activity as a part of communications strategies and it will help you anticipate the potential of online tools for the future. more >
Beijing to host festival of Asian, European art
China will invite artists, art groups and scholars from 45 Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) members to an art festival in Beijing from Sept. 2 to 8, the Ministry of Culture announced Tuesday. more >
Deputy Culture minister works in Bié province
Angolan deputy minister of Culture, Cornélio Calei, is expected this Friday in Kuito city, central Bié province, to assess activities carried out by the sector in this region. more >
Gov't rejects culture minister's resignation
The Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has refused to accept the resignation of the culture minister to avoid facing Parliament's vote of confidence for his Cabinet. The Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Mohammad-Hassan Saffar-Harandi submitted his resignation to the president on Monday following the president's "oral notification" of his dismissal and the announcement by a caretaker for the ministry. more >
Mount Rushmore to get laser treatment
The stoic faces of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln will never know what hit them.
This fall, crews from Scotland and California will shoot laser beams at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial as part of a project to create a digital three-dimensional model of the iconic mountain carving from all angles.
more >
Moore restructuring Canada Music Fund
Heritage Minister James Moore has announced an increase in the Canada Music Fund, the federal government's main fund to support the music industry, but changes are coming in the way the fund distributes its money. more >
Swedish Presidency EU - Göteborg Conference
The conference in Göteborg on 29-30 July concluded with a panel discussion on the theme: ‘Promoting a creative generation – does the EU have a role to play?’ and a speech by Henrik Selin, Counsellor for Cultural Affairs at the Permanent Representation of Sweden to the EU in Brussels. more >
The Obamas: An Opening in the Arts
In Act One of their administration - the well-lit, heavily reviewed and widely watched opening months - Barack and Michelle Obama have positioned themselves actively in the arts. more >
Maasai music on iTunes? U.N. agency works to help
The Maasai people of Kenya have enlisted the United Nations to help turn their songs, dances and stories into copyrighted assets, a model that could create new income for indigenous groups worldwide. more >
Coscia appoints his staff
The new Culture Secretary of Argentina, Jorge Coscia, is designating the new national director of his cabinet, while he decides who will be the two new Culture Undersecretaries, in Cultural Administration and Cultural Industries. more >
Coscia nombra a su equipo en cultura
El flamante secretario de Cultura de la Nación, Jorge Coscia, comenzó a designar a los nuevos directores nacionales de su gabinete, mientras define los nombres de los dos subsecretarios del área, en Gestión cultural y en Industrias culturales. more >
El primer borrador de la nueva Ley de Cultura ya está listo
240 representantes de artistas y gestores culturales trabajaron durante dos días en un documento consensuado con propuestas para el nuevo órgano legal. more >
First Draft of the New Culture Law
Artists and cultural administrators worked for two days on a document, agreed by consensus, with proposals for the new Culture Law. more >
Artistes to strike over allowances today
Artistes who travelled to Algeria for the 2nd Pan African Festival have threatened go on strike on landing at Entebbe Airport today, if the gender, labour and culture ministry does not pay them allowances for representing the country at the festival. more >
Calls to abolish Irish arts ministry greeted with anger by cultural leaders
A report recommending that the Irish Republic’s department of the arts be abolished, its functions transferred elsewhere and overall funding cut by €37 million has shocked and angered those involved in the sector. more >
Culture Watch Europe – a cultural governance observatory created in spring 2009.
The Council of Europe has called to life its cultural governance observatory “Culture Watch Europe” which is an information and exchange platform for culture and cultural and natural heritage. The platform unites and links various existing services and tools, which makes it possible to monitor developments, recognise trends, and practise exchange. more >
Don't cut arts funding plea as festival gets underway
The arts are an intrinsic part of the fabric of life and should not be the first area to cut when times get hard, Druid Artistic Director Garry Hynes said at the launch of the 32nd annual Galway Arts Festival in
the city last night.
more >
Estonian theatres threaten to start closing in 2010
Estonian theatres stated that if the State will cut its subsidies by another 15% in 2010, it will threaten the survival of smaller theatres while bigger ones might be forced to lower their professional standards. more >
Ministry cuts museums’ entrance fees, but will it achieve intended purpose?
A new initiative by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism aims to help bring visitors in. Eighty-three museums under the auspices of the ministry in 43 Turkish cities have free admission as of July 15. Under the new initiative, all Turkish and foreign tourists are now able to visit these museums and historical sites for free. more >
National Symphony Orchestra
It was achievement enough that the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra managed to survive the darkest days of the war, when it struggled for supplies and electricity, when its members fled for safety abroad and those who remained practiced in secret for fear of offending militants who considered music un-Islamic. more >
Soros: In revolutionary times the impossible becomes possible
From the mid-1980s, Hungarian-born investor and philanthropist George Soros pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into foundations in Eastern Europe dedicated to promoting the idea of the "open society" and challenging the region's Soviet-backed regimes. Here, writing exclusively for CNN.com, he describes how the work of his foundations ultimately contributed to the collapse of communism. more >
Teaching Georgians how to make money from arts
Georgia’s Ministry of Culture is reporting a decline among its 230 museums nationwide. In 2006, about 472,000 visitors were recorded. That number dropped to 446,000 the next year. More recent figures have not been made available. more >
Theatre needs cultural entrepreneurs as well as artists
The British Council's award for enterprising spirit in the performing arts is a reminder that business sense is more important than ever more >
World heritages in Vietnam need closer cooperation
Vietnam has seven natural and cultural world heritages recognised by UNESCO. Preservation and improvement of these heritages is necessary to advertise Vietnam’s image to the world. However, local governments haven’t effectively cooperated to connect these heritages.
more >
Zoe Wanamaker demands equal pay for actresses
Zoë Wanamaker, the actress, has joined the chorus of female performers demanding more money to match the pay packets of their male counterparts. more >
A book is a place
Publishing history is being rewritten and reading will never be the same. more >
Crazy copyright law set to cause chaos in S.Korea
Netizens of South Korea could find themselves at the mercy of a copyright infringement firestorm today, as a tough new copyright law takes effect. A prominent social networking site is sending warnings to its customers about their behavior, noting that far reaching penalties include 6 month Internet disconnections. more >
Israeli-Palestinian Movement “Combatants for Peace” wins the Euro-Med Award for Dialogue 2009
“Combatants for Peace”, a civil movement jointly established by Palestinian and Israeli individuals, has been officially announced as the Winner of the Anna Lindh Euro-Med Award for the Dialogue between Cultures 2009. more >
Ministry of Culture decides to cut disputable scenes at Acropolis Museum
The Greek Orthodox Church has protested fiercely against a scene depicting angry priests in robes, destroying the Parthenon’s ornaments in the VIII century A.D. The Holy Synod has successfully urged the Minister of Culture - Antonis Samaras – to cut the above mentioned scenes from the film. more >
New CEO for Arts Council
Mr Benson Puah has been appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Arts Council (NAC), taking over from Mr Lee Suan Hiang from Aug 1. more >
Renzo Piano plans discussion highlights needs in arts field
It was billed as a discussion on the Renzo Piano plans for City Gate and the Opera House site, which indeed it was, but it turned out mostly to be a litany of complaints from arts practitioners about the inadequacies of theatres in Malta and the need for government funding. more >
Report reveals woman low participation in culture and media sectors
A human rights report has called for cultural and creative corporations and the Ministry of Culture to expand woman's participation in the cultural and media issues and to give her more opportunities enabling her reaching the decision-making positions in a number of Yemeni cultural and media institutions. more >
Tories succeed in luring actors and artists away from Labour’s table
In the early 1990s John Smith began the “prawn cocktail offensive” to reassure a nervous City that Labour could handle the economy responsibly. Now his heirs in Opposition are targeting the Left-leaning Arts world in the same way, attempting to break down decades of suspicion with copious glasses of chilled white wine. more >
Viral mobility - share your experiences
With the spread of the H1N1 (swine flu) virus, OTM reports on how a global pandemic is affecting international cultural mobility and launches a call for experiences. more >
What's more important: sport or culture?
Rugby is our national passion - but our culture is more important. more >
Carnival enthusiasts clash with Arts Council
Carnival enthusiasts have expressed their concern at the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts, who they claim was seeking to impose its own ideas on what carnival should be. more >
For New Leader of the Arts Endowment, Lessons From a Shaky Past
Although it may be hard to remember now, there was a time when the National Endowment for the Arts seemed to be on solid footing, both financially and politically, and could spend its days quietly financing artists and arts groups at its discretion. more >
Garry Hynes issues a ‘call to arms’ to defend the arts
Garry Hynes, leading Irish theatre director, said this is “a time of great peril for the arts” given the drastic economic downturn and the recommendations of An Bord Snip, which, if implemented, could seriously hurt the arts in Ireland, and particularly in Galway. more >
$90m support for festival
Despite the harsh economic climate, the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) has managed to source $90 million in sponsorship this year - $35 million more than last year. more >
Artists Find Backers as Labels Wane
With the structure of the music business shifting radically, some industry iconoclasts are sidestepping the music giants and inventing new ways for artists to make and market their music — without ever signing a traditional recording contract. more >
Bullish creative industries and the bear market
The creative industries idea is better than even its original perpetrators might have imagined, judging from the original mapping documents. more >
Culture minister opts for setting up heritage protection policies
Minister of Culture and Information Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammed Al Khalifa has underlined the significance of setting up policies for the protection and registration of physical heritage and spreading public awareness of their importance. more >
The Culture Crash
Risky investments have endangered New York's leading arts institutions. more >
£100m funding black hole threatens major arts projectsover budget shortfall
Culture department accused of 'hopeless management' over budget shortfall. more >
ICACD 2009 Call for Papers
The Secretariat for the International Conference on African Culture and Development (ICACD) invites you to submit abstracts / presentation ideas for ICACD 2009. more >
7 acres of land allocated for arts and culture centre
The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has allocated seven acres of land in Shakarparian area for the establishment of National Centre for Arts & Culture to promote cultural activities in the country. more >
Council will decide on proposal to release $1M to arts groups
Arts organizations and patrons are set to come out in force for tonight's City-County Council meeting, in which $1 million worth of city arts funding will be up for discussion. After the Capital Improvement Board voted in May to suspend arts funding, the Arts Council of Indianapolis was forced to amend its annual grant list. "Proposal 234" was the outcome. more >
Dawn of a new era for Arts Alive
The annual Arts Alive Festival is set to move into a dynamic new era with the appointment of leading South African brand solutions company, Zanusi. more >
Irish gov't agency: Cut arts funding
The Irish government's department of finance recommended late last week to shave €37 million in arts and culture funding, including cuts that would drastically affect the Irish Film Board. more >
Theatre chief says plans for cutbacks in arts 'incredible'
An impassioned defence of arts funding was made at the weekend by the chairwoman of the Arts Council and the artistic director of Druid Theatre. more >
We need the support of businessmen
In Yemen, the government doesn’t pay attention to plastic art, its concerns or the difficulties hindering its progress. Ismael Al-Ghabiri of the Yemen Times met with plastic artist Hakeem Al-Aqel, advisor to the Minister of Culture for Fine art Affairs, and conducted this interview. more >
Artists hold applause for Obama
In Barack Obama, the arts community believed it had found a kindred spirit — literary and urbane, a president who would restore culture to its proper national place after what many perceived as an eight-year exile under his predecessor. more >
2009 Orient Global Freedom to Create Prize: International Prize for Artists on the Frontlines Enters Second Year
Those artists who work on the Forgotten Frontline to promote social justice and inspire communities have just under one month to submit their entries in this year’s Orient Global Freedom to Create Prize. more >
Portugal - Organização da oferta dos cursos de ensino artístico especializado
O Ministério da Educação (ME) procedeu à organização da oferta dos cursos de ensino artístico especializado, criando os cursos básicos de ensino especializado de dança e de música e aprovando os respectivos planos de estudo. more >
Portugal – Specialized art courses offered
The Ministry of Education organized the offer of specialized art courses by creating the specialized teaching basic courses for dance and music and by approving the corresponding study plans. more >
“I will not look after the interests of cultural corporations”, interview with Jorge Coscia, new Argentinean Culture Secretary
Before taking on his new position, Coscia talked to El Clarín about his projects and made positive remarks about José Nun’s administration. more >
“No trabajaré para los intereses de corporaciones de la cultura”, entrevista a Jorge Coscia, flamante secretario de cultura de la nación
Antes de asumir, Coscia conversó con Clarín sobre sus proyectos y rescató la gestión de José Nun. more >
Arts festivals keep sponsors despite economic downturn
Some of Australia's arts festivals seem to be bucking the global financial trend by continuing to attract significant corporate sponsorship. more >
Blog: How to solve the arts funding crisis?
Only the most wildly optimistic or hopelessly deluded could possibly believe that the future funding climate looks anything other than grim. But it is good to see the National Campaign for the Arts launching its Manifesto for the Arts, in anticipation of the election next year, and emphasising the contribution the arts make to the country. more >
Blog: Stopping culture at our borders
There are no words in the thesaurus of insult that quite do justice to the UK Border Agency and the minister for borders and immigration, Phil Woolas. So let's just agree that new rules barring artists from visiting this country and so enriching our culture are some of the most contemptible ever devised, even by this narrow-minded apology for a government. more >
Blog: What about an Arts Czar? What about a Federal Arts Policy? Hummm...
The "arts czar" idea is still buzzing about. Of course, the actor Kal Penn was appointed to the White House Office of Public Engagement, and we will have Rocco Landesman heading up the NEA, and Jim Leach heading up the NEH. But certainly, that's a far cry from what a number of people were lobbying for, which was a cabinet level position in the executive branch, replete with its own brand new agency. more >
Cash for Desart
Central Australian Aboriginal art centres are the big winners from the federal government's latest arts funding package, which divides $9.3 million between 86 organisations. more >
China to open its entertainment industry to Taiwanese
China’s government plans to allow Taiwanese to set up and run entertainment businesses on the mainland, an official said at talks between the two sides. more >
Converging pathways to new knowledge
Converging Pathways to New Knowledge is a LabforCulture initiative considering the future of knowledge building and knowledge sharing within a new digital paradigm. more >
Crackdown forces Iran’s artists to mute anger over election
Iran-based artists -- many of whom campaigned for opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, and signed declarations backing the demonstrators -- are now adopting a low profile, after a few were said to have suffered beatings and arrests. Their caution contrasts with the fierce criticism voiced outside Iran by filmmakers such as Mohsen Makhmalbaf.
more >
Cultural, creative industries thriving and maturing
Cultural and creative industries have grown substantially since the government launched a promotional project in 2002, said the Council for Economic Planning and Development(CEPD). more >
Deal with banks eases debt fears for MOT
Michigan Opera Theatre has reached a critical deal with its banks to cut its loan payments in half for the next 18 months, resolving a year-long cash flow crisis that threatened to force the company into foreclosure or bankruptcy. more >
FNC expects support culture test
Speaker of the UAE Federal National Council said he expects a proposal, to raise awareness of local culture among expatriates, would receive strong support from the government and understanding by residents. more >
Heritage conservation to get a boost in 2009-2010
Conservation of heritage sites will get a boost in 2009-2010, Minister of State for Planning and Parliamentary Affairs V. Narayanaswamy, who holds the ad hoc charge of culture, told the Rajya Sabha Thursday. more >
How to classify intangible cultural heritage
Ideas were recently floated on classifying intangible cultural heritage by the public and the law makers.
The public considered it necessary to classify intangible cultural heritage, which covers such things as special dances, ethnic music and special art, throughout the country, but the law makers decided evaluating and listing were sufficient with classification.
more >
In the arts: Kennedy center chief calls for national arts policy
In a commentary in The Huffington Post, Michael Kaiser, president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, calls for a federal arts policy to replace what he calls a “helter-skelter approach” to cultural financing. more >
Lack of films prompts ministry cancellation of national festival
Cinemagoers and filmmakers alike call for more government investment in the sector as plans for biannual National Cinema Festival are nixed. more >
National dialogue TV soon
A new National Dialogue TV may go on air soon, said Minister of Culture and Information Abdul Aziz Al-Khoja, making the case for fair, healthy and more vigorous debate in society.“Those in charge of the official media should be fair to the new digital media that have forced the official mass media to allocate space for dialogue, differences in views, and diversity,” Al-Khoja said. more >
National foundation heads met in Anchorage
The board of directors for United States Artists met in Anchorage last week, visiting Alaska art venues, meeting with artists and arts boosters, and participating in two panel discussions on Monday. more >
Over 200 participants attended the Euro-African Campus for Cultural Cooperation
The first Euro-African Campus for Cultural Cooperation was held in Maputo, Mozambique, on 22-26 June 2009. The event gathered over 200 participants from both Africa and Europe, including artists, cultural managers, policy-makers, public officials and students, who explored the present state of and the potential for furthering cultural cooperation between both continents, as well as the integration of cultural aspects in development strategies. more >
Public art sell-offs heading into troubled waters
Should museums and galleries be allowed to sell-off their works? As part of an effort to raise £15 million for a new museum devoted to the Titanic, Southampton City Council has decided to trawl through the 3,500 works of art owned by its outstandingly good Art Gallery and send a selection of them off to the open market. more >
Richard Morrison misses US orchestras at the Proms
If the recession doesn’t kill off international touring, it looks as if government officials around the world — prominently including those in our own dear Home Office — are determined to do the job instead. What will be the consequences? more >
Rules of transportation of culture valuables through border confirmed in Azerbaijan
The Azerbaijani customs committee ratified the Rules of transportation of culture valuables through customs border of Azerbaijan.The committee reported that the rules were confirmed by agreement with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and they were registered by the Ministry of Justice. more >
The art of political avoidance
In Israel, all art may be political, but there’s a reluctance to linger too long on sensitive issues – no wonder its theatre moves swiftly on to the next hot topic. more >
UAE presents unique experiences in heritage preservation
Abdul Aziz Al Musallam, Head of Cultural Heritage Committee in the UAE Ministry of Culture, Youth '&' Community Development, stated that the UAE makes great effort to maintain and preserve cultural heritage and the ministry issued Nabati poems narrating UAE culture and history. more >
Winter school on networks and advocacy
The Arterial Network’s first (southern hemisphere) Winter School on arts advocacy and building civil society networks was held in Cape Town from 31 May-10 June. The event – funded by the European Union and HIVOS – was a major success with seventeen countries representing all five African regions. more >
Has politics lost the art of culture?
Only five MPs have the passion to be Culture Secretary, says Tate director more >
Launch of project website
'Artists moving & learning' (October 2008-0ctober 2010) analyses the impact of mobility of artists in Europe from an educational and Life Long Learning perspective. more >
New rules for translation funding
After almost a year of deliberations, the Department of Canadian Heritage has finally come up with a plan for disbursing $5-million in funds for French-English translations - through the Canada Council for the Arts. more >
Bulgaria History Museum Head ready to become Minister of Culture
The Director of Bulgaria's National History Museum, Bozhidar Dimitrov, said he was ready to become Minister of Culture in the future government of Sofia Mayor Borisov's party GERB. more >
CCA to hold 5th cross-strait forum on economy, culture
The Council of Cultural Affairs, Ministry of Education, and Army Committee will gather to discuss topics such as improving the cultural bond cross-straits and work to exchange educational ideas. more >
House hears of upcoming 400th anniversary events
With the celebration of Bermuda's 400th anniversary in full swing, Minister of Culture and Social Rehabilitation Neletha Butterfield discussed a number of upcoming events in a statement to the House of Assembly. more >
Industry expresses concern at plans to give public a voice in arts funding
Arts practitioners have raised concerns about the government’s plans to give the public more say in how funding is allocated, warning that such a move would favour “populist” art work at the expense of “quality, diversity and risk taking” in the sector. more >
King County gets nearly $1M in fed funds to support arts jobs
Thirteen arts groups, the city of Seattle, and King County will split nearly $1 million in federal funding to support jobs in the arts industry. more >
Ministry of art
In a meeting with Culture Minister Limor Livnat last week, artist Philip Rentzer, head of the plastic arts division at the Israel Culture and Arts Council, proposed an idea for legislation to purchase works of Israeli art for government bodies, using taxpayer money. more >
Panaf 2009 opens in Algiers
The second edition of the Pan African Cultural Festival, otherwise called Panaf 2009, last Saturday evening, officially opened at the Sofia Square on Hivert Street in Algiers, capital of Algeria. more >
Plans to resurrect Leith Theatre scaled down
Campaigners seeking to reopen Edinburgh’s Leith Theatre have been forced to alter their multi-million pound proposals after failing to secure a £3 million arts funding prize. more >
Puttnam urges UK film industry to be bold online
Lord David Puttnam this week urged the British film industry to be bolder in engaging with audiences online – or risk losing out on many of the opportunities being created by the digital revolution. more >
State, city get new round of federal arts funding
Indiana and Indianapolis arts agencies will receive more than a half-million dollars in federal stimulus money to help save jobs at local organizations, the National Endowment for the Arts announced today. more >
World heritage sites to be seen in digital 3D
Some of Scotland's world heritage sites are to be digitally documented in an international 3D scanning project. more >
Youth theater in Armenia fears “Ministry-orchestrated merger”
The staff of a youth theater in Yerevan have accused Armenia’s Ministry of Culture of devising a scheme to merge their state-run theater with another one that lacks the “state status” (and, therefore, the benefit of state budget funding). more >
Artists want Cabinet-level 'arts czar'
For some in the art world, watching the Obama administration’s approach to the arts so far has been an exercise in keeping expectations in check and a game of wait and see. more >
Exclusive: Cats to return to West End
Equity is to launch a campaign to reintroduce theatre cats into London’s historic theatres, as part of the union’s ongoing bid to improve actors’ working conditions in the West End. more >
Expert meeting on finalizing the new cultural policy profile
The new cultural policy profile that UNESCO is framing will address the challenges of sustainable development peach through a dual approach: one, to develop the cultural sector per se, and two, to ensure that culture has its rightful place in all development policies. more >
Can artists save the world?
The environment is this year's big theme across the arts. Here's how Britain's greenest cultural avengers plan to save the world. more >
Culture is ignored at the peril of development, high level panel of cultural experts warns
Commonwealth Foundation cultural panel claims the arts are not just the 'icing on the cake'. more >
Needed: A Federal Arts Policy
There is frequent discussion about the validity of federal funding for the arts in this nation; most recently, the inclusion of $50 million for employment in the arts in the stimulus package was the source of heated debate. more >
Artistic road to utopia may break down regional barriers
Australia and Japan are developing together a Utopia Project that would present an arts Olympics every two years in an Asia-Pacific centre. more >
Move to protect performers from unscrupulous managers
Legislation to protect musicians, singers and actors from unscrupulous managers is being considered by the NSW Government. more >
There’s still plenty of growing to do!
The economic downturn is certain to hit small arts organisations. But there are strategies that can help you survive – and even grow. more >
Museum literacy for people with low educational level
Museum professionals, specialists on audience policies, researchers and policy makers from 9 countries, around 50 participants in total, met on 24 June in Brussels to explore new paths to include people with low schooling level in museum audiences. more >
The international who's who in cultural policy, planning and research >