Is There Still A Need For The Australia Council?

“We need a real debate about whether the well-intentioned but increasingly archaic central role of the Australia Council has had its day. Formed in the 1970s by the Whitlam government, the ”OzCo” introduced meaningful support for artists and organisations across theatre, dance, visual arts and literature for the first time. But times have moved on.”

Fighting Over, and At, Le Monde

France’s journal de référence has seen its circulation fall by more than a third over the last decade – a decline “aggravated by an over-staffed, outdated printing plant, archaic labour policies and substantial debt.” Yet there’s a battle on to buy the paper, involving “Paris’s power-hungry nouveau riche and intrigue at the highest levels of political power.”

‘State-of-the-Art’ at 100 Years Old

“All across the country, many different ‘arts’ are being pushed to their current limits as state-of-the-art hospital wings and college laboratories and concert halls and coroner’s offices take shape.” It’s a century since an engineer created the phrase that signals “that something is new and should therefore be considered the best, without really explaining why.”

‘Pacific Standard Time’: The Art Extravaganza That Will Devour L.A.

“When the many-headed exhibition extravaganza ‘Pacific Standard Time’ opens in October 2011, some 40 Southern California museums and nonprofit galleries will offer shows focusing in one manner or another on the origins of the art scene here, from 1945 to 1980.” Now the Getty Trust, the project’s lead funder and organizer, is making the event even bigger.