“Arts organisations have been locked in emergency talks with Birmingham City Council after a leaked document revealed proposals to cut £3.5 million in arts funding in the next four years. The drastic funding cuts have proposed 16 arts organisations out of 22 … should have all support withdrawn by 2013/14.”
Tag: 12.09.10
The Butler Did It? Actually, No, He Never Did.
“It’s the biggest cliché in mystery writing. But where did the cliché originate? Were any fictional butlers ever actually revealed as murderers? Judging from the phrase’s cultural resonance, you’d think the early mystery scene was seething with hatchet-wielding manservants. An investigation of the evidence, however, reveals another story entirely. The butler was framed.”
Scene-Setters – When The Set Begins Before The Show
“When did it become necessary to seduce audiences with a blast of atmosphere before the show has even begun? The drawback to this kind of immersive décor is that it can border on the theme park-ish, turning the specific into the ersatz and treading dangerously close to kitsch. We may be on Broadway, but we are still hip, the furnishings all but scream.”
Pasadena Playhouse Up And Running And Raising Money
“The Pasadena Playhouse announced Thursday that it has successfully raised $2 million as part of its attempt to regain solid financial footing after closing its mainstage in February. The company, which has recently begun producing shows again, also said that it is launching a new campaign to raise another $2 million.”
The WikiLeaks Case Reminds Us That The Internet Isn’t Free
“Why have companies like Amazon and PayPal decided that they didn’t want WikiLeaks as a customer? Angry citizens have called for boycotts on online forums, Facebook and Twitter. The different reactions from Internet firms to the WikiLeaks publications reveal a dilemma. Many citizens regard the Internet as a public space, but in fact it is a private sphere. And the companies that control almost all the forums on the Web can, if in doubt, exercise their rights of ownership and ban who they like.”
The Best Choir In The World
“The Monteverdi Choir directed by John Eliot Gardiner has won the Gramophone magazine contest for the best choir in the world.”
Just Who Was David Wojnarowicz?
“David Wojnarowicz, who died in 1992 at the age of 37, used art to keep a grip on the world. He was the quintessential East Village figure, a bit of a loner, a bit crazy, ferociously brilliant and anarchic. He was a self-educated dropout who made art on garbage can lids, who painted inside the West Side piers where men met for anonymous sex, who pressed friends into lookout duty while he covered the walls of New York with graffiti.”
Why British Choirs Are The Best In The World
“British choirs simply get it. I’m sure it comes from the centuries-old tradition of singing but there is a seasoned polish and an attitude about the music-making that is at once soulful and unsentimental, expressive without being maudlin.”
Smithsonian Repercussions After Removal Of Wojnarowicz Video
“Senior Smithsonian officials are meeting with concerned museum staff over fears that removing a video from the National Portrait Gallery sets an unwelcome precedent. The action has generated protests, thousands of e-mails and an advisory board member’s resignation.”
In Tribute to Liu Xiaobo
The Chinese poet/critic/activist has been imprisoned so that he can’t travel to Oslo to receive this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. In Liu’s honor, The New York Times has published on its Op-Ed page an excerpt from his poem “Experiencing Death.”