Category: issues

A new survey of the art markets shows that the United States is on the verge of exceeding Europe in art sales. While European art sales rose 26 percent between 1994-1998, the American market increased 81 percent in the same period. – The Art Newspaper

The Mayor of Boston has stepped in to help resolve a development dispute over the Boston Center for the Arts in the South End. The proposal for the new $69 million complex, which will include two new theaters and artists’ studios, was being held up because the BCA’s neighbors objected to the placement of a loading dock. – Boston Globe 

Rock n Roll attorney named to head California’s state arts commission. Says that arts education in schools is his top priority for the $20 million agency. – San Francisco Chronicle

Here comes New Zealand’s Prime Minister promising her constituents a push for “quality TV.” But what is quality? One pop culture expert says that when politicians talk about quality TV, “they are usually talking about ensuring that television reflects their own middle-class values and interests.” – New Zealand Herald

After initial plans to create a Holocaust memorial gallery within the new Canadian War Museum drew protests from veterans, the Canadian Jewish Congress is renewing its demand that the federal government fund a national Holocaust museum in Ottawa. – CBC

The Whitney Biennial Exhibition, which opens tomorrow, is reminiscent of the Paris Salons of the 19th century – a smattering of collected art crammed under one roof.  With an added abundance of film, video, and Internet art, there’s no way any of the projects will get the attention they deserve, but the “Salons, both old and new, are about visual consumption — a breezy shopping trip for mind and eye in the art world’s megamall.” – The Globe and Mail (Canada)

Berlin’s state-subsidized opera houses, theaters, and orchestras are straining to make ends meet due to the city’s crippling budget deficits. “If we cut any more staff, we’ll not be able to function,” laments the State Opera House’s general manager. Rumors are spreading that renowned conductor Daniel Barenboim may leave Berlin when his contract at the State Opera House expires if the government doesn’t allocate more funds to support the arts. – Die Welt (Germany)

Musicians weren’t the real stars of this years’ South By Southwest music conference. It was “the techies and entrepreneurs who spoke on packed panels, sponsored lavish parties and displayed their wares at a trade show overflowing with free goods. Promoting Internet radio stations, entertainment guides, online stores and multi-service sites, these networking demons were the week’s real rock stars, riding a wave of hype and vision.” – New York Times

Armed with recent data showing the long-term benefits on children of studying the arts in school, a star-studded panel of actor/activists made a plea in Washington for increased federal arts spending. A UCLA study “found that students who studied the arts in grades eight to 10 made higher grades, scored better on standardized tests, and were less likely to drop out of school.” The 200 attending representatives of arts advocacy groups pledged to pass on the message to lawmakers. – New Jersey Online (AP)

The priorities of the Canadian government? “Three levels of government have cheerfully committed between $17-million and $22-million to Toronto’s Olympic bid — yes, that’s just the bid. But the Canadian Opera Company’s desperately needed new home is dead in the water, because those same levels of government are squabbling over each other’s obligations.” Not to mention the country’s premiere recital hall – the George Weston – which “has been turned into a glorified community centre, with scarcely a peep of protest.” – National Post (Canada)