“The good news for Michigan arts and culture groups is that on Friday Gov. Jennifer Granholm lifted the two-month moratorium on funding that threatened to take $7.5 million out of their pockets. The bad news is the Legislature followed through on a $3.6-million cut in arts funding for this year. When the dust settles, arts groups will receive only about $6.5 million of the $10 million they were promised from the state arts council for 2007. State arts funding in Michigan has now fallen 73% from its peak of $24 million in 2000.”
Tag: 06.09.07
Canada’s Underwhelming Biennale Presence
Canada’s entry in the Venice Biennale is to be found in a humble pavilion (some might call it a shack) which sits in the shadow of far more lavish presentations by various European countries. “Like trade missions set up to tap into bustling new economies, each national arts pavilion is in Venice to ratchet up national visibility, especially during this crucial weekend as critics prowl the place.” So why can’t Canadian politicians and business leaders see the value of properly funding such an enterprise?
Audra’s Ascent
If American musical theatre has a face, it is surely that of Audra McDonald, who is up for her fifth Tony tonight, which would tie a record for a female performer. It would be a historic honor for a singer who had to face racism, family tragedy, and her own emotional demons on the way to one of the most successful careers in American theatre.
Demystifying Korea
The Smithsonian has opened a new gallery focusing on the history, art, and culture of Korea. “Around the gallery are ceramics spanning 1,500 years, an exhibit on calligraphy, a brief look at Korean identity and several pieces of contemporary Korean art. The museum has a collection of more than 4,000 Korean artifacts and works of art, but before the opening of the Korea Gallery, only one pair of ceramics had been displayed in recent memory.”
Cleveland Acquires Major Photography Collection
“The Cleveland Museum of Art has filled a major gap in its collection by acquiring one of the most important collections of 20th-century Surrealist photography in private hands. The museum agreed this week to buy 171 photographs owned by David Raymond, a New York art collector and producer of independent films. The purchase price was not revealed. Raymond is also donating additional works, bringing the total acquisition to 180 individual images.”
Heavy Metal Meets Old Wood
A four-piece band of 20-somethings won a Battle of the Bands in Pittsburgh this month, thrilling the audience with their up-tempo, energetic performance and enthusiastic devotion to rocking out. Nothing unusual about that, right? Well, in this case, the four performers were all classically trained cellists, the band is called Cellofourte, and the songs they play are “energetic instrumentals that sounded like a mix of Vivaldi baroque and speed metal.”
History Wiped Out By A Philly Fix
Philadelphia has a brand new parking lot where two historic buildings used to stand, but the demolition should never have happened. “In a city as old as Philadelphia, you expect to lose a few historic structures now and then. What makes this case stand out is the high-profile location and the fact that the city was firmly on the side of preservation. Three agencies joined forces to defend the pair of Greek Revival buildings from an ambitious developer who considered them a nuisance. That official city policy, however, was undermined by a building inspector who acted on his own initiative and assisted the owner in obtaining a demolition permit.”
Europe’s Big Fat Arty Summer
This is promising to be a banner art summer for Europe, as a rare convergence will see the Venice Biennale, Art Basel, Germany’s Documenta festival, and the Muenster Sculpture Project all opening within weeks of each other. Venice opens its 52nd edition this weekend, and already, the buzz coming from the continent is deafening.
Venice To Get New Modern Art Center
Christie’s owner François Pinault has signed a deal with the city of Venice “to create a contemporary-art center in an unused customs house called Punta della Dogana, at the entrance to the Grand Canal. The agreement is for 30 years, during which Mr. Pinault is to make 141 works he has accumulated the basis of the new museum’s permanent collection.”
Deflating Racism With Laughs (And 3 Nasty Words)
A new play focusing squarely on America’s obsession with (and fear of) racial epithets is getting a two-month run at a major L.A.theatre. And did we mention that it’s a comedy? The play, “whose three-word title consists simply of… racial slurs, seems remarkably well timed to land in the middle of the national discomfort zone.”