The 900-seat theatre/concert hall at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (referred to with the Arabic name Ithraa) in Dhahran opened in June with two concerts by Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra to celebrate the holiday Eid al-Fitr. Ithraa, designed by the architecture firm Snøhetta and funded by the oil company Saudi Aramco, says it will present a year-round program of performances from around the world as well as music and drama by Saudi and other Arab artists.
Tag: 06.19.18
The Greatest Literary Con Man Of The 20th Century?
Though his tallest tales were those he passed off as the truth, he was as popular as he was prolific, producing more than 30 volumes of prize-winning essays, plays, memoir and fiction, including La Vie devant soi, the bestselling French novel of the 20th Century. But his star faded as he aged and was further dimmed by posthumous revelations that he’d duped the Parisian literary establishment, publishing some of his most rapturously received works (La Vie among them) under a fake name.
Atlanta Doubles Its Arts Budget
The original budget proposal — the first budget under new Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms — called for the city to maintain its current level of arts funding at $995,000. But Bottoms lent her support to District 2 City Councilman Amir R. Farokhi’s push to more than double that figure to $2 million.
Ruins Of 2,000-Year-Old City Unearthed In Albania
“Sometimes, rocks are more than crumbled pieces of the earth. Sometimes, they unveil clues about our planet’s ancient past or future. For archaeologists from the Antiquity of Southeastern Europe Research Centre at the University of Warsaw, the rocks in Shkodër, Albania, turned out to be the ruins of the 2,000-year-old lost city of Bassania.”
Dance/NYC’s Harwell Joins Ford Foundation
Executive Director Lane Harwell will transition from Dance/NYC this summer to join the Ford Foundation as Program Officer, Creativity and Free Expression, where he will support the foundation’s explorations of how the arts can contribute to fairer and more just societies.
PBS And Member Stations Working On New Subscription Streaming Model
“PBS is strategizing with stations on how to package national and local content into an over-the-top ‘skinny bundle,’ potentially creating an entirely new channel for the younger viewers who are willing to pay for live streaming services. That partnership deal, a first for PBS, could come within the next six months.”
Pasadena Museum Of California Art’s Board Votes To Close Down (Can It Be Saved?)
“The Pasadena Museum of California Art, that Modernist beacon that has swooped above East Union Street since 2002, will close its doors at the end of the current exhibition,” according to a slightly odd vote by the institution’s directors. Columnist Larry Wilson looks at the PMCA’s unusual situation and wonders if some individuals or institution might step in.
How ‘Cielito Lindo’ Became Mexico’s World Cup Anthem
“The song has been passed down through the generations within families both in Mexico and in the United States — at birthday parties, weddings, Mexican Independence Day parties and soccer matches. … It is also a song that lifts the spirits in times of immense tragedy. In September of last year, for example, when a catastrophic earthquake in Mexico left hundreds dead, volunteers collected food and medical equipment while singing a moving rendition of ‘Cielito Lindo.'”
The Neuroscientist On Staff At An Art Museum
Dr. Tedi Asher of the Peabody Essex Museum of Salem, Mass.: “When I first got to PEM,” says Asher, “we knew what the objective was, which was to create more compelling exhibitions for our visitors, by drawing on findings from the neuroscience literature, but we didn’t know exactly how to do that. … I see myself as very much like the mechanic. Like, how do we take all of these parts and work with them in a way that we’re facilitating engagement?”
Finding Measurable, Quantifiable Benefits Of Funding The Arts Is Becoming Easier
“With more funders looking for metrics — and effective altruists asking ‘how many lives does the opera save?’ — how can arts nonprofits best make their case, especially right now, with so many urgent causes vying for donors’ attention?” Mike Scutari looks at a couple of organizations who have answers to that question.