“Cuts to staff numbers of between 35 and 50 per cent are expected after all departments were told by the Treasury to slash budgets by up to 40 per cent.”
Tag: 07.21.10
Mrs. Obama And The Arts
“In a White House where first lady Michelle Obama’s relationship to the arts strives to be both rarefied and common, cerebral and pragmatic, the cultural program is dictated by tradition, personal life story . . . and an unabashed desire to shake things up.”
A Little TXT With Your Symphony?
“Even the tradition-bound classical music world has embraced the democratizing influence of new technology, allowing audiences to participate in programming in a way that would have been unthinkable a short time ago. It is less surprising that music organizations are using the technology to sell themselves or raise money.”
At Last – New Media Standard That Will Let You Play Video On Any Device
“The single standard will allow the consumer to purchase films to be viewed on any device – a PC, smartphone, X-box, tablet, Blu-ray player, and television.”
Proposition: John Szarkowski Was The Most Important Post-War American Photographer
“Szarkowski was a good photographer, a great critic and an extraordinary curator. Like all good critics and curators, Szarkowski was both visionary and catalyst.”
Prisoners Sentenced To Reading (And It Works)
Thousands of offenders across the US are, “as an alternative to prison, placed on a rehabilitation programme called Changing Lives Through Literature (CLTL). Repeat offenders of serious crimes such as armed robbery, assault or drug dealing are made to attend a reading group where they discuss literary classics such as To Kill a Mockingbird, The Bell Jar and Of Mice and Men.”
Clap Along With The Proms (And In The Middle Of The Proms)
“I detect a subtle change in concert manners going on at the moment. Thank all that is holy: it seems as if the fatuous snobbery of not clapping after any movement as proof of holier-than-thou cognoscenti-dom may be becoming a thing of the past.”
I Went To The Blockbuster Impressionists Show And…
“The boon of blockbusters is also their curse: too many people. The Impressionist show was by no means the worst; the Palace of the Legion of Honor does an even worse job of traffic control. I have literally been held motionless by a crowd at a Mayan exhibition at the Legion. I just stood there and prayed that Brownian motion would take me safely to the next room.”
When Students Asked Harold Pinter (His Reply Was Sarcastic)
The pupils of class 5A, sensing that Sidcup might have been chosen for a reason, or that the electrical plugs which Aston constantly fiddles with are a metaphor for something else, challenged Pinter, only to be told: “Davies’ papers are in Sidcup because that’s where they are…Aston fiddles with his plugs because he likes doing it.”
Actors Find Minneapolis A Tough Town
“In the best of times, actors find it challenging to make any kind of a reliable living simply from intermittent stage parts. Now a down economy that has led to the highest number of unemployed Americans since the Great Depression and technological advances have combined to create a perfect storm of challenges for actors, hardships that have made the Twin Cities one tough theatre town.”