“The resurgence of museum activity since 2002–when the world economy was in a downturn exacerbated by the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001– emerges as the most dramatic aspect of the survey. Around 61% of museums reported an increase in visitors in 2006, up from 44% the previous year and a huge recovery from 2002 when only 20% had more visitors than in 2001.”
Tag: 06.21.07
Egypt Asks British Museum For Loan Of Rosetta Stone
Will the museum let it go? “It is probably the single most-visited object in the BM’s entire collection, attracting even more visitors than the Parthenon Marbles. The Rosetta Stone has been at the museum since 1802, and has only left the building twice–when it was evacuated during World War I and when it was lent to the Louvre for one month in 1972.”
Edgy Teen Novel Takes Carnegie Medal
The 70th Carnegie Medal for outstanding children’s literature has been won by Just In Case, “Meg Rosoff’s uncompromising novel about a 15-year-old Luton boy’s existential crisis… The Carnegie is the UK’s longest-running award for children’s writing and, although the winners take home no prize money, it is one of the most coveted.”
Is He Likely To Be Terribly Welcome?
“The Pakistani religious affairs minister who sparked uproar with his criticism of the author Salman Rushdie’s knighthood today announced he was planning a visit to Britain” in an effort to clear the air. In a statement to the Pakistani parliament, the minister appeared to condone the idea of killing Mr. Rushdie with a bomb, sparking numerous threats on the author’s life.
Portrait Prize Goes To 59-Year-Old
“A 59-year-old has won the first BP Portrait Award open to artists of any age. Paul Emsley, from Bradford on Avon, in Wiltshire, [England] takes the £25,000 prize for an oil painting of a 67-year-old artist who lives in his town.” The contest was previously open only to artists under 40.
UK Museums: We Like Being Free
Britain’s leading museum directors have issued a statement of strong support for the government program that allowed them to drop all admission charges several years back. “The move comes after the shadow culture secretary, Hugo Swire, told a newspaper that museums should be allowed more freedom in the way they run themselves, including the freedom to charge for entrance if they wish.”
Would Tax Changes Enhance UK Museum Revenue?
What can museums do about the fact that record auction sales are pricing them out of the high-end art market? “For UK museums with decreasing spending power, this inexorable rise in the global art market is a desperate, ongoing problem… One of the most important potential changes that could come from government is the introduction of tax incentives that would create a better culture of giving in the UK – something that galleries and organisations such as the Art Fund have long campaigned for.”
Ancient Artifacts Done Right
Jonathan Jones likes what he sees from the British Museum’s revamped prehistoric galleries. “There is no denying the beauty of prehistoric artefacts. You can disguise it, though, by displaying hundreds of arrowheads in cases that don’t seem to have been dusted since the 1950s – which is why this new set of modern and gracious galleries comes as a joy. The real test of the dynamic new British Museum is how well it does its basic job of displaying the ancient past. Very well, is the answer from looking at this new suite. It’s simple and smart, so as you walk along, you perceive changing time as a succession of colours.”
Maazel Slams The Critics Who Regularly Slam Him
Lorin Maazel has never been a conductor afraid to say what he thinks, and in a new interview, he takes dead aim at music critics, particularly those in America. “American critics are incompetent… If journalists wrote of sports as they do of music, they would be fired a thousand times. But classical music is a niche field, and newspaper editors understand nothing about it.”
Tower Of London Threatened By Development?
The Tower of London is being considered for a spot on UNESCO’s list of endangered world heritage sites because of the skyscrapers rising all around it. “hemmed in by a noisy highway and overrun by tourists, the landmark no longer casts quite the same shadow in an area dominated by brightly lit, glass-canopied office buildings and hypermodern skyscrapers like the Norman Foster building known as The Gherkin.”