Glenn Kenny: There’s “an odd tendency I’ve seen more and more of over my quarter-century of doing something that sometimes resembles criticism–that a lot of people look at the critical impulse, and the work that it sometimes produces, as some kind of attempt to kill their buzz. And, beyond that, to force-feed them stuff that they don’t like.”
Tag: 03.24.10
LA County Halves Its Arts Management Internship Program
“Last year the county spent $500,000 to sponsor 125 interns; this year there will be 75. … The county-funded internships place students who live in L.A. County or attend college here with performing arts organizations.”
Arts Policy Geeks, A Webcast Just For You
Friday morning’s meeting of the National Council on the Arts “will be the first one that is viewable online. The webcast as well as [NEA Chairman Rocco] Landesman’s cross-country travels are part of an effort to ‘connect the NEA with Americans wherever they are,’ says an agency spokeswoman.”
LA’s Dept. Of Cultural Affairs Shrinks As Jobs Fall Away
“Additional layoffs and early retirements loom over a department that expects staffing to fall from 63 last summer to 36 by July 1. The $9.6-million Cultural Affairs budget already had been trimmed by $700,000 through furloughs and unfilled openings.” The city also wants to unload some of its neighborhood arts centers on private operators.
Barbican’s Sheffield To Head Hong Kong Cultural District
“Hong Kong says it has picked the artistic director of London’s Barbican Centre, Graham Sheffield, as chief executive of the city’s HK$21.6 billion ($2.8 billion) West Kowloon Cultural District.”
Vienna, Which Turned Its Back On Mahler, Embraces Him
“Although everyone, from Emperor Franz-Josef down, acknowledged his success in galvanizing a stagnant art, Mahler was treated as an outsider and subjected to a barrage of anti- Semitic abuse — the most vicious of its kind until the Hitler era.” Now, “[w]ithout admitting it was wrong about Mahler,” the city “is working hard to adjust its attitudes.”
LA Public Libraries May Shorten Hours, Close Sundays
“A wave of early retirements in the Los Angeles library department is likely to lead to Sunday closures at nine of the city’s largest libraries and shorter hours at more than 60 branches as early as mid-April. The plan, which comes up for a vote before the Board of Library Commissioners on Thursday, is just the latest sign of the city’s difficult financial position.”
Seattle’s KING-FM To Switch To Non-Commercial Model
“Leaders of Seattle’s only all-classical music station said declining ad revenue, changes in the industry and the economy led to their decision to switch from the commercial-advertising model that has supported the station for decades. The changeover is slated for July 2011.”