Many Olympic cities have used the games to showcase culture along with sports. Most assume London will do the same for the 2012 games. But shouldn’t the planning already be underway?
Tag: 04.18.06
Does A Culture Minister Matter In Canada?
Another spring, another culture minister. “Veterans of the culture wars have seen a bewildering number of ministers come and go, both federally and provincially. Virtually all of them have stood up and proclaimed their deep respect, admiration and concern for the arts. But how many of them have actually delivered on their promises? And in the end, does it really matter who the culture minister is or what the minister says in speeches to the Canadian Club?”
Why Must We Always “Explain” Art?
“As humans, we have a constant discussion going on in our brains. On our right sides we have instinct, emotion, intuition; on the left, intellect, language, reason. As an artist, I feel that it is from this dialogue that inspiration comes. If a decision about how to proceed with a work is a toss-up between watertight concept and sensual intuition I tend to give in to intuition because of its track record.”
Broadway Fans Starstruck Over Julia
Julia Roberts’ appearance on Broadway has caused anightly scrum of fans outside the theatre. “Each night, as the performance ends, fans gather behind barriers and across 45th Street from the Jacobs to catch a glimpse and get playbills autographed. The theatre’s security team has set up an exclusive pen for ticket-holders, who can line up on one side of the stage door.”
Next Year’s Oscars Move Back To February
For its 79th Annual Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is moving back to the last Sunday in February, a spot the Oscar show occupied in 2004 and 2005 before moving back a week — to the first Sunday in March — this year in order to avoid going head-to-head against NBC’s broadcast of the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics.
Books On Your Phone
Simon & Schuster is launching a publishing service for mobile phones. “The deal, which will target 18 to 34 year-olds, will allow the imprint to market a number of its current and forthcoming titles through a subscription-based service that sends text messages, excerpts, previews and cover art to cell phone users. There will be “a nominal fee” for the content, with a portion of the revenue going to S&S.”
Are America’s Best Pop Singers From The South?
Who wins on “American Idol”? “For five years, the most wildly popular talent contest on American television has been dominated — thoroughly, totally and completely — by kids from Southern Hicksville, USA. Seven of the eight top-two finishers in the first four years were from states that once formed the Confederacy, and five of the seven remaining finalists this season are, too.”
Cimolino To Lead Stratford?
Ontario’s Stratford Festival is expected to name Antoni Cimolino as its new director. “Over the past two years, the search committee has interviewed important figures from English-language theatre around the world, but in the end the board has apparently decided to go with an individual who has literally grown up with the festival since joining it as an actor 18 years ago.”
TV Everywhere
“Producers and broadcasters are feverishly searching for more and more places to sell their wares, from computer screens to cell phones to iPods and a plethora of miniature multimedia players. And more people are watching more TV shows when they want to, where they want to, not when or where the networks say they should. One result may be that Americans are growing closer to their gadgets, and apart from each other. Another may be that local television stations will lose some part of their audiences.”
Lang Lang – Top Of His Game
Lang Lang is only 23 years old, but his career as a pianist is at the top of the classical music world. “The Philadelphia-based pianist is professor in five conservatories in his native China – and just bought an apartment in Berlin. He plays 150 concerts a year, but he also appears on Sesame Street. There’s also that goodwill UNICEF ambassadorship to Africa.”