“If left unmanaged, the sea of tourists may be a lot more threatening than the Adriatic Sea. Currently, around 15m people visit Venice each year, while the city has a resident population of about 60,000. Around the world literacy and cultural awareness are increasing. Incomes in India, China and Eastern Europe are now increasing very rapidly; there are 2.5 billion people in India and China alone who within 50 years might have incomes comparable to ours. That means that the number of people who want to see Venice and will be able to afford to see Venice might very plausibly expand by a factor of three or more over the next few decades.”
Tag: 07.13.06
London’s Frieze Fair Bans Print Dealers
“The organisers of Frieze have sent a letter to print publishers such as Alan Cristea, Paragon Press and Two Palms saying that “a certain category” of exhibitor will not be admitted this year. The reasons given are that “prints don’t look good in a fair”, and that the dealers do not have “primacy of representation” of the artists they show.”
Atlanta Opera Cuts Back Programming, Sells Headquarters
The company will “sell its Midtown headquarters for $4 million and make significant cutbacks in its programming. The moves will allow the 27-year-old opera company to pay off its $2.85 million debt and trim back its annual budget by $1 million. The actions come on the heels of its historic decision last month to move its performances from Midtown’s Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center to the new Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in 2007.”
Proms – Like A Rock
London’s Proms concerts are deeply embedded into the national culture. “If the Proms, now in their 112th season, are the world’s most important music festival, they are also the most unchanging. And this is both their strength and, some say, their weakness.”
Canadian Media Giant Swallows Big Competitor
Canada’s biggest media company says it is buying one of its biggest competitors. “BGM owns CTV and the Globe and Mail, along with 17 TV specialty channels, including TSN, MTV and the Discovery Channel. On Wednesday, BGM announced it had agreed to pay $1.4 billion for control of national rival CHUM Ltd., which owns 33 radio stations and 12 TV stations, headed by the Citytv channels in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg. CHUM also owns 21 specialty TV channels and the Muzak background-music operation in Canada.”
Dallas Morning News To Cut Critics?
Is the Dallas Morning News about to offload its movie and TV critics? Managers met with staff and “a large part of that meeting dealt with how to make the section more local in coverage–which suggests that those writers who handle movies and TV shows could go, because the paper could simply pick up reviews from wire services.”
Women Shut Out Of the Proms
This year’s London Proms include no women composers. “It’s a gaffe, certainly, and one no Proms director will ever dare to make again. And it raises all kinds of ticklish questions, such as whether women composers and conductors should benefit from positive discrimination, until the ancient bias against them has finally faded away.”
Shakespeare – Sold For $5 Million
A rare folio of complete Shakespeare has sold for $5 million. “London dealer Simon Finch Rare Books purchased the book — still in its original 17th-century calfskin binding — during a sale at Sotheby’s. The book is one of about 40 complete copies known to exist and one of the few in private hands. Its value was estimated at between $4.6 million and 6.4 million.”
Greece To Close Ancient Theatres
Greece’s two main ancient theatres will be closed in August for urgent repairs, the Greek government has announced. The theatres are used for performances and the crowds have worn down and damaged the ancient sites.
Unknown Shelley Poem Surfaces
A 200-year-old poem by Shelley had been found. “The 172-line poem was included in Shelley’s pamphlet Poetical Essay on the Existing State of Things, which was printed in Oxford in 1811. The political work was never published again and its existence has been doubted by some until now.”