|
| |||||
 |
| ||||
|
| |||||
|
|
Follow Lord Cultural on  twitter,  facebook,  YouTube and LinkedIn | ||||
|
| |||||
|
The Banff Centre’s ambitious plans for the world stage The Globe and Mail, 24 November 2013
BANFF, AB – "If a performance is staged in the mountains – say, jazz great Esperanza Spalding sings to a tiny basement crowd, or Christopher Plummer performs Shakespeare in Word and Music – does anybody hear it? A steady stream of big thinkers and artistic superstars flow through the Banff Centre in the Rocky Mountains. And while the artists’ retreat and conference centre is well known to Canadian artists, it’s hardly a household name. President Jeff Melanson wants to change that and he has a billion-dollar plan to bring the Centre’s riches down from the mountain. “The notion that there’s something that human beings are doing here that’s absolutely extraordinary on the world stage is certainly not on the radar,” says Melanson. “And we will be.” "
Dubai named host of the 2020 World Expo CTV, 27 November 2013
DUBAI, UAE – "Fireworks erupted in Dubai after the tiny Gulf emirate won the right to host the 2020 World Expo, becoming the first Middle Eastern city to organize the event in its more than 150-year history. Dubai bested competing bids from Izmir, Turkey; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Yekaterinburg, Russia, after three rounds of voting by delegates of the 168-nation Bureau International des Expositions in Paris. In line with its reputation of over-the-top glitz and glamor, Dubai lit the world's tallest tower with glimmering lights. The skies around the Burj Khalifa, which towers at 2,717 feet, erupted with fireworks." [see also Dubai makes history with winning bid to host World Expo 2020, Yahoo, 27 November 2013]
| |||||
|
| |||||
|
Cultural News, a monthly global round-up of what’s happening in culture, is a free service of Lord Cultural Resources. Excerpts are directly quoted from the articles – please click on the links to read the full articles on the original news sites. To receive it in your inbox rain or shine, please press the subscribe button above - it will take less than 30 seconds to become a subscriber. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest digest of cultural news.
| |||||
Our Clients and Lord Cultural Resources in the News
Museum of Civilization lifts veil on its new Canadian history hall The Ottawa Citizen, November 28, 2013
HULL, QC – "The Canadian Museum of Civilization has pulled back the curtain on its planned new Canadian history hall, billed as the largest and most comprehensive permanent exhibit about Canada’s history yet. In an exclusive interview with the Citizen, David Morrison, head of the 25-member museum team that has been developing content for the 44,000-square foot exhibit, described the plan so far, revealed that the museum has just hired a Montreal firm to design the exhibit and spoke about the challenges the project presents. The new history hall will be the centrepiece of the $25-million makeover of the museum into the Canadian Museum of History, announced just over a year ago by James Moore, then minister of Canadian Heritage. It will occupy half of the museum’s permanent exhibition space. Just this week, the museum team sent a greatly expanded content package to six committees of outside experts — one general committee, three period committees and committees on aboriginal history and women’s history — that are advising the museum. It’s the fruits of six months of heavy research and writing by museum staff."
Spielberg and Katzenberg donate $10M to bring movie museum to life L.A. Biz, 21 November 2013
LOS ANGELES, CA – "Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg will add their names to yet another building in Los Angeles -- the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. The media moguls announced that they will give $10 million each to fund the museum and put their names on galleries in its lobby. The two are a bit behind the third DreamWorks founder David Geffen, who donated $25 million to the cause. They join Chinese company Dalian Wanda Group, which ponied up $20 million, as the biggest donors to the museum, which is setting up next to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art."
Louvre Abu Dhabi to open on 2 December 2015 French culture minister makes official announcement while in the Gulf to rebuild diplomatic bridges The Art Newspaper, 20 November 2013
ABU DHABI, UAE – “It’s official: the Louvre Abu Dhabi will be opening on UAE’s National Day, 2 December 2015. Aurélie Filippetti, the French minister of culture, made the announcement at the opening of Abu Dhabi Art on 19 November. She was there with the director of the Louvre, Jean-Luc Martinez, and no less than 11 other presidents and directors of French museums to reinforce the French commitment to its 30-year contract of cultural collaboration with Abu Dhabi and to rebuild diplomatic bridges after a period last year when Abu Dhabi complained that its role in the Louvre project was being conducted by Agence France-Muséums in a neglectful and high-handed way."
City approves $6.2M museum expansion at Art Gallery of Windsor (with video) The Windsor Star, 18 November 2013
WINDSOR, ON – “City council on Monday night approved a $6.2-million museum expansion into the ground floor of the Art Gallery of Windsor. But under the approved plan, only a little over $500,000 will be needed from local taxpayers, with the balance covered by an anticipated federal cultural grant ($2.4 million) and the legally disputed bequest of Joseph Chimczuk (close to $3.3 million). The federal grant is not guaranteed, council was warned, and the Chimczuk millions are tied up in court action. “Nothing says we can’t use the Chimczuk funds,” said Mayor Eddie Francis. The city has applied to the courts to have an amendment approved to the Chimczuk will, which currently specifies the money the former autoworker left the municipality in 1990 could only be used for a stand-alone structure in his name. The city took the action after opposition from a local group, Chimczuk Museum Inc., which has been granted standing by the court."
'Transformed' Tate Britain unveiled BBC News, 18 November 2013
LONDON, UK – "Tate Britain is unveiling the results of a £45 million renovation that has transformed the oldest parts of the Grade II London gallery. The project involves the reopening of its Thames-facing entrance and a new spiral staircase beneath its rotunda. The circular balcony of the rotunda's domed atrium, closed to visitors since the 1920s, has also been reopened. The unveiling follows the May opening of 10 new galleries and a chronological rehanging of 500 British artworks. Penelope Curtis, director of Tate Britain, said the renovations "reassert and enhance the original grandeur and logic of the galleries"." [see also Caruso St John unveils Tate Britain revamp, WAN, 19 November 2013]
Le musée olympique à nouveau ouvert fin décembre La Presse, 14 novembre 2013
LAUSANNE, SUISSE – « Avec une surface totale doublée, passant à quelque 3000 mètres carrés, le musée se compose désormais de trois niveaux pour l'exposition permanente qui retrace toute l'histoire de Jeux olympiques, de l'Antiquité à nos jours. »
CMHR announces September 2014 opening date Museum, tourism, business partners set to welcome surge of visitors CMHR press release, November 4, 2013
WINNIPEG, MB – "The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) will open its doors to the world on September 20, 2014, its President and CEO announced today at a briefing with industry partners. “A national project of this scope and scale comes along just once in a generation,” Stuart Murray said. “When the doors of this building open next September, it will be a historic moment for Canada and a proud day for Manitoba, as we welcome visitors from across the country and around the world.” CMHR Board Chair Eric Hughes said the Museum reflects the best of what Canada has to offer to the world. “It doesn’t matter which province or territory you’re from. This museum belongs to all of us: to you in Manitoba, to me from Alberta, to each citizen from coast to coast to coast,” he said. “This project reflects the values we cherish as a nation. By celebrating our success and reflecting on our failings, the CMHR will be a beacon of learning and inspiration for Canadians.” [see also Le MCDP annonce sa date d’ouverture : en septembre 2014, Nouvelles du MCDP, 4 novembre 2013]
Un nouveau chapitre pour la Collection Lambert Le Journal des Arts, 1 novembre 2013
AVIGNON, FRANCE – « Avec la promesse de don à l’État de 560 d’œuvres d’art contemporain du galeriste Yvon Lambert, la Collection Lambert va ouvrir une nouvelle page de son histoire. »
Le Musée national du sport entrouvre ses portes à Nice Nice matin, 1 novembre 2013
NICE, FRANCE – « Situé sur deux étages au sein de l'Allianz Riviera à Nice, l'espace de 5.000m2 dédié à l'histoire du sport est actuellement en cours d'aménagement, avant son ouverture prévue début 2014. »
City to Spend $1 Million on Great Chicago Fire Festival Progress Illinois, 31 October 2013
CHICAGO, IL – "Plans are in the works for a 'Great Chicago Fire Festival' that comes with a “working budget” of $1 million, according to Chicago Cultural Affairs and Special Events Commissioner Michelle Boone. The event to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 would take place next fall and be free to the public. Live music and other entertainment would be included, but the main attraction is a “procession of illuminated fiberglass sculptures” that would be set on fire on the Chicago River via a “floating mechanical crane.” “It will be a pretty dynamic event ... It will begin with placing artists-in-residence in a number of communities ... Communities will be invited to nominate artists who will work with community members to create art pieces that will be part of a major procession along the river that will culminate with an event that brings some programming to the riverfront,” Boone said at a budget hearing Wednesday."
Museums
Tetley brewery in Leeds reopens as modern art gallery The iconic Tetley brewery headquarters in Leeds has been transformed into a new centre for contemporary art and learning The Guardian, 28 November 2013
LEEDS, UK – "Sixty former Tetley beer workers will on Friday enjoy tea and cake at their art deco former headquarters and see a somewhat unlikely transformation. The fabulously wood-panelled offices are still there, as are portraits of rather dour-looking, whiskered Tetley directors. What's new is the contemporary art. "We hope they will be absolutely blown away," said Pippa Hale, co-founder of an organisation opening a new visual arts centre called, obviously, the Tetley. All the brewing and bottling works have gone from what was a 22-acre site on Leeds' south bank, but the main office building remains." [see also the video Former Tetley's brewery HQ in Leeds to open as new art gallery, BBC News, 26 November 2013]
Don Taylor donates $15M for Stampede interpretive centre CBC News, 26 November 2013
CALGARY, ALBERTA – "Philanthropist Don Taylor has donated $15 million to the Calgary Stampede Foundation to create a western interpretive centre. The SAM Centre, named after his father Robert Samuel Taylor, will be part of a new Youth Campus at Stampede Park. “I wanted to do something for my father. This is an ideal opportunity. He would be very pleased to have his name associated with this,” said Don Taylor. Expected to open in 2016, the SAM Centre is supposed to promote the city’s western heritage beyond the 10 days of Stampede in July. It will also serve as a special event centre."
Permanent Concorde home at Filton airfield 'ready in three years' BBC News, 25 November 2013
UK – "A permanent home for Concorde at Filton Airfield could be up and running within three years, a group behind the project has said. The news comes on the 10th anniversary of Concorde's final flight to the Bristol airfield. The Bristol Aero Collection Trust is in the process of raising £13m to build an aviation museum on the site which will house the aircraft. It said the scheme relied on a £4.4m Heritage Lottery grant being approved. Spokesman Oliver Dearden said the trust has passed the first round of its Heritage Lottery funding bid, and was now hard at work on the final application which will be submitted next year."
Kenya: Cultural Centre, Museum to Be Built in Kiambu All Africa, 25 November 2013
KIAMBU, KENYA – "A cultural centre will be built in Kiambu county in a bid to boost tourism and promote talent. Executive for education, culture and social services Esther Ndirangu said the county government is looking for investors to fund the centre that is expected to generate revenue and promote culture. "The county also plans to open up cultural sheds and bomas in coffee and tea farms in every subcounty as a way of attracting domestic and foreign tourists," she said. The county will also build a museum that will capture the history of Kiambu and its people including famous personalities and heroes."
Zeitz Contemporary Art Museum Announced Galetti, 22 novembre 2013
LE CAP, AFRIQUE DU SUD – “It has been announced that the dilapidated silo building in the V&A Waterfront will be converted into the stunning new Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa.”
Natural History Museum Grounds Competition shortlist announced media.nhm.ac.uk, 21 November 2013
UK – "The Natural History Museum today announced the shortlist for the competition to find an inspired team to redesign and re-imagine its grounds. The five teams − given by team-lead −and comprising architects in collaboration with landscape architects and other sub-consultants (not listed here) are: 1. Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) with Martha Schwartz Partners (landscape) 2. Grant Associates with Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (architect) 3. Niall McLaughlin Architects with Kim Wilkie (landscape) 4. Land Use Consultants (LUC) with Design Engine (architect) 5. Stanton Williams Architects with Bradley-Hole Schoenaich Landscape Architects (landscape) The major project will aim to create an innovative exterior setting that matches the architectural excellence of the iconic 19th Century site, whilst ensuring that the Museum grounds are easily accessible to all visitors."
Baltimore Museum of Art to reopen original entrance in November 2014 The Baltimore Sun, 20 November 2013
BALTIMORE, MD – "The Baltimore Museum of Art announced Wednesday that it will reopen its historic entrance to visitors on Nov. 23, 2014, in celebration of the museum's 100th anniversary. The elegant portico roof designed in 1929 by the great American architect John Russell Pope is supported by six Ionic columns. The entrance, which is reached at the top of a flight of stairs, seems to float above the surrounding terrain. The exterior lighting is being updated, and after the renovation, the stairs will be used as a meeting place for visitors. The terrace also could be a site for art installations, lectures, and other programming, a museum spokeswoman said."
Is Cristiano Ronaldo building a museum dedicated to himself in Madeira? The Independent, 20 November 2013
MADEIRA, PORTUGAL – "If you think Cristiano Ronaldo’s confidence has taken a knock at no longer being the world’s most expensive player and the third favourite for the Fifa Ballon d’Or, think again. Lisbon daily newspaper Diario de Noticias has reported that Ronaldo, who will captain Portugal in their World Cup qualifying second-leg play-off against Sweden tonight, is building a museum dedicated to himself in Funchal, Madeira, where he was born."
Un oligarque russe ouvre un musée d’œufs de Fabergé La Presse, 19 novembre 2013
SAINT-PETERSBOURG, RUSSIE – « Un musée présentant une riche collection d'oeufs de Fabergé a été inauguré mardi dans l'ancienne capitale impériale, Saint-Pétersbourg, par l'oligarque Viktor Vekselberg, qui a réuni la collection, dispersée à l'étranger après la Révolution bolchevique. » [see also Russian billionaire opens Faberge egg museum, Channel NewsAsia, 19 November 2013, and A double vision for Fabergé in St Petersburg, The Art Newspaper, 9 October 2013]
Nottingham Castle lottery bid backed by city council BBC News, 19 November 2013
NOTTINGHAM, UK – "A fresh bid for lottery funding that will form part of Nottingham Castle's redevelopment plans has been backed by the city council. The authority has shown its support for the latest bid for £14m from the Heritage Lottery Fund. If granted, plans include a new visitor centre and greater access to the caves. Chairman of the Nottingham Castle Trust, which been set up to run the castle, said work could transform it into a "world class... attraction". In May, the council's first application for £15m lottery funding was turned down. A new, revised bid will now be submitted at the end of the month which the trust says will be "much stronger"."
Frankenstein to Star Trek: Sci-Fi Museum Coming to D.C. livescience.com, 19 November 2013
WASHINGTON, DC, USA – "Fans of Captain Kirk and Captain Nemo unite: A new science-fiction museum coming to Washington, D.C. Its creators announced plans for the museum, which will cover a broad sampling of science fiction across literature, television, film, music, video games and art, on Nov. 4. They hope to open a preview space within a year, and launch the full museum in the beginning of 2017. "There really wasn't a comprehensive science-fiction museum here in the United States or internationally," said Greg Viggiano, executive director of the new venture. "I thought, maybe somebody should do something about this," Viggiano told LiveScience. " [see also More Details Revealed About Museum of Science Fiction, Curbed, 5 November 2013]
wydaily.com, November 18, 2013
YORKTOWN, VA – "While construction on the new American Revolution Museum at Yorktown’s outdoor interpretive area is many months away, plans for the area are coming together with the help of Guernsey Tingle Architects. The Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation’s Board of Trustees congregated Thursday and Friday for its biannual meeting, where it heard various brief presentations about the progress of different foundation efforts, including educational outreach, ticket sales and work on the developing American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, which is planned to open in 2016."
Niall Horan Museum for Mullingar? Westmeath Examiner, 18 November 2013
MULLINGAR, IRELAND – "Teenage girls mightn’t always be the greatest fans of museums - but Mullingar could be the town to change all that, if a proposal agreed by local councillors at a meeting on Monday ever comes to fruition. They’ve supported a call for the creation of a museum honouring One Direction's Niall Horan, and Mullingar’s other musicians. The proposal was made at a meeting of the council’s Mullingar Area members on Monday, by Cllr Aidan Davitt. He suggested that the county council and Mullingar Town Council liaise with a view to setting up a museum."
New Alberta Flying Heritage Museum flyeia.com, 17 November 2013
EDMONTON, AB – "Alberta Aviation Museum President Marvin Kowalchuk announced the Alberta Flying Heritage Museum (AFHM) last night, that thanks to the generous support and assistance of Edmonton Airports, is locating at Villeneuve Airport in the Greater Edmonton region. The Alberta Flying Heritage Museum will be an all new museum, separate and distinct from the current Alberta Aviation Museum. The (2) Museums will complement each other in collections and operations rather than compete. The Alberta Flying Heritage Museum will focus on the broad history of Central and Northern Alberta, while the current Alberta Aviation Museum will very specifically focus on the history of Edmonton and Blatchford Field.”
Museum opens in AK-47 inventor's home town in Siberia upi.com, 16 November 2013
KURYA, RUSSIA – "The inventor of the infamous AK-47 assault rifle sent his regrets for the opening of a museum honoring his career in his hometown in Siberia. Mikhail Kalashnikov, 94, cited poor health as keeping him away from Friday's ribbon-cutting for the new museum, which is housed in the old wooden school building he attended as a child in the town of Kurya. The state-run arms company Kalashnikov Concern sent a message to the ceremony stating its founder "sends his best regards to all residents of the Altai Territory and thanks them for still remembering him."
SFMOMA remodel to bring in new light, openness SF Gate, 15 November 2013
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – "Before it closed in June, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art had no space more potent than the atrium's cave-like stairway, clad in bands of dark granite, climbing four levels and filling much of the skylit interior piazza. When the enlarged museum reopens in 2016, visitors should be prepared for a profoundly different experience - a long open staircase with low oak walls, rising without visible support and making a single sharp turn on its way from the atrium floor to the main entrance on the new wing's second floor. Even as construction crews lay the foundation for the 235,000-square-foot expansion, the design released Thursday shows that interior details are still being refined to make the transition from old to new seem natural, even artistic."
Is the third time the charm for a Las Vegas art museum? The Modern Contemporary Art Museum is planned for the Arts District Las Vegas Weekly, 14 November 2013
LAS VEGAS, NV – "The announcement that went out this morning about a new privately funded Modern Contemporary Art Museum to be built Downtown included one particular name that made our ears perk. According to the press release, the Modern Contemporary Art Museum will be located in the Arts District and house 35,000 square feet of museum galleries “with an important and progressive series of rotating exhibits. It will span three floors and showcase the works of both established and emerging artists from the 20th century onward.” If that rings a bell, that’s because it sounds similar to the proposed LV MOCA, the closest Downtown has ever come to having an art museum that could hold an interest locally, nationally and internationally. That project was planned more than three years ago, when art collector Poju Zabludowicz, chairman and chief executive of Tamares Group (which owns several Downtown properties), proposed a museum that would have rotated in works from the esteemed and contemporary Zabludowicz Collection."
David Chipperfield's Museo Jumex Opens in Mexico City Architectural Digest, 25 November 2013
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – "Mexico City has long been a power player in the realm of architecturally significant museums, from Pedro Ramírez Vázquez’s 1964 Museo Nacional de Antropología to Fernando Romero’s recent Museo Soumaya. That legacy continues today with the opening of the travertine Museo Jumex. Situated across from Soumaya, in the Nuevo Polanco design mecca known as Plaza Carso, the Jumex is the first David Chipperfield project in Latin America; it’s also home to the region’s most significant contemporary art holding, run by Eugenio López Alonso, the visionary heir to the Grupo Jumex fruit juice empire. For Alonso’s money, the sawtooth roof—and the third-level skylit Galería 3 beneath it—is Jumex’s pièce de résistance, meant to “bathe the art” in natural light in a “space that is generous but not monumental.” " [see also British-designed Jumex Museum to open in Mexico City this month, Attractions Management, 14 November 2013, David Chipperfield Architects’ Museo Jumex in Mexico City to open 17 November, WAN, 13 November 2013, and watch a You Tube video Museo JUMEX by David Chipperfield Architects]
Palace Museum looking to expand and preserve China Daily, 14 November 2013
BEIJING, CHINA – "The Palace Museum, housed in the Forbidden City in Beijing, will expand its exhibition area to alleviate the pressure of huge tourist number. During the week-long National Day holiday, the museum attracted more than 710,000 visitors with the peak daily number reaching 175,000 on Oct 2, according to museum. Shan Jixiang, director of the museum, said on Wednesday he felt confident the facility could cope with more tourists in the future, with many projects under construction to meet that goal. It plans to restore the ancient Internal Affairs Department, located in the western Palace Museum, and has received approval from the World Heritage Committee. Some temporary buildings, garden houses and workplaces of research institutes will be gradually moved out of the key visiting area of the Palace Museum, Shan said."
2 Civil War museums in Va. team up for new center wtop.com, November 2013
RICHMOND, VA – "One museum has among its vast Confederate-centric collection Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's sword and the flag that flew at Robert E. Lee's headquarters. The other museum strives to tell the story of the Civil War through the eyes of Northerners and Southerners, freed and enslaved blacks, soldiers and civilians. Now the Museum of the Confederacy and the American Civil War Center are joining forces to build a $30 million museum in Richmond with the goal of creating the top Civil War museum in the nation 150 years after the deadliest conflict fought on U.S. soil.
L’Europe perd son dernier musée colonial La Presse, 31 octobre 2013
TERVUREN, BELGIQUE – « Le 30 novembre, les lourdes portes de Musée de l'Afrique centrale (MRAC) de Tervuren se fermeront jusqu'à mi-2017. Le temps nécessaire pour rénover de fond en comble et changer l'esprit de ce château construit au début du XXe siècle par le roi Léopold II. Le musée africain de Bruxelles veut désormais se débarrasser de son image de «dernier musée colonial» d'Europe. »
Art contemporain : vous irez au musée de Ouidah comme vous allez au Guggenheim Slate, 25 octobre 2013 OUIDAH, BENIN – « Promouvoir l'art contemporain, c'est le credo de la Fondation Zinsou, qui ouvre un musée à Ouidah, au Bénin. Le tout premier en Afrique. »
Architecture
Striking competition entries for Taiwanese projects revealed by LA-based firm WAN, 21 November 2013
TAICHUNG, TAIWAN – "LA-based Platform for Architecture + Research (PAR) have shared their latest competition entries with WAN. The team’s ambitious and expressive style has led to some powerful designs such as M House and Cagliari Galerie Comunale D’Art. Working with Buro Happold and Luxigon, PAR entered the Taichung Cultural Center competition this year with a 62,000 sq m concept conceived as a ‘continuous cultural twist’, blending museum exhibitions with a public library. The competition was won by SANAA. PAR also worked with SES, RLA and Buro Happold on a competition entry for the Keelung Harbor Gateway Project for which the team received an honourable mention. The scheme included the design of a cruise terminal and 70m office tower with large volumes of open space. The project was won by Neil M. Denari Architects."
Renzo Piano's addition to Kimbell Art Museum a gesture of ‘simplicity and lightness’ WAN, 27 November 2013
FORT WORTH, TX – “Today is the day that the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas will celebrate the opening of its Renzo Piano Pavilion with a showcase of paintings by Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Rembrandt and Boucher. Designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) with Kendall/Heaton Associates, the 101,130 sq ft addition to the Kimbell Art Museum is a colonnaded pavilion of ‘simplicity and lightness’. Eric M. Lee, Director of the Kimbell said: “With this expansion, for the first time, the Kimbell will be able to showcase the breadth of its small but extraordinary permanent collection while simultaneously presenting a diverse selection of changing exhibitions. We have filled the Piano Pavilion with our collection to celebrate its opening, but in a few months’ time we will preview the pavilion’s first temporary exhibition, Samurai: Armor from the Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Muller Collection.”
Landscaped meadowland conceals underground exhibition venue at Royal Lazienki Museum in Warsaw WAN, 21 November 2013
WARSAW, POLAND – "A team of Mecanoo, Michael van Gessel, Delva Landscape Architects and Jojko Nawrocki Architekci has been announced as the winner of a competition to design a Twenty-First-Century Garden with Integrated Exhibition Pavilion at the Royal Lazienki Museum in Warsaw. The competition was posted by WAN's Business Information Service (view brief). The museum is home to an abundance of 18th and 19th century buildings including the Royal Baths, a Roman-inspired theatre and a water tower, and with backing from the relevant cultural authorities the institution is looking to create a landscaped garden to be used for local environmental education, with 1,800 sq m of exhibition space beneath."
Clasped hands inspire winning design for Museum of the Human Body in Montpellier WAN, 21 November 2013
MONTPELLIER, FRANCE – "It has been a productive few months for Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). The edgy practice, whose team is split between Copenhagen and New York, has opened the Danish National Maritime Museum in Helsingør, gained funding for the Blåvand Bunker Museum in Varde, released further details of Pier 6 of Brooklyn Bridge Park in New York, and been shortlisted to design the grounds of the Natural History Museum in London. Today comes news that BIG has also been selected as the winner of a competition for the new Cité du Corps Humain (Museum of the Human Body) in Montpellier, France as part of a team including A+ Architecture, Egis, Base, L’Echo, Celsius Environment and CCVH. The competition was posted by WAN’s Business Information Service (view brief)."
Les lauréats de l’Equerre d’argent annoncés Connaissance des arts, 20 novembre 2013
FRANCE – « Le prix de l'Equerre d'Argent, du groupe de presse français Le Moniteur des travaux publics et du bâtiment, récompense chaque année depuis 1983 une équipe -maitre d'ouvrage et architecte- ayant contribué à la construction d'un bâtiment en France. »
Funding found for transformation of German WWII bunker into museum by BIG WAN, 19 November 2013
VARDE, DENMARK – "The A.P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation will be donating the necessary funding to build the Bjarke Ingels Group-designed Blåvand Bunker Museum in Varde, on the west coast of Denmark. Transforming a former German WWII bunker, within the protected shorelands of Blåvand in Denmark, the 2,500 sq m new museum will be composed of four main volumes, housing four independent institutions: a bunker museum; an amber museum; a history museum; and a special exhibitions gallery. All four elements will be housed within an exhibition landscape carved out of the dunes."
WAN, 18 November 2013
BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – "Zaha Hadid Architects’ latest artistic scheme, the mammoth Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, may have completed months ago, but images of the snaking cultural complex taken by three of the top architectural photographers in the world have only just been released. These awe-inspiring photographs by Iwan Baan, Helene Binet and Hufton + Crow demonstrate the raw beauty and power in Hadid’s scheme in Azerbaijan, a characteristically white development built for the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. The cultural centre bears the name of the former President of Azerbaijan (1993-2003) and is run by a foundation established in his memory, ‘actively participating in building a new society and contributing to the social and economic development of the country’ through fields such as education, culture, sports and science."
Team chosen for 13-acre Zaryadye Park Diller Scofidio + Renfro-led consortium wins competition for new Moscow Park WAN, 12 November 2013
MOSCOW, RUSSIA – "A consortium led by New York-based Diller Scofidio + Renfro has been announced as the winning team in a competition to design a major new park in Moscow. The competition brief - published by WAN’s Business Information Service - requested architecture and landscaping design concepts for a contemporary park and high quality, year-round infrastructure for the city. In early summer the competition organisers announced that 6 of the 90 consortia that entered phase one of the competition had been shortlisted. These included: Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Hargreaves Associates, Citymakers LLC; Gustafson Porter, Sauerbruch Hutton, ARUP; MVRDV, Atrium, Anouk Vogel, Arcadis; TPO RESERVE, MAXWAN, Buro Happold, Latz + Partner; Turenscape, AnOtherArchitect; and West 8, Bernaskoni."
WAN, 7 November 2013
ATHENS, GA – "The State Botanical Garden at the University of Georgia has developed both a vision and a mission for the new Children’s Garden. The vision, conceptualised by MKW + ASSOCIATES with VS&R Ltd responsible for exhibition design, is to create a natural world of discovery and joy. The team's mission is to inspire wonder, love and stewardship of nature through creative learning, adventure and play for children of all ages. The three guiding principles that have been followed throughout the design process are: -Nature as Teacher -Connecting with Nature through arts, science and literacy education -Healthy Foods, Healthy Body, Healthy Communities, Healthy Earth The new Children’s Garden at the State Botanical Garden replaces the existing parking area and service drives with a unique new outdoor learning centre for children, families and all visitors."
Alan Cronshaw tests out Adam Richards Architects' renovation of a village museum WAN, 4 November 2013
UK – "Ditchling, the setting for the BBC series A Very English Village, is not necessarily the place you expect to find a bold new piece of museum design. But in September 2013, when Adam Richards Architects' refurbishment of Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft was opened to the public, this small village nestled behind the South Downs became a destination on the contemporary architectural map. The addition to the village is appropriately highly crafted inside and out, the limited budget of around £1.1m ingeniously used to re-invigorate existing buildings and add new elements."
Steven Holl Wins Competition for Qingdao Culture and Art Center Archdaily, 30 October 2013
CHINA – "Steven Holl Architects has been selected as winner, besting OMA and Zaha Hadid Architects, in an invited competition for the new Culture and Art Center of Qingdao City. Located in the heart of Qingdao’s new extension, which is planned for a population of 700,000, the two million-square-foot winning proposal features a conglomerate of four art museums situated amongst a landscape of reflecting pools and gardens which are all connected by a continuous “Light Loop” that moves visitors throughout the site."
Technology
Twitter tips and tricks for your arts organisation – advice from the experts All the best comments and insights from our last live chat on Twitter use, abuse and best practice in the arts The Guardian, 28 November 2013
UK – "Develop your audience, and focus on them: One of the worst symptoms of this is a public-facing arts organisation, such as a theatre venue or gallery, tweeting about sector issues that aren't of interest to the people who matter – the audience. It's a great way to shed followers and never gain them in the first place. The starting point for tweets should always be what's relevant to your audience, which might not always be what your organisation views as important. That's not to say you can't turn the latter into something your audiences will enjoy and share; it just requires a bit of thought first."
Visualizing the Tate's Collection: What Open Data Makes Possible Museum 2.0 blog, 27 November 2013
USA – "Detail on distribution of artworks in the Tate collection by birthdate of artists, visualized by Florian Krautli. What does "big data" look like for museums? Collecting institutions have enormous stacks of data about the artifacts and artworks in their stores. Several museums around the world have worked hard to make their data accessible by providing free access to datasets, applying Creative Commons licenses to digital content, or creating APIs (application programming interfaces) that allow programmers to build their own software on the museum's data. Last month, the Tate joined the party when they opened up their collection database to the world on GitHub, a website where programmers collaborate on projects. The Tate is providing metadata about artworks and artists in its collection--over 70,000 artworks in all. The data is in a computer language called .JSON that is commonly used for data sharing and processing. Even if you don't speak database, it's worth seeing how the Tate is presenting their collection to programmers on GitHub."
Explore Canada's natural and historic treasures with Street View for Google Maps Parks Canada, 20 November 2013
CANADA – "In 2013 Parks Canada and Google began a two-year collaboration to document many of Canada's most iconic national heritage places through the unique panoramic lens of Google Street View. The first year's field season began in May at the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site in NS and concluded at Pacific Rim National Park Reserve in BC in September. Google teams hiked along trails and through campgrounds, drove park roads, explored historic sites and even went inside notable buildings, all while photographing them as 360 degree panoramas destined for publication within Google Street View. Now, after a very productive summer of work, both Parks Canada and Google are pleased to announce that you can go explore them for yourself! " [see also Canada's parks, historic sites now featured on Google Street View, CTV News, 20 November 2013]
Scottish Ten produce 3D Sydney Opera House model The Scotsman, 14 November 2013
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – "A landmark Scottish heritage project has delivered a precise, 3D model of Australia’s most famous building as part of the Opera House’s 40th Anniversary. Exact to within 6 millimetres, the Scottish Ten 3D model provides vital conservation and maintenance data as the Opera House enters a decade of renewal. In April 2013, a team of digital-documentation experts from the Scottish Ten project took more than 800 laser scans of the interior and exterior of the Opera House, and 56,000 digital photos, documenting 13 billion measurable points on the structure using cutting-edge, laser-mapping technologies. The Scottish Ten is a five-year collaboration between specialists in heritage digital documentation at Historic Scotland, experts in 3D visualisation at The Glasgow School of Art’s Digital Design Studio and not-for-profit digital heritage organisation CyArk."
Museum of the near-future: Smithsonian plans to print 3-D models of artifacts The StarPhoenix, 13 November 2013
WASHINGTON, DC – "With most of its 137 million objects kept behind the scenes or in a faraway museum, the Smithsonian Institution is launching a new 3-D scanning and printing initiative to make more of its massive collection accessible to schools, researchers and the public worldwide. A small team has begun creating 3-D models of some key objects representing the breadth of the collection at the world's largest museum complex. Some of the first 3-D scans include the Wright brothers' first airplane, Amelia Earhart's flight suit, casts of President Abraham Lincoln's face during the Civil War and a Revolutionary War gunboat. Less familiar objects include a former slave's horn, a missionary's gun from the 1800s and a woolly mammoth fossil from the Ice Age. They are pieces of history some people may hear about but rarely see or touch."
Club Innovation & Culture, 12 novembre 2013
SAN FRANCISCO, ETATS-UNIS – « La création artistique sur iPad, telle est la tendance impulsée par David Hockney, grand maître britannique de la peinture. Un nouveau « mouvement pictural » reconnu par le De Young Fine Arts Museum de San Francisco dans une grande exposition. »
Le Musée Van Gogh imprime des œuvres emblématiques en 3D Cultural Engineering Group, 7 novembre 2013
AMSTERDAM, PAYS-BAS – « Le Musée Van Gogh d’Amsterdam a soutenu un projet unique qui utilise la technologie d’impression 3D développée par Fujifilm, pour faire des reproductions quasi parfaites des œuvres célèbres de Vincent Van Gogh. »
Art and Culture
Emily Carr painting sells for $3 million at Toronto auction The Crazy Stair becomes most valuable piece by female Canadian artist, while sketch by Tom Thomson sells for $1.7M and Frederick Banting work for $58,500. thestar.com, 28 November 2013
TORONTO, ON – "A rare Emily Carr painting became the fourth most expensive piece of Canadian art when it fetched $2.9 million in a Toronto auction Thursday night. Carr’s The Crazy Stair (The Crooked Staircase) stole the show at the 2013 Heffel fall auction, also becoming the most valuable piece ever by a female Canadian artist. Painted around 1930 in Carr’s “mature” period, the work displays a wooden totem figure tucked in a lush Pacific landscape. The framed canvas was kept behind a red velvet rope in the packed ballroom at the downtown Park Hyatt hotel." [see also Emily Carr painting sale sets auction record, CBC News, 29 November 2013]
Saint Nicholas exhibition opens in Turkey CCTV.com, China, 28 November 2013
TURKEY – "Uncovering the true identity of Santa Claus now. With Christmas just a month away, images of Santa Claus dressed in red and white can be seen around the globe. But the man who inspired this, Saint Nicholas of Myra, isn’t as well known. It’s a far cry from the popular image of Santa Claus. But these paintings and sculptures at the Saint Nicholas Church in Demre, southwest Turkey are more likely to resemble the real Santa Claus than the red and white image we have of him today." [see also the You Tube video Saint Nicholas exhibition opens in Turkey]
ROA Gets Up With New Animals In Tow New Work from ROA in Austria, Canada, Great Britain, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the US. The Huffington Post, 27 November 2013
WORLD – "Today we visit with street artist, urban naturalist, and globe trotter ROA to see what walls he has been climbing since we last checked in with him and his curious traveling circus of animals. Alternating between the cuddly and the killing, the endoskelton and the excrement, the pugnacious, playful and the putrefying, this Belgian world citizen is no romantic with his subjects and he isn't asking for you to be either necessarily. If you consider the brutal natural and man-made world that animals have to survive in and the ruthless depravity of humans throughout the ages (including right now), perhaps ROA's depictions of these regionally based creatures are a healthy counterbalance to the fictional storytelling we customarily see in large public depictions of animals. Rotting Big Bird, anyone?"
Canadian Heritage, 25 November 2013
HAINES JUNCTION, YUKON – "Ryan Leef, Member of Parliament (Yukon), on behalf of the Honourable Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, today announced support for the Da Kų Cultural Centre. This funding will strengthen the Centre’s care and management of fragile artifacts and archival records. “The Da Kų Cultural Centre is an important part of the local community that celebrates the cultural contributions of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations,” said Mr. Leef. “Our Government is proud to invest in the sustainability of local cultural institutions like this one, because of the role they play in preserving and showcasing our shared history.” "
Indigenous art flies around the world ABC News, Australia, 25 November 2013
AUSTRALIA – "A new piece of Indigenous art is taking to the skies on a Qantas plane to promote Australian culture around the world. The team behind the airborne art project hopes it will prompt greater recognition and curiosity towards Aboriginal art. An ochre canvas painted by the late Indigenous artist Paddy Bedford was selected to inspire the fourth flying artwork commissioned by Qantas. The visually striking aircraft was shown off to a team of collaborators including staff from the National Gallery of Australia in a Canberra hanger."
The New York Times, 23 November 2913
NEW YORK, USA – "FOR many education advocates, the arts are a panacea: They supposedly increase test scores, generate social responsibility and turn around failing schools. Most of the supporting evidence, though, does little more than establish correlations between exposure to the arts and certain outcomes. Research that demonstrates a causal relationship has been virtually nonexistent. A few years ago, however, we had a rare opportunity to explore such relationships when the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opened in Bentonville, Ark. Through a large-scale, random-assignment study of school tours to the museum, we were able to determine that strong causal relationships do in fact exist between arts education and a range of desirable outcomes."
Looted treasures, patient sleuthing The Globe and Mail, 14 November 2013
NETHERLANDS – "The astonishing billion-dollar cache of Nazi looted art treasures made public last week in Germany underscores the stark contrasts among European countries and their policies on Second World War-era restitution. Certain countries, such as the Netherlands, have proactively sought to restore works to their rightful owners. Others, including Germany itself, have opted to download the issue to provincial and municipal governments, which lack the resources to properly address the issue. Whereas the Netherlands formed a national committee in 2001 to review, revise and facilitate the treatment of restitution claims, Germany has yet to implement a national policy on the matter. So, while it’s upsetting that German authorities sat on the Gurlitt cache for nearly two years, it’s also not surprising."
Germany moves to identify Munich collector’s paintings The Globe and Mail, 11 November 2013
GERMANY – "Bowing to pressure from Jewish groups and art experts, the German government made public details of paintings in a recovered trove of some 1,400 pieces of art, many of which may have been stolen by the Nazis, and said it would put together a task force to speed identification. The German government said in a written statement that about 590 of the pieces could have been stolen by the Nazis. In a surprise move, it quickly featured some 25 of those works on the website http://www.lostart.de and said it would be regularly updated." [see also the videos: Cornelius Gurlitt, who hid 1,400 art works for decades, was a tragic figure, cousin says, The Globe and Mail, 11 November 2013 and Art expert presses for quick return of Nazi looted art, The Globe and Mail, 12 November 2013]
Creative Economies, Creative Cities, Innovation and Urban Planning, Cultural Tourism
The creative boom in empty buildings BBC News, 26 November 2013
UK – "For most people, empty shops and offices are an eyesore and unwelcome evidence of an economic downturn. But for artists, desperate for a cheap place to work and exhibit, they are a godsend. Across the UK, more and more grassroots artists, designers and performers are taking advantage of empty buildings by moving in, with low or no rent, while landlords wait for new commercial tenants or wait for developments to begin. The likes of Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas started their careers by staging shows in such spaces in the late 1980s. Now Dan Thompson, who runs the Empty Shops Network, says the activity has "really taken off" in the past couple of years. "It's gone from being a fringe, slightly edgy activity to something very mainstream," he says. "It feels like a golden age for the arts with so much going on." "
Hull to be UK City of Culture 2017 BBC News , 20 November 2013
HULL, UK – "Hull has been named the UK's next City of Culture, beating Leicester, Dundee and Swansea Bay to the right to hold the title in 2017. Hull, known for being the home of poet Philip Larkin, the Ferens gallery and the Hull Truck theatre, will follow the 2013 City of Culture, Londonderry. The UK government chooses a new destination every four years, with the aim of helping tourism and the economy. Hull council leader Stephen Brady said winning was "a real game-changer".
NCC board adopts new Greenbelt plan that puts natural environment first Ottawa Citizen, 20 November 2013
OTTAWA, ON — "The National Capital Commission’s board has unanimously approved a new master plan for the Greenbelt — a vision that promises to make maintaining the natural environment the No. 1 priority within the 20,600-hectare swath of forests, wetlands, farms and streams that encircles Ottawa’s urban core. “This is a cornerstone of our planning framework,” NCC CEO Jean-François Trépanier said Wednesday as the plan was formally approved. He predicted the new master plan “will influence the capital region, and Ottawa in particular, for years to come.” "
Paris plans Europe's largest exhibition park to open in 2025 meetpie.com, 19 November 2013
PARIS, FRANCE – "The owners of the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris have outlined an ambitious €500 million development plan, which would create the largest exhibition park in Europe, opening in 2025. The transformation of the site, which will require 10 years of work from 2015 (without closing pavilions or disrupting activity), will be overseen by four firms of international architects."
Plan for Liverpool Cains Brewery Village approved BBC News, 19 November 2013
LIVERPOOL, UK – "Plans for the £150m transformation of a former Liverpool brewery into a major tourist venue, creating 800 jobs, have been approved. Cains Brewery, which had produced beer in Stanhope Street for more than 150 years, was wound up in June with debts totalling more than £8m. A separate firm, run by the owners of Cains, submitted plans to redevelop the site to Liverpool City Council. The redevelopment is "really good news" for the city, MP Louise Ellman said. Work on the Cains Brewery Village - housing a hotel, cinema, apartments, parking, artisan food market and spa - will start within a year, owners said."
Nepal government drafting master plan to fully tap its tourism potential Global Times, 17 November 2013
NEPAL – "The Nepalese government has been working to draft a 10-year National Tourism Master Plan, supposedly the country's tourism roadmap that starts by the beginning of 2014, officials at Nepals Tourism Ministry said Sunday. The master plan (2014- 2024) mainly comprises of three strategies, development, promotion and marketing. "The main objective of this master plan is to make tourism a backbone of Nepal's economy which has rich culture, nature and adventure among others," Mohan Krishna Sapkota, spokesperson of Tourism Ministry told Xinhua. The master plan will also incorporate "vision 2020," which the government expects to receive 2 million foreign tourists each year by 2020. The vision also has an ambitious target to increase employment in tourism sector to 1 million by then."
Urban Planning and the DNA of the City WAN, 12 November 2013
CALIFORNIA, USA – "A city looks and feels the way it does because of human intention. Early civilizations built their settlements next to waterways, designing them to accommodate this resource accessibility and their own survival. During the beginning of the industrial revolution, cities were planned with ever-evolving rules ensuring that city streets were wide enough to accommodate the full turn of a horse and carriage. In this way, the values of the people were encoded into the very DNA of the city. A complex built environment can be reduced to three basic elements: links along which travel can occur, nodes representing the intersections where two or paths cross and public spaces form, and buildings where most human activities take place. The functionalities of place are all defined by rules and procedures, which make up the core design vocabulary of a place."
An English country garden proposed to bridge the Thames by Heatherwick and Arup WAN, 6 November 2013
LONDON, UK – "A period of public consultation has begun for a new Garden Bridge proposed to cross London’s River Thames. Designed by Thomas Heatherwick with Dan Pearson Studio and engineers Arup, the concept has been developed in response to a call from Transport for London to enhance pedestrian links across the river. When original proposals surfaced in June 2013, Heatherwick said: “With its rich heritage of allotments, gardens, heathland, parks and squares, London is one of the greenest cities in the world. In this context, we are excited to have been selected by Transport for London (TfL) to explore the opportunity of a pedestrian river crossing. The idea is simple; to connect north and south London with a garden.” This is not the first time that the designer has been inspired by the rich horticultural heritage of England’s capital as is most explicitly shown in his UK Pavilion for the Shanghai Expo in 2010."
Ten circular elements combine to create see-through timber maze in Copenhagen WAN, 4 November 2013
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK – "The Dutch design firm FABRIC (Amsterdam) has built a pavilion in the Kongens Have (ed. King's Garden) in Copenhagen. The design is named ‘Trylletromler’, the Danish word for zoetrope. This 19th century device activates an impression of movement within a still image. The pavilion is a result of international design competition issued by the Danish Akademisk Arkitektforening early this year, which was won by FABRIC. While remaining removable the design had to be realised within a very limited budget. FABRIC therefore introduced a new spatial concept in the royal garden in Copenhagen by stretching the understanding of the ‘pavilion’ towards the most elementary architectural element in garden design: the fence."
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture-led team wins Astana Expo 2017 competition WAN, 1 November 2013
ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN – "A team comprising Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG) as design architect, Werner Sobek and PositivEnergy Practice (PEP) have been announced as the winners of a high profile international competition to masterplan the EXPO 2017 site in Astana, Kazakhstan. The two-phase project involves the construction of a comprehensive venue for the global event and a legacy phase which will transform this site into a ‘first Third Industrial Revolution community’. The winning proposal ties in with the overarching theme of the expo which is ‘Future Energy’ in an effort to engage visitors in developmental discussions about alternative sources of energy and sustainable methods of transportation."
|
|||||
|
|
Creating Cultural Capital |
||||
|
|
|||||
