“It’s been more than 10 years since Greece was granted the right to host the Olympics, which cost the tiny Balkan nation in excess of nine billion euros, more than double the original budget. The Games’ dubious legacy — and a warning to future hosts — is that today, 21 of 22 venues remain shuttered, locked and empty, costing taxpayers millions of euros in annual maintenance fees.”
Tag: 07.16.08
Longtime Minneapolis Director Asked To Leave His Theatre
Artistic director Jeff Bartlett, who for 33 years has been integral to the Southern Theater in Minneapolis, has been asked to leave the organization.
Youtube Teams Up With Lion’s Gate filmsFor Ad Royalties
Google Inc. said Wednesday that it will partner with filmmaker Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. to share revenue from ads that Google places on YouTube clips from the studio’s movies.
A Cartoonist Too Far
“Cartoonists are some of the most painstaking, careful, shy and sensitive people on earth, yet we do play with fire, toying with other people’s (and of course our own) most deeply held beliefs and most cherished illusions. Is it possible to go too far? Of course it is. Should we go too far? Of course we should.”
Stratford Predicts A Down Year
An internal memo distributed to staff at Ontario’s Stratford Festival warns that high gas prices and a down economy are translating to falling ticket sales this season. “Insiders have estimated that the festival could lose as much as $5-million this year.”
Cleveland Museum of Art Names New Chief Curator
“The museum announced Tuesday that C. Griffith Mann, director of the curatorial division of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, will take up his new duties in Cleveland by mid-September… Mann, 39, rose quickly from a curatorial fellowship in 1999 to the top curatorial post at the Walters in 2007.”
New York’s Other Booming Art Market
“At the same time that art museums and galleries have developed larger collections, they have fewer options to expand. Perhaps inevitably, an art services industry that has sprung up in the dark warehouses of New York City’s boroughs is also growing.”
Cruising The Art Market
“Auctioning ‘fine art’ on cruises, often to first-time bidders who have never met a reserve or inspected a provenance, has become big business.” But the practice has led to complaints from buyers over the quality of the art offered, and the inflating of its value by auctioneers and dealers.
Soprano Tells Aussie Government To “Grow Up”
Australian soprano Lisa Gasteen says “the arts are being asphyxiated in Australia,” following the announcement that the federal government would not help to sponsor a restaging of 2004’s successful Ring cycle. “It’s a mentality and a mindset,” Gasteen says. “I think we just have to grow up as a country, really.”
Pittsburgh Symphony Shocked By Declines
“Pittsburgh Symphony leaders were shocked this spring when ticket sales and subscription sales took a tumble after three consecutive years of increases.” But subscriber retention is reportedly strong, and the orchestra’s leaders say that the unforeseen downturn is probably due to the tough economy.