One of Canada’s most prominent art collectors died this week, and some are saying that the loss of Kenneth Thomson will leave a gaping void in the country’s art market. “Even while helping to buttress the high end of the market for the rarest major Canadian works, observers say Thomson indirectly broadened the interest for lesser known and contemporary Canadian art.”
Tag: 06.14.06
Can Filmmakers Help The Arab World Evolve?
Two controversial new Arab films are stirring discussion in Egypt and Morocco about the values and policies of governments and religious leaders in the region. “With internal and external pressure on the Arab world to liberalize, movies are becoming a key outlet of free expression and a format for examining evolving mores. Like activists, journalists, and bloggers who have been testing the boundaries, movie directors are also pushing the limits of openness and influence.”
In Restructuring Move, PBS Hires KQED Exec
PBS has hired the chief content officer at San Francisco public broadcaster KQED to fill a newly created position at the network. “[John] Boland, who starts in September, will oversee television programming, new media, education and promotion. As part of a restructuring, PBS will close its small Los Angeles office… Boland’s appointment is one of the first strategic moves by Paula A. Kerger, who took over as PBS’s president and chief executive officer in March.”
Google Gets Into The Shakespeare Business
Google has launched a site devoted entirely to the Bard that “allows U.S. users to browse through the full texts of his 37 plays. Readers can even plug in words, such as ‘to be or not to be’ from ‘Hamlet,’ and immediately be taken to that part of the play.”
RSC Unveils Big Plans
“The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) has revealed outline plans to redesign its theatre complex at Stratford-upon-Avon. Plans include a ‘thrust’ stage for the main Royal Shakespeare Theatre, a 33m (108ft) tower marking a new entrance, a public square and a riverside walkway. Work is due to start in spring 2007 costing £100m, with £85m now raised.”
Hiroyuki Iwaki, 73
“Japanese conductor Hiroyuki Iwaki, who led the Melbourne Symphony for over three decades, died [Tuesday] at 73… In Europe Iwaki conducted the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and Leipzig’s Gewandhaus Orchestra.” A legend in Japan, Iwaki also held a lifetime appointment as chief conductor of Tokyo’s NHK Symphony.
The Philanthropist And The Publisher (One And the Same)
“For about 20 years, Sigrid Rausig has been a quietly formidable philanthropist. Her gifts – nearly £70m so far – have often gone towards human rights projects in the third world, where a small amount can be a significant windfall. But recently she has been branching out. Last spring, she launched Portobello Books, which aims to publish “activist non-fiction” as well as some fiction. Then, in the autumn, she bought Granta – both the magazine and publishing house. While Granta’s significance may have waned in recent years it remains a literary kingmaker. This makes Rausing, its new owner, a major player in British cultural life.”
Bernstein On The Bay?
Classical music aficionados have long bemoaned the lack of a modern version of Leonard Bernstein, a musical ambassador capable of producing top-quality concerts that are also attractive to mass audiences. But the truth is, San Francisco Symphony music director Michael Tilson Thomas has been laying claim to the Bernstein legacy for years. His latest brainchild – a 5-year, $23 million multimedia project designed to bring symphonic music back into the forefront of the public mind – is already rolling, and MTT is taking a very hands-on role to ensure its success.
Your iPod In Verse
“Listening to poetry on your iPod may not be everyone’s idea of entertainment, but a new website called iPoems (which has nothing to do with iTunes or its owner, Apple) is setting out to persuade audiences that downloadable poems read by their authors are the next big thing – and worth 50p per poem.”
Milwaukee Fund Flush With Cash
Milwaukee’s United Performing Arts Fund, which raises money for 17 area arts groups, set an in-house record with its annual campaign, collecting $10.26 million for the year. “More than 6,000 people donated to UPAF for the first time during the campaign, which ran from March 2 to Tuesday, and one in four existing donors increased his or her support.”