Category: issues

London mayor-elect Ken Livingstone’s recent promises have already thrilled the city’s art world. He plans to support the film industry, strengthen independent cinemas, and help make London a user-friendly environment for filming. He also “intends to maintain free entry to museums, and to introduce a “capital arts card” in partnership with business to give students, senior citizens and the unemployed the chance to attend theatres, cinemas and concerts for £3. And he wants to support cultural diversity in the arts.” – The Times (UK)

A Cleveland area task force recommends creating a public entity to raise between $25 million and $35 million for the arts annually through a combination of new taxes and redirected spending of existing tax revenue. “The idea of taxes for the arts is viewed with both enthusiasm and skepticism by local leaders. Public funding is ‘more than just a stamp of approval. It shows that the community supports this as an integral part of the important activities of the community. It’s what makes life good and worth living.'” – The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

Canadian artists are invading Berlin and giving premieres and winning awards. “Why this sudden cultural blossoming from a nation generally assumed to be locked in snow, overridden with grizzly bears and obsessed with hockey? The Canadian government announced in February that the budget of Berlin’s cultural section will increase fivefold in the upcoming year. From a pittance of less than forty thousand Canadian dollars last year, Canadian culture in Germany will now be supported at a “top priority” level. With the German capital’s move to Berlin, Canada now has the opportunity to perform on stages that are at the center of much of the world’s attention. An opportunity it is taking.” – Die Welt (Germany)

Two weeks ago Boston Mayor Thomas Menino announced a new set of arts initiatives aimed at boosting the city’s support for the arts. But: “The mayor picked off the things that were immediately doable, that we could get the biggest splash for” and disregarded much of the substantive recommendations (such as a percent for art program) of a 13-member task force appointed to study arts support. – Boston Herald

The UK’s Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, is blocking plans for a peace sculpture made of decommissioned weapons to be erected in Belfast. Richard Branson has commissioned a £50,000 work from 97-year-old Josefina de Vasconcellos, the world’s oldest living sculptor. “The idea of the sculpture has been widely welcomed by politicians in Northern Ireland. However, the proposal to make the new work from decommissioned weapons is causing disquiet at the Northern Ireland Office.” – The Independent (UK)

A decade after a federal law gave Native American tribes the right to reclaim human remains and sacred artifacts from museums, less than 10 percent of the human remains believed to be in the custody of federal agencies, museums and universities have been returned to tribes. – Chicago Tribune

Sigmund Freud continues to loom over the landscape of our modern culture. “My bottom line is that any trip to a movie theater, any conversation with someone at work, seems to make clear that the influence, the impact, of Freud is still alive and well in the year 2000. In spite of the fact that most people have no idea that he is humming so loudly in the background of everything from their ‘pickup lines’ to their talk about the weather, the 21st century begins as one in which we know a cigar is never just a cigar, and that’s an important thing to know.” – Christian Science Monitor

The faxes started coming in to Australia’s arts groups – their biggest patron was pulling out. So the rumors were true. Richard Pratt, “generally acknowledged as Australia’s second wealthiest man, is used to doing what he wants with his money, including the estimated $10 million-plus he is thought to have directly handed over to Melbourne-based performing arts organisations in less than a decade. However, along with the generosity came an interventionist approach that ruffled feathers.” – Sydney Morning Herald

Australian arts groups are losing one of their richest, most generous patrons. Richard Pratt is stepping down from his various roles as arts supporter, as part of a general withdrawal from public life. – The Age (Melbourne)