Believe it or not, Canada does not have even one theater dedicated to opera. Toronto’s Canadian Opera Company – the country’s largest – has been trying for years to build one. But the obstacles are fierce, and Canadian governments, which will have to help out if a house is to be built, seem to be hurting the cause, not helping it. – The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Tag: 06.20.00
THE CORPORATE GRAIL
Time was when American artists looked longingly at government funding for the arts in Canada, which was traditionally higher than in the US. Now government support for the arts has slipped in both countries and Canada, which never established as extensive a tradition of corporate and individual support for the arts, is wondering how to do that. – The Globe and Mail (Canada)
A NEW ARTS PRIZE
Amid the current buzz over the Turner Prize shortlist’s inclusion of three artists who aren’t British, a new European arts prize – the Vincent – is being launched by Holland’s Bonnefanten Museum to honor a European artist, regardless of country of origin. “In a world of global culture, individual countries no longer set the standards,” writes the Bonnefanten’s director, “and although there is no other continent that demonstrates so many views and self-inflicted differences, the Vincent is not designed to celebrate Europe’s pre-eminent status, but rather to celebrate diversity.” The winner will be announced in September. – The Guardian
DOING BATTLE WITH THE PAST
Over the last 30 years, the Italian government has been cleaning and restoring some of the most famous frescoes of the Renaissance. “Apart from carrying out the essential work of cleaning, repairing structural damage, and protecting the frescoes from damp, restorers have also used the latest technology to try to determine the exact nature of the original painting; and have used that analysis to offer a definitive image of the work for future generations.” That’s where the controversy begins. – The Independent (UK)
ART PACT
The Guggenheim Foundation and St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum have inked a deal to share their collections, collaborate on exhibitions, and help each other develop a worldwide network of museums. – New York Times
HERE MOOSIE MOOSIE
Several North American cities have been overrun this summer with painted fiberglass animals. Toronto has 300 moose distributed around its downtown streets. “The Toronto moose are clearly about urban boosterism, corporate publicity, civic high spirits, tourist marketing.” And not about art. Shouldn’t the things we put up in our urban landscape aim for a little more? – The Globe and Mail (Canada)
SEX AND THE CITY
The Venice Biennale’s International Architecture Exhibition poses questions about how we live. “It prompts the myriad architects, landscape architects and urban designers featured here to say where they stand in the ‘disorder affecting a society in rapid transformation’ and ‘the turmoil of globalization.’ It asks them to use information and technology to improve the human condition, and ‘make forecasts about the future once again.'” – National Post (Canada)
THE BALLOON EFFECT
After years of design delays and budgetary haggling, Berlin’s Jewish Museum is finally on schedule to open in September 2001. Originally conceived as a department within a Berlin history museum, “the concept ballooned to meet the space available. With over 4,000 square meters of exhibition space to fill, the existing Berlin collection was dwarfed: bit by bit the Jewish Museum took it on itself to document the history of the Jews in the whole German-speaking world.” – Die Welt (Germany)
RAGS TO RICHES
Scottish painter Jack Vettriano’s life story reads like Horatio Alger: a miner’s son, he only started painting at 21 and was rejected from art school repeatedly. But now he’s Britain’s most commercially popular artist, with original work selling for up to £40,000 and posters of his work outselling those of Monet. – The Telegraph (UK)