“Visitor numbers to Swedish museums have declined dramatically since the re-introduction of entrance fees in January this year. A survey by the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter compared visitor figures for 15 museums in January 2007 with the same month in 2006. This revealed a decrease of nearly 90,000 visitors to 183,000, from 272,300 the previous year–a substantial drop of 33%.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
Let’s Not Repeat Sweden’s Experiment, Shall We?
“From Sweden comes a cautionary tale of what can happen when free museum admission is scrapped. … The news will make uncomfortable reading for anyone who believes that re-introducing entrance fees could restore the financial health of the arts in the UK, which came in for another battering after it was announced this week that an extra £675m will be diverted from the National Lottery to help finance the 2012 Olympic Games.”
Without Buyers’ Help, Limiting Rap Lyrics Is Doomed
“Just as we as a people are free to engage in objectionable speech — and to turn away from it if we are offended — hip-hop’s critics are free to debate, coax, bully, even legislate that speech. … But the bottom line in any commercial enterprise is what the market will bear. And here, a weariness with the mind-numbingly repetitive, casually hateful emphasis on violence, misogyny, homophobia, and commercialism may be doing the necessary corrective work.”
PBS: For Affluent Whites Only?
“Is PBS really a network for and by the people?” The exclusion of Latinos and Native Americans from Ken Burns’ upcoming World War II miniseries is hardly an exception for the network, Ilan Stavans argues. “We need a new model of public broadcasting that isn’t paternalistic. To keep on perceiving ethnic people as an appendix to our country’s past is not to recognize the dramatic transformation we’ve undergone in the last 25 years.”
Historical Society Gets OK For Contested Renovation
“After months of controversy, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission ruled unanimously yesterday that the New-York Historical Society can renovate the exterior of its landmark building at 170 Central Park West. … Some community groups and preservationists had opposed the changes, calling them architecturally irresponsible….”
SoHo’s “Wall” To Rise Again (With Ads)
“The tale of ‘The Wall’ spans more than a third of a century, 10 years of it in litigation, in which the outdoor art installation went up in SoHo, came down in SoHo — and stayed down. But its reputation only grew as the artist, the artwork’s landlords, neighborhood activists and, of course, lawyers, clashed. … But yesterday, the conflict seemed about to end, not with a bang, but with applause.”
Karaoke-Related Crime: Illegal And Embarrassing
“What’s the difference between a wannabe diva pretending to be Sheryl Crow in a karaoke bar and someone who simply copies and sells the music without permission? For Tracy Ann Brock, 43, of Burnsville, the answer could be 18 to 24 months in federal prison.” Hers is the “first ever criminal conviction related to infringement of copyrighted karaoke music.”
Where Does Creative Writing Cross The Danger Line?
“Two years ago, school officials in Grand Marais, Minn., were on the defensive for suspending, and calling the police about, a student who had written a violent fantasy about killing a teacher. The student, David Riehm, ended up in a locked psychiatric unit for three nights. Then his family sued. … But in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, school officials say they’re more certain than ever that they did the right thing.”
Calgary Opera Gets A Big Gift. How Big? Uh, Really Big.
“This past weekend, the chief executive officer of Alberta energy company Centurion Energy International, who immigrated to Canada with his parents in 1965 after Gamal Abdul Nasser nationalized his father’s bank, gave Calgary Opera the biggest single gift in its 35-year history.” How much, then, did Said Arrata give? Well, the opera’s not saying, but the Calgary Opera Centre is now the Arrata Opera Centre….
A Longtime A.D. Gets Ready To Wrap It Up
“Richard Hamburger is looking forward to a little peace and quiet. He has been putting final touches on his last show as artistic director of the Dallas Theater Center, The Taming of the Shrew, for Tuesday’s opening. He’ll take a few months to wrap up other projects. After that, the rest is silence, at least for a while. ‘I’ve been on call 24/7 for 25 years,’ says Mr. Hamburger….”