“In 2006, when the Metropolitan Opera announced its plans to show operas live in movie theaters, skeptics wondered who would actually pay to go. Plenty of people, as it turned out. … The Met is still the dominant player, but others have now gotten into the act, eager to claim a slice of this niche market for themselves.”
Tag: 01.21.10
National Arts Index Confirms Drop In US Audience
“Straitened financial circumstances and audience drift are issues that have been festering for years, and the recent recession didn’t help. The analysts behind the index hope their data — taken between 1998 and 2008 — will clarify the predicament the arts find themselves in and provide a roadmap for new artistic and business models.”
Breathe, Bostonians; Renzo Piano Won’t Harm The Gardner
“[T]he preservationists should put away their torches and pitchforks. Mr. Piano’s design, dominated by a four-story copper-clad volume that encloses a 300-seat music hall and a temporary-exhibitions gallery, keeps a respectful distance from the Venetian dowager.” Indeed, it may hold Gardner’s memory “in too high regard.”
Piano’s Design Brings Major Changes To Gardner Museum
Renzo Piano’s $118 million expansion of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is a “glass and copper-clad wing that will fundamentally change the way visitors experience the museum.” Nonetheless, “Gardner’s original Venetian-style palazzo will remain almost untouched.”
In Arts Funding, Europe Is Learning American Ways
“Government patronage is no panacea in Europe, admirable and beautiful though it may be in principle and sometimes in reality. Private patronage, meanwhile, can have its distinct advantages. True, strings are usually attached. But a variety of donors tend to allow an institution more independence and flexibility, more lightness on its feet.”
Proposed NY State Budget Includes Deep Cuts For Arts
“Cultural support in New York State would be cut $9.6 million under the 2010-11 budget proposed by Gov. David A. Paterson on Tuesday. … The governor’s proposal would cut funds to the New York State Council on the Arts by $6.5 million for its grant-making and by $600,000 for its administrative budget.”