“Museums, theaters and operas, already reeling from the recession, are having a tough time attracting support amid perceptions that vital services like soup kitchens and homeless shelters should receive funds first. Arts organization are retrenching, and in some cases closing, as a result of fewer sales of tickets and merchandise, arts leaders say. They’re also seeing fewer donations from individuals and corporations, and cutbacks in government funding.”
Tag: 03.18.09
Six New Entries In The Shakespeare Canon (Maybe)
“Dr John Casson claims to have unearthed Shakespeare’s first published poem, the Phaeton sonnet, his first comedy, Mucedorus, and his first tragedies, Locrine and Arden of Faversham. He also explores the plays Thomas of Woodstock and A Yorkshire Tragedy, and claims to prove that a ‘lost play’ called Cardenio is a genuine work by Shakespeare and fellow playwright John Fletcher.”
Vibrators On The Great White Way
In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), Sarah Ruhl’s new work about the use of mechanical devices to treat female “hysteria” in the late 1800s, will be presented this fall on Broadway (at the Shubert) by Lincoln Center Theater. The play had a successful premiere last month at the Berkeley Repertory Theater in California.
New Yorker, GQ, New York, Nat’l Geographic Lead Ellie Noms
“The New Yorker led the pack of nominees for the 2009 National Magazine Awards, garnering 10 nominations in categories including General Excellence, Reporting and Feature Writing.” GQ received eight nods, New York six, Esquire and National Geographic five each. “Ironically, Best Life, recently shuttered by Rodale, was nominated for an award for best magazine section.”
Natasha Richardson Dies At 45 Following Skiing Accident
“The luminous British actress from one of the world’s great acting families [the Redgraves], whose performances ranged from the high-brow drama The Handmaid’s Tale to the lightweight comedy The Parent Trap and the Tony-winning Broadway production of Cabaret,” suffered a head injury on a beginner’s ski slope, in a fall from which she apparently walked away.
Could Artists Save The Business World?
“Artists know how to look at the world – and problem solve – with fresh eyes. If businesses regularly invited photographers, crafters and writers to participate in brainstorming sessions and hold employee workshops, some new solutions and strategies might arise.” Andrea Hammer offers as possible examples photographer Art Wolfe and dance company Pilobolus.
Baker’s Keyboard Lounge, Famed Detroit Jazz Club, On The Brink
“Owner John Colbert said on Tuesday that without a significant uptick in business, he has only enough money and wherewithal to keep the club afloat for about two months. His major goal is to keep the doors open through the club’s 75th anniversary in early May.”
Auction Of Versace’s Belongings Pulls In £7 Million
“The contents of fashion designer Gianni Versace’s opulent villa on the shores of Italy’s Lake Como sold [in London] Wednesday for more than seven million pounds, Sotheby’s auction house said.” Among the top-selling items were a pair of cherry-wood bookcases and two large plaster statues of naked Greek boxers.
Free Museums Should Ask More Firmly For Donations
“Has free admission to our national museums and galleries become a luxury we can’t afford? … I don’t, on balance, propose that museum charges should be reintroduced – they are clearly a force for the general social good, and there are few enough of those around nowadays. But I do wonder whether institutions might be a little more aggressive about asking us to chip in.”
Wyoming Arts Council Asks $290K In NEA Stimulus Funds
In Wyoming, “[t]he job of preserving jobs has fallen in part to a small state agency that normally specializes in promoting the arts: The Wyoming Arts Council. The council has applied for $290,000 in National Endowment for the Arts funding through the federal stimulus act. … Already the Wyoming Arts Council receives more NEA funding per capita than any other statewide arts agency,” amounting to “about $1.30 for each man, woman and child in Wyoming.”