International News in 2010
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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 2010
Solutions for the mobility of visual artists in Europe
The Internationale Gesellschaft der Bildenden Künste (IGBK) organised a meeting of European experts on ‘Mobility in the Visual Arts Sector in Europe’ in Linz, Austria in December 2009. Judith Staines gives her appraisal of the meeting. more >
Creation of national archive published
The government has published, in the state gazette, the creation of the National Archive of Angola, in order to adhere to the world tendencies of archiving policies and abide by the instructions of the International Council on Archives. more >
IMPACT a great model for handling arts cash
Reports about possible financial irregularities within the Arts Council have led to the formation of a new, all-volunteer group, ACE — Arts, Culture and Entertainment — to handle distribution of funds to more than 30 groups. more >
Propiedad Intelectual en Chile
El Congreso de Chile aprobó el proyecto de ley que reglamenta los avances de la era digital y, de manera especial, las descargas en Internet. more >
How new technologies secure a place for the arts
The fact is that the arts are doing better than ever, as new technologies secure them a place at the heart of everyday life. more >
Intellectual Property in Chile
Chile’s Congress approved the bill that regulates the digital era’s progress and Internet downloads. more >
Are arts facilities giving value for money?
It is likely the first in-depth study to be conducted on the dollars and cents of arts housing and facilities here. more >
Las prioridades culturales de 2010
Los especialistas señalan la necesidad de mejorar la distribución de la producción y brindar apoyo institucional. more >
Cultural priorities for 2010
Specialists point out the need to improve distribution and to provide institutional support. more >
Spain unveils its EU presidency cultural programme
Speaking at the launch on Tuesday, the country's cultural minister Angeles Gonzalez-Sinde said she hopes the presidency will promote Spain's "valuable and diverse" cultural heritage. more >
Mobile apps and the arts: where we are and where we’re going
2009 saw many new technologies first start up (like Google Wave), slowly emerge (mobile apps), or explode with popularity (Twitter). more >
UNESCO: Connecting culture and the people
Interview with Irina Bokova, Director General, UNESCO. Last September, after political infighting on a scale rarely seen at Unesco, Irina Bokova, 57, originally from Bulgaria, was elected as the first women to head the organisation. Last November she travelled to Egypt to rebuild connections with Farouk Hosni, her rival for the job. “The election is behind us, we have turned over a new leaf and I am very optimistic,” she told Le Monde. more >
Artists find an unlikely home
A seafood shopping arcade, once near deserted, has been reborn as an oasis for whimsical crafts
But this isn’t some guerrilla Bohemian operation - it’s a government program, made possible thanks to the support of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Small and Medium Business Administration, part of a national campaign to preserve and revitalize Korea’s traditional markets.
more >
Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y las Artes responde ante paro del Bafona
Subdirector nacional del CNCA manifestó la posición de la institución ante las demandas del ballet nacional. more >
National Culture and Arts Council faced Bafona’s strike
CNCA’s National Deputy Director stated the institution’s position towards the National Ballet’s demands. more >
Legislature passes law on culture and creativity
The Legislative Yuan passed the Cultural Creativity Act Jan. 8, requiring the government to promote the development of the arts through tax rebates, discounts and subsidies. more >
Will US museums succeed in reinventing themselves?
The recession is forcing North American institutions to reconsider every aspect of what they do. more >
A new gallic idea: taxing Google
The French cultural elite has come up with a bunch of ideas to stimulate the legal consumption of digital goods. The basic principles are stunningly original: subsidize and tax. These creations are detailed in a report ordered by the Président de la République to the Ministry of Culture. more >
Q+A-What's driving China's latest Web crackdown
China's recent moves to tighten control of its online and mobile content industries have brought some uncertainty into the market but may not have a major immediate impact on the sector's biggest players. more >
We need to act now to save theatre
Blog: British theatre has grown better and broader than ever this decade. But unless we improve models of arts funding, that progress will be swept away. more >
The Fine Art Of Diplomacy
The lack of Australian cultural diplomacy in China has ramifications which reach far beyond the cultural sector. more >
Funding fears
Arts and Business, the organisation that fosters links between the cultural and commercial worlds, today offers more depressing statistics on private-sector investment in the arts, which it says fell by 7% to £654.9m for the financial year 2008-9. more >
AUB alumni name Saudi minister personality of 2009
Saudi Ambassador Ali Awadh al-Asseiri met here a delegation from the Alumni Association of the American University of Beirut, before they visited the kingdom to invite Minister of Culture and Information Abdul-Aziz Khoja to a ceremony in Lebanon honoring him as Personality of the Year 2009. more >
Spain approves anti-piracy legislation
The Spanish government approved anti-piracy legislation Friday that will allow National Audience, the country's federal court, to close or block websites facilitating unauthorized movie and music downloads. more >
Logo for National Day 2010 unveiled
The logo for this year's national day celebration was unveiled by Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports yesterday, during the 3rd Executive Committee meeting of the 26th National Day celebrations at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports building. more >
U.K. Art Spending to Stay Depressed for Two Years, Charity Says
After U.K. elections that are set to take place by June, arts subsidies are bound to be cut, Tweedy said. Philanthropists “are going to be the ones increasing the funding in the next eight to 10 years, not the government,” he said. more >
First Azerbaijani festival of national theaters to kick off
The Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture and Tourism will hold the first National Festival of State Theaters, according to sources in the ministry. more >
Arts funding cuts proposed by Conservatives
Shadow culture secretary says Tory government would introduce administrative cost limits and encourage US-style philanthropy more >
Publishers plan group to fight Amazon
Twenty-one publishing houses in Japan will form an organization in February to stave off potential threats to their profits from Amazon.com Inc. and other service providers in the burgeoning e-book market. more >
Media city planned
Saudi Arabia will soon have its own integrated media city that will help boost media activities in the Kingdom, said Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Abdul Aziz Khoja. more >
Tories and Labour both warn of tougher times ahead for arts funding
Both Labour and Conservative culture secretaries have failed to commit to maintaining current levels of arts funding, if they win the next general election. more >
Arts are in the picture for private investors in Wales
Private sector investment in the arts in Wales saw an above-inflation rise – in contrast to most other parts of the UK, according to latest statistics. more >
Arts Council agrees legislative changes are needed to protect creativity
The Malta Council for Culture and the Arts agrees with the need of legislative changes to ensure that the classification of creative works reflected the public's maturity and current realities. more >
Why is the Tate risking our cash?
Blog: I try to imagine the Tate's esteemed director Sir Nicholas Serota taking some of his gallery's cash reserves, £6m worth, and walking into Ladbrokes with them. Nope, it couldn't happen. Sir Nicholas is not only too brilliant a gallery director, but he is also too cautious, sensible and law-abiding a man to take the risk. And the only horses he's interested in are by Stubbs. more >
PM says culture must become people's movement
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today regretted that many of India's monuments, works of art and historical remains were lying in neglect despite the fact that the world associated the country with these cultural showpieces. more >
Istanbul begins celebrations as European Capital of Culture 2010
Istanbul began celebrating its year as European Capital of Culture with spectacular light shows around the city. Ceremonies began with a protocol event at the Haliç Congress Centre, where Ministers from Turkey and neighboring countries participated, along with high level statesmen and diplomats, leading members of the business, culture and arts world. more >
A cultured do-it-now nudge
PM stresses prompt action in bid to preserve and promote the arts. A fortnight after Christmas, the Prime Minister played Santa Claus with a culture cap on his head, but also a do-it-now cane in hand. more >
Arts funding deserves to be election issue
Arts institutions are rarely heard to make a fuss about funding, for fear of biting the government hand that feeds them. However, funding for South Australia's major art galleries, museums and other collecting institutions is now looming as an important election issue. more >
Art shows no longer need license from Culture Ministry
Gallery owners no longer need to apply for an exhibiting license to hold shows in their galleries, said Ali Tan, director of the Galleries Office affiliated to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance here on Friday. more >
$20-million, 190 performances, 8 weeks
But will eight weeks of extreme culture have any lasting impact? Does $20-million buy any sort of legacy? The unsurprising answer from the Olympiad's director Robert Kerr is “absolutely”. more >
Meeting of the Asia/Pacific Network of Arts Education Observatories
The Network, which is coordinated by the UNESCO Bangkok Office, was created in order to act as a clearinghouse for arts education, collecting, analysing, re-packaging and disseminating relevant resources. more >
Azerbaijan has registered over 3,500 monument books
The Ministry of Culture & Tourism of Azerbaijan has started revealing existing copies of unique and rare books and editions of special importance and chronicles. The Ministry reports that the state register has added 3,566 names of book memorials of different form. more >
In Europe, the arts ask for Alms
Last week the shadow culture secretary for Britain’s Conservative Party, Jeremy Hunt, promised to introduce “a U.S.-style culture of philanthropy” if the Tories come to power in the coming election. Speaking before the State of the Arts conference in London, Mr. Hunt foresaw a “golden age” of tax breaks to encourage private donations and help cut back on government spending. more >
ACE proposes grants for commercial theatre
Arts Council England has unveiled proposals for a new “politician-proof” ten-year plan that would see a radical shake-up of its funding system, including allowing grant applications from the commercial theatre sector for the first time in decades. more >
Ángeles González-Sinde presents the European Forum for Cultural Industries of Barcelona
The Spanish Minister for Culture, Ángeles González-Sinde, has just presented the work programme that will be tackled at the next European Forum for Cultural Industries, to be held on 29 and 30 March in Barcelona. more >
Call for papers: Culture and Sustainable Communities
In the face of growing environmental and economic urgencies, issues of sustainability and resiliency
are moving to the forefront of planning, policy, and programs in cities and communities of all sizes. Contributions across a broad range of theory and practice are welcome.
more >
Cultural diplomacy activities reviewed
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) held a meeting in Hanoi on January 22 to review the past year of cultural diplomacy and devise tasks for 2010. more >
New NEA grants to support arts-related urban design projects
Chairman Rocco Landesman has announced that the National Endowment for the Arts will introduce 15 new grants to aid cities in the planning of arts districts and projects that enhance public buildings, libraries, and pedestrian bridges — among other public spaces.
more >
Agency for Cultural Affairs secures record funds for 2010, despite stricter budget-making process
At the end of last year it was announced that the Agency for Cultural Affairs would be allocated 102 billion yen (AUD$ 1.2 billion) for fiscal 2010 – the highest annual budget it has ever received. more >
Don't give up the day job - how artists make a living
As they await their big break, today's young artists are having to make ends meet with day jobs. How are they coping? more >
@MIDEM: French Minister confirms collective licensing plan
French minister of culture Frédéric Mitterrand unveiled a set of measures aimed at helping the music industry, during a press conference at the MIDEM trade fair and conference in Cannes. more >
Art museums face funds shortage
As prices of art works, both traditional and contemporary, continue to rise, Chinese art museums are facing a tough situation in terms of collecting new works, their limited funding allowances placing the institutions under increasing financial pressure. more >
La UNESCO hace un llamamiento para proteger del pillaje el arte de Haití
La subdirectora general de Cultura de la UNESCO, Françoise Riviere, ha hecho hoy un llamamiento internacional para proteger del "pillaje" el patrimonio cultural de Haití tras el terremoto que ha asolado el país y ha propuesto un embargo que impida temporalmente la compraventa de sus obras de arte. more >
UNESCO has issued an appeal to protect Haitian arts from pillage
UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Culture, Françoise Riviere, today issued an international appeal to protect Haiti’s cultural heritage from pillage following the earthquake that devastated the country. more >
Arts Council CIO Owen Powell manages a change in scene and service
CIOs in all government sectors will be looking to make major savings and restructure their organisations to meet increasing demands this year but Owen Powell, IT director at the Arts Council, is already well down the road of transformation. An interview with Powell on the role of IT and the CIO in art. more >
At Sacramento retreat, wondering how to make the arts matter
A ray of hope: With the rise of interactive online experiences, people are become more interested in participating in the arts instead of merely watching them, and new means of connecting with the world of culture offer novel, fresh experiences that undermine the more traditional allure of going to a public arts event. The demand for arts education is up, too. more >
Art falls victim to football hooliganism
Egyptians cancel Algerian pavilion at Alexandria Biennale following violent protests. Culture—like football—has always been politicised in the turbulent world of Arab nationalism. more >
Seminario de Educación Artística, Cultura y Ciudadanía: Formación para la Vida
La oficina de Chile de la OEI en conjunto con la Universidad de Los Lagos están organizando el Seminario de Educación Artística, Cultura y Ciudadanía: Formación para la Vida. more >
Report: state arts funding creates revenue
A new study shows arts organizations generate almost $400 million for the state's economy. But that isn't sparing them from state budget cuts. more >
Arts and Education, Culture and Citizenship Seminar: Education for Life
OEI’s Office in Chile, in collaboration with Universidad de los Lagos, is organizing ‘Arts and Education, Culture and Citizenship: Education for Life’. more >
Capital of Culture program gets big cuts
While Tallinn city hall and the national government quibble about how much should be paid, roughly half the events for the Capital of Culture 2011 could be canceled due to a lack of funding. more >
‘Arab Culture Capital’ celebrations begin today
The curtain goes up this evening on the biggest cultural event in Qatar’s history, when the celebration of “Doha Capital of Arab Culture 2010” gets underway at Sheraton Doha’s Dafna hall. more >
'Reading crisis' alarms Moroccan writers
Ministry of Culture data show that Moroccans read only 2.5 books per year, while 1 in 10 don't read books at all. Worried by what they characterise as a national "reading crisis", Moroccan writers recently gathered to discuss restoring readers' love of books. more >
Four Mekong nations reaffirm cultural connection
Cambodia , Laos , Myanmar and Vietnam have resolved to strengthen cultural connectivity between their countries, building on historic friendships and shared heritages to exchange knowledge and boost development. more >
Northern Ireland to launch new national opera company
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland has announced it is to create and fund a new opera company for the region following months of speculation about its intention to amalgamate two exiting companies. more >
A Sense of the Possible: Art in America
Senior Programmer John Nein opened the Art in America panel on Thursday by pointing out that the panelists – two artists and two people involved in creating arts policy in Washington, D.C. – would be talking about something ineffable: “a sense of what is possible.” more >
Direct Arts Instruction vs. Arts Integration: a chance for reconciliation
In the recent issue of Teaching Artist Journal, Arnold Aprill, Founding and Creative Director of Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education, addresses the relationship between direct instruction in the arts and arts integrated learning, in his article “Direct Instruction vs. Art Integration: A False Dichotomy.” more >
Brazil’s 3.0 to go live at Campus Party
In 2004, the Creative Commons project in Brazil was launched. The then-Minister of Culture and Grammy Award-winning musician, Gilberto Gil applauded the efforts of these “freedom fighters of cyberspace” and endorsed the project as a way to solve copyright issues. Today, six years later, CC Brazil is unveiling Version 3.0 of the Creative Commons licenses. more >
Norms relaxed for work near monuments
The Ministry of Culture has come to the rescue of ongoing infrastructure projects in the Capital. more >
Blog: Expressive Life
Do we need a new framework for culture? more >
Guidelines prompt artists to take cover
Some are feeling the pressure to avoid contentious subjects, writes Joyce Morgan. After her exhibition was closed and her house raided by police, the Archibald Prize-winning artist Cherry Hood made a pivotal decision. She would no longer depict nude children but would concentrate on portraits instead. more >
Ministry not ready to rate online games
The ministry's official publication, China Culture Daily, responded to previous media reports that an age-appropriate ratings system would soon be implemented, indicating whether the games were appropriate for children and young teenagers. more >
Scottish arts failed by trouble at the top
Devolution should have been a bright new dawn for the arts in Scotland, allowing local control over cultural policy for the first time, but progress has been slow and at times painful. more >
Northern Ireland arts funding faces £1m budget cut
More than £1m is being sliced from the budget of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, which helps fund a range of artists and arts organisations. The £1.1m cut follows budget reductions across the NI government departments, including £25.9m from the Department of Culture, which funds the council. more >
Games' cultural legacy will disappear if arts funding cuts continue
It's good news Bramwell Tovey will stay another five years conducting the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Similarly positive is the success of the Cultural Olympiad, the dozens of cultural events surrounding the 2010 Olympics. It's all planting the seeds for a cultural legacy. But will it all evaporate after the Games leave town? more >
Making culture pay
As far as Council for Cultural Affairs Minister Emile Chih-jen Sheng is concerned, the recently passed Cultural Creativity Act represents a fresh start for Taiwan’s arts sector and signals the government’s commitment to promoting viable homegrown creative industries on the domestic and international stage. more >
ARS BALTICA Secretariat has moved to Germany
ARS BALTICA Secretariat has moved to the State Cultural Centre of Salzau, located in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein/ Germany. For more information about the transfer of the Secretariat, please visit www.ars-baltica.net
more >
2010, Año internacional de Acercamiento de las Culturas
En 2010 se celebrará el Año Internacional de Acercamiento de las Culturas (ver Resoluciones). El objetivo de este Año consiste en poner el sello de la aproximación entra las culturas en cada política, a nivel local, nacional, regional u internacional, involucrando al mayor número de participantes. more >
Creative Edge Int. celebrates partnership with Saudi TV
Creative Edge Int. presented an overview of the latest developments made to the Saudi state run TV channels (STVs). The event follows an agreement between the Saudi Minister of Culture and Information and Creative Edge Int. in which Creative Edge Int. was declared the sole representative and developer of STVs. more >
Youngsters 'should get country dancing mentors'
Young people should get country dancing mentors to help safeguard Scottish traditions, it has been urged. more >
2010, International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures
The year 2010 will be celebrated as the International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures. more >
Sharjah Ruler attends opening ceremony for celebrating Doha as Capital of Arab Culture
H. H. Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, attended today a ceremony for launching Doha as the 2010 Arab Capital of Culture under the theme ''Arab Culture as a Homeland and Doha as a Capital''. Jerusalem was the 2009 Capital of Arab Culture. more >
February 2010
Aprobado Decreto Ley sobre Seguridad Social del Sector Artístico
El documento ofrece respuesta a planteamientos realizados en los congresos de la UNEAC y unifica la legislación vigente para los creadores y trabajadores artísticos. more >
A Decree-Law on Artists’ Social Security Has Been Approved
This document responds to suggestions proposed at UNEAC congresses and unifies the legislation currently in force for creators and artists. more >
Obama's NEA grants shifting to propaganda
It’s amazing how quickly artists’ fear of government censorship evaporates when a candidate they support takes office. In the late 1980s and 1990s, the arts community vigorously protested when conservatives questioned whether the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) should fund art works that many considered acts of blasphemy, obscenity and pornography. more >
UNESCO makes move to protect Haitian heritage
UNESCO has called for a ban in the trade and transfer of cultural goods and artifacts from Haiti. As Agence France-Presse reports, the specialized branch of the UN Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization will be taking an active role in the struggle to prevent the country’s heritage being pillaged in the wake of the devastating earthquake of January 12. more >
UNESCO urges ban on trade of Haitian Art
In an attempt to secure Haiti’s cultural heritage following the earthquake that devastated the nation last month, Irina Bokoa, the director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), has called on the body’s Security Council to pass a measure banning the sale of Haitian art and artifacts. more >
From neighborhood to museum?
The Ministry of Culture plans to spruce up Gamaliya and to develop it into an open air museum, like its neighbor, el-Muezz Street. "I need your help and support,” Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni told Gamaliya residents during his 7 January visit to the neighborhood, according to the local press. more >
Is Media Center taking conservative tone?
Members of Mediact International Solidarity protest Tuesday in front of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for depriving Mediact of its contract to run Media Center, a state-subsidized media education facility, and hiring a conservative organization as new operator. more >
Survey - local women read more than men
A recent survey on "the book and reading" which was instructed by President Ben Ali in 2009, showed that 22.74% of Tunisians have never read any book. The survey also reveals that women read more than men (+7.15%). more >
Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Culture resigns
RA Deputy Minister of Culture Davit Muradyan resigned from his post, said Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan at today’s government session. According to him, Muradyan decided to pursue his creative work. more >
The Liberal Democrats' arts policy revealed
Funding to be retained at current levels; BBC Trust to be abolished; national arts organisations to become truly national. more >
Condemned for wanting to broadcast woman’s lecture in Saudi Literary Club.
The chairman of Al-Khansa Hall speaks of the "satanic" plan to broadcast live a scholar’s lecture. Culture minister announces an investigation and possible action. In his defence the failed broadcast of the scholar and her husband. more >
China confiscates 36 mln illegal audio, video products in 2009
China confiscated 36.13 million illegal audio and video products during last year's nationwide campaign, the Ministry of Culture said Thursday. Law enforcement department across the country also revoked 6,632 licenses and imposed 180 million yuan (26.4 million U.S. dollars) in fines. more >
Milestones in 2009 cultural diplomacy
The year of cultural diplomacy 2009 was deployed strongly and comprehensively, contributing greatly to the foreign relations programme set out by the Party and State. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Pham Gia Khiem wrote these comments in an article entitled “Milestones in the Year of Cultural Diplomacy 2009.” more >
Zabid cultural heritage to be preserved
The Ministerial Committee assigned to treat challenges and dangers threatening Zabid cultural heritage held a meeting on Sunday chaired by Deputy Prime Minister for Local Affairs Saidq Abu Ras. The meeting discussed a report presented by Minister of Culture Mohammed al-Maflahi over the current situation of Zabid City and its position in the World Heritage List. more >
Jero Wacik's first 100 days of his second term
The January 31, 2010 edition of Bali Post carried an interview with Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik in which he assessed the success of his work program for the first one-hundred days of his second ministerial term. What follows is balidiscovery.com's free translation of that interview. more >
Sports and arts feel pinch from toxic brand backlash
Public anger over bank bailouts and concern over binge drinking could spell trouble for the sponsorship industry, writes Richard Gillis more >
Google book scanning: Cultural theft or freedom of information?
A proposed partnership between the French government and Google is stoking fears in France that the country's literary treasures will fall under commercial control of a U.S. technology company. Frederic Mitterand, the French minister of culture, has said that Google came to France with "the attitude of a conqueror" signing "unacceptable" and "one-sided" deals. more >
State Award in science, culture and literature founded in Azerbaijan
Ilham Aliyev Ilham Aliyev approved the regulation and composition of the Commission on state awards in science, culture and literature of Azerbaijan. more >
Spanish ministers outline Council Presidency priorities
Spanish government ministers this week continued outlining the priorities for their country's presidency of the EU Council to a range of European Parliament committees including culture. MEPs took the opportunity to question the ministers as they embarked upon their six-month spell in office. more >
Culture Ministry sees no cultural value in white-red-white flag 16
The Ministry of Culture is not going to consider the issue of giving the white-red-white flag a status of historical and cultural property. Such a proposal had been made by the Belarusian Popular Front Party “Adradzhennye” to the Belarusian Republican Council on historical-cultural heritage issues of the Ministry of Culture. more >
China launches initiative for parental supervision of online games
According to ifeng.com, an initiative has been launched in China to enable parents to supervise the computer games that their children play. more >
Ghazni prepares for 2013 Center for Islamic Culture celebration
Several members of the newly elected Ghazni Provincial Council met with government officials, district line directors, elders and the Ghazni Provincial Reconstruction Team to focus public attention on the extensive planning and development projects necessary to host the 2013 Center for Islamic Culture in Ghazni City. Ghazni was selected to serve as the Asian capital of Islamic civilization for the year 2013. more >
Creative Rural Communities report launch
UK CREATIVE RURAL communities contribute more than 500m p.a. to the creative economy, British MPs have been told at the launch of the Creative Rural Communties report. more >
Haitians cancel Carnival celebration
Haitians have celebrated Carnival through dictatorships, military coups and bloodshed. Popular belief was that if a government failed to deliver on Carnival, it was sure to fall, said Marie Laurence Lassegue, Haiti's minister of culture and information. But this year, the three-day festival has been canceled. more >
We'll support you if you come our way
Under the proposals put forward by the federal Arts Minister and former Midnight Oil frontman, foreign entertainers would have to engage at least one local band or musician as a support act for each of their performances in Australia to receive a visa. more >
Artists Break Down Barriers Between India, Pakistan
Two of the biggest media groups in Pakistan and India have orchestrated an attempt at a peace initiative called Quest for Peace. The goal is to bring the two nations together through music, literature; and other cultural and business interactions more >
Despite green mantra, public agencies use more electricity
Despite their repeated mantra to save energy, government organizations including the Ministry of Culture, turned out to have consumed more electricity in the latter half of last year compared to the same period in 2008, a civic group announced yesterday. more >
Ministers launch library campaign
Culture ministers, local government experts and trade unionists have launched a joint campaign to promote public library use amid increasing fears over cuts across council arts budgets. more >
MCST is crossing a line with management of ARKO leadership
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s disregard for the law regarding Arts Council Korea (ARKO) Chairman Kim Jung-heun is crossing a line. The situation has reached the point where we believe a resolution for the situation will be impossible unless Minister of Culture Yu In-chon, who pushed Kim’s illegal dismissal, steps down. more >
Official: 73% of cases against press cleared
The Ministry of Culture and Information has cleared about 73 percent of cases regarding various violations against the press, Abdulrahman Bawazir, Secretary General of Press Violations at the ministry, has said. more >
Arts Policy Salaries in New York, NY
Average arts policy salaries for job postings in New York, NY are 23% higher than average arts policy salaries for job postings nationwide. more >
Cuts in Arts Council funding
Letter of defense from Seán Mac Cárthaigh, Director of Public Affairs of The Arts Council to Willie White's criticisms (Arts, February 12th) of The Arts Council's funding allocations and complaints that the council is too procedural and takes too long to make decisions on which projects to fund. more >
National Council for Culture and the Arts: goals for the future
The president of the Catalan National Council for Culture and the Arts, Francesc Guardans, explained the goals of this new public agency that has, since its launch 10 months ago, been working on issues such as the promotion of excellence in creation, the professional development, promotion and dissemination of cultural products, as well as the safeguarding of cultural diversity, in order to attract the interest of the public towards the arts and promote the access to quality culture production. more >
Issues important to the arts are also important to society
This is the premise on which the Redford Center co-convened the first National Arts Policy Roundtable with Americans for the Arts in October 2006. more >
Submission on the National Cultural Policy
In preparing this submission on a National Cultural Policy, CHASS sought input from more than 80 member organisations and other peak bodies in the creative and performing arts disciplines of Australian Universities. more >
New chairman of Culture Committee of Kazakhstan appointed
The new chairman of Culture Committee of the Ministry of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan has been appointed. "The Minister Muhtar Kul-Muhammed introduced the new chairman of Culture Committee - Kozybaev Ilyas Manashevich," the press service informs. more >
New websites of Azerbaijan's regional libraries launched
Under the decree of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev dated 6 October 2008 "About ratification of the state program of development of the library information sphere for 2008-2013", the Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture and Tourism continues work in the development of library affairs. more >
Reframing the cultural policy debate
The Rudd Government's decision to open debate about a national cultural policy is an opportunity for a comprehensive reframing of the debate. more >
Sweeping arts changes at Creative NZ
Creative New Zealand's four governing bodies are to be scrapped and replaced with a new umbrella board to oversee arts funding, slashing the number of directors from 28 to 13. The Arts Council, the Arts Board, Te Waka Toi and the Pacific Arts Committee will disappear under the new model. more >
El CoNCA creará un fondo de compra de obras de arte para evitar 'caso Centelles'
El Consell Nacional de la Cultura i de les Arts (CoNCA) de Cataluña, creará el Fondo Nacional de Compra de Obras de Arte, por encargo de la Conselleria de Cultura y Medios de Comunicación, para evitar otro 'caso Centelles', según anunció hoy su presidente, Francesc Guardans, en una comisión parlamentaria para hacer balance del organismo y apuntar próximos proyectos. more >
The CoNCA establishes a fund to purchase artwork
The National Council for Culture and the Arts (Consell Nacional de la Cultura i de les Arts - CoNCA) of Catalonia, has created a National Fund for the purchase of works of art commissioned by the Ministry of Culture and Media, to avoid another 'Centelles case', said its chairman, Francesc Guardans, during a parliamentary committee. more >
French culture shock over 'Work Less' art.
A Chinese artist found herself caught up in a political row after she decided to poke fun at France's work ethic. more >
OAS Office of Education and Culture launches Horizontal Cooperation Fund
Horizontal Cooperation Fund for Technical Assistance Missions in Culture. A Component of the Project: Culture in Development: An Inter-American Information Network more >
European art & the financial crisis: yes, it matters
Art is in crisis – again. No, it’s not a fight between alter-modernism and post-modernism or any other art world tussle. This time it’s all about the money. more >
Oficina de Educación y Cultura de la OEA lanza Fondo de Cooperación Horizontal
Fondo de Cooperación Horizontal para Misiones de Asistencia Técnica del proyecto “La cultura en el desarrollo: una red interamericana de información” more >
Minister Yu warns against politicizing cultural policies
Yu In-chon, the longest-serving minister of culture, sports and tourism since 1990, warned against politicizing cultural issues Thursday. more >
Diversity needed in American orchestras: Violinist who serves on Obama arts panel speaks at WMU
American orchestras need to develop and embrace musicians and leaders of different ethnic and racial backgrounds if they wish to remain relevant, a member of the Obama National Arts Policy Committee said Wednesday . more >
Arts indaba to tackle policy, economic issues
Harare is playing host to a national arts and culture indaba in which 30 speakers from various sectors are expected to dialogue with nearly 100 delegates on issues of arts policy, cultural expression, constitutional reform, global contexts and funding institutions. more >
UNESCO lays foundation for International Coordination Committee (ICC) for Haitian culture
UNESCO laid the foundation for an International Coordination Committee (ICC) for Haitian culture at a meeting on 16 February in Paris. Addressing the Minister, Ms Bokova said, “Our goal is to define the most effective means that will allow UNESCO to help prepare and implement a comprehensive programme for the benefit of Haitian culture, by drawing on the vast capacities of your country’s cultural community, which has already mobilized its efforts, and by calling on internationally renowned experts.” more >
Big Musical Questions, and Some Answers
The topic was weighty: how music can save the world. more >
Singapore Looks for a Softer Side of Growth
Singapore may be best known as a hub of electronics manufacturing and transportation, but as it plans for its next stage of economic growth, its leaders are looking toward a radically different sector: the arts. more >
Dangers posed by globalisation on culture highlighted
A “fake wave” of modernisation, driven by an artificial fascination with the West, has swept the Arab world since the onset of the 20th century, resulting in many mistakes due to the misconception that heritage should be changed to suit the age, HE the Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kuwari has said.
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Hard times: how the recession if affection arts funding around the globe
Shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt wants a US-style culture of philanthropists to fund the arts. But is this working in recessionary America? And how are other places coping? more >
The BBVA donates funds to create a national school for the performing arts in Uruguay
The Spanish bank BBVA donated funds to restore the facade of a historic building in Montevideo’s downtown where the National Institute for the Performing Arts of Uruguay will function, according to the agreement signed today between this institution and the Ministry of Education and Culture of the South American country. more >
El BBVA dona fondos para crear una escuela nacional de artes escénicas en Uruguay
El banco español BBVA donó fondos para restaurar la fachada de un edificio histórico del centro de Montevideo que se convertirá en el Instituto Nacional de Artes Escénicas de Uruguay, según un convenio firmado hoy entre la institución y el Ministerio de Cultura del país sudamericano. more >
2010, International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures launched at UNESCO
The Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova yesterday launched the International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures with the establishment of the High Panel on Peace and Dialogue among Cultures. more >
Cultural Policy Book to be Serialized
Now is the time for all Liberians to begin paying serious, sustained and unstoppable attention to their rich cultural heritage, so that we may come to know it, appreciate it, love it and practice it. more >
ACT - Arts and Culture Trust
The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT), of which Nedbank is a founding Trustee, showcased Development Grant recipients in KZN recently. According to ACT Programme Manager, Nomalanga Nkosi, "The ACT Development programme is about nourishing all art forms, supporting creators, and making arts and culture more accessible to all South Africans. more >
Culture Ministry to develop Cultural Heritage Code
The Minister of Culture, Religious Affairs and National Heritage Hunor Kelemen stated on Tuesday that one of the Ministry’s priorities for 2010 was to develop a Cultural Heritage Code and to submit it to the Parliament by October. more >
Parents to blame for lack of reading culture
Parents were cited as the main cause behind the low reading culture in Brunei by Dr Mataim Bakar, Director of Social Services Section at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. more >
Arts funding cuts in Canada: the shape of UK things to come?
Blog: A howl of pain from British Columbia: not from the British curling team, but from Mark Leiren-Young, a Vancouver playwright who has written a piece, bemoaning the province's 88% cuts to public spending on the arts. British artists will be hoping that's not the shape of things to come in 2012. more >
Danish cabinet reshuffled
Denmark's Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen has reshuffled his cabinet, changing the holders of all but five of the 18 ministerial portfolios. Per Stig Møller is the new Minister for Culture. more >
Brumby backs down on live music laws
Melbourne 3000 Melbourne's live music venues have been given a reprieve, after the Victorian Government signalled it would back down on its contentious liquor licensing laws. As part of its crackdown on violence in Melbourne's streets, the Government introduced new laws this year requiring all late-night venues with live amplified music to put on extra security. more >
The naked ballerina
An Iranian newspaper with a record of needling the regime has been forced to change its masthead because it was seen as depicting a naked ballerina, even though it was a stylised version of the title’s name in Persian calligraphy. more >
The future of arts funding will be decided close to home
Forget the big political debates – the biggest threat to Britain’s theatres comes not from Arts Council rebudgeting, but local council cuts more >
El Consejo de las Artes necesita 100 asesores
El Consejo de la Cultura y las Artes (Conca) cuenta este año con un presupuesto de 15,5 millones de euros, de los que 10,5 se destinan a subvenciones a los creadores. Entre los cambios en la estructura del sistema por el que se distribuyen estas ayudas, presentados ayer, destaca que se pasará de contar con 38 asesores a 100. more >
The figures don't lie but they bend quite a bit
Which theater here draws the most people? The editor of the Guinness Book of World Records rubbed his forehead in confusion. Before him was a thick document, "The Public Theaters in Israel 2008 Report," prepared by the Center for Information and Culture Studies, which was set up and is financed by the Ministry of Culture "to document and analyze cultural endeavor in Israel." more >
The Arts Council needs 100 advisors
The Council for Culture and the Arts (Conca) in Catalonia, Spain, this year counts on a budget of 15.5 million euros, of which 10.5% are for grants to creators. Among the changes in the structure of the system by which grants are distributed, 38-100 consultants will be needed. more >
UNESCO Secretary General advised Government to see culture as a means of empowerment
The Secretary General of the National Commission for UNESCO, Mr Antonio Maynard says they have offered their expertise to the government, in using culture as a tool of economic empowerment. more >
Artists might lose life time salary
The center-right government plans to abolish the so called life time artist salary. Maximum 157 people are receiving SEK 214 000 per year, without explicit demands on producing new pieces of art, music or literature. more >
Noises off: Can bloggers save theatre funding?
Blogg: As the future of arts funding hangs in the balance, will new blogs help theatre workers get themselves heard? more >
Turkmenistan sets up bodies for procurement of museum exhibits and films
Turkmenistan intends to begin global distribution of Turkmen cinema and video products and systematic purchase of selected classic foreign films for translating into Turkmen and mass demonstrations. To this end, the country plans to establish the Kinovideohyzmat Association authorized to conclude contracts with foreign companies. more >
Government earmarks NIS 160 million to digitize Israeli culture
Some NIS 160 million has been earmarked for the Culture Ministry to digitalize Israel's cultural and spiritual heritage, ministry officials told Haaretz. The ministry intends to set up a virtual archive for the public to access cultural assets of permanent value from the early years of the state. more >
President makes MICAT appointments
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has made a number of appointments in Government, affecting the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism (MICAT). Mr. Cletus Sieh has been appointed Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism. more >
Chart the Future with Americans for the Arts Green Papers
As a way to celebrate the successes of the past 50 years in the arts field, Americans for the Arts has collected Green Papers from a variety of national arts service organizations and peer groups representing more than 20 different perspectives and disciplines. more >
The cultural legacy of the 2010 Winter Olympics
Sport wasn’t the only winning act of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Music, art, performances and programs riveted hundreds of thousands of onlookers who gathered in official venues and on city streets to enjoy Olympic-inspired culture. more >
IBM aids British Library with web archive
Using a technology called BigSheets, IBM is assisting in the British Library's effort to preserve the U.K.'s online culture. more >
Delays frustrate WA Ballet's grand plans
The West Australian Ballet has accused the Australia Council of thwarting its plans to become a fully fledged company and jeopardising a $1.2 million annual grant from the state government, which is tied to more federal government funds. more >
Government to set up online 'App Store'
The massive success of Apple's online content `App Store has technology companies around the world racing to produce similar products. The latest to jump on the bandwagon is the Korean government.
more >
Further tightening by world’s biggest online censor
China on Feb 23 began implementing strict new controls on internet by requiring all individuals wishing to operate Web sites to first of all meet in person with regulators from the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. more >
Freedom of expression
The Embassy of Bangladesh celebrated the Shaheed Diwas (Language Martyr’s Day) and International Mother Language Day 2010 at a programme organised on February 24 at the Russian Culture Centre. Minister for Culture and Parliamentary Affairs Dr Minendra Rijal graced the function as the chief guest. more >
The 2010 Budget Statement in full
The full text of Finance Minister Paula Cox's Budget Statement delivered to the House of Assembly yesterday indicated that the Ministry of Culture and Social Rehabilitation is to be provided a budget of $72 million in 2010–2011. more >
Culture defines who we are
Secretary to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Wimal Rubasinghe spells out the Government's mission and vision in the vital area of arts and culture. more >
G-20 Tourism Ministers to meet in Seoul
Tourism ministers from 20 major countries will gather in Korea to discuss how to boost the industry later this year. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced last week that Korea is going to host the second T-20 meeting in November. more >
Cultural Policy News: Budget
The budget of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia for the year 2010 is planned at 68.26 million LVL (97.5 million EUR). This represents a reduction of 20% in comparison to the year 2009. more >
March 2010
Barcelona libraries paid out 100,000 euros in copyright payments last year
Under European law, municipalities must pay a management company for copyright, but now the Spanish Federation of Municipalities (FEM) is negotiating an agreement with the Ministry of Culture for it to take over the payments. more >
Publishing Scotland tackles "challenging" report
Controversy over the future structure of Scottish publishing continued to simmer at the annual conference of Publishing Scotland in Edinburgh yesterday (24th February). more >
Tunisian film producer appointed Chairwoman of “Fonds Sud Cinema” in France
The Tunisian film producer, Dora Bouchoucha, was recently appointed by the French Minister of Culture and Communication, Mr. Frederic Mitterrand as the chairwoman of the commission of the “Fonds Sud Cinema”. more >
Minister of Culture, electronic books increased by 35 percent in 2009
The Minister of Culture of Spain said, electronic books increased by 35 percent in 2009, along with 375 million books. more >
The Participatory Museum
The Participatory Museum is a practical guide to working with community members and visitors to make cultural institutions more dynamic, relevant, essential places. more >
President Ben Ali announces set of measures in sector of culture
President Ben Ali announces set of measures in sector of culture, among others, the restoration and maintenance of all archeological and historical monuments in the city of Kairouan, the proclamation of 2010 as the “Year of the Cinema” and the promotion of reading and of the book in Tunisia. more >
Welcome to the culture club
Trying to encourage take-up of cultural services can be tough. A recent MJ debate, organised with Creativity, Culture and Education (CCE), asked how we can engage young people in the arts. more >
Head of NEA sees arts as economic boost
The new chairmen of the National Endowment for the Arts hails Philadelphia for its use of the arts as an economic engine. more >
Arts must prove worth to keep funding
Arts organisations will have to start proving their value if they are to continue receiving government grants, a debate in London last night was told. more >
Margaret Hodge: the arts are a ‘closed shop’
Is networking the most important talent you need to get on in the arts? Increasing reliance on internships – 40% of graduates entering the arts are working unpaid – is not happening in a vacuum; it’s occurring within a wider ecology of recession. more >
Obama Wants to Consolidate Curriculum Programs
A chief concern is that the consolidation would lead to the neglect of issues Congress has long identified as national priorities, such as teaching U.S. history, boosting arts education, and distributing books to needy children. more >
Flaherty keeps status quo for arts and culture
No new cash, but no cuts either, drawing a mixed reaction from Canadian artists. more >
Romania and Bulgaria jointly present cultural values in Europe
Minister of Culture and National Patrimony Hunor Kelemen and his Bulgarian counterpart Vezhdi Rashidov had an informal meeting on Wednesday, in Bucharest, during which they tackled the topic of the common effort both countries needed to make, so that their shared cultural identity and values should be known to Europe. more >
Bulgaria Culture Minister Awarded for 'Lifetime Achievements'
Bulgaria Culture Minister Vezhdi Rashidov is to be awarded in Moscow for his lifetime achievements in art. Photo by BGNES Bulgaria Minister of Culture Vezhdi Rashidov is to be celebrated in Moscow for his lifetime artistic achievements. more >
Algerian Culture Minster arrives in Yemen
Algerian Minster of Culture Khalida Toumi arrived here on Sunday to attend the declaration of Tarim City in Yemen's eastern province of Hadramout as the capital of Islamic culture for 2010. more >
Back the arts by bringing the curtain down on gimmicks
The Government's scheme to provide one million free theatre tickets to under-26s was announced with much fanfare by former Culture Secretary, Andy Burnham, in the autumn of 2008 but, sadly, has rapidly unravelled since. more >
Moroccan culture minister arrives in Doha
Moroccan Culture Minister Bensalem Hamesh arrived in Doha yesterday to attend the opening ceremony of the Moroccan cultural week due to kick off here on Monday and runs for five days. more >
Arts funding under review
Creative New Zealand can't guarantee that arts groups that currently receive its funding on a regular basis will continue to do so. Creative NZ says it has supported some groups for more than three decades, but that may not be meeting the needs of the changing arts scene. more >
Why we need a ministry of joined-up thinking
While the Government’s smart-economy framework plan implicitly recognises the important role the cultural and creative sectors will play, it could be argued that both sectors are still poorly understood and fragmented. more >
Federal budget approach to arts funding contrasts provincial plan
Blog by Janet Smith. Two governments faced with hard times. Two very different approaches to arts funding during a recession. more >
Culture Minister discusses co-operation with partners
The Angolan minister of Culture, Rosa Cruz e Silva, discussed Tuesday, in Luanda, with partners, issues related to intervention in the execution of cultural projects this year. Rosa Cruz e Silva explained this year's Government action programmes, and requested support for their implementation. more >
Google partners with Italy for groundbreaking book scanning deal
Blog by Mercedes Bunz. Google and the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage have reached an agreement to digitise up to a million out-of-copyright works at the national libraries in Florence and Rome, including some by Galileo. more >
Swiss Arts Council opens Joburg office
The liaison office of Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council, in Southern Africa, announces the opening of a new office in Newtown, Johannesburg. more >
New deputy culture minister for artistic affairs appointed
Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hosseini appointed Hamid Shahabadi as deputy culture minister for artistic affairs here on Monday. more >
Cultural values meltdown
A visiting Moroccan minister has blamed the “lack of values” for the recurring financial crises that have been affecting world economies. Major financial crises occur when local culture gets separated from national economies, he said. more >
Culture from chaos: where next for Iraqi art?
We know about the devastation and looting – but what impact has war had on Iraq's artistic heritage? Seven years after the invasion, Hadani Ditmars returns to Baghdad to find out. more >
National Arts Council Visits Luderitz
The National Arts Council of Namibia (NAC) who aims to encourage widespread public participation in arts, met with approximately 50 young people at the Luderitz Youth Centre to discuss and work out ways on how young people can build strong art organisations on local level, while promoting awareness of the value of arts and thereby also develop professional development of art leaders. more >
Cuban Minister for Culture calls to preserve traditions
Abel Prieto Jiménez, minister for Culture, stated in Guantánamo that one of the main challenges of the nation is to preserve and transmit the love for traditions from one generation to the next one. more >
NEA chairman gets an earful on city tour
On the latest leg of a national fact-finding tour, National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman put boots on the ground in San Diego yesterday. The visit, the first California stop on the chairman’s “Art Works” tour of American cities, came in the wake of major arts-funding disappointment for San Diego. more >
JCCI meeting to set guidelines for cultural club
The Jeddah Information and Culture Club will be established following the first meeting of its founding members on Tuesday, according to Turrad Al-Asmari, a founding member and the director of media at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). more >
Half of publishers refused participation
The omission for want of space of about 50 percent of the publishing houses which applied to participate in the Riyadh Book Fair has come in for severe criticism. more >
Program primes businesses for arts support
Business for the Arts -- also known as BftA -- unveiled its artsVest program, a matching grant initiative for local organizations. more >
Some art collectors now adding terrorism coverage
The price of the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 on both the insurance industry and the American psyche was high, but part of that toll is being paid by art gallery owners, museums and even some high end collectors of art, especially in New York City and a few other presumed areas of potential future terrorist acts. more >
Culture minister praises UNESCO workshop
Angolan minister of Culture, Rosa Cruz e Silva, Tuesday in Luanda said that the workshop on "Promotion and Research of UNESCO's Conventions" will help the sector's members upgrade their knowledge on implementing of the international legal instruments methods in Angola. more >
Libraries may collapse in a decade: Russia Cultural Minister
"The editions printed back in the Soviet era will be worn out by then, and newly published books are unaffordable. The average price of a new book is about 300 roubles now," Minister of Culture Alexander Avdeev said . more >
Feds defend $450K for art, design shows
The State Department is poised to spend nearly a half-million dollars on a pair of upcoming art and architecture exhibitions in Italy, an expense that fiscal watchdogs criticize with the nation's budget picture stuck in the red. more >
Montenegro and Bulgaria will sign culture cooperation agreement
This three-year program of cooperation relates to the field of music, theater, visual arts, publishing, protection of cultural assets, protection of copyrights, cinema, prevention of illegal export, import and transfer of works of art, direct cooperation between related institutions and other types of cooperation. more >
Arts in Wales braced for swingeing cuts
Arts organisations in Wales are bracing themselves for cuts that could see 20% of their budgets disappearing over three years. more >
House considering penny tax for arts bill
HB 1049 would enable every Georgia county to hold a referendum on dedicating up to one penny of sales tax for arts and cultural groups and other economic development projects. Each county would be able to decide how to split its penny -- or fraction of a penny. more >
Artists benefit from Olympic and Paralympic spotlight
The Cultural Olympiad put Canadian artists in the national and international spotlight, but government cuts to funding for the arts may make it difficult for them to benefit from the attention. more >
Iranian video game may score big in West
The Iranian engineering students, programmers and fantasy animators who created "Garshasp, the Monster Slayer" have proved that young Iranians can carve out opportunities for themselves against a backdrop of international sanctions, domestic deterrents and anti-government demonstrations. more >
China to boost cultural tourism
Cultural tourism in China is facing a golden opportunity for development with favorable policies and growing demand, a senior official said here Sunday. more >
Beauty Pageants finally included in Arts and Culture Policy
Initially, no mention (not even in passing) was made to beauty pageants within what had previously been believed to be the final draft of the policy in late January. more >
New national opera company to be created
Arts Minister Martin Cullen has announced the establishment of an Irish National Opera. Formed from the merger of two State-funded companies, Opera Ireland and Opera Theatre Company, the company will be based in Dublin and will also tour nationwide. more >
Solomon Islands paper makers to hold workshops in NZ
The event stems from a project first supported by New Zealand in 1994 to give villagers in Solomon Islands the chance to generate revenue from print and paper making and create a sustainable income. more >
Council of Pacific Arts examines efforts to strengthen cultural sector
Culture representatives from around the Pacific have gathered this week to discuss ways to enhance the profile of culture in the region. more >
Nation’s Arts Community Applauds Health Care Reform Bill Passage
This bill ensures that the nation’s artists and arts workers will now receive increased access to the health coverage they deserve. more >
Freedom to Create launches new website
The new website, www.freedomtocreate.com, is an online portal to the organisation's grant-making, investments and the Freedom to Create Prize. more >
Follow the money
The arts are booming in Britain, thanks to a decade of investment. To jeopardise this would be cultural – and economic – folly, argues Royal Opera House boss Tony Hall.
News on the same topic is also available in Spanish: Artistas británicos lanzan un manifiesto pidiendo más inversión en las artes
more >
Banking on culture
The MLA joined Britain's leading cultural and heritage organisations to launch their vision for the future of arts and culture. Cultural Capital: A Manifesto for the Future shows how investing in culture and heritage can help Britain's social and economic recovery from recession. more >
The Mountaintop: Hit play. No subsidy. Time to rethink government arts funding
Government arts funding distorts the market against unfunded but potentially hit plays, like The Mountaintop, portraying Martin Luther King's final day. more >
Tate, British Museum Plead Against Arts Funding Cuts
The heads of the British Museum, Tate, National Theatre and Southbank Centre pleaded for the next government to avoid cutting cultural funding, as U.K. voters prepare to vote in a general election. more >
New online space for Young Researchers
Today LabforCulture.org launched the Young Researchers Forum, an online space to share, collaborate, network and reflect. It aims to strengthen the community of young researcher’s so their work is peer to peer supported and more accessible in the wider research community. more >
Orchestrating a boom
These are the good days for domestic symphony orchestras, but while some are shining musically others are searching for ways to regain their relevance in a society where music is mainly served in mp3 format and on karaoke channels. more >
Theatre an instrument of artistic manifestation - Minister
The Angolan Ministry of Culture (MINCULT) Saturday in Luanda considered theatre in Angola as a great instrument of political and artistic manifestation, contributing to awaken the society about the country’s big causes since the struggle for independency. more >
NEA's Rocco Landesman tours country to underscore link between arts and jobs
On Friday morning, National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman was not jetting from city to town observing the country's arts machinery, but sitting in the agency's conference room reporting back. more >
South African stars to miss out on World Cup
Musicians plan protests over being left out of opening ceremony in favour of foreign acts. more >
Recession-busting lottery boom adds millions to heritage fund
Thanks to an increase in lottery ticket sales, the Heritage Lottery Fund will have an extra £25m a year to distribute in grants from now until 2018. Good causes in the arts and sport will be hearing similar good news about their share of lottery profits. more >
Spanish EU Presidency - EU defends value of culture as a source of wealth and warns of dangers such as piracy
During this first working session, Mercedes Elvira de Palacio, the Ministry of Culture Under Secretary, spoke in favour of the need to overcome the gulf between economy and culture. more >
What's the matter with Sweden?
As American musicians wait to see whether Obama's landmark health-care legislation-- finally signed last week after a year of heated debate and concessions-- will do anything to relieve their worries about surging medical costs, countries such as Sweden, Norway, and Canada make it easier for bands to focus on the creative arts by providing not only universal health care, but often cold hard cash, too. more >
Ruth Mackenzie: 'There's no time to mess around'
As the new director of the Cultural Olympiad, Ruth Mackenzie has just two years to come up with a world-beating programme. more >
Starving artists
Support - federal or state - for individuals has all but ended, an unspoken issue when the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts came to town. more >
In Spain, Internet piracy is part of the culture
Illegal downloading of movies and TV shows is so prevalent that studios may give up selling DVDs in the country. more >
Directory of African cultural institutions and organisations to be published
The Arterial Network seeks to publish a directory of African cultural institutions and organisations this year. Please visit the country cultural profiles section of the Arts in Africa website (www.artsinafrica.com) and check whether your organisation is listed. more >
Government Of Scotland Provides Support For Creative Industries
Culture Minister Fiona Hyslop will lead the UK delegation at an informal meeting of the Council of EU Culture Ministers, organised by the Spanish presidency and being held in Barcelona tomorrow. more >
April 2010
National Arts Advocacy Day – April 12–13
Coordinated by Americans for the Arts, the 23rd Annual National Arts Advocacy Day brings together arts, education, entertainment, and policy leaders to develop strong public policies and support for increased public funding for the arts. more >
The fat lady must learn to be a little thinner
We cannot justify subsidies for culture – the best will find a paying audience and the rest must go the wall. more >
Trustees Find Board Seats Are Still Luxury Items
Like Prada handbags and Hermès scarves, a spot on one of New York City’s most prestigious cultural boards never goes on sale, even in a recession. more >
Wanted: a policy for art
Indian artists may be fetching astronomical prices at auctions around the world but what does our art industry look like? more >
Latam Caribbean Culture Ministers to Meet in Quito
Culture ministers and 20 youths from Latin America and the Caribbean will meet in the second week of April to define and update State agendas regarding public cultural policies. more >
EU keen to enshrine culture in economic planning
Europe should invest more in its creative industries as a source of future growth the European Commission has said, while EU ministers have called for culture to be put at the "heart" of the bloc's new economic plan, the Europe 2020 strategy. more >
Mr. Broadway Storms Capitol Hill
Friends thought Rocco Landesman was joking when he volunteered to take on leadership of the National Endowment for the Arts. He wasn't. more >
Meeting of European Agencies working in Culture in Africa
The British Council initiated a meeting of European agencies working in the field of culture in Africa in Brussels on 22 March 2010. Mulenga Kapwepwe, Chairperson of the Arterial Network, represented the organisation at this historic meeting which aimed to synergise and complement the activities of the respective agencies. more >
United Kingdom Arts Institutions to Government: Don't Ax Funds
Britain's arts and culture sector has been a shining success amid the country's recession — and artists are pressing the government to make sure it stays that way. more >
Indianapolis relaxes climate controls
Leading directors have been questioning the scientific validity—and cost—of running air conditioning to the current standard specification. more >
Graphic Artists Against Google
Associations of illustrators and photographers in the USA, like the American Society of Media Photographers, the Graphic Arts Association or Professional Photographers of America have taken legal action against Google for creating a massive digital library that, in their opinion, violates their rights as authors. more >
Artistas gráficos contra Google
Agrupaciones de ilustradores y fotógrafos de Estados Unidos, como la Sociedad Americana de Fotógrafos de Medios de Comunicación, el Gremio de Artistas Gráficos o Fotógrafos Profesionales de América se han querellado colectivamente contra Google por crear una biblioteca digital masiva que, en su opinión, vulnera los derechos de autor de los miembros de estos colectivos. more >
Seminar highlights growing role of culture for younger generations
The shift from the notion of the diffusion of culture to that of democratization and decentralization of cultural activities, by involving citizens and adopting a proactive approach to address the accelerating pace of cognitive, social and economic change, is a “fundamental choice” in the policies of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in the cultural sector, said Mr. Abderraouf El Basti, Minister of Culture and Heritage Preservation on Wednesday in Monastir at the national seminar of Directors of cultural centers. more >
GUAM countries’ tourism and culture ministers to discuss cooperation
GUAM member states' tourism and culture ministers are going to discuss cooperation in the sphere of tourism and culture in June in Baku, the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development - GUAM told Trend. more >
Labor leaves arts sector crying poor
Joy at a change of government has turned to disillusionment at a perceived lack of support from the Rudd cabinet. more >
Tarim - The 2010 Capital of Islamic Culture
Along with two other cities, Tarim was recognized as the 2010 Capitals of Islamic Culture (CIC). Since 2004, the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) annually selects three cities to be named as the CIC. ISESCO chooses one Islamic African country, another from an Islamic Asian country and the third from an Arabian country. more >
Blog: Music funding: what the three main parties say
None of them said they would ring-fence the arts budget, even if they all optimistically thought that a combination of encouraging private-sector philanthropy and National Lottery reform would make up the shortfall when the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's budget is almost inevitably cut. more >
Virtual Worlds, Real Money: Can Social Games Solve Music’s Woes?
Conduit Labs passes on a percentage of revenue to labels, which then pass some of that along to artists and publishers. Is it possible that little furry cartoon characters from Tamagotchi-land will succeed where industry heavyweights have failed: in convincing kids to pay for music? more >
The EU 2020 strategy: analysis and perspectives
The European Union has adopted its new economic strategy entitled ‘Europe 2020’. A major EU policy framework, it will form the basis of the direction for the European integration project in the 10 years to come. How will it work, and what political and policy environment does it set for arts and culture in the EU? Culture Action Europe has put its thinking hat on to open the debate. more >
Consultation on the Cultural Dimension of the European Union
The Euromedinculture 2010 Citizenship project, supported by the European Commission wants to promote an active involvement of citizens in a debate on the cultural dimension in the European Union. more >
Arts Supporters Take to Washington for Arts Advocacy Day
Americans for the Arts, in conjunction with the Congressional Arts Caucus and 86 national
co-sponsors, celebrates Arts Advocacy Day 2010 today.
more >
Blog: N.E.A Chairman Testifies on Capitol Hill
The chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, Rocco Landesman, delivered his first budget testimony before a House subcommittee on Tuesday, arguing for the arts as a source of jobs and an economic stimulus. more >
32 nations of Latam and the Caribbean meet in Ecuador for culture
The 17th Forum of Latin American and Caribbean Ministers of Culture began in the Ecuadorian capital on Monday, with representatives of 32 nations. The meeting will be opened by the Ecuadorian Minister of Culture, Ramiro Noriega, and the speech of the director of UNESCO’s Culture Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean. more >
Labour's manifesto steals the arts policy spotlight
What's new for the arts in Labour's manifesto? The most surprising thing is their prominence, unprecedented in any recent Labour election manifesto. While there isn't what you'd call an avalanche of revolutionary ideas, there are some fresh policies to be found amid the recycled material – and an acknowledgement that the arts contribute to Britain's common good as well as to its economy. more >
Bulgaria to Create National Museum Complex in Sofia’s Centre
The Bulgarian government launched the first phase of the creation and contruction of a new museum complex, covering 23,000 square metres and including exhibition, restoration and conservation spaces, in the centre of Sofia. more >
Are Millions for the Arts Appropriate in These Tough Economic Times?
Congressional funding for the arts is almost always a subject of controversy in Washington, but proponents hope this time to tailor their message to show that such funding can help create jobs, and international goodwill. more >
UNESCO’s Director-General appoints her senior staff
Last week, the Director General announced the appointment of the new Senior team. The Culture Sector will be led by Francesco Bandarin. He has been directing UNESCO's World Heritage Centre for almost ten years, the 'classical flagship', and held positions at organisations such as the World Bank. more >
Blog - Noises off: Theatre of the exploited
Are unpaid theatre internships an illegal anachronism, a career necessity or a sign of what's to come in cash-strapped times? more >
“Invest!” says report as politicians plan ahead
With a UK general election looming, leading cultural institutions have joined together to try to stave off predicted government cuts to the arts. In Cultural Capital: a Manifesto for the Future, 17 key organisations—including Arts Council England, English Heritage, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Museums Association—argue that investing in culture will help bring the country out of recession. The report was launched at the British Museum on 25 March. more >
D.I.Y. Culture
Far from succumbing to some devouring juggernaut, culture — and Europe, with its different communities and nations living cheek by jowl, is a Petri dish to prove the point — has only atomized lately as a consequence of the very same globalizing forces that purportedly threaten to homogenize everything. more >
Myanmar, Vietnam promote cultural exchanges
Vietnam and Myanmar, who share a number of cultural features, have agreed to more cultural exchanges in performing arts and archaeology. more >
The role of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in enhancing the cultural and information role abroad
Then the Minister of Culture and Information discussed with the Saudi ambassadors a number of issues relating to cultural and information aspects and the role of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in enhancing the cultural and information role abroad as well as cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture and Information. more >
Mike Van Graan Industry Experts Lunch
On 19 March, Visiting Arts hosted Mike Van Graan, director of the Arterial Network and esteemed South African playwright, for an industry experts lunch where he presented the aims and aspirations of his work with the Arterial Network to a group of UK based cultural directors. more >
Cultural industry seeks financial support from banks
The Ministry of Culture held a teleconference with representatives of government, financial institutions and major creative enterprises on April 14 to encourage financial support for China’s emerging cultural industry. more >
Minister waxes lyrical about verse
NSW Arts Minister Virginia Judge , the only MP to have recited one of her own poems in a maiden speech, is planning to establish a ''culture club'' at Parliament House to bring politicians of all persuasions together over the shared love of poetry, books, dance and painting. more >
Call for Regional Cooperation Projects in 2010
The Swiss Cultural Programme in the Western Balkans (SCP) supports regional cooperation projects in the fields of culture and arts in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia. more >
Haiti Tries to Take Education Back to Normal with the Aid of Sports and Arts
Haitian students are trying to take their school life back to normal and to overcome the trauma caused by the earthquake that that devastated this Caribbean country three months ago with the aid of sports and artistic activities. more >
Haití intenta normalizar la educación con ayuda del deporte y bellas artes
Los estudiantes haitianos intentan normalizar su vida escolar y superar el trauma del terremoto que asoló el país caribeño hace tres meses con ayuda del deporte y actividades artísticas, mientras se reconstruye el tejido educativo. more >
Iranian minister of culture Mohammad Hoseini: “We have to extend bilateral relations with Azerbaijan in the field of culture and tourism”
Iran and Azerbaijan have historic cultural, commercial and social relations, Iranian minister of culture Mohammad Hoseini told foreign journalists in a press conference in Tehran. more >
Hundreds rally to protest arts funding cuts
The Capitol steps erupted with activity Monday when musicians, actors and puppeteers gathered to protest arts funding cuts and the elimination of the Georgia Council for the Arts. more >
Dinner parties help fund arts projects
Public funding for the arts has been hurt by the downturn, so local groups have turned to small-scale private donors to offer micro-grants for starving artists. more >
Contemporary Iranian poets have global potential: culture minister
Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hosseini regards Iranian contemporary poets, the literati with great potential for global recognition. more >
Scottish Opera tour for babies gets 'amazing' response
As well as entertaining and boosting the babies' IQ, Ms Davidson also hopes the 30-minute production will inspire a whole new audience for full-scale opera in the future. more >
Guillermo Corral dejará Cultura para irse a Washington
El director general de Industrias Culturales vuelve a Exteriores para impulsar la Spain Usa Foundation. more >
Guillermo Corral Will Leave Culture Department to Go to Washington
The General Director of Cultural Industries will return to Foreign Affairs to promote the Spain USA Foundation. more >
EU appoints 'reflection group' to put euro culture online
The European Commission has appointed a Frenchman, a Belgian and a German to "reflect" on how best to drag Europe's cultural heritage online. The appointment of Publicis CEO Maurive Lecy, German national library boss Elisabeth Niggemann and writer Jacques de Drecker is the EU's latest move in its lightning campaign to keep Europe's cultural patrimony from ending up misfiled on a server in Mountain View. more >
Arts Advocacy Day 2010 Tops Attendance and Tweets
A week after the largest Arts Advocacy Day in years, arts advocates from across the nation are looking to Congress to take the next step in supporting strong public policies for the arts and arts education. more >
ADACH announces public viewing for opera lovers
Abu Dhabi-The Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) is happy to announce the first public viewing of an opera in the UAE. more >
Scottish government publishes report on national arts companies
The report details the income, performance levels and education outcomes for the National Theatre of Scotland, Scottish Ballet, Scottish Opera and the two national orchestras the RSNO and the SCO in the two years after moving to direct funding from the Scottish Government in April 2007. more >
Investing in our cultural futures
The most radical review of funding yet is being undertaken by the Arts Council of Wales. As its chief executive Nick Capaldi prepares to share his thoughts during a series of roadshows, he explains why it’s essential that public money is spent wisely. more >
World Intellectual Property Day 2010 – Innovation - Linking the World
This year’s World Intellectual Property Day on April 26, 2010, which also marks WIPO’s 40th anniversary, focuses on how innovation technologies have created an interlinked and global society. more >
The Canada Council on trial
At the heart of the Canada Council's funding decisions is a peer jury, and it is this select group of individuals that determines who gets the money. The question is: Is it fair? more >
Peter Marks imagines a White House that encourages playwrights
It feels like such a farfetched notion, imagining a White House that pays more than lip service to the performing arts. more >
White House could help classical music by having fun with it
With its series of musical events last year, the White House has already started to send a signal that the arts are an important part of our nation's life. And it's wonderful that classical music was part of the mix. more >
It's time to bring dance to the White House, and Obama should take the lead
Anger, distrust, apprehension: America is caught up in a angry swirl of operatic passions it hasn't experienced in years. As a nation, we're becoming ever more fragmented. Which means there's never been a better time for the White House to showcase the performing arts -- especially dance, which demonstrates what unity, harmony and perfection look like. more >
Reducing Pay for Cultural Executives in New York
For years chief executives at many major cultural organizations in New York City enjoyed salary growth that was buoyed by a booming economy and rivaled that seen in corporate America. Compensation increases of 25 percent to 50 percent over five years were not unusual, and in some cases packages nearly doubled. more >
Knelman: Culture’s weekend in the sun
In late September, for one weekend, Canadians across the country will get a chance to take part in the first of an annual event called Culture Days. It’s an imaginative and ambitious undertaking designed to inspire millions of ordinary citizens to savour the arts by becoming directly engaged in the creative process. more >
A Fundamental Problem With Our Arts Ecology
It seems disingenuous for major funders to chastise or ignore organizations with poor management when these same funders have avoided funding programs to improve the quality of arts managers. We spend billions of dollars to train singers, dancers and actors, and insignificant amounts to train the people who employ them. more >
Working for nothing: a lack of funding, or something more questionable?
Many people will work without pay in the arts. But are they being exploited? more >
The EU 2020 strategy: analysis and perspectives
At the Spring summit, on 25 and 26 March 2010, EU Heads of State endorsed the European Commission’s proposal for a Europe 2020 economic strategy. Replacing the much-criticized Lisbon strategy, Europe 2020 is the centerpiece of EC president Barroso’s new mandate. Intended to correct the main failures of its predecessor, and aiming to bring together a comprehensive roadmap for the EU’s economic recovery and growth for the next ten years, the strategy has been praised by some but has also raised a number of doubts and criticisms. more >
Why politicians fight shy of campaigning on the arts
Culture is peripheral to politics in Britain. MPs, who readily parade their favourite football team or pop group, will only support the arts in private. more >
Cultivating culture
Nick Clegg claims the Liberal Democrats are serious about investing in the arts and sets out how his party plans to promote creativity in schools and support artistic endeavour across the board. more >
Minister reaffirms reviving cultural cooperation with Cuba
The Angolan minister of Culture, Rosa Cruz e Silva, Monday here reaffirmed her country’s interest to revive the cultural cooperation with Cuba, a country whose friendship ties date back to various years. more >
Irish music blogs under attack over royalties
Amateur websites face closure as Irish Music Rights Organisation demands annual licence fee. more >
May 2010
Art royalties plan gets the brush-off
The resale royalty scheme for Australian artists has been labelled a "bureaucratic nightmare" for galleries and auction houses that will do nothing to help artists and their families. more >
Partnership to develop African cultural policy
At the 2010 Harare International Festival of the Arts, the Commonwealth Foundation and Arterial Network announced a strategic relationship that will see them working together to help develop African cultural policy. more >
Yemen, UNESCO discuss cultural cooperation
Minister of Culture Mohammed al-Maflahi held talks on Sunday with the Hamed al-Hammami, UNESCO Representative in the Arab States of the Gulf and Yemen who is currently visiting Yemen. The talks focused on aspects of the cultural cooperation between Yemen and the UNESCO and needs of Yemen to develop handcraft works. more >
Country aims to establish 'a batch of world-famous cultural brands'
China will boost the development of its cultural and media industries abroad to reduce its big cultural deficit, senior officials have said. more >
Ottawa to revamp Canada Prizes
The Canada Council for the Arts will administer the hotly debated prizes as well as the $25-million endowment the government has pledged to form them. more >
Plan approved to enhance the performing arts for all ages
The Department of Culture and Media (Catalonia) and key industry representatives today launched the new integrated plan for performing and musical arts for all ages, with an investment of 17 billion over four years, and they want to enhance this field. (Full article available in Spanish) more >
'One Book, One Twitter' launches worldwide book club with Neil Gaiman
American Gods chosen as the launch book for plan to get 'a zillion people all reading and talking about a single book'. more >
Who Draws the Borders of Culture?
The British Museum is Europe’s Western front in the global war over cultural patrimony, on account of the marbles. more >
Macedonia and France to sign Cultural Agreement
Minister of Culture Elizabeta Kanceska - Milevska and French Culture and Communication Minister Frederic Mitterrand Tuesday in Paris will sign agreement on cooperation in sphere of culture between two ministries. more >
Copyright for Creativity – A Declaration for Europe
The development of new technologies underpinning the knowledge economy calls for a review of the copyright aquis. Together, we need to create greater incentives to maximise creativity, innovation, education and access to culture, and secure Europe’s competitiveness. more >
Kennedy Center Receives $22.5 Million Gift
The commitment, which includes $2.5 million over five years for the institute's operating costs, will help ensure the continued training of current and future arts leaders in the United States and around the world. The other $20 million will be used to create an endowment for the institute. more >
Library Week 2010 to be celebrated from May 10-14
It’s Library Week, a time to celebrate the contributions of libraries, librarians and library workers nationwide. more >
Government Investing in Carnival
Senator Arley Gill, the Minister of State with responsibility for Culture, has said that carnival organisers will be seeking additional private sector support to ensure Spicemas 2010 is “very successful.’’ more >
Soft power, hard labour
There are a number of ways that the writer inevitably engages with the state. When the state is unhappy with what the writer has written, censorship; when the state is happy with what the writer has written, reward (grants, prizes and honours); and the state also acts as protector, through copyright and other laws relating to creative work. more >
Copyright para la Creatividad – Una Declaración para Europa
El desarrollo de las nuevas tecnologías que sustentan la economía del conocimiento exige una revisión del acervo de los derechos de autor. Juntos, tenemos que crear más incentivos para maximizar la creatividad, la innovación, la educación y el acceso a la cultura, y asegurar la competitividad en Europa. more >
Citizens may take part in the debate on the Cultural Dimension of Europe
The Euromedinculture Citizenship project aims to let European citizens express their views on the meaning of culture for the development of the European Union. The project would like to make practical proposals so that the cultural needs of citizens are taken into account in the EU integration process. more >
The artists who invest in themselves
The Artist Pension Trust could provide a nest egg for an uncertain future. If it works… more >
A delegation of the Catalan Council for the Arts and Culture (CoNCA) visits Quebec
During April, a delegation of the Catalan Council for the Arts and Culture (CoNCA) travelled to Quebec in order to initiate contacts and share experiences with the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres del Quebec, as well as with the persons responsible for several installations, centers, companies and some of the main cultural representatives of the country. more >
What the trade wants from the new government (when it forms)
The new government must push further on a range of issues from digital piracy to VAT, regardless of who holds the keys to 10 Downing Street, key figures from the publishing industry have said. As the United Kingdom wakes up to the prospects of a hung parliament, The Bookseller asked a number of book trade leaders for what they want from a new government. more >
Top-level art festival opens amid effort to boost cultural sector reform
China opened its largest national art festival, an influential platform for Chinese performers to showcase their latest creations. The ninth China Art Festival, held in the provincial capital, was co-hosted by the Ministry of Culture and the Guangdong Provincial government. Li Changchun, a Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said that the festival, which was initiated in 1987, had become an important platform for artists to showcase their talent and had played an active role in promoting Chinese cultural and art development. more >
Carballo-Obregón: Cultura cambia de mando
El despacho del Ministerio de Cultura y otras de sus instituciones tienen nuevos inquilinos a partir de hoy. Aquí, un balance de la gestión de María Elena Carballo y algunos de los retos actuales que le esperan al nuevo equipo. more >
MORE THAN 4,000 PROTEST CULTURAL CUTS IN FRANCE
More than four thousand demonstrators marched last week in Paris against cuts to French cultural budgets. Another day of protest is planned for June 15. more >
DAKAR BIENNIAL OPENS
Created in 1992, Dak’Art aims to support not only young artists but also emerging critics and curators. Another goal is to develop artist residencies and professional contacts with other biennials, since artists across the continent suffer from a general lack of financing and institutional infrastructures to support exhibitions. more >
Carballo-Obregón: Culture Has a New Commander
Since May 8, after the ceremony of power transfer, Costa Rica has a new President, Laura Chinchilla Miranda. The Ministry of Culture and Youth also has a new leader, Manuel Obregón, who replaces María Elena Carballo, who was in charge during the four years of Arias Sánchez’s administration. more >
Welcome to Researching Cultural and Creative Industries in London (RCCIL)
RCCIL is an independent database of research on cultural and creative issues relevant to London. It aims to make research more accessible to policy-makers, academics, and service-providers working in the field. more >
CITIZEN'S PARTICIPATION: Questionnaire about the Cultural Dimension of Europe
The Euromedinculture Citizenship project has created a questionnaire through which European citizens are invited to express their views on different topics such as: mobility of artists and cultural professionals, the social and economic impacts of cultural action, European cultural relationships with the rest of the world and the relation between education and culture. more >
Pope Benedict XVI in Portugal: Discourse No. 3 - Cultural Center of Belém
I am very pleased to meet you, men and women devoted to research and expansion in the various fields of knowledge, and worthy representatives of the rich world of culture in Portugal. more >
Culture, tourism closely linked
As this year’s Crop Over season moves into high gear, undoubtedly so too will discussions on our culture. more >
The 2010 Freedom to Create Prize: now open for nominations
Freedom to Create announced the opening of the nomination process for this year’s prestigious Freedom to Create Prize. Participants from all creative fields are being encouraged to enter the international US$ 125,000 prize. Established in 2008, the Freedom to Create Prize is a celebration of the courage and creativity of artists around the world who use their talents to promote social justice, build the foundations for open societies and inspire the human spirit. more >
Blog: What impact will Jeremy Hunt, the new culture secretary, have on the arts?
He's charming, intelligent and 'gets' the arts. But there will be blood on the floor with Tory cuts. more >
Learning with the arts can change young ‘Neet’ lives
Reach the Heights was introduced last year to prevent Welsh teenagers from becoming Neets (Not in Education, Employment or Training). Here, Arts Council of Wales chief executive Nick Capaldi explains how the new arts project will help more than 7,000 young people improve their career opportunities. more >
Better deal for continental art development
A new era for intense arts and culture development has dawned on the African continent with regard to strategic position on networking between countries and resource mobilisation. more >
Wantage MP Ed Vaizey named as Culture Minister
WANTAGE MP Ed Vaizey was tonight appointed as a minister in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in the new Government. Until last week's General Election Mr Vaizey had been a Conservative Party shadow minister for culture, responsible for the arts and broadcasting policy, since November 2006. more >
Denmark co-hosts workshop on role of cultural industry
Participants from cultural and governmental organisations are focused on the cultural industry in the two-day workshop "Cultural Industry: Its Role in the Economy and a Suitable Policy Framework for Its Development in Viet Nam" held in Ha Noi yesterday. The workshop is expected to provide a reference for Vietnamese policy makers to develop supportive policies and mechanisms for arts and culture. more >
Promueven la cultura como herramienta para el desarrollo
Para fortalecer las capacidades de profesionales de origen interdisciplinario con nuevas herramientas e incrementar las capacidades del sector cultura, nace el proyecto I + D en cultura, que impulsa el Instituto Nacional de Cultura (INAC) en conjunto con la Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá (UTP) y la Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos (OEI). more >
Exporting arts is key, says chief of Creative Scotland
Creative Scotland will concentrate on places rather than sectors and forge alliances with countries such as America and India, its new chief executive has revealed. more >
No govt can ban cultural activities
NO government or institution has the right to gag the freedom of expression in any form and shape especially in an independent and democratic country. Participants in a seminar on Friday added that any attempt to do so was tantamount to gagging of democracy; therefore, it became a political issue and it should be taken to the masses since that’s the most important forum to be involved. more >
Global cultural awareness a necessity: Ahmadinejad
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday that “awareness of international cultural norms is essential for the survival of a nation and the development of human accomplishments.” During the closing ceremony held yesterday morning at the International Book Fair, he added, “As the human body needs air to survive, the human spirit also requires a cultural breathing space.” more >
Building bridges through music
On Monday 17 May at the Lowy Institute, an audience heard five important voices in Australian cultural life examine the role of music in promoting understanding between nations and communities. more >
Nigerian Government, African Union Commission sign MOU On culture conference
The Federal Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the African Union Commission on the hosting of the third session of African Union Ministers of Culture Conference holding in Nigeria in October. more >
Is our culture dying for games to become the next art form?
Are video games art? Is that even an interesting question? And how long does it take a new cultural form before people start to take it seriously? more >
Blog: Council, coffees, catalogues, cards, corporate
Jeremy Hunt, the new Minister for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport was out of the blocks and on to the telly with impressive speed, appearing on Newsnight on Wednesday when the kiss on the coalition cheek was still wet. Maybe such zest just happens when you stick the word "Olympic" into a job title? He's certainly wasted no time in thinking about cutting the arts budget. more >
Abel sends protest note over ‘stolen’ artifacts
Papua New Guinea is prepared to challenge United States institutions and individuals in international court over millions of kina worth of “stolen” artifacts and national cultural property rights, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Charles Abel said. more >
Call for proposals for cultural projects by the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture
The European Commission (E.C.) has announced that the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) is calling for proposals for cultural projects. The Fund is a non-profit organization providing direct financial aid to independent artists and cultural institutions in Arab countries. more >
Council, coffees, catalogues, cards, corporate
Jeremy Hunt, the new Minister for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport was out of the blocks and on to the telly with impressive speed, appearing on Newsnight on Wednesday when the kiss on the coalition cheek was still wet. Maybe such zest just happens when you stick the word "Olympic" into a job title? He's certainly wasted no time in thinking about cutting the arts budget. more >
UNESCO invites project proposals on peace and dialogue
UNESCO is calling for project proposals within the framework of The Power of Peace Network (PPN). Submitted projects should be related to the promotion of peace and dialogue, have realistic objectives, and be technically feasible. more >
Hunor Kelemen: Europe 2020 Strategy has to value culture and creativity
Europe 2020 Strategy must fully value the potential represented by culture and creativity, said Minister of Culture and National Patrimony Hunor Kelemen in his address to the European Union Council on Education, Youth, Culture, held in Brussels. more >
How do you define 'artist'?
The question of what is art has long occupied theorists and philosophers, but the issue of who or what is an artist is no less vexing. more >
Davey demands ‘rational arguments’ for arts funding
Arts Council England chief executive Alan Davey has called on the cultural sector to help it make a “rational” argument to government about the importance of funding for the arts, in order to avoid heavy cuts in this autumn’s spending review. more >
Digital Agenda: Commission outlines action plan to
Implementing the ambitious Digital Agenda for Europe unveiled today by the
European Commission would contribute significantly to the EU's economic
growth and spread the benefits of the digital era to all sections of society.
more >
Freedom to Create exhibits in Afghanistan
An exhibition of photo-documentary works from the 2009 Freedom to Create Prize tours to the Queen’s Palace complex in Bagh-e-Babur (or Babur Gardens) in Kabul, Afghanistan. more >
Exploring the art blogosphere
As internet media sources continue to expand, art blogs have gained popularity and offer a unique form of content development. Three art bloggers supply insights into this dynamic platform, their online habits, and the differences between blogs and traditional content distribution. more >
Francesco Bandarin, new UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture
Francesco Bandarin (Italy), Director of UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre since 2000, is UNESCO’s new Assistant Director-General for Culture. more >
Interview with new head of NCCA
Arts Awake interviewed the new executive director of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Malou Jacob. Let us share with you her vision for the Commission. more >
New U.K. Govt Won't Repeal Digital Economy Act
The U.K. government has outlined its coalition agreement - and there is no proposal to repeal the recently passed Digital Economy Act, which includes measures to tackle piracy. The music industry will welcome the development, while small venues will also be cheering the pledge to "cut red tape to encourage the performance of more live music...". more >
Arts and the new coalition government
After a decade of scaling new heights, the UK's arts institutions have been bracing themselves for drastic cuts. This week culture secretary Jeremy Hunt gave his inaugural speech. The Guardian asked leading figures for their response more >
2010 will be a rich cultural year says Minister
Major cultural events scheduled in 2010 and the celebration of the centennial of the birth of emblematic Tunisian artists, were the focal point of a press conference held on Saturday in Tunis, by Mr. Abderraouf El Basti, Minister of Culture and Heritage Preservation. more >
Govt taking steps to revive film industry
Federal Minister for Culture Pir Aftab Hussain Shah Jilani has said that the present government is endeavoring for revival of film industry and strong measures would be taken for its survival. more >
Everyone Else Outsources, So Why Can't The Arts?
In Columbus, Ohio, a number of arts groups are doing what American businesses started doing a long time ago: outsourcing. The recession hit nonprofits hard, and now these organizations have no choice but to become more efficient. So they're handing over the "back office" to the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts, or CAPA. more >
At NEA, a daring idea to help artists rise again
Current NEA chairman Rocco Landesman, a no-nonsense former Broadway producer, has openly floated the notion of reinstating those individual artist fellowships. more >
600 museums offer free summer admission to military
The National Endowment for the Arts is inaugurating a new program Monday to give active military personnel and their families free admission all summer to hundreds of U.S. museums, including the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Phillips Collection. more >
The struggle for Philippine art - then and now
Operational costs are the basic necessities which funding institutions nearly always shy away from, preferring instead to back output-type undertakings such as events or publications. more >
Irish Arts Council calls on government to follow Broadway model
Irish Arts Council chair Pat Moylan has called on government to copy the example of Broadway as a means of creating jobs and promoting economic recovery. more >
New political agreement strengthens cultural co-operation in Northern Europe
Culture and the creative industries in Northern Europe can now look forward to new growth opportunities and greater political attention. This is the result of a brand new agreement, the Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture, between the EU, Russian, Norway and Iceland. more >
Arts and sport must step up to the plate and trim by 3%, despite frontline fears
Museums, theatres and festivals set to feel the pinch while London 2012 organisers given reduced budget. more >
Political agreement: 'Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture'
The "Memorandum of Understanding" of the new "Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture" (NDPC) was signed during Nordic Council of Ministers' "International Cultural Forum”, which took place in St. Petersburg/ Russia on 20 and 21 May. Those involved in the world of culture, the creative industries, cultural institutions and officials from eleven countries met there to discuss opportunities to help move the creative economy forward in the region encompassed by the Northern Dimension. more >
Do black artists need special treatment?
Segregating artists in the name of 'diversity' does them a disservice – as the complex multicultural narrative behind Yinka Shonibare's fourth plinth artwork demonstrates. more >
The Second World Conference on Arts Education: “Arts for Society, Education for Creativity”
UNESCO and the Republic of Korea would like to invite you to participate in the Second World Conference on Arts Education in Seoul from the 25th to the 28th of May 2010. more >
Simon Brault: Cultural crusader
Simon Brault has fought on the side of arts and culture for over three decades. He continues the good fight in his new book, No Culture, No Future, an impassioned manifesto that argues for the importance of the arts in society.
more >
£19m cuts for Arts Council England
Plans announced on Monday as part of the £6.2bn cuts hit Arts Council England worst, with the new government demanding savings of £19m (4 per cent) from its budget within the next financial year. more >
World music's great visa fear
Intimidating forms, biometrics, illegal immigration paranoia – Robin Denselow on why new visa rules might take Britain off the world music touring circuit. more >
Revue in the culture house
The new Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Mohammed, called on stakeholders in the culture community to meet on June 15 for a review of the Culture Policy. Although launched about 22 years ago by Babangida regime, the Cultural Policy has only been implemented in parts, as successive governments refused to formalize its implementation strategy. more >
Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations: Irina Bokova emphasizes need to invest in cultural diversity
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, emphasized the positive nature of humanity’s great cultural diversity as she addressed the Third Forum of the United Nations’ Alliance of Civilizations in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Forum, held on 28 and 29 May, focused on the theme of Bridging Cultures, Building Peace. more >
Irina Bokova subraya la necesidad de invertir en diversidad cultural en el Foro mundial de la Alianza de Civilizaciones
La Directora General de la UNESCO, Irina Bokova, subrayó el carácter eminentemente positivo de la gran diversidad cultural de la humanidad en el tercer Foro de la Alianza de Civilizaciones de Naciones Unidas, que se celebra el 28 y 29 de mayo en Río de Janeiro (Brasil) con el lema de “Acercar las culturas, construir la paz”. more >
Bruneian Sultan reshuffles Cabinet, appoints first woman deputy minister
Deputy Minister of Health Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Laila Diraja Dato Paduka Hj Hazair Hj Abdullah is now Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports. more >
Is austerity good for the arts?
Josie Rourke, artistic director of the Bush theatre, and Observer writer Sean O' Hagan discuss whether funding matters. more >
Dealers hang art levy out to dry
EIGHT days before it takes effect, the federal government's art resale royalty scheme has been branded a "catastrophe", with gallery owners angry and uncertain about how it will affect their business. more >
June 2010
Katherine Watson new Director of ECF
The Board of the European Cultural Foundation has appointed Katherine Watson as the Foundation's new Director. The decision was taken during ECF's Board meeting in Brussels on June 1st. more >
GREEN PAPER: Unlocking the potential of cultural and creative industries
A call for comments from the European Commission : If Europe wants to remain competitive in the changing global environment, it needs to put in place the right conditions for creativity and innovation to flourish in a new entrepreneurial culture. more >
A shift from arts education to arts and cultural education?
Practice, advocacy, capacity building and the formulation of development goals for arts education were the main topics at the 2nd UNESCO World Conference on Arts Education that took place in Seoul, Korea, last 25-28 May 2010. 2.000 participants from more than 100 countries, 20 of them represented by their Ministers of Culture and/or Education, discussed the Road Map for Arts Education, the concrete result of the 1st 2006 World Conference in Lisbon. more >
Maghreb Ministers announce regional cultural calendar
Maghreb culture ministers met in Libya to schedule heritage festivals and fine arts forums to deepen regional ties. more >
Access to cultural activities can help build stronger families, says charity chief
The government is being urged to promote cultural activities as a way of helping to support and sustain strong and stable families. Research commissioned by Creativity, Culture and Education (CCE), the body tasked with delivering Creative Partnerships, the creative learning programmes in schools, and piloting the five-hour cultural offer for children, revealed that out of 2,452 respondents, one in five parents believes their child has not taken part in any cultural activities in the past year with their family. more >
Pawtucket is urban model in Brit book
Arts and cultural quarters, or cultural districts as they are called in the United States, are readily gaining recognition as important policy tools for community planning and redevelopment, particularly for once-vibrant, older industrial cities. Pawtucket had taken the major step of creating a long-range plan for continued economic and civic engagement with the arts. more >
Arts funding: fiddles show the way to go
The innovative Stradivari Trust has come up with a clever scheme that combines philanthropy and hard-headed commerce, recognising that culture is a business as well as a recreation. more >
Italian government wields funding axe
In the continuing saga of culture funding in Italy, president Silvio Berlusconi has called for funding cuts of 50 per cent to 232 of the country’s cultural institutions. more >
Technology changes how art is created and perceived
Through the Internet, video games, YouTube, Twitter, et al, original art is sampled and re-envisioned by anyone who can master the computer skills. But where does art end and amateurism begin? more >
What I Am Learning On My Tour
The tour has been both inspiring and depressing at the same time. It is inspiring to see so many communities that value the arts and so many individuals determined to maintain arts in their cities and states. more >
WIPO GOLD
WIPO GOLD is a free public resource which provides a one-stop gateway to WIPO’s global collections of searchable IP data. It aims to facilitate universal access to IP information. more >
Arts nil, World Cup billions…
As South Africa gears up for the games, government funding for arts initiatives dries up. more >
The European Festivals Association meets Ivo Josipović
On 5/6 June 2010, the European Festivals Association (EFA), the major network for festivals from Europe and beyond, reconfirmed its commitment to a cultural Europe. more >
The bill on tax exemptions to private contributions to culture will be debated next week during Congress’ plenary session
The bill on Tax exemptions to private contributions to culture will be debated next week in plenary session by the Congress of the Republic, right after the Education Commission refused to debate it, Luciana León, Member of Parliament, announced today. more >
Ley de Mecenazgo Cultural se debatirá la próxima semana en el pleno del Congreso
El proyecto de ley del Mecenazgo Cultural se debatiría la próxima semana en el pleno del Congreso de la República, luego de que la Comisión de Educación se inhibiera de debatirla, informó hoy la parlamentaria Luciana León. more >
Funding: the state of the art
In a world mired in economic uncertainty and with cash for the arts disappearing, how do we argue for culture? more >
Millennium Development Goals, local governments and culture
The UCLG Committee on culture is elaborating a document advocating for the integration of a culture dimension in policies and programmes aiming to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Please read the document and send your feedback! more >
America as a shopping mall? US cultural diplomacy in the age of Obama.
With a disastrous oil spill in the Gulf, an uncertain economy, and a war in Afghanistan, cultural diplomacy may not be, understandingly, the first thing on most Americans' minds. But, during the last U.S. presidential campaign, the Obama-Biden team announced that if elected, it would "expand cultural and arts exchanges throughout the world." more >
Grenada seeking position on UNESCO cultural committee
The Grenada Government has announced a plan to enhance the infrastructure and human resource of the country’s Cultural Heritage Department, and it’s seeking the assistance of the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). more >
Phantom space an incubator for artistic reality
There's an upside to the economic slowdown: the rise of pop-up art. That's when unconventional space -- an abandoned warehouse perhaps -- is used in creative ways by emerging artists. more >
Veronica Wadley lands top Arts Council job – at the second attempt
Former Evening Standard editor becomes Boris Johnson's London chair of Arts Council England despite being vetoed by Labour culture secretary. more >
Commonwealth praise for book on Kamla’s speeches
A valuable addition to research on gender and women in politics in the Commonwealth. That’s how Dr Mark Collins, director of the Commonwealth Foundation, described the new book by Dr Kris Rampersad—Through The Political Glass Ceiling—the Race to Prime Ministership by Trinidad & Tobago’s first female, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Selected Speeches. more >
EU-funded regional workshop strengthens cultural mapping, planning and policy
A major project to structure the region’s cultural sector got underway recently at a workshop attended by regional culture representatives. The workshop, held in March at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s headquarters in Noumea, New Caledonia, was the first step in a substantial regional culture project that aims to enhance human development efforts in the Pacific by structuring and strengthening the culture sector. more >
Blessed are the geek
The Australia Council has dispatched a crack troop of techies to reboot the nation's arts organisations. more >
Arts groups in Wales await funding review
Arts organisations are awaiting the outcome of a key investment review by the Arts Council of Wales (ACW). more >
Listening vs. doing
As I mentioned the other day, I think it’s critical that artists put forth their art into the world in a way that reflects their authentic selves. So what does that mean for orchestras? I mean, let’s be honest for a second: aren’t there some, even plenty of orchestras who really want nothing more than to play the old warhorses to their heart’s content and not worry about anything else? more >
Montreal Meeting of U40 The Americas
The U40 meeting brought together 30 young professionals (cultural policy experts, cultural practitioners, communication experts, legal experts, emerging scholars from 11 North, Central and South American countries), each active members of civil society, government or the private sector. more >
Position Paper on Censorship & Regulation
The basic position of the Singapore arts community on censorship and regulation has changed little from that articulated in the 2003 “Arts Community Proposal” submitted to the CRC of 2002/2003. There, our position was “Yes to regulation, no to censorship”. more >
Peru: Bill on Cultural Patronage is not passed yet
Peru's Minister of Economy and Finance, Mercedes Aráoz, said that her sector will disagree with the bill on the “Cultural Patronage” until her observations are added to the final text. more >
European Arts Education Fact Finding Mission
EDUCULT is currently in the first phase of the research program for development of a structuring tool for arts education. more >
We will not please everyone, warns new arts chair
The final pieces of the establishment of the nation’s new arts funding body, Creative Scotland, were put in place yesterday with a new chairman and board. more >
Involving the cultural sector through a reinforced dialogue
In order to implement its three strategic objectives (promotion of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue; promotion of culture as catalyst for creativity and promotion of culture as a vital element in EU external relations), the European Agenda for culture introduced a structured dialogue with the cultural sector. Two years after the launch of this experimental relationship between organised civil society and European institutions, both sides recognised the importance to continue working within the new framework. more >
America's Musical Ambassadors
"This administration is really committed to using smart diplomacy—using all the tools available in reaching people at all different levels. Music enables us to connect with other cultures. It's something that transcends religion and politics and other things that might otherwise divide us." While the program aims to include a diversity of music styles, Ms. Pally says it is equally important to select artists who are suited for cross-cultural diplomacy and passionate about teaching—as well as performing—American music. more >
Culture-based creativity as a tool for development
The Competitiveness Council - composed of European Affairs, Industry or Research Ministers - adopted ‘Conclusions on Creating an innovative Europe’, recognising culture-based creativity 'as an important tool for competitiveness, growth and quality of life for citizens' and as a 'vital driver of innovation in sectors such as the cultural and creative industries'. more >
Exclusive: Carbon footprint of touring theatre revealed
Moving sets, transporting casts and lighting hotel rooms for British touring theatre companies creates as many greenhouse gas emissions every year as flying around the world 2,680 times, new research has revealed. more >
New organisation to promote exports and the internationalisation of visual arts
The Ministry of Education and Culture has appointed Director Rauno Anttila to carry out an inquiry into what type of new organisation is required to continue the work of FRAME, the Finnish Fund for Art Exchange. more >
Arena Stage gives playwrights higher billing by putting them on payroll
Names of major American playwrights are often familiar, even to those who never attend the theater: Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee and August Wilson come to mind. Less well known is their traditional status as itinerant workers: They hand over plays to theater companies for a fee, show up for rehearsals and opening night, then move on. Arena Stage, Washington's Tony Award-winning regional theater, is trying to break that pattern with a simple idea that is almost revolutionary. If the initiative works, the way theater treats these key players will change dramatically. more >
Foundation for the Artist: proposal for a new arts funding model
How well do we look after our artists? This was one of the big questions coming out of the Prime Minister's 2020 Summit in 2008, and just this week a proposal for far-reaching change in arts funding was handed to the Arts Minister. more >
Arts Council Wales chief promises 'bold' funds decision
The head of the Arts Council of Wales (ACW) said they were committed to supporting a mix of organisations despite a fear of cuts. more >
Slovenia launches cultural portal
Culture.si is designed to help professionals explore possibilities for collaboration with Slovenian cultural organisations. This new cultural portal presents information on cultural producers, venues, festivals and support services in Slovenia. more >
Tate debate: open your mind to public spaces
It is in the best of times that we expect to have great public spaces, but it is in the worst of economic times that we really need them to be great. It is only here that we can escape the stress and strains, take time out from the doom and gloom to play, meet friends, lie (hopefully) in the sunshine or enjoy a staycation. They aren't a luxury but an essential natural health service, the ultimate drop-in centre – preventative healthcare that is far cheaper than the NHS, and without a waiting list. more >
From centre stage to cyberspace
An Australian production aims to be the world's first iPad opera. But is this device an appropriate medium for the lavish artform? more >
Aprueban la creación del Ministerio de Cultura y elección de autoridades universitarias por voto universal y secreto
La Comisión de Educación del Congreso de la República aprobó los proyectos de ley que establecen el voto secreto y universal en la elección de autoridades universitarias y la creación del Ministerio de Cultura. more >
Jamaican Culture Director to lead consultation on local culture policy
St. Kitts and Nevis aim to benefit on a cultural level from the expertise of the Principal Director of Culture in Jamaica. more >
The creation of the Ministry of Culture and the election of university authorities through universal and private vote were approved
The Education Commission of Peru’s Congress approved the bills that establish the universal and private vote to elect university authorities and the creation of the Ministry of Culture. more >
iPhone App from T-Shirts and Suits
Coming soon! The iPhone App will contain new information, ideas, examples and inspiration for creative entrepreneurs, to help them make their businesses and organisations even more successful. more >
“We are not an international police force”
Unesco’s new culture chief Francesco Bandarin sets out his priorities. more >
Cali to host National Culture Conference
Colombia's Culture Minister Paula Moreno will be joined by 64 government cultural officials from around the country. The group will discuss the successes and advances made between 2008 and 2010, as well as propose plans for Colombia's cultural prospects in 2010 to 2014. more >
Robert Redford wants artists to push government
Robert Redford is talking oil, art and history — and for him, they're all connected as he works to use art as a tool of activism.
more >
Vietnam culture, tourism festival promoted in Japan
General Secretary of the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Association, Motoyoshi Ryokichi told a Tokyo-based Vietnam News Agency correspondent that he was very impressed by the festival, saying that it not only helps promote cultural exchange and tourism cooperation between the two countries, but also fosters bilateral political, economic, trade and investment relations. more >
Japan learns about itself from the outside
Japan has long fancied itself as a kind of "hub" to mediate between the West and the rest of Asia. One of the justifications of this belief was its location at Asia's eastern extremity. Yet, in the art world — and most other sectors — such aspirations have been all but extinguished by the recent rise of China. more >
It's a philanthropy thing
Sure, poverty and cancer are vital causes, but the ticket to fame [in New York] is still the sexier arts. more >
Broadway Sees Benefits of Building Black Audience
The use of focus groups is one of several diversity strategies, aggressive by theater standards, used not only by “Memphis” but also by another new Broadway musical, “Fela!”; the new play “Race”; and the revival of “Fences” — all shows centered on black characters, who are rarely in the forefront of major plays and musicals. more >
A Crusader for Boldness as the Arts Face Deficits
Watching Michael M. Kaiser, the president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, speak to arts executives, as he did during two recent swings through New England, is like watching Jack Welch talk to business students. more >
Authors fear cut in income from library loans
Budget for Public Lending Right scheme, which pays just over six pence per loan, is already being reduced by 3% this year. more >
Bold choices on arts focus
On the eve of the Arts Council of Wales’ much anticipated announcement of the results of its major funding review, chairman Dai Smith reveals how they have been making the decisions – and recognises that not everyone will be happy. more >
Curtailed scheme to continue free ticket offer until March
Venues participating in Arts Council England’s A Night Less Ordinary scheme can continue to offer free tickets to under-26 year olds until next March, despite the government’s announcement that the scheme is to be “curtailed”. more >
Outside Help To Preserve Local Culture
The Museums Department is advised to conduct research based on ideas and input from international organisations such as Unesco and consult with neighbouring countries in setting a benchmark to optimise the use and preserve the nation's culture and history. more >
Update of the EU Culture Programme Guide 2007 – 2013
Recently, the European Commission has published a new version of theEU Culture Programme Guide 2007 – 2013. The updated version includes a new strand for European cultural festivals. more >
A Harlem Arts Group Exhales
Artistic success has never been Harlem Stage’s problem. Even before its Gatehouse theater became the first new performing arts space in Harlem in 20 years when it opened, in 2006, it had presented emerging artists, and seemingly everyone from Tito Puente to Abbey Lincoln. Its programs for school children were lauded as well. But financially, the group, incorporated as a nonprofit in 1983, sometimes struggled. By the end of the 2009 season, its accumulated deficit stood at $737,000. more >
New EU internet tool: Cultural funding opportunities
In order to make it easier to find suitable funding programmes for cultural programmes, the EU has published an overview of relevant programmes that do exist besides the EU Culture Programme. more >
Azerbaijan to host international forum on intercultural dialogue
An international forum on intercultural dialogue will be held in Baku in April 2011. more >
Blog: Qatar Aims to Be the Next International Cultural Hub
Qatar, the former British protectorate in the Persian Gulf, has declared an ambition to transform its capital, Doha, into an arts and culture hub for world tourists. The initiative, announced at a recent meeting of the World Tourism Organization's Committee for the Middle East, is the latest dramatic attempt by a country in the region to raise its cultural profile on the world stage. Call it the al-Bilbao effect. more >
Arts Council of Wales ends funding for 32 groups
The funding of 32 organisations by the Arts Council of Wales (ACW) is to stop following a spending review. more >
Crude awakening: BP and the Tate
The Tate is under fire for taking BP sponsorship money. Does corporate cash damage the arts — or is it a necessary compromise? We asked leading cultural figures their view. more >
Fingers crossed for arts funding
The funding of the arts in Wales has always been something of a hot potato but never more so than now. Just over a year ago, as the worst recession in modern history took grip, the Arts Council of Wales announced it was undertaking its most detailed examination of arts investment yet. more >
National Gallery launches Indigenous jobs push
Indigenous artists are a strong presence on the Australian and international art scenes, but their voices are almost silent when it comes to leadership roles in many of the country's public and private galleries. more >
July 2010
Consultation to draft a list of recommendations followed by a White paper – European Policy Analysis Group “Museums and Municipalities”
E= MU2 is a policy analysis group created by members from the European Network of Cultural Administration Training Centres, ENCATC, and is financed by the European Union under the Culture Programme. more >
Creative Scotland aims to boost arts and culture
Scotland's new arts body Creative Scotland has been officially launched after the merger of the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen. more >
Art under arrest
Russian prosecutors are demanding a three-year jail sentence for the organisers of a contemporary-art exhibition in Moscow. The verdict, expected on July 12th, could have an impact far greater than the exhibition itself and determine the balance of power between ultranationalist religious radicals and secular pragmatists in Russia. more >
Arts body launches at last ... as funding cuts loom
Many thought the curtain would never rise, but a new era in Scotland’s culture began yesterday with the official birth of the long-awaited new arts funding body for Scotland, Creative Scotland. more >
How I Used Twitter to Live-Blog the Opera
Could any two vehicles for human expression be more diametrically opposed?
And yet they kind of go together, as I found out this week while live-tweeting the San Francisco Opera’s performance of Wagner’s Die Walküre, a four-and-half-hour epic noted for its ambitious staging, bravura solos, massively overwhelming orchestration and ladies with pointy Viking hats.
more >
A contemporary art event to draw in the whole city
Dublin Contemporary 2011 has been a labour of love, but it may reap rewards for Irish artists internationally. more >
Participation in the 2010 International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures
The UNESCO List of activities of the 2010 International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures brings numerous activities and projects. Included in this list, among others, is the project entitled Networks as Impetus for the Rapprochement of Cultures. more >
Australian music not required
Digital radio stations will not need to play a minute of Australian music after the media watchdog agreed to waive the rules that apply to regular stations. more >
Towards a national policy on culture
The clamour for a review of the national policy on the financing of the culture sector has gained new momentum, following a two-day conference. more >
U.S. Diplomacy: Hitting the Right Notes
The State Department's Rhythm Road Program Sends Musical Ambassadors to the World, Conveying American Values With a Beat. more >
Cultural policy in Australia
“Cultural policy” is not often thought of as an important topic of public affairs. That’s odd when you consider that culture touches on many of the things that Australians do, see, hear and engage with everyday. more >
A tradition to hold dear
We Irish are world leaders and standard-setters in traditional music. In any other sector this uniquely Irish art form would be recognised as a definitive strategic and competitive advantage – why not here? more >
In an era of austerity, reasons to fund the arts
Culture is a social language that we would be dumb without. more >
The Greatest Sacrifice Arts Workers Make for the Arts
With all the financial challenges arts workers are facing these days - struggling to balance the budgets of their organizations, or dealing with salary and benefit cuts on compensation that was modest to begin with - it is easy to view the sacrifices people make to work in this field as being entirely financial. more >
Government to boost arts education in schools
The government plans to significantly bolster arts education in primary and secondary schools over the next few years, designating more arts-centered schools and increasing related teachers and classes. more >
Why arts should be endorced, by Martin Adaji
At the just-concluded stakeholders forum organized by the Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation in Abuja, experts on culture voted for a review of the National Culture Policy. They also canvassed a National Endowment for the Arts as well as the need for government to introduce entertainment tax, which could help artistes in the course of their struggles and place them on a better economic footing. more >
The arts need a really big give that never stops giving
With deep funding cuts on the way, our cultural institutions must learn new ways of harnessing private philanthropy. more >
Interview with the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, Alexander Avdeyev
The State Hermitage in St. Petersburg is one of the country’s most renowned museums. How important is it for Dutch-Russian relations that the museum’s first international satellite of this scale will be in Amsterdam? In what ways do you imagine the new center affecting relations between the two countries? more >
Brains in gear better than bums on seats
SUPPORTING the arts means resilience, says Robyn Archer. One of the most experienced, respected and powerful arts identities in the country, Archer knows very well that her formulation of a dichotomy between "that stuff" - heritage art - and the fresh ideas created by young and emerging artists will trouble some of her colleagues. Within the arts sector, there is mounting frustration, not yet expressed openly for fear of reprisals, that the opposite is happening: instead of heritage art being shored up "at the expense of" the new, it is heritage art that is being undermined by arts funding policies that favour emerging art forms. more >
Partnership also sends Israeli artists to US
Future projects include an exposition of Western Galilee artists in the communities and international arts conference in the Western Galilee. more >
Anguilla to publicly discuss the issue of cultural diversity
Anguilla will publicly examine the issue of cultural diversity within the context of sustainable national development. The forum is part of a series being held as part of the process to develop a culture policy for Anguilla. more >
Great debate around Culture Policy
The two day stakeholders culture conference that held at Bolingo Hotels &Towers, Abuja under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation last week was seen by many ministerial watchers as a landmark development and probably, a harbinger to an end of the prolonged call for a National Culture Policy for the country. more >
After High Line’s Success, Other Cities Look Up
The High Line’s success as an elevated park, its improbable evolution from old trestle into glittering urban amenity, has motivated a whole host of public officials and city planners to consider or revisit efforts to convert relics from their own industrial pasts into potential economic engines. more >
Final reports: 2008-2010 Workplan for Culture
The four Member State expert working groups established in the 2008-2010 Workplan for Culture have published their final reports. These groups have worked through the "Open Method of Coordination", exchanging good practices, comparing policies and making recommendations for action at national or European level. more >
Blog: Preserving the Musical Heritage of the Muslim World
Musicologists funded by Abu Dhabi are roaming Islamic countries in search of lullabies and children’s songs, one of the first projects of a centre that aims to preserve the musical heritage of the Muslim world. The Al Ain Centre for Music in the World of Islam seeks to document, digitise and sustain the musical traditions of Muslim countries and Islamic communities anywhere in the world. It also plans to help preserve the music of non-Islamic minorities in Muslim countries. more >
Budget cuts would devastate the arts, warn theatre and gallery directors
Job losses, widespread closures and damage to audiences and Britain's reputation would follow, say leading figures. more >
Kennedy Center president: Arts education funding is ‘crucial’
Never cut programming, even during times of recession, he advised arts activists. Make your performances, exhibits and productions as exciting and transformative to your community as possible. Plan five years ahead. And always, always talk about what your nonprofit offers, not the money you need. more >
Arts Centre moves to Atlanta
Apparently intrigued by a passion to strengthen cultural diplomacy between Nigeria and the United States US, the Federal Government may soon establish an international arts centre in Atlanta, Georgia. more >
Indigenous art code launched
Art galleries, dealers and auction houses have been urged to sign up to code of conduct aimed at ending dodgy sale practices within the multi-million dollar indigenous art sector. more >
UWA to lead world-class research
The University of Western Australia is leading or collaborating in more than half of Australia's new Centres of Excellence announced today by the Federal Government.
The Centre of Excellence in the History of Emotion will be directed by UWA historian, Winthrop Professor Philippa Maddern of the School of Humanities. "Emotions shape our mental, physical and social well-being," Professor Maddern said. "Our research will illuminate this crucial aspect of Australia's cultural and social heritage, and invigorate Australian culture through major reflective performances in drama, opera and art.
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more >
Bulgarian Theaters Indignant at Looming 'Reform'
A number of representatives of Bulgarian theaters have voiced staunch opposition to proposed reforms on the part of Bulgarian Minister of Culture Vezhdi Rashidov. The goal of the reform is to optimize Bulgaria's state-funded theater system and reduce spending by introducing cuts and mergers of theater entities. more >
Centre for Cultural Policy Studies Doctoral Scholarship
The Centre for Cultural Policy Studies at the University of Wawrick, will offer one doctoral scholarship in 2010-2011. The scholarship scheme is open to both EU and Overseas candidates. more >
Culture department braces itself for redundancies of up to 50%
Jeremy Hunt has submitted plans to Treasury proposing deep cuts in staff and a move to smaller government building. more >
New funding programmes for Creative NZ
Creative New Zealand has established two new arts funding programmes after a review of its recurring funding earlier this year. more >
Millennium Development Goals, local governments and culture. Comments for the World Secretariat of UCLG
In September 2010 the General Assembly of United Nations will meet in New York and review the progress
towards the MDGs. The Summit will have an extraordinary impact. The Committee on culture believes that the cultural sector needs to advocate for this cause: the integration of a culture dimension in policies and
programmes aiming to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. We believe UCLG can contribute to this
cause.
more >
France/Institut français/cultural diplomacy
A few days ago Parliament adopted the Act creating the Institut français, the agency which from now on will be the hallmark of our cultural diplomacy in the world. This is part of a sweeping reform of our “diplomacy of influence”, the most important carried out in France for decades. more >
U.S. Pledges To Speed Up Visa Process For Artists
Addressing years of complaints about slow and inconsistent processing of visa applications for foreign performing artists, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services told arts groups this week that it was making an effort to speed up and improve its visa operations. more >
Ed Vaizey denies arts funding decision is imminent
Culture minister Ed Vaizey has quashed rumours that a decision on arts sector funding is imminent, insisting that the Treasury will not decide the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s budget until the government spending review in October. more >
Art market - best of intentions, worst of realities
The Minister for Environment Protection, Heritage and the Arts, Peter Garrett launched a new Arts Policy on June 8, 2010, introducing a Resale Royalty Scheme for artists on secondary sales. This comes at a crucial time for the arts industry. On June 30 the government also considered the implementation of the Cooper Panel’s recommendation that would disallow the purchase of artwork from Self Managed Super Funds. more >
Damien Hirst for culture minister?
Should the Department for Culture, Media and Sport be hiring more artists? Damien Hirst as minister for culture? Mike Leigh as his deputy? Elton John as head of the Arts Council? It sounds unlikely, but perhaps we could learn a thing or two from our Brazilian friends. Yesterday the Southbank gave its Purcell Room stage to two of Brazil's most prominent artists -- the poet T T Catalão and the actor and director Tadeu di Pietro -- not to talk about their work, but to discuss funding, in their respective capacities as secretary for culture and citizenship and co-director of the National Foundation for Arts. more >
Cutting arts budgets will cost Britain dearly in the long run
We put our international reputation at risk at our peril. more >
What Would Direct Representation of Artists Look Like?
The way in which our field has historically addressed that entropy is through national service organizations (by which I mean both the usual suspects such as the ones Bill mentions but also the unions, trade groups, etc.). Yet I'm not convinced that this structure constitutes the best means of expressing artists' concerns to the people that need to hear them. more >
Creative Rights & Artists
The existence of an open, global Internet has awakened a creative fervor around the world and given creators the ability to reshape the laws of form, distribution, audience development, and more to fundamentally change the landscape of creative engagement. more >
Most Scottish arts organisations to face deep funding cuts
Creative Scotland review of £18m core funding will bite from Edinburgh to Orkney. more >
Culture club
Does the nation’s culture need federal protection? more >
Baby Boomers, Facebook, and the Australian Example
Reluctance to embrace social media as an appropriate avenue for reaching arts patrons has often been blamed on the demographics of the user base. Many people look at sites like Facebook and immediately write them off as platforms only representing a younger generation. Not any longer. more >
ACE avoids axe in ‘bonfire of the quangos’
Arts Council England has emerged unscathed from a major “efficiency” review of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s arm’s length bodies, which has seen both the UK Film Council and the Museums , Libraries and Archives Council abolished. more >
Call for tender to set up a European Expert Network on Culture
DG Education and Culture has launched an open call for tender to set up a network of leading European centres and experts on culture. more >
Jamming for Uncle Sam: Getting the Best From Cultural Diplomacy
Recent years have seen a welcome resurgence in U.S. Cultural Diplomacy, which after honorable service in the Cold War, sailed into the doldrums in the mid-1990s. Today, the State Department is reaching out to foreign publics in partnership with major private sector partners including Jazz at the Lincoln Center and the Brooklyn Academy of Music as well as maintaining its own program of visits, exhibitions and tours. more >
Has the Australia Council had its day?
We should replace the Australia Council with a cultural policy and planning body. more >
Nigeria to establish cultural centres in U.S, China, Brazil
In her bid to use the arts and culture effectively in global diplomatic roles Nigeria is planning to set up cultural centres in such countries as U.S.A., China and Brazil. more >
Visiting Arts launches new website
July saw the launch of the new Visiting Arts website, which has been in development over the last 9 months. With input from the sector and regular VA website users, the new beta website reinforces Visiting Arts vision and values as a voice for the sector, and allows for greater interaction with our audience. more >
Brazil sees potential in cultural cooperation with China
Brazil and China can share their experience in world heritage preservation to boost cultural exchanges, Minister of Culture Joao Luiz Silva Ferreira said on Monday. more >
Revealing Culture at the Smithsonian: VSA Celebrates 20th Anniversary of the American with Disabilities Act
For artists with disabilities, there's even more cause for celebration as this year also marks the 35th anniversary of VSA--The International Arts Organization on Arts and Disability, founded by Ambassador Jean Kennedy-Smith, youngest sister to President John F. Kennedy. more >
Is there an Australian culture in a Facebook world?
Culture and creativity are central to life in the 21st century. The global stakes have never been higher; never before have we been surrounded by so much information or so much art - high and popular, visual and aural, original and reproduced, amusing and challenging, bland and exciting. more >
Cross-cultural contest could be the making of us
FORGET the cutthroat rivalry of the Ashes cricket Test series: Australia wants to challenge the British on hallowed cultural ground to create the world's largest digital art canvas. more >
British cultural delegation explores India tie-ups
Aimed at promoting cultural diplomacy with India, leading British arts and cultural institutional heads are meeting with various artists, scholars and museum officials to promote contemporary art, architecture, textiles and museums. more >
Arts, culture and different kinds of humbug
Culture and the arts have not featured prominently in this year’s election campaign. That’s a shame, writes Ben Eltham, because we badly need to debate cultural policies. more >
SHARE Network for research in the arts
ELIA and GradCAM, Dublin will jointly coordinate SHARE - Step-change Higher Arts Research Education. The European Commission has selected the project for structural funding over the period 2010-2013. 35 graduate schools and institutions engaged in third-cycle research in the arts take part. It was one of only eight academic networks to be selected, and the grant could count as a recognition of art and artistic research as a full academic discipline, its role in the creative economy, and of the need for further development of an international academic community and a coordinated approach towards research in the arts. SHARE will start in October 2010. more >
August 2010
Suggestions for politicians in search of a cheap arts policy
The perception at election time is that politicians can get ahead only by rolling out the pork barrel and spending up big. But while we'd all love more money for the arts, there are a lot of things that could make us all culturally richer for not much more than the cost of political will, taking the lead, changing some rules and tweaking a few settings. more >
Seremos facilitadores de todos los procesos’, afirma la ministra designada de cultura
Juan Manuel Santos también confirmó al ex senador Jairo Clopatofsky como nuevo director de Coldeportes. Mariana Garcés Córdoba, quien desde hace más de 30 años se ha desempeñado en el área cultural, aceptó el reto de asumir una cartera con una nota alta. more >
'We will act as facilitators...’, stated the Minister of Culture designate
Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, President of the Republic of Colombia, has designated Mariana Garcés Córdoba as the new Minister of Culture. more >
In defence of the Australia Council
A recent call for an overhaul of the Australia Council misses the real culprit. If Australian cultural policy is in disarray, it is not the Australia Council that is at fault; it is the Department for Water, Heritage and the Arts. more >
Contracts help culture - Minister
The latest theatrical and concert season in Russia is over. Before the next one starts, there is some time to analyze the developments in cultural life, to point out the opportunities for growth and to spot the most painful problems. The Russian Minister of Culture Alexander Avdeyev dedicated his interview for the Federal TV channel to these aspects. more >
Abu Dhabi Art 2010: The platform set to shape the contemporary art scene with international, regional and local representatives
Tourism Development & Investment Company 'TDIC' and Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage 'ADACH' announced today that a series of exhibitions, public programmes and workshops, as well as educational activities, will take place for the second consecutive year at Abu Dhabi Art 2010, in November at Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi. more >
World Orchestra for Peace to promote UNESCO’s message through music
The United Nations cultural agency has selected the World Orchestra for Peace, an ensemble of musicians from more than 40 countries, to help promote its message and programmes and raise public awareness of its work on key issues. more >
Expediting cultural diplomacy - artist visas get more streamlined
Even though "there are plenty of artists who work in the United States who come in and come out on tourist visas," the notoriously inefficient process of obtaining artists' work visas may become more streamlined. more >
This is what happens when arts funding is outsourced
Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt wants to bring US-style arts philanthropy to Britain. If New York is anything to go by it would be a disaster. more >
Arts funding inquiry will not report until after spending review
House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee Chair John Whittingdale has warned that its inquiry into arts funding will not be complete until after the government’s comprehensive spending review, which will set the main culture budget for the next four years. more >
Full Video: The ABC's Mark Scott on cultural diplomacy
Mark Scott, Managing Director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation has highlighted that public broadcasting is the most efficient and effective way of presenting Australia’s culture and institutions across the region, in a speech for Asialink-Asia Society AustralAsia Centre. more >
Anger at customs clampdown
Stricter enforcement of UK bond rules pushes dealers’ credit lines to the limit. more >
Review stirs concerns over arts funding
The independent review of the arts in Canberra has been welcomed by arts groups but has raised questions about funding details and support for public art. more >
PBS Innovating Multi-Platforms
PBS President Paula Kerger spoke to the media during the Television Critics Association summer press tour yesterday discussing their participation in the launch of the Apple iPad. PBS created the “Super Why!” app which has been very successful improving vocabulary and strengthening literary skills. more >
Britain plans dramatic cuts in the arts
Panicked curators, artistic directors and art critics are warning of London's potential fall from the vanguard of the global arts scene. more >
Show us some policy, arts groups urge political parties
Australia's leading arts organisations have made an unprecedented intervention in the federal election campaign, complaining about the way the arts have been ignored by the major parties. more >
Govt committed to welfare of artists, cultural artisans: Jilani
Federal Minister for Culture Pir Aftab Hussain Shah Jilani has said that incumbent Government committed for the welfare of Artists and Cultural Artisans and taking keen interest in this regard, this was stated by the Federal Minister while chairing the Pakistan Culture and Arts Foundation Relief Fund Committee meeting here today. more >
Richard Mills joins culture war over heritage
It was supposed to be a discussion about the Australia Council's new "artistic vibrancy" policy. more >
Creative accounting
Fierce competition for the philanthropic dollar has forced artistic companies to come up with new ways of attracting money. more >
America’s Biggest Businesses Set Flat Giving Budgets
Corporate profits are on the rebound, but most big businesses say it will be some time before they can give as much cash as they did before the recession, according to a Chronicle survey of 162 of the country’s largest corporations. more >
Fears for future arts funding
Australian Chamber Orchestra's artistic director Richard Tognetti says he fears for the future of the arts because of potential government cuts. more >
How a ‘spiral of engagement’ of Culture, Sustainability & Policy intends to create an Ecological Age by 2050
Culture|Futures is an expanding, positive ‘spiral of engagement’: a collaboration of organizations and individuals who are concerned with shaping and delivering a proactive cultural agenda to support the necessary transition towards an ‘Ecological Age’ by 2050. more >
Turkey goes global as cultural outreach follows foreign policy forays
A new Turkish cultural center joins airline flights and radio and television broadcasts in expanding the country's reach around the globe, with a UK office on the way and more planned for Moscow and Damascus. Experts say such 'public diplomacy' efforts complement Ankara's ambitious foreign policy by helping present Turkey's changing image to the world. more >
A good economist knows the true value of the arts
Activities that are good in themselves are good for the economy, and activities that are bad in themselves are bad for the economy. The only intelligible meaning of “benefit to the economy” is the contribution – direct or indirect – the activity makes to the welfare of ordinary citizens. more >
Plum Benefit to Cultural Post: Tax-Free Housing
Museums say their leaders are entitled to the same tax break given to university presidents and others whose housing, by law, is not treated as income because their employers require them to live on a “business premises.” more >
Bill to Halt Certain Sales of Artwork May Be Dead
A bill to prohibit cultural institutions from selling pieces from their collections to cover operating costs has all but died in the New York State Legislature, in the face of opposition from major cultural institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the withdrawal of support from the bill’s Senate sponsor. more >
Art for All… Or Else
An interview with Simon Brault, author of No Culture, No Future. more >
China and Singapore Sign Co-production Agreement
China and Singapore on July 23rd signed a Film Coproduction Agreement on the sidelines of the 7th China-Singapore Joint Council for Bilateral Co-operation (CSJCBC) in Beijing, China. more >
Teaching diversity - why discuss diversity?
A forum focusing upon the teaching of diversity issues and whether or not we should be discussing diversity in our schools and with our students is being hosted by the NZ National Commission for UNESCO as part of the NZ Diversity Action Forum 2010 in Christchurch this month. more >
2011 Federal Budget The creative sector: not yet recovered
Pre-budget submission by the Canadian Conference of the Arts to the Standing Committee on Finance. more >
Arts funding threat - 'Cuts could send the festivals into decline'
THERE is always a buzz of excitement about Edinburgh in August as the city transforms into the bustling centre of the artistic universe. But this year the dark clouds bringing the seemingly endless rain showers are not the only ones hovering over the world's biggest arts festival. The threat of savage public spending cuts that could just send the festivals into a spiral of decline
is troubling those who work in them
more >
Globalising our cultural tour de force
Gene Sherman is dismayed that a week before the federal election neither of the two main parties have uttered the ''a'' word. more >
Not starving, saving: creativity pays
Forget the stereotype of the starving artist living in squalor.The arts sector is a vibrant and entrepreneurial part of the economy, with above-average employment growth and five times more small-business owners and sole traders than the total workforce, according to research to be released this week by the Australia Council. more >
Promoting 'Cool Japan'
Eight years have passed since American journalist Douglas McGray first coined the phrase, but now the Japanese government is getting behind "Cool Japan" in a big way. more >
$10m grants for new works
ARTISTS will benefit from a $10 million boost for new works and fellowships, and the role of the Australia Council will be expanded. But film and television makers should expect no immediate kindness if Labor is re-elected on Saturday. more >
Endowment funds flourish in France
A new governmental provision enacted in 2008, known as a fonds de dotation, is helping museums raise funds privately. more >
The arts need diversity schemes
Positive action programmes for minority groups should remain on the cultural agenda until there is no organic need for them. more >
Training - an investment in the future of a healthy arts infrastructure
An interview with Brett Egan, Director, DeVos Institute of Arts Management, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C. more >
Tories backtrack on broadband promise
The government has been accused of sabotaging its own broadband ambitions after reneging on a pre-election promise to reform the way high-speed fibre-optic networks are taxed in the UK. more >
Artists don't do it for the money
THE Australia Council for the Arts has released a torrent of statistics and analyses put together by two university research teams, all of which add up to one stark fact: you would be mad to become an artist for the money. more >
The Web Is Dead. Long Live the Internet
Two decades after its birth, the World Wide Web is in decline, as simpler, sleeker services — think apps — are less about the searching and more about the getting. Chris Anderson explains how this new paradigm reflects the inevitable course of capitalism. And Michael Wolff explains why the new breed of media titan is forsaking the Web for more promising (and profitable) pastures. more >
Connecting the dots, again
The artist service and support organization Fractured Atlas has a knack for offering what's necessary and useful on the path from creative inspiration to realized experience. Their service areas may not be glamorous -- health and liability insurance, technology infrastructure, fiscal sponsorship -- but they are essential elements for independent artists or arts groups striving to connect the dots. more >
Shifting to the Future
Watch an exclusive Americans for the Arts video to find out more about the arts advocacy work of Zac Efron, Claire Danes, and Richard Linklater. more >
Lee vows support for low-income people seeking cultural events
President Lee Myung-bak said Monday his government will step up efforts to help the working class and other low-income people enjoy more cultural activities such as movies, exhibitions and performances in line with his "fair society" campaign. more >
Cutting edge: radical arts funding
Britain's creative output is hugely imaginative. But when it comes to funding, the arts world is one of the most conservative industries in the country. David Lister, arts editor, argues that reducing budgets could radicalise culture more >
NEA head Rocco Landesman says arts can help country climb out of the recession
Landesman, who was appointed head of the NEA last year by President Barack Obama, is touring the country to promote his new slogan: Art Works. more >
The directors' debate: Are arts funding cuts a good idea?
Theatre directors Adrian Jackson and David Parrish debate the pros and cons of Arts Council spending cuts. more >
In Times of Crisis: Saving Art
In order to understand where art is headed in this new e-economy, we must remember where art has been and see the possible trajectories for the future. Tuesday a piece entitled, The High Cost of Free Culture, was posted by Bevin Carnes on the Huffington Post.
more >
Caribbean culture policy book launched
After 15 years of work, thought and practice, Dr Suzanne Burke launched her book, Policing the Transnational: Cultural Policy Development in the Anglophone Caribbean (1962-2008. Her work focuses on the Caribbean cultural industries and cultural policy development. more >
Fighting for Control of the Web's Future
As data volumes continue to grow, it's clear that the Internet's infrastructure needs upgrading. What's not clear is who is going to pay for it. Web activists fear the development of a two-tier Internet, where corporations have priority and dissenting voices get pushed to the margins. more >
Turning a corner towards inclusion in the arts
Minister for the Arts, David O’Byrne, today spoke of his vision for the arts and celebrated Tasmania’s vibrant arts culture at the Junction 2010 Regional Arts Festival. In a major coup, the national arts conference and festival is being held in Launceston and includes art installations and a high-level symposium to discuss innovative ways to engage the community in the arts. more >
Diplomatic sector made significant contributions to national development
Over the past 65 years, the Vietnam’s diplomatic sector has made significant progress, greatly contributing to the cause of national construction and defence. Together with many other national festivities, the diplomatic sector also marks its 65th anniversary on August 28. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pham Binh Minh granted VOV an interview on the sector’s achievements over the past 65 years. more >
September 2010
California lawmakers gave final approval Monday night to a bill that would extend the time period in which people can sue museums to try to recover what they believe are stolen works of art.
California lawmakers gave final approval Monday night to a bill that would extend the time period in which people can sue museums to try to recover what they believe are stolen works of art. more >
Young at art: what the arts cuts mean for young people
The comprehensive spending review may not take place till October, but already a number of schemes and programmes designed to engage children and young people in the arts have been scrapped or curtailed, sent to the back of the priority list. more >
Two-thirds of people 'agree with arts funding change'
Two-thirds of people agree with the government's stance on cutting arts funding and increasing reliance on private cash, a survey has suggested. And a fifth of the 2,022 British adults questioned said visual arts should not be given any government funding. more >
Senate Panel Boosts Arts Ed Funding
Before breaking for the August recess, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year 2011 funding for the U.S. Department of Education, setting appropriations for the arts in education grants at $42 million. more >
“Museums will take their share of the pain”
But the new British culture minister insists the government is not walking away from the arts. more >
UK braces itself for swingeing cuts across the board
A key question is whether the cuts will be staggered or all start immediately in 2011. more >
The art of measurement
It’s clear that arts institutions will be hit hard in the months and years ahead. Cuts in the region of 25% to 40% are predicted. The Arts Council estimates that 200 of the 850 organisations in its portfolio will fold over the next four years if cuts of around 30% are made. more >
The separation of ART and STATE
The B.C. Arts Council is caught between the arts community and the government that funds it.
more >
Who should fund the arts: Consumers, state, rich patrons?
Which funding approach produces the most creative, meaningful, influential, relevant and transformative art, the kind which best contributes to a healthy society? more >
The Ministry of Culture will be funded by the Contingency Fund and Ossio will demand funds from the tax on mining
Juan Ossio, recently appointed Minister of Culture, assured he will propose President Alan García to allocate a percentage of the funds coming from the tax on mining to support the new Ministry. more >
Ministerio de Cultura se financiará con Fondo de Contingencia y Ossio pedirá canon minero
El recién nombrado ministro de Cultura, Juan Ossio, aseguró que planteará al presidente Alan García que se destine un porcentaje del canon minero para impulsar la nueva cartera ministerial. more >
In an over-crowded, muzak-infested world, reading rooms are an oasis
Reports that library services will be cut have been met with orchestrated outcry. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport softened us up for the bad news by revealing that the "proportion of adults visiting a library" had decreased from 48.2% to 39.4% in the four years to 2010. more >
Performing arts prove the show must go on
It is perhaps a measure of how well the performing arts has weathered the global economic downturn that a slight drop in the number of people attending live shows has been hailed as a good result. more >
Juan Ossio: A Minister expert on Andean culture
The Peruvian anthropologist and philosopher Juan Ossio is an expert on Andean culture, poverty and its relation to mining companies is now in charge of Peru’s new Ministry of Culture, an appointment that has created great expectations in Peru, a country with diverse identities and a very important historical heritage. more >
Juan Ossio: un ministro experto en cultura andina
El antropólogo y filósofo peruano Juan Ossio es un experto en cultura andina, pobreza y relación con las empresas mineras que conduce desde hoy el flamante Ministerio de Cultura de Perú, un cargo que ha generado mucha expectativa en un país con diversas identidades y un gran legado histórico. more >
A helping hand for Bologna
Most foundations operate by making donations to third parties. What is unusual about the Carisbo Foundation is that it is both funding the restorations and subsequently managing the sites itself. Roversi-Monaco says this decision is partly motivated by diminishing faith in his country’s capacity to manage its heritage; Silvio Berlusconi’s administration has cut the cultural budget by €891m in the period from 2009-11. more >
State Council of the Performing Arts and Music constituted
Culture Minister, Angels González-Sinde, chaired Tuesday's full constitution of the State Council for the Performing Arts and Music, 'the highest advisory body to the National Institute of Performing Arts and Music (INAEM )" and "a useful and essential tool for organizing the financial resources and fostering the performing arts throughout the Spanish territory and beyond our borders." Full article available in Spanish. more >
Constituido el Consejo Estatal de las Artes Escénicas y de la Música
La ministra de Cultura, Ángeles González-Sinde, ha presidido este martes el pleno de constitución del Consejo Estatal de las Artes Escénicas y de la Música, "el más alto órgano de asesoramiento del Instituto Nacional de las Artes Escénicas y de la Música (INAEM)" y "una herramienta útil y fundamental para organizar los recursos económicos y propiciar la difusión de todas las artes escénicas a lo largo del territorio español y fuera de nuestras fronteras". more >
Officials propose Taiwan, China cultural exchanges
Chinese Minister of Culture Cai Wu (蔡武) yesterday proposed institutionalizing cultural exchanges between Taiwan and China, suggesting that both sides hold visits by high-level cultural officials and sign an agreement on the matter. more >
ACTing Responsibly: How Culture Meets the Internet
Recent policy discussions, technological advancements, and transnational discussions beg for some sort of authoritative viewpoint on how to go about doing this. From European opposition to the latest draft of the Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement (ACTA) to threats of Quran burning in a Gainesville, Fla., church, the intersection of culture and public policy is ripe with unanswered questions. more >
Brian Sewell appeals for Dragons Den-style arts funding
Art critic Brian Sewell says it is time to kill off the Arts Council and replace it with Dragons Den-style funding bids, organised through the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. more >
'Dig deep' to boost arts funding, government asks
The government wants more philanthropic donations to boost arts funding in the UK, which is under threat from the double blow of the recession and cuts. But will funders want a say in the artistic process? Culture editor Matthew Cain investigates. more >
British Council report links culture and class
Government arts policy should shift its focus away from institutions and towards artists and audiences in an attempt to break down class barriers, according to former Demos head of culture John Holden. more >
B.C. art attack: Interview with Alliance for Arts and Culture's Amir Ali Alibhai
The B.C. government this past week restored some funding to the arts after heavy advocacy by supporters of the arts. To what degree will this make up for the cuts that happened? more >
Northern Ireland arts braced for cuts and job losses
Northern Ireland’s arts sector is bracing itself for job cuts and closures following the announcement that the region’s Arts Council is planning for a 20% cut in its spending plans over the next four years. more >
David Shrigley saves the arts from cuts – and wants you to help
Over 100 leading artists – among them David Hockney, Damien Hirst, Anish Kapoor, Jeremy Deller and Antony Gormley – have joined together to fight government cuts in one area where Britain still leads the world: culture. more >
Artistas se unen en contra de un recorte al presupuesto de cultura en Gran Bretaña
Un centenar de artistas como Damien Hirst, David Hockney, Anish Kapoor o Tracey Emin se unieron a la campaña para pedir al gobierno de David Cameron que no haga efectivo el recorte propuesto del 25 por ciento en el financiamiento de la "vibrante cultura" británica, se anunció este viernes. more >
Over 100 British artists join campaign against funding cuts
The artists acknowledge that reasonable cuts and efficiencies are necessary but they fear that the 25-percent cuts being proposed will destroy much of what has been achieved and will have a particularly damaging impact on national and regional museums and their collections. more >
Song and dance fan ready for his arts role
SIMON Crean's passion for opera and ballet will help ease him into his new role as Arts Minister. more >
NCA launches grassroots campaign to prevent arts funding cuts
Cultural advocacy organisations and industry bodies have united to launch a sector-wide campaign to encourage members of the general public to speak out against cuts to central and local government support for the arts. more >
Online map plots arts cuts in Wales
An online map plotting the victims of Arts Council Wales's recent annual revenue cuts has started a grassroots protest to the decisions. more >
Building “Real World” Relationships Online: Alan Cooke of Convio
Alan Cooke knows arts donors. This opera-lover also happens to be a master marketer (formerly with Hewlett Packard) and he puts his passion and his skills to good use at fundraising software company Convio, specializing in systems for non-profit organizations across the spectrum. more >
Ben Cameron: The true power of the performing arts
Arts administrator and live-theater fan Ben Cameron looks at the state of the live arts -- asking: How can the magic of live theater, live music, live dance compete with the always-on Internet? At TEDxYYC, he offers a bold look forward. more >
Crean ready for arts role
Simon Crean's passion for opera and ballet will help ease him into his new role as federal arts minister. more >
Not So Sweet Charity: David Patrick Columbia on Money, Power and Ambiguous Philanthropic Motives
"What happens in all the philanthropies," Mr. Columbia said, "is that people get involved through different channels—being recruited, wanting to know somebody—and lots of times they do become converted. They realize how important it is. They go to the performance, they see how people are responding, they see how great this is, they see how much better off the world is to have this. They start taking on more noble ideas of what they're doing, which makes them feel better about themselves. Not a bad thing." more >
At Schiphol, an Unlikely Sanctuary of Books
Opened with little fanfare over the summer, the library — the first ever at a major international airport — has 1,200 books in more than two dozen languages, all by Dutch authors or on subjects relating to the country’s history and culture. more >
Memorial held for Shirley Thomson
Several hundred people gathered in the National Gallery's great hall Thursday to celebrate the life of Shirley Thomson who died Aug. 10 at the age of 80. Thomson spent a decade at the helm of the gallery - from 1987 to 1997-- and also led the Canada Council for the Arts from 1998 to 2002.
more >
Culture Ministry and Guyana Culture Association recognise Guyanese artistes
THE Culture Ministry and the Guyana Culture Association, a Guyanese group based in the United States, yesterday recognised the Buxton Fusion School of Music and Tennicia DeFreitas for their musical contributions to Guyanese culture. Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony indicated that the organisation’s contribution towards promoting culture is significant since it exposes people to things Guyanese, particularly those who were brought up in the Guyanese culture. more >
Arts Council supporting 4,000 IDPs
The Arts Council of Pakistan (ACP) has been supporting around 4,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who had been rendered homeless due to heavy floods in rural Sindh, ACP Treasurer Najmuddin Sheikh said. more >
Irish arts community protests against cuts
The Irish arts community have staged a two-day campaign to highlight the impact of funding cuts on members’ incomes and to lobby against further spending reductions in the next budget. more >
Culture village throws open doors
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is urging Ha Noi and other localities nationwide to build the Culture-Tourism Village of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups in the Son Tay District of Ha Noi into an attractive destination for foreign and domestic tourists. Addressing the opening ceremony of the village in Ha Noi yesterday, Dung said that the village would help enrich the nation's culture.more >
Cultural Blogging in Australia
Yesterday, I participated in a fascinating full-day “unconference” at Melbourne’s Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas on the topic of cultural bloggers and online criticism. Unconferencers set the agenda on the day of the event so it kicked off with a discussion of the “amateur” status of bloggers. This was inspired in part by Alison Croggon’s article “The Return of the Amateur Critic” asking why bloggers are often thought of as amateurs. This led into a discussion of money and how bloggers can monetise their places on the web more >
Cultural diplomacy best wins hearts, minds
Earlier this year at the National People's Congress, Premier Wen Jiabao stated in his government work report that China will attach more importance to cultural development to enhance the international influence of Chinese culture. more >
Minister highlights awareness of artistic society
The minister of Culture, Rosa Cruz e Silva, stressed Tuesday in Geneva (Switzerland), the work organized by the Angolan Government for awareness of artistic and civil society on the need of valuing property rights of authors, artists and interpreters. more >
Should Creative Scotland be in the business of creating profit from culture?
However much Creative Scotland wants to develop its role as a rights-sharing venture capitalist – and there may be some small scope for exploration there, either actively or as a broker – they must still recognise their ultimate function: as the organisation that allows creative imaginations to lift free from the usual pressure of consumer or investor expectations. more >
European Union And UNESCO Join Hands To Use Culture As A Tool For Development
Today, Andris Piebalgs, the European Commissioner for Development, ahead of the High-Level Round Table on Culture and Development, signed an agreement with UNESCO for a €1 million Expert Facility to support governance of the cultural sector. This facility will allow the governments of developing countries to take advantage of experts' knowledge in developing effective and sustainable cultural policies. It will contribute to implementation of the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. more >
Cultural diplomacy best wins hearts, minds
Earlier this year at the National People's Congress, Premier Wen Jiabao stated in his government work report that China will attach more importance to cultural development to enhance the international influence of Chinese culture. more >
Culture a driver for development and the achievement of the eight Millennium Development Goals
Culture has a key role to play in reaching the development goals, concluded participants at a roundtable discussion opened by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova at the Millennium Summit in New York on Tuesday 21 September 2010. more >
New Model? Swedes Probe Museum Collections For Female Artists
Now here's an idea: Have a government team audit the country's public art collections to see just how many women are included, how often their work is exhibited, and why there isn't a greater proportion of art by women in museums. more >
Save face. Save our museums
Reborn pride in modern Britain risks being washed away overnight if we let funding cuts rain down on our galleries. more >
Tackling UK poetry's ethnic imbalance, with no help from Jeremy Hunt
The culture secretary's rhetoric about 'box ticking' in arts funding undermines his claim that he will broaden participation in the arts. more >
Haitian artists reach out in weekend program
Nestled inside this weekend's three-day Journees de la culture event is an initiative called Culture pour tous, designed to stimulate intercultural dialogue.
more >
Can Culture Foster Peace? Creative Leaders Debate in New York
—"I don’t have any idea what culture is," artist Richard Tuttle declared early in a panel discussion in the library of the Metropolitan Club in Manhattan during the Blouin Creative Leadership Summit yesterday. He continued, "I also don’t have any idea what social change is." more >
Union backs 'I Value the Arts' campaign
BECTU is encouraging all members and lovers of the arts to pledge their support for the National Campaign for the Arts' I Value The Arts campaign. more >
Cultural deep thinkers have their say
The Star asked several leading figures in the country’s arts scene what was the one thing they would change about Canada’s cultural policies. more >
It's no time to be squeamish, says ex-arts boss
Arts bodies cannot be "squeamish" about where their money comes from in the current financial climate, the former head of Arts Council England has said. more >
Ministers to discuss development impact of culture in Latin America and the Caribbean
Cultural ministers from Latin America and the Caribbean will gather at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to discuss how cultural policies and activities can help bring about economic and social development in the region. more >
Ministros analizarán impacto de la cultura en el desarrollo de América Latina y Caribe
Los ministros de Cultura de América Latina y el Caribe se reunirán en el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID) para discutir cómo las políticas y actividades culturales pueden ayudar al desarrollo socio-económico de la región. more >
Funding the Arts Supports the Creative Spirit of Our Nation
It was almost 200 years ago, after a day and night of relentless attack by the British in Baltimore, that the flag of the United States of America stood against the morning sky and inspired Francis Scott Key to write the words to the "The Star-Spangled Banner." 1,000 arts leaders from across the United States gathered at the Americans for the Arts 50th Anniversary Half-Century Summit held in Baltimore. more >
Why the arts matter, and what we can do to keep both alive in South Florida
As the current economic climate continues to take its toll on South Florida's art and cultural organizations and venues, it's more important than ever that residents rally to support these local treasures. The positive impact of the arts on our economy, our communities and our youth is tremendous. more >
Tone deaf in a popularity contest
Where would you rank opera in a list of arts and cultural funding priorities in Australia today? Above literature and the nation's novelists? Above our visual artists? Above our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists? Would you place it ahead of investing in contemporary forms such as design, contemporary music and video games? more >
Chinese cultural week opens in Pakistan
The China Cultural Week started at the National Arts Gallery on Friday with exhibitions of Shanghai Expo 2010 photographs and books on Chinese language. more >
Everybody in Cuba has access to culture
Aida Bahr, a prize-winning fiction writer, literary critic, and screenwriter in Cuba, recently spoke at two universities in the United Kingdom on "Culture and the Cuban Revolution.
more >
Gagik Ginosyan: culture main factor for national identity preservation
Armenia needs a culture policy developed at the highest level, according to Gagik Ginosyan, director of Karin song and dance ensemble. more >
Twelve bodies and organizations will become part of the Ministry of Culture
The Executive approved the process whereby twelve bodies and organizations will become part of the Ministerio de Cultura, directed by Juan Ossio. This process will end by the end of the year and will begin with the Instituto Nacional de Cultura (INC). more >
Doce entidades y organismos se fusionarán al Ministerio de Cultura
El Poder Ejecutivo aprobó el proceso de fusión de doce entidades y organismos en el Ministerio de Cultura, que dirige el antropólogo Juan Ossio, el cual se desarrollará hasta fin de año y se iniciará con el Instituto Nacional de Cultura (INC). more >
Responsible Philanthropy
A great deal has been written in recent weeks about the new English government's plan to slash government funding for the arts. Understandably, the arts organizations in England are deeply concerned. They have relied on government funding for large portions of their budgets and do not feel equipped to fill the budget gap that will result from this sudden reduction in income. This is not a unique situation. more >
HLOBI LAUNCHES ARTS AND CULTURE POLICY
The process of coming up with this policy was consultative, involving all stakeholders. The provisions of this policy are not from government, but from the artists themselves. more >
In the complex ecosystem of British arts, weeds are as important as trees
When we talk about how the arts in Britain are paid for, the phrase often used is a "mixed economy". Broadly that means that we steer a middle course between the extremes of the American and continental European systems. Theoretically, it is the best of both worlds. more >
Arts and Culture Curriculum for Schools
In a move to preserve Swazi art and culture, the ministry of sports, culture and youth affairs in collaboration with the ministry of education will introduce an arts and culture curriculum next year. more >
Cultural diplomacy potent instrument in foreign policy: Prez
President Pratibha Devisingh Patil today said cultural diplomacy was a potent instrument in the country's foreign policy and the country's traditions must be preserved. more >
Local artists to be paid - Hlobi
Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Hlobisile Ndlovu has said local artist will now be paid for the use of their music on national radio, television, films and any other mediums. more >
Art funding bolsters Bosnia’s ethnic divisions
Seeking state arts and culture funding in Bosnia? Best make sure your project has a distinct Serb, Croat or Bosniak flavour first. more >
Q&A with NEA Chair Rocco Landesman
Rocco Landesman is the tenth chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Prior to joining the NEA, he was previously the owner of Jujamcyn - a company that owns and operates five Broadway theaters and taught classes at the Yale School of Drama. more >
Grange asks IDB to Support Development of Culture in Region
Jamaica's Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, the Hon Olivia Grange, has appealed to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to assist Latin America and the Caribbean to develop, promote and preserve their rich cultural heritage. more >
The arts are vital to rural communities
The inspired alignment in Simon Crean's new regional portfolio, which brings together Regional Australia, Regional Development, Local Government and the Arts, has the potential to support well-considered long-term partnerships between key players in regional and rural revitalisation. more >
Planning Meeting of the Authorities of the Inter-American Committee on Culture (CIC)
The planning meeting of CIC Authorities will take place at the OAS headquarters in Washington DC, on September 29-30th, 2010. The main topic of discussion will be the 2011 Inter-American Year of Culture. more >
Reunión de Planeación de las Autoridades de la Comisión Interamericana de Cultura (CIC)
La reunión de planificación de las Autoridades de la CIC se llevará a cabo en la sede de la OEA en Washington DC, el 29 de septiembre al 30 de 2010. El tema principal de discusión será el 2011 Año Interamericano de la Cultura. more >
Arts Council of Wales urged to use unspent £1m pot
The Arts Council of Wales has been urged by some arts groups to use £1m of unspent funding to help companies struggling with budgets. more >
A Favorite Arts Education Video: Powerful Learning Through The Arts
Here's a wonderful video from the Seattle Arts Education Consortium. It succeeds in giving a good sense of exactly what arts education looks like in a classroom, with lots of footage involving kids and teachers. And, it's got some excellent context and even a few talking heads! more >
Culture budget for 2011 hits record high
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Thursday its plans to use some 3.37 trillion won next year for community outreach programs and to develop cultural content. more >
Crunch time for business sponsorship of the arts
Sitting on the desk of culture secretary Jeremy Hunt is a document detailing the draconian budget cuts that the Arts Council England (ACE) will have to make in the wake of Chancellor George Osborne’s stringent autumn spending review. Among them, I’m told, is a proposal that will effectively destroy the most successful private and corporate fundraising vehicle for the arts to date. more >
October 2010
National Arts and Humanities Month
NAHM is the largest annual celebration of the arts and humanities in the US. more >
International Cultural Engagement Taskforce
The Task Force will examine existing and proposed new international cultural diplomacy engagements that help enhance mutual understanding, respect, and trust. These include partnerships and collaborations among individuals and organizations in the U.S. and abroad, in the fields of dance; design; folk arts; humanistic study and publication; film, television and digital arts; literature; music; opera; music-theater; theater; and the visual arts; and the presenters, exhibitors, and networks of these artistic and humanistic endeavors. A special effort will be made to showcase best practices in these areas, including, in particular, connections and collaborations among local and regional citizen activities and established national and international programs that are working to improve mutual understanding, respect, and trust. more >
Launch of the campaign we are more
On Thursday the 7th of October 2010 at 6pm, Culture Action Europe - the umbrella advocacy organisation for the arts and culture in Europe - will launch the large-scale campaign we are more. As well as mobilising Culture Action Europe's membership that covers over 100 members and 50.000 arts and culture players across Europe, the campaign will seek to mobilise everyone who cares about culture in Europe. more >
Small change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted
The world, we are told, is in the midst of a revolution. The new tools of social media have reinvented social activism. With Facebook and Twitter and the like, the traditional relationship between political authority and popular will has been upended, making it easier for the powerless to collaborate, coördinate, and give voice to their concerns.
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CIS culture summit
All former Soviet republics in the Commonwealth of Independent States with the exception of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are in Moscow at the 25th conference of CIS Culture Ministers, which opened in the Russian capital on Monday. more >
A blitzkrieg on the arts
With the ruthlessness of a blitzkrieg the coalition is threatening the stability of an entire system for cultural provision that has been built up by successive Conservative and Labour governments: a mixed economy of public and private support that has made Britain a civilised place to live, where all have an opportunity to enjoy the arts or celebrate our heritage, and have been doing so in increasing numbers. more >
Shocker for local artists
Swaziland Broadcasting and Information Services could stop playing local music if they are forced to pay artists. more >
Consultation on a future European Union Culture Programme
The European Commission has launched its public consultation on the future EU Programme for culture, to replace the current one from 2014 onwards. more >
Writers dissect woes haunting the industry
Malawian writers and the visiting Poetry Africa crew on Friday shared notes at the French Cultural Centre (FCC) in Malawi's commercial city, Blantyre, with frank talk on what is killing the Malawi writing muse. more >
¿Crisis = buen arte?
La comunidad cultural británica advierte que los recortes de presupuesto que se apresta a imponer el gobierno para paliar la crisis económica se traducirán en una "guerra relámpago" contra las artes. more >
Do hard times equal good art?
Britain's cultural community warns spending cuts will mean a "blitzkrieg" for the arts. But isn't austerity supposed to deliver punk rock and poetry? more >
Cultural Policy Task Group Meeting
Following its earlier meetings in Harare and Mbabane, Arterial Network’s Cultural Policy Task Group met in Kigali, Rwanda to consider the latest draft of the generic cultural policy framework being developed to assist African countries – and civil society players in particular – in devising cultural policies based on international and African policy instruments. more >
EU-China seek to boost cultural ties
Topics to be addressed at the first-ever EU-China High Level Cultural Forum, which is taking place in Brussels on 6-7 October as part of a wider EU-China summit, include dealing with globalisation, and considering different worldviews, types of modernisation and concepts of beauty. more >
Arts venues face closure under funding cuts, says theatre boss
The head of the National Theatre today issued the starkest warning to date of how cuts to arts funding could destroy Britain's cultural life. more >
Fábrica Cultural: new online portal for the cultural sector
Carried out by Rubicón Cultural and Educational Services, a consulting company on European cultural projects, this new portal provides information on opportunities for employment, grants, scholarships, prizes and support for students, professionals and cultural institutions, as well as virtual and telephone consultancy, users’ space, social network, advertising space and a weekly newsletter. more >
Lashley new Minister of Culture
Barbados has a new minister of Culture, he is the Hon. Stephen Lashley, Minister of Family, Sports and Youth, culture is an addition to his portfolio. more >
London in the Middle
A smart mix of public and private funding helped turn the British capital into a cultural powerhouse. Well, goodbye to all that. more >
Ministers seek to boost inclusion of innovation
The EU's culture ministers exchanged views on the ties between culture and innovation on the first day of the informal Culture and Audiovisual Council, on 7 and 8 October in Brussels. They also called for a role for the cultural and creative industries in the 'Europe 2020' strategy. more >
Arts to suffer 'irreversible' harm from funding cuts
Funding cuts could irreparably damage the arts in Wales and lead to an exodus of talent from the nation, the Assembly was warned yesterday.
more >
Brazil to establish fund to boost presence in int'l publishing market
Brazil is establishing a fund to help promote the country's literature at international arena by encouraging translations of Brazilian literature works. more >
Human Resource Management in the Arts
William J. Byrnes: In this article, I would like to offer a few observations about the Human Resource (HR) function in arts organizations in light of the global economic downturn. I will take a quick look at the impact the recession has had on arts organizations and I will review recent information about hiring trends in the HR field. more >
Getting into the swing of things with all his arts
Simon Crean has impressed the sector with his enthusiasm for the role.
IN the four weeks since Julia Gillard asked Simon Crean to be Arts Minister, the veteran politician has betrayed an eclectic taste in cultural pursuits.
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CCA stimulates investment in creative sector
The government will collaborate with businesses to step up investment in the cultural and creative industries, Emile Chih-jen Sheng, minister of the Cabinet-level Council for Cultural Affairs said. more >
In California, Pot Is Now an Art Patron
Nonprofit arts groups tend to spend much of their time scrounging for grants and praying for corporate largesse. But one art foundation taking shape on 120 acres in the high oak chaparral of Sonoma County has different kinds of worries these days: spider mites, bud rot and the occasional low-flying surveillance visit from the local Sheriff’s Office. more >
Nicholas Moyo Named NACZ Deputy Director
The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe has appointed Nicholas Moyo as its deputy director with effect from October 1. more >
Culture policy
The government today approved a proposal to induct professionals into cultural institutions under its control. more >
Our stakeholder research findings are available now
The Arts Council's ongoing Stakeholder Focus research has been running since 2009. Our survey asked the public, artists, arts organisations and other interested partners their opinions on what we are doing well and where we need to improve. more >
Network Meeting of cultural policy research
On 12 and 13 September EDUCULT organised the annual meeting of the Network of German-speaking Cultural Policy Researchers 2010. The meeting was held previous to the international symposium Arts for Education! in Essen/ Germany. more >
Copyright agreement to right copy wrongs
A proposed international agreement that would crack down on copyright piracy and counterfeiting is much closer to finalisation following Governments adopting a softer line against alleged offenders. more >
Heritage questions
Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones AM answered a number of questions on the Arts Council of Wales' funding policies on 13 October 2010. more >
Newsmakers: Robert Lynch, President/CEO, Americans for the Arts
Recently, Philanthropy News Digest spoke to Lynch about the state of the arts in America, what arts and cultural organizations can and should be doing to weather the Great Recession, and what the digital future holds in store for artists, arts organizations, and all who support them. more >
RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms
Sir Ken Robinson's animated presentation on arts and education. more >
Polish cultural diplomacy
In an exclusive interview for the English Service of Polish Radio, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski talks about the Chopin Year 2010 and the cultural component of Poland’s presidency in the European Union in the second half of next year. more >
Join the Culture Action Europe campaign 'we are more'!
Culture Action Europe, the umbrella advocacy organisation for the arts and culture in Europe, has launched a new campaign: we are more (2010-2013) will use the upcoming EU political and financial negotiations for the period 2014-2020 as a timely opportunity to develop and sharpen the arguments used when advocating for arts and culture. The ultimate goal of the campaign is to contribute to a strengthened recognition of the role of arts and culture in the development of our European societies. more >
Cultural Mapping Can Greatly Benefit Tongan Culture
Participants at an SPC workshop on documentary film making organized by the SPC's Regional Media Centre were informed of the crucial role cultural mapping plays in the preservation and nurturing of cultural practices. more >
Support for UK museums: Public funding vs private giving
Directors and collectors say US-style incentives required for American-scale philanthropy. more >
NESTA granted full independence from government
The National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts has been granted full independence from government, as part of the recent so-called ‘bonfire of the quangos’. more >
Winner of the Cultural Policy Research Award 2010 announced at ENCATC’s Annual Conference
Claire Bullen (UK) is the winner of the 7th Cultural Policy Research Award 2010 (CPRA). The prize, worth €10,000 for the best proposal in comparative cross-cultural research in Europe, is a joint initiative of the European Cultural Foundation along with the Swedish Riksbankens Jubileumsfond in partnership with ENCATC. The title of her research project is "European Capitals of Culture and everyday cultural diversity: Comparing social relations and cultural policies in Liverpool (UK) and Marseille (France)". more >
Centro Cultural del BID lanza convocatoria para propuestas de pequeños proyectos
El Centro Cultural del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo lanza una convocatoria para propuestas de apoyo financiero a pequeños proyectos de desarrollo cultural. more >
Lessons in aesthetic appreciation proposed for schools
The arts are included alongside geography and languages in the second phase of the rollout of the national curriculum. It means that, for the first time, all students from their first year of school through to Year 8 will learn five art forms: dance, drama, media arts, music and visual arts. more >
Museums Galleries Scotland launch campaign for responsible change
Museums Galleries Scotland today launch a toolkit to help local authorities make decisions about how they deliver services locally in a 'cuts climate'. The toolkit, Choices for Change, arrives in time for local authorities to take account of the UK Government's comprehensive spending review announcement. more >
IDB Cultural Center launches Call-for-proposals for small-scale projects
IDB Offices in Latin America and the Caribbean will receive applications for financing. more >
Ministers call for more financial and institutional support for culture industries in Latin America and the Caribbean
Cultural industries are one of the fastest-growing sectors of the global economy, expanding at a projected rate of 8-10 percent over the coming decade. What does that mean for Latin America and the Caribbean? more >
David Cameron's 'big society' is already being conducted by our orchestras
David Cameron's big idea, the 'big society', may resemble an under-inflated balloon struggling to rise off the ground, but is his vision of a volunteer community really just so much hot air? more >
Reclaman más apoyo para industrias culturales en América Latina y el Caribe
Las industrias culturales son uno de los sectores de crecimiento más rápido en la economía global, con una tasa proyectada de 10,8 por ciento durante la próxima década. ¿Qué significa esto para América Latina y el Caribe? more >
Tate's Nicholas Serota reacts to arts funding cuts
Industry figures have been digesting the announcement of government cuts to arts funding. more >
How the arts are funded outside the UK
But just how does the UK compare to other countries? BBC correspondents give an overview of arts funding in India, France, Italy and the US. more >
Americans for the Arts names top 10 companies that support the arts
Corporate philanthropy has long been a means of soul-cleansing for American businesses. For arts institutions, corporate donations are a lifeblood without which many would cease to exist. more >
Arts funding cut 30% in spending review
Spending review sees Arts Council England shorn of almost a third of its budget, but museums expected to maintain free entry policy. more >
Video from the White House' online chat about arts and humanities
In case you missed Tuesday's online chat with members of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, the White House has posted a rather lengthy video from the interactive event in which the public was invited to pose questions about the country's arts policy and other cultural issues to committee members. more >
First Sino-Austrian cultural joint venture sets up in Vienna
China and Austria will use the joint venture as a platform to develop, plan and carry out various cultural activities jointly. more >
Spending review cuts will bruise, but artists must not fight alone
Theatre is more resilient than it was in Thatcher's day, and it must not retreat in the face of funding cuts. more >
Will philanthropists save the arts?
The government has taken the axe to public funding of the arts, while the culture secretary says he wants American-style philanthropists to step in. But what do the donors themselves think? more >
Donors give the lie to financial crisis fears
THE arts have not suffered the dramatic loss of philanthropy and sponsorship revenue from the financial crisis many had feared, according to peak arts bodies. more >
Questionnaire on access to cultural heritage
The Independent Expert seek information from stakeholders on cultural heritage. more >
U.S. to Send Visual Artists as Cultural Ambassadors
Under a new $1 million program being announced this week, the Obama administration is planning to expand its cultural diplomacy programs to include visual artists like painters and sculptors, who will be asked next year to create public art projects in 15 foreign countries. more >
Crossing Borders - The state of artist mobility
How does artist travel relate to other forms of human mobility? At a time when tensions are high across borders and cultures (and hurdles to mobility increase), citizens, communities and governments are listening to artists and cultural programmers as vanguard voices on complex issues and look to the solutions they propose with renewed interest … even urgency! more >
Arts & Business responds to new funding decisions for the arts in England
"This morning (Tuesday 26 October 2010) we received our funding settlement from Arts Council England. We will receive £1.92m for one year only for 2011/2012. This is a 50% cut. We will have no core funding after April 2012. more >
£1.5 million boost for creative industries
Minister for Culture and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop today joined creative industry leaders, researchers and academics at the University of St Andrews for the launch of a new business voucher scheme, as part of a £1.5 million drive to strengthen creative enterprise in Scotland. more >
Government to Construct Cultural Centres
Government has embarked on a programme to build cultural centres in the seven districts of Luapula Province to help preserve culture, President Rupiah Banda has announced. more >
Vending machines sell miniature art in boxes
An artist who wanted to make art more accessible has installed vending machines across Germany offering unique art miniatures in small boxes. more >
The Convention is celebrating its 5th anniversary – tell us what you’re doing to celebrate!
The French Coalition for Cultural Diversity is organising a round table discussion on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on 17 November in Paris. The European Union will be celebrating the fifth anniversary of the adoption of the 2005 Convention from 6 to 8 December 2010 in Brussels. more >
Nordicity wins bid to assess the impact of digital technology on Canada’s cultural sector
The Cultural Human Resources Council (CHRC) has commissioned Nordicity to undertake a pan - Canadian study on the Impact of Digital Technology on the Cultural Sector. The study was launched in Montréal on October 26th at the first meeting of the CHRC’s Steering Committee for the project. more >
2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions: On the Occasion of its 5th Anniversary
Five years after its adoption, the Convention is ensuring that artists, cultural professionals and citizens worldwide can create, produce, disseminate and enjoy a diversity of cultural goods, services and activities, including their own. With a roadmap for implementation nearing completion, over 270 project proposals to the International Fund for Cultural Diversity and 116 ratifications, the Convention is positioned to advance a new framework for the governance of culture around the world. more >
November 2010
Proceedings of the Symposium "Funding Culture, Managing the Risk"
On 16 and 17 April 2010, UNESCO brought together leading experts from the financial, development, academic and cultural sectors for a symposium on "Funding Culture, Managing the Risk" to develop innovative strategies and approaches to improving funding and financing opportunities for culture in developing countries. more >
New arts minister Stephanie Cadieux says she wants to establish "respectful dialogue"
On October 25, Gordon Campbell shuffled his cabinet, handing the arts portfolio to newly appointed Minister for Community, Sport and Cultural Development Stephanie Cadieux, a rookie MLA. more >
The Fundraising Challenge in Europe
The current economic challenges in the world are forcing the government to reduce, sometimes radically, its support for arts organizations in the nation. This is clearly not a unique situation. Governments throughout Europe are now cutting arts subsidies, either gradually (France) or radically (England). more >
Ottawa pushes ahead with copyright bill amid opposition
The federal government is pushing ahead with a bill to update Canada’s copyright laws, while opposition to the proposed legislation is gathering steam among creators and cultural groups. The artists say the bill gives consumers new rights and big producers new laws, but doesn’t compensate individual creators for new uses of their work. more >
Americans for the Arts’ Annual National Arts Marketing Project Conference
Americans for the Arts, America’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts, today announced that it will hold its annual National Arts Marketing Project (NAMP) Conference in San Jose, CA, November 12–15, 2010. More than 600 arts professionals will be in attendance. more >
A solas con la ministra de cultura del Ecuador, Érika Sylva Charvet
En esta edición de "A Solas" la ministra de Cultura del Ecuador, Érika Sylva Charvet, nos habla del gran significado que tiene la cultura en la política estatal ecuatoriana y comenta su evaluación de los acontecimientos del 30 de septiembre de 2010 en Quito. more >
Alone with Ecuador’s Minister of Culture, Érika Sylva Charvet
In this edition of the program “A Solas”, Ecuador’s Minister of Culture, Érika Sylva Charvet, talks about the meaning of culture in Ecuador’s public policy and evaluates the events that took place in Quito on the 30th of September. more >
New arts chief wants national poet to be paid more money
The role of Scotland’s national poet should have more prestige and financial reward, a senior arts figure has declared. more >
School arts to be hit by cuts
The government's axe on arts spending will have a devastating effect on culture and creativity in schools. more >
Arts groups re-think the 'creative economy'
Arts advocates from across Canada gathered in Ottawa on Tuesday to re-think their role in the "creative economy," a concept that has served them well over the past decade but is struggling as the national economy slumps.
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Universal high-speed internet essential: Liberals
The federal government should provide funding to ensure high-speed internet access is available for all Canadians to subscribe to, says the Liberal technology critic.
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New names written into the cultural landscape
The answer to Shakespeare's "What's in a name?", it seems, is everything. From Rome's Pantheon to London's cash-strapped suite of galleries and theatres, arts institutions have been offered up as tributes to benefactors throughout history. more >
Best of island culture initiative launched
Scotland’s Islands, a new collaborative marketing initiative, will aim to raise the profile of the islands, attract new visitors, bolster community and economic development and strengthen links between the islands and mainland cultural organisations. more >
My City’s Still Breathing: A symposium exploring the arts, artists and the city
This exciting symposium will gather international experts to deliberate and debate the current and future relationships of art and design to city-making. The documentation of this symposium will be published as a Cultural Capitals legacy event - an important contribution to urban development in Canada. more >
Arts Council England to introduce funding applications
The way the arts are financed in England is to be transformed with the introduction of an applications system from the main public funding body. more >
On 12 November museums will close to protest against cuts
A mobilization never seen before, a protest never attempted before: on 12 November, a Friday, museums, libraries, archaeological sites, performance venues all over Italy will close down “to draw attention to the devastating effects that the government’s financial manoeuvre will have on the sector, which will take effect next year, and to reaffirm the right to culture”. more >
Il 12 novembre musei sbarrati in protesta contro tagli
Una mobilitazione senza precedenti, una protesta mai tentata prima: il 12 novembre prossimo, un venerdì, musei, biblioteche, siti archeologici, luoghi di spettacolo in tutta Italia chiuderanno i battenti e fermeranno le loro attività "per richiamare l'attenzione sugli effetti dirompenti che la manovra finanziaria avrà sul settore, già a partire dal prossimo anno, e per riaffermare il diritto alla cultura". more >
WA creative scene gets down to business
The nation's first chamber of arts and culture will be a united voice to promote the sector's interests. more >
Central American Caribbean Cultural Project
As part of the Ministry of Culture and Youth’s agenda to promote joint actions to develop national and regional culture, Costa Rica will lead the “Central American Caribbean Cultural Project”, a Central American initiative that expects to identify and reactivate the historical heritage and cultural legacy of the region. more >
Proyecto Cultural Caribe Centroamericano
Como parte de la agenda del Ministerio de Cultura y Juventud para promover acciones articuladas que propicien el desarrollo de la cultura nacional y regional, Costa Rica liderará el "Proyecto Cultural Caribe Centroamericano", una iniciativa centroamericana que pretende identificar y reactivar el patrimonio histórico y el legado cultural de la región. more >
The cash-strapped arts
After the new administration's policy review last year, the Agency for Cultural Affairs announced plans to cut subsidies substantially over the next three years. more >
Arts crisis? What crisis?
As head of Scotland’s most powerful arts organisation, Andrew Dixon could have been forgiven for surveying the cultural landscape last week and shaking his head in despair. more >
Dal Pd mozione di sfiducia contro Bondi
«Se avessi la certezza di avere delle responsabilità nell' accaduto, mi dimetterei». Il ministro dei Beni Culturali, Sandro Bondi, lo ha detto dopo il sopralluogo compiuto a Pompei, dove il crollo dell'Armeria dei gladiatori che ha fatto gridare «vergogna» al capo dello Stato, ha lasciato ben più che macerie di pietra. more >
NEA's chief sees wide role
In Rocco Landesman's mind, the National Endowment for the Arts was not made to exist in a Washington political vacuum. more >
Producão Cultural no Brasil interviews Juca Ferreira
Produção Cultural no Brasil interviewed the current Minister of Culture (2008 - ), Juca Ferreira, as part of a series of interviews with Ministers of Culture. more >
PlayhouseSquare stars in its own real estate revival
The PlayhouseSquare Foundation, which has revived historic venues and attracted Broadway shows and more than 1 million people a year to Cleveland's theater district since the 1970s, owns roughly 1 million square feet of real estate. more >
Produção Cultural no Brasil entrevista Juca Ferreira
O Produção Cultural no Brasil entrevistou o atual Ministro da Cultura (2008 - ), Juca Ferreira, como parte de uma série de entrevistas com Ministros da Cultura. more >
US to Send New Cultural Ambassadors
The Obama Administration has announced a new $1 million dollar program which expands the existing State Department cultural diplomacy program to include visual artists like painters and sculptors. In the past, the Department has sent many performing artists to act as American cultural ambassadors. more >
Quick cuts could decimate music education's long-term landscape
There has been much media speculation surrounding the proposed cuts by Bedfordshire County Council to its music provision from 2012. Similar issues are arising in other areas but this trend is not universal. more >
Dancers Leap Over U.S - Cuba Political Barriers
In Cuba, American artists and musicians are going where tourists and politicians cannot. In October, trumpet legend Wynton Marsalis came to Havana with members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. And last week, the American Ballet Theater was in town for the first time in 50 years. more >
Pompeii collapse row hits Berlusconi ally Sandro Bondi
A close ally of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is under pressure to resign after a building collapsed at the 2,000-year-old Pompeii site. more >
La cultura se derrumba en Italia
La caída de la Casa de los Gladiadores, el sábado pasado, ha alarmado al mundo sobre el estado real del parque arqueológico más importante de Europa. Mucha gente, dentro y fuera de Italia, se pregunta: "¿Será que Pompeya lo ha resistido todo salvo a Silvio Berlusconi?". more >
From land of snake charmers to global cultural hotspot
In the '40s, a mention of India predictably conjured up an image of snake charmers and elephants in the West. But not anymore. For, India has emerged as a global cultural hub. more >
Plan to boost intercultural dialogue in Mediterranean
Some 41 Foreign Ministers and ambassadors from European and Arab countries meeting in Malta agreed on a plan to enhance intercultural dialogue around the Mediterranean. more >
The coalition is making the arts more elitist
The hardest part of opposition is watching Cameron's culture vultures dismantle our attempts to make the arts inclusive. more >
Sacrifices of the victime will give arts in Wales stronger future
Despite a thriving decade for culture, the last few months have been challenging, with 32 organisations losing revenue funding. But as the Arts Council of Wales prepares for its annual conference, chief executive Nick Capaldi says there is reason to be optimistic again. more >
A dark new philistinism is behind Britain's arts funding cuts
Looming cuts to university arts and humanities departments destroy the consensus that the arts have inherent value. more >
Jeremy Deller and college leaders warn of cuts' impact on young artists
The heads of some of Britain's most prestigious arts institutions have warned that government plans to slash funding for teaching humanities subjects could drive future designers, artists and musicians overseas and put vital collaborations between science and the arts at risk. more >
Don’t cut the arts – our lives depend on them
Since the Second World War, there has been a consensus that public funding is essential in bringing the arts to everyone. Today, that consensus is being eroded as the tabloids persist in demonising the arts as “difficult” and “weird”. more >
John Maeda: Innovation is born when art meets science
The technology and design guru argues that for invention to occur, scientists must embrace the art world. more >
Looking into the Future: Art and the Law in Zimbabwe
The Annual Lozikeyi Lecture | Bulawayo National Art Gallery. more >
Italy's arts heritage is in a class, not a world, of its own
The country's rich history is vital for all, but endangered by Berlusconi's policy. Isn't it time we had an International Trust? more >
Cultural desert: Will Abu Dhabi censor its new museums?
The world's leading architects are building museums in Abu Dhabi as the emirate pours a fortune into trying to become one of the art capitals of the world. But will the works inside be censored? more >
Online Comments Show How News Spreads
Online communication isn't just about photos of cats; it also reveals how information and ideas spread across a network. The comments that different websites with large user bases attract are actually quite predictable. The findings give hope to social scientists trying to understand broader online phenomena. more >
Flying the Flag for the Arts in Finland
A group of 15 arts and culture specialists from Northern Ireland will be in Finland this week to learn how to gain practical support for small businesses in the sector. more >
Scots art bodies ordered to 'achieve' more with budget
Creative Scotland has been told to "achieve more" by the Scottish government in return for its 2011/12 budget being frozen. more >
Cultural Diplomacy: Strategies and Policies
A protocol will be signed which aims to rethink public policies models and promote and define more effective cultural policies with greater projection in an international framework. more >
Climate change: artists respond
Many scientists agree that climate change – including global warming – is possibly one of the greatest threats and one of the biggest challenges facing our society today. In response to this global problem, artistic communities across Europe are initiating projects to bring about changes that can stabilise the climate and secure our sustainable future. more >
Robert L. Lynch: The Arts as an International Force for Change
Twenty-five Chinese Ministry of Culture executives just left my office. It was exciting to learn about Chinese cultural investment in projects...They in turn were eager to learn how the arts industry is structured and supported in the United States. more >
Trading culture
Officials from Australia and eight other Pacific countries meet in Auckland on 6 December to begin their fourth round of negotiations for a trans-Pacific free-trade agreement. Jock Given looks at the potential impact on culture and information industries. more >
Middle East stands to gain from arts cuts
Europe as a cultural centre is in danger of being eclipsed by the Middle East as western heritage industries struggle with swingeing austerity measures, according to a top museum director. more >
Spreading the real news from Ireland
This country’s economic crisis may be making headlines, but a much more serious and deeply influential image of this country emanates from the culture we send out to the world, argues Colm Tóibín . And now, more than ever, that mission is vital. more >
Dutch celebrities in arts cuts protest
Dutch singers, painters and TV presenters have demonstrated in the Netherlands against government plans to slash arts funding. more >
Arts: Dance for your dinner
"Government funding might go up, gross, but it's not going up as a percentage of your total budget," Melanson says. "Government funding at best as a percentage of total budget is going to stay the same, and at worst it's probably going to diminish. So the other two categories — earned revenue and fundraising — have got to grow. more >
Cultural policy in Australia: institutions, audiences and communities
Federal, state and local governments in Australia all provide direct and indirect support for a range of cultural activities and organisations. Most have specific ministries, quasi-autonomous bodies, and/or funding programs for the arts. But public intervention in the arts is fraught with tensions and contradictions not least of which are those associated with the arbitrary aesthetic hierarchy that is legitimated by arts funding programs and organisations. more >
Do Flamenco and the Mediterranean diet really deserve special UN status?
By trying to be all-inclusive, Unesco's intangible heritage list can become hijacked by nations' commercial interests. more >
Italian Government Won't Back Down on Cultural Spending Cuts
The Italian government gave no indication Tuesday that it may change plans to reduce government spending on culture and the arts, a day after some 250,000 workers went on a 24-hour strike to protest the policies. more >
NI creative industries employing 33,000
A report from the North's Arts Council shows that the creative industries currently employ over 33,000 people in Northern Ireland and generate £582m annually. more >
Arterial Network Launched in Liberia
The Arterial Network-Liberia was launched in the Auditorium of the University of Liberia on Saturday, November 13, 2010, with over 100 registered members of diverse professional backgrounds in attendance. more >
No art to savage British cuts
Slashing funding to the humanities and social sciences is short-sighted. A 50-strong DASSH of British deans met at London South Bank University late last month, following the publication of the report of the Browne review of higher education funding. more >
Indonesia to host UNESCO convention in 2011
Indonesia will host the sixth UNESCO Inter Governmental Committee for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2011. more >
Minister of Culture intends to provide institutions with technical expertise
The Ministry of Culture intends to provide to cultural institutions in the country administrators, managers and specialised technicians, in short and medium terms. more >
Will the army abandon the arts?
The Russian defence minister’s order abolishing cultural institutions funded via the Defence Ministry’s budget made the future of some well-known institutions, including Moscow’s Russian Army Theatre, uncertain. more >
Culture a significant tool to fight forces of intolerance
Federal Minister for Culture Pir Aftab Hussain Shah Jilani said on Thursday that government of Pakistan Peoples Party attaches highest importance to the development of culture and performing arts in Pakistan. more >
The creative China plan six years on
While many in China are embracing the notion of creativity, planning and managing it is another issue. more >
New Wales Art web site launched
As part of the new Wales Arts International website, launched this week, there will be an international calendar to provide greater visibility and awareness of Wales’ arts and culture. more >
Bottom line on arts spending promising
Consumer Spending on Culture in Canada, the Provinces and 12 Metropolitan Areas is based on an annual survey of household spending conducted by Statistics Canada. The bottom line looks promising: Canadians spent $27.4 billion on cultural goods and services in 2008, a 28 per cent increase over 1997. more >
Portugal's Ministry of Culture organizes seminar entitled "How to Promote the Mobility and Internationalization of Cultural Workers"
Among the subjects addressed were the main obstacles to mobility that cultural workers encounter, the importance of mobility in the cultural sector, and ways of promoting the internationalization of artists and cultural workers. more >
Beijing hosts the 4th International Cultural Industries Forum
The 4th International Cultural Industries Forum (ICI Forum) was held in Beijing, China, on November 17 and 18. The theme of the 2010 Forum was "Development of the Global Creative Economy and Cultural Diversity." more >
Manager Cultural Sector Performance
The Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatū Taonga advises government on cultural matters. We are seeking a senior public sector manager with experience in policy and agency performance monitoring to join our recently re-organised Cultural Policy Branch management team. more >
Diversity of Cultural Expressions: 4th Ordinary Session of the Intergovernmental Committee
Five years after its adoption, the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions is reaching a decisive turning point with its foundations clearly in place and new steps towards implementation. more >
Culture imperative to economic dev, says Jonathan
President Goodluck Jonathan, weekend, said the development of tourism and culture in the country was imperative to enhance the economic potential of Nigeria. more >
Ireland cuts arts funding and tax exemption
Ireland’s arts sector has suffered a double blow in the four-year austerity plan just announced by the country’s government, with finance minister Brian Lenihan due to deliver further bad news in next month’s budget. more >
Making Malay Culture Everlasting
The Malay Culture is an excellent foundation of the Malay civilisation development. more >
The Opening of Strategic Plan Workshop
The role and trust placed upon the Ministry of Culture, youth and Sports require the ministry's employees to carry out the scope of their duties outside the routine work. Therefore they will also need focus, think outside the box, act strategically, as well as be based on the key performance index or indicators. The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports stated this at the opening of the Strategic Plan Workshop. more >
A song in his heart for culture
While promoting domestic culture, the minister also emphasized that the government must encourage and support Chinese companies on the world stage. more >
December 2010
French official urges government support for digital art
Digital technology has had an immense impact on artistic creation and the government should give support in this field as the wider society would benefit, a French official said at a seminar in Taipei Wednesday. more >
Explaining an Arts NonProfit
An unusual animated film captures the frustrations of trying to raise money as a non-profit arts organisation. more >
Arts minister considers new funding system
Junior culture minister Halbe Zijlstra is considering setting up a new system for subsidising the arts and culture. more >
Spain's cultural heritage under threat amid economic crisis
Cultural spending is being slashed across Spain. Hard-pressed regional governments, which do most of the spending on culture and heritage, can be brutal. more >
Stewart Urges U.K. Politicians To Curb Arts Funding Cuts
SIR PATRICK STEWART is warning the British government not to make substantial cuts to arts funding, insisting West End shows are vital to draw tourists to the country. more >
Investors reticent to support culture
Investment in cultural, sports and tourism activities in the southern region has fallen short of expectations because of poor State management and overlapping duties, experts have said. more >
Challenges of Funding Creative Industries in Continent
Creative industry players -- entertainment and art -- in almost all African countries single out lack of funds as the major hurdle in their quest to promote and sustain the industry. They say both governments and the private sector do not have policies on the industry and neither do they consider it a priority. more >
The council that wants to chop its arts budget to zero
Amid the expected talk of slashing bus services and closing swimming pools lies the radical idea of ceasing all arts funding. more >
People of Ireland call for cuts to overseas aid and arts funding
As Ireland prepares for what will be the toughest budget in history today, many are calling for dramatic cuts to overseas aid, arts and sports funding. Over half of the participants choose overseas aid as one of the three areas that should receive the highest level of cuts in today’s budget, followed by the arts at 46 percent and sport at 32 percent. more >
Cultural diplomacy: To sell European culture and values globally
The objective of culture is no longer only to create art or literature. "Cultural Diplomacy" is increasingly being used as a vehicle to promote liberal democratic values and to foster "democracy and participation", says Dutch Liberal member Marietje Schaake (ALDE), who last week presented her report on cultural diplomacy. more >
Give 10 per cent of your estate to charity, ministers urge
Jeremy Hunt, the Culture Secretary, wants Britain to develop a more giving nature and help fund good causes. He will deliver a speech today outlining the Government’s philanthropy strategy that will be seen as part of David Cameron’s wider promotion of the Big Society. more >
Cultural industries, including traditional knowledge must be supported, regional meeting told
A regional meeting on the cultural industries has been told that while creative and cultural industries contribute to economic development, the Pacific has yet to tap into this area, in spite of its real potential. more >
Artists get own micro-philanthropy site
A project billed as the first micro-philanthropy website dedicated to U.S. filmmakers, writers, musicians and visual artists was launched on Tuesday, aimed at attracting small public donations to bring artistic projects to life. more >
Turkey Scrambles to Protect National Anthem
The Turkish government is rushing to legally protect the country's national anthem after realizing Turkey does not actually own the copyright on the work. more >
Jeremy Hunt outlines plans to boost art donations
Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced plans to help boost private funding for arts organisations The 10-point plan includes an £80 million match-funding scheme to be set up to encourage private donors. more >
NAC exists to protect artistes
The National Arts Council will this week celebrate its Silver Jubilee, amidst a host of issues that the council will need to address. Interview with Director, Elvas Mari. more >
Arts Council to take over museums
Arts Council England is to take over some of the key responsibilities that help keep museums and libraries across the UK running. more >
Philanthropy and the arts
A bid to save culture from the bonfire of the budget cuts. more >
Irish arts world escapes with 5% cut
A 5% cut in Irish Arts Council funding for next year, announced by finance minister Brian Lenihan in this week’s budget, has been welcomed with relief by the country’s arts community. The sector had expected that the cuts would be much deeper, given that the budget had been billed – and was – the toughest in Irish history. more >
Culture Secretary announces scheme for arts funding
Once again, arts funding is in the news, as Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt announces an £80 million ‘match fund’ scheme to encourage private philanthropy across the arts. more >
Campaign launch speeches and interviews now online
Listen to engaging speeches by Culture Action Europe’s President Mercedes Giovinazzo, the Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism, Sport, Media and Youth, Androulla Vassiliou, the Director of the European Cultural Foundation Katherine Watson and campaign ambassador Péter Forgacs. more >
Regional stakeholders propose strategies as a way forward for the cultural industry
Pacific Island cultural industry producers and distributors have identified several concrete initiatives to further develop the sector in the areas of production, creation and distribution. more >
The Financial Crisis and its Effects on Public Arts Funding
Is it pure coincidence that, 5 years after the General Assembly of UNESCO adopted its Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, one of the cornerstones of this document is already put into question by many of the signatory states? more >
Survival of the arts is in our hands
As business leaders, we have a vested interest and share in the responsibility to ensure the survival of our community’s art and cultural landscape. This is especially true in today’s economic climate when non-profit arts organizations are dependent more than ever on the private sector for support. Our response is critical to maintaining a well-rounded, diverse and economically healthy community. more >
U40 International Forum in Istanbul: Publication of "Network in Action"
The Canadian Coalition for Cultural Diversity has released its Network in action, which sums up the discussions and recommendations from the International Forum of U40 Fellows, in Istanbul, October 21 to 24. more >
China acrobatics needs improvement for world stage: cultural minister
Despite numerous international prizes won in recent years, China has much to do in order to become a "real powerhouse" on the international acrobatics stage, Minister of Culture Cai Wu has said. more >
BBC willing to discuss public funding of main UK orchestras
Some of UK's largest and most famous orchestras face cuts to their Arts Council funding. more >
Arts Council of Wales 'relief' as funding revealed
The Arts Council of Wales (ACW) says it is 'relieved' it can increase funds to many of the 71 organisations it supports despite government cuts. more >
Culture Vulture
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has tasked the Vietnamese Institute of Music and its departments in HCM City and other southern provinces to develop a thorough profile for tai tu music. This would be submitted to the United Nations' Education, Science and Culture Organisation (UNESCO) which would consider the music as an Intangible World Cultural Heritage status. more >
Culture in Mexico
You can hear people throwing up their hands in horror. Some even cross their selves as a reaction to the results of the National Survey of Cultural Habits, Practices and Consumption 2010, an overview of the country’s culture commissioned by the Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes. more >
La cultura en México
Y se oyen las vestiduras. Se rasgan por aquí y por allá, algunos hasta se santiguan. Todo porque se dieron a conocer los resultados de la Encuesta Nacional de Hábitos, Prácticas y Consumo Culturales 2010, un encargo del Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes y que se instaura como una radiografía de la cultura en el país. more >
Las Naciones Unidas reconocen el papel de la cultura en el desarrollo
El 20 de diciembre de 2010, la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas adoptó una resolución sobre cultura y desarrollo, que enfatiza la importante contribución de la cultura al desarrollo sostenible y al logro de los objetivos nacionales e internacionales del desarrollo, incluidos los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio (ODM). more >
The United Nations recognizes the role of culture for development
On 20 December 2010, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on culture and development, which emphasizes the important contribution of culture for sustainable development and for the achievement of national and international development objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). more >
More culture for low-income class
State funding for low-income families’ access to cultural programs will be significantly raised, and those who donate personally owned cultural properties to national museums will receive a tax deduction, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said. more >
Northern Ireland arts hit with £4.2 million cuts
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is bracing itself for cuts amounting to £4.2 million over the next four years in a newly announced draft budget by the region’s legislative Executive. more >
As He Comes Out from the Ministry, Juca Explores Academic Life
The Minister of Culture, Juca Ferreira, was not upset by the fact that his successor, Ana de Hollanda, pretends to review the bill that changes copyright in Brazil. ‘I know that this government is interested in continuity and that different inflections are normal under these circumstances. I feel alright about this’, were the words he gave to the newspaper Estado de São Paulo. more >
Saindo, Juca estuda vida acadêmica
O ministro da Cultura, Juca Ferreira, não se mostrou contrariado com o fato de que sua sucessora, Ana de Hollanda, pretenda rever o anteprojeto de lei que muda o direito autoral no País. ‘Sei que é um governo de continuidade, e é normal que haja inflexões diferentes. Não tenho problemas com isso’, disse ontem ao Estado. more >
Armenian Minister of Culture sums up the results of 2010
Ms. Poghosyan specifically emphasized inclusion of Armenian khachkars and Aram Khachaturian’s works into UNESCO cultural heritage and memory of the world lists. more >
Finnish arts sector suffers declining corporate support
A report from the Arts Council of Finland shows that the level of corporate financial support between 1999 and 2008 fell from €46 million to just €17 million. The impact of the worldwide economic crisis over the last two years is not yet known, but indications are far from positive. more >
Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development calls on young authors to produce more creative works
Abdul Rahman Bin Mohammed Al Owais, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, announced that regular meetings would be held to bring together young creators with critics and media people with UAE and Arab literary expertise. more >
Cultural ministry launches website
The federal ministry of culture launched its new website www.pakistanculture.org on Thursday in a prestigious opening ceremony graced by Federal Minister for Culture Pir Aftab Hussain Shah Jilani. more >
The rise and power of China's culture industry
On the last day of the year, Life &Art team looks back beyond the past 12 months as well as the years ahead. It reviews the development of culture industry segments during 2006-2010, the period when China's 11th Five Year Plan was implemented, and provides a glimpse of what may be in store during the next five years. more >
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