The Smithsonian’s Arts & Industries building, which long fuctioned as the institution’s main museum, will be closing for repairs several months ahead of schedule, and may not reopen until the end of the decade. “Constructed between 1879 and 1881, the building has a leaky and decaying roof, as well as other structural problems. A series of canopies in the main public areas now catch peeling paint and chips from the ceiling and roof.” Funds for the renovation have yet to be authorized by Congress, and no one seems quite sure when the money will be forthcoming.
Tag: 10.30.03
The Conductor’s Fall
“The controversy surrounding the private life of one of the 20th century’s leading conductors, Sir Eugene Goossens, has resurfaced in Australia as legal action is threatened to stop the performance of a play about his life. The new play, The Devil is a Woman, by the Sydney-based writers Mandy Sayer and Louis Nowra, tells the story of the scandal that ruined Goossens… At Sydney airport in March 1956, customs officers intercepted his luggage and found more than 1,000 pornographic photographs, films and books, along with three rubber masks. The ensuing scandal destroyed Goossens’ career, marriage and reputation in a matter of weeks.”
Useful Research Or A Waste Of Good Public Money?
The Brooklyn Philharmonic is set to receive a $330,000 grant from the federal Department of Education to study whether children in inner-city schools benefit from music classes. Trouble is, everyone already knows that children benefit from music classes, don’t they? Anti-tax organizations and government watchdog groups are up in arms over the grants, which opponents say could have been spent on “about 400 drum sets, 800 saxophones or 900 trumpets – or to pay the salaries of several music teachers.”
Does Hogwarts Cause Headaches?
A Washington doctor is claiming that the latest installment in the Harry Potter series can cause migraine headaches and undue stress in young children attempting to plow through the book’s 870 pages. Dr. Howard Bennett says that he has treated at least three cases of severe headache brought on when kids refuse to put the book down for any reason, until they’ve completed it. “The obvious cure for this malady – that is, taking a break from reading – was rejected by two of the patients.”
Franco Corelli, 82
“Franco Corelli, the Italian tenor whose powerhouse voice, charismatic presence and movie-star good looks earned him the adoration of opera fans from the 1950’s until his retirement in 1976, died yesterday in Milan. He was 82 and lived in Milan.”
O’Neill Director Resigns
“James Houghton has resigned in a pique as the artistic director of the O’Neill Playwrights Conference, the country’s leading workshop for new plays, saying he was excluded from the board’s reorganization plans.”
Met Objects To Lincoln Center Plan
The refurbishment of Lincoln Center has hit another snag, as the Metropolitan Opera raises objections. “The dispute ostensibly revolves around parking and the convenience of the paying public. But it also resonates with the longstanding objections of the Met’s general manager, Joseph Volpe, to the overall redevelopment project. From the start, Mr. Volpe has been opposed to making major structural changes to the campus. Even if the differences are ultimately resolved, Mr. Volpe’s objections threaten to delay the process.”
Actors Protest Non-Union Performers
Actors protest the use of non-union performers in traveling shows. “Hundreds of members of Actors’ Equity Association, the union for actors and stage managers, fired an opening salvo in a rally in Duffy Square yesterday, protesting the use of non-Equity touring companies. This is shaping up as the most contentious issue in coming negotiations between the union and producers. Their contract expires in June.”
Aboriginal Artists Low-balled By Gallery?
A group of central Australian Aboriginal artists who were brought to Melbourne for a month by a gallery, where they “produced an estimated 62 paintings said to be worth about $134,000, have been asked to accept $7000 or less each as payment for their work” by the gallery. When they refused, the artists were asked to sign a statement which reads in part: “We regret telling the media lies and apologise to Alexis and Tony Hesseen for the problems we caused them”.
Arts Giving Down Sharply In US
For the first time in 12 years, charitable giving in the US was down last year. But cultural groups took a big hit, reports the Chronicle of Philanthropy. “A large, one-time gift in the 2001 fiscal year from the Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund to two arts and cultural groups in this year’s survey had the effect of causing donations to arts groups to decline steeply last year in percentage terms. The 14 arts organizations in the survey saw their aggregate gifts fall 26.5 percent in 2002. Some arts groups, however, say that they expect to raise at least as much in 2003 as they did last year, in part from capital campaigns.”