Artists in Prague are protesting new arts funding allocations. “City Hall approved the first grant allocations to be produced by a new arts funding system established last November. After months of anxious waiting for the grants to be announced, nonprofit arts organizations were devastated to learn that they were receiving less money than the previous year, and some were getting no money at all.”
Tag: 04.09.08
In Other News, Dana Perino Thinks Bush Is Doing Great
The magazine Artnet recently published a rave review of a gallery show of the paintings of Walter Robinson. But Robinson is also Artnet’s editor, with the power to hire and fire the freelance reviewer in question. Geoff Edgers smells a conflict of interest…
Famed Flamenco Dancer Dies at 95
“Pilar López, who has died aged 95, was the last representative of the golden age of flamenco ballet in the 1930s and 1940s. She was considered a fine, serious classical dancer, but it was as a choreographer and teacher of young dancers that she excelled.”
Hey! Only I’m Allowed To Gouge My Fans!
“Although the last Star Wars movie came out three years ago, the battle over rights and ownership of the costumes used in the films is still raging. George Lucas, the director who dreamed up the lucrative series, is suing the prop designer who made the stormtrooper helmets and suits for the original 1977 film because he is selling replicas to fans for £1,800 a time.”
Disney Pixar Planning Eight Animated Films In Four Years
“Disney and Pixar are to make eight new 3D animated films over the next four years, Walt Disney has announced… They include newly converted 3D versions of the hit movies Toy Story and Toy Story 2, out in 2009 and 2010.” In fact, six of the eight films will be in digital 3D – the remaining two will be hand-drawn.
Arkansas Symphony Losing Long-Time Director
“David Itkin, the music director of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra since 1993, is leaving to become director of orchestral studies at the University of North Texas in Denton… Under Itkin, symphony ticket sales have climbed 340 percent and contributions are up 282 percent.”
Museums Embracing Green Technology
“Forget Corinthian columns: Today’s museums have features like green roofs – such as on the new wing at the Institute of Fine Arts in Chicago – or goats as part of the maintenance team, as at the Getty Center in Los Angeles.” In fact, going green is the hot new thing for museums, and we all know how the arts love the hot new thing.
CanCon Tax Changes Bring Protests
“Some of the biggest guns in Canada’s creative community… are heading to Ottawa tomorrow to protest against a controversial provision on film and TV tax credits now before the Senate banking committee.” According to critics, the bill could cripple the country’s homegrown film and TV industry.
So, There Are Now Two Herb Alpert Schools In LA?
“Eight-time Grammy winner and Los Angeles native Herb Alpert, who in November pledged $30 million to UCLA to establish the cross-disciplinary UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, has now given $15 million to the School of Music at the California Institute of the Arts. In recognition of the gift, to be announced today, the school will be renamed the Herb Alpert School of Music.”
Country Girl, Abridged (But Why?)
A revival of Clifford Odets’ “riveting 1950 backstage melodrama,” The Country Girl is currently in previews on Broadway. But something seems to be missing: “an entire six-page scene was dropped from Act 1… Internet theater sites were buzzing that several cast members were stumbling around, unsure not only of their lines but of their blocking.”