“Over 270 writers, translators and editors” – including Amos Oz, David Grossman and A.B. Yehoshua – “signed a letter to Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat, urging her to continue pressing for protection of Israeli authors’ royalties.” Livnat is sending to the Knesset “a bill that would bar retailers from discounting new books for the first 18 months after publication.”
Tag: 05.22.12
After Months Of Tumult, Royal Danish Opera Appoints New Leaders
“Less than four months after a double resignation plunged the company into turmoil, the Royal Danish Opera has filled its two top vacancies. Michael Boder has been named as the company’s new principal conductor and artistic adviser while Sven Müller becomes artistic director.”
What Does ‘Art School’ Even Mean?
“Art school serves a number of social functions aside from teaching art and granting credentials. It serves as a repository for the third son or any recalcitrant wastrel (or any daughter) of the idle (or even the industrious) rich, since for a mere contribution of tuition, room, and board, you can stash that embarrassing child somewhere post high school.”
Oh Sure, That’s a Terrible Political Regime – But We Want Our Music
In Azerbaijan, the Eurovision Song Contest has touched off several crises. One advocate for a boycott: “Modern show business is indifferent to violence. There will be happy people singing happy songs where others are beaten, tortured, and where houses are demolished.”
A Literary Renaissance In Tiny Montenegro
“Six years after independence the country is seeing what [one academic observer] calls ‘a new wave’ of Montenegrin writers. Only a handful have really come to the fore internationally. But as the country is so small, he says, this is the ‘equivalent of 30 or 50 in the UK. It is very significant. There is something going on.'”
Biggest Festival In Interior BC Cancelled For Insufficient Interest
“The Merritt Mountain Music Festival attracted crowds of nearly 150,000 campers in past years and stars like Vince Gill and Crystal Gale. But organizers of this year’s event, scheduled for July 19-22, say in a statement they have cancelled the 2012 festival because of low ticket sales.”
South African High Court To Hear President Zuma’s Suit Over Portrait
“South African President Jacob Zuma and his African National Congress sought a court order Tuesday to have a painting depicting the president’s genitals removed from an art gallery> A Johannesburg udge said that “the full three-judge bench should hear the case because the national interest and constitutional issues are at stake.”
Orange Prize No Longer: Sponsor Withdraws From Award For Fiction By Women
“In one of the biggest upsets in literary prize history, the mobile services company Orange has announced this morning that it will not be renewing its sponsorship of the prize for women’s fiction that has borne its name since the award’s inception 17 years ago.”
Theatre Artists, Don’t Under-Price Yourselves When Applying For Funding
Lyn Gardner: “[The] current belt-tightening climate… means that, when they are applying for money, many companies feel under pressure to prove just how cheaply they can make a piece of work. The risk is that they end up selling themselves and the show short.”
Envisioning Australia As An Arts Utopia
“Arts Minister Simon Crean … [now] has a suite of reviews of the cultural sector that may shape the [National Cultural Policy] … The federal government has yet to respond formally to any of these reports and recommendations; but in the event they are adopted in full, what would this cultural utopia look like?”