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When Will Belize Have A National Museum? (video) 7newsbelize.com, January 27, 2015
BELIZE — "In Belize, it's highly unlikely to find 'a trip to the museum' on someone's list of things to do or places to go. Well, NICH along with other stakeholders are trying to change that by drafting a master plan to construct a state of the art National Museum. Today a forum was held at the House of Culture to discuss key elements and features that can inspire Belizeans to visit. A master plan of the museum will be presented to NICH by the Lord Cultural Resources organization in September. If all goes as planned this time around - the Museum will be built in Belmopan on ten acres set aside by the Belmopan City Council - since the last plot - beside social security was sold right before the 2008 elections."
The Museum of Belize is currently located in Belize City. The National Institute of Culture and Heritage (NICH) is planning a new facility to be located in the national capital of Belmopan to enable the NICH to better tell the story of Belize. Lord Cultural Resources has been contracted to develop a Master Plan for the new facility.
On tour: Magna Carta coming to Canada As part of the Magna Carta’s 800th anniversary celebrations one of the surviving copies of the “Great Charter” will be exhibited in four Canadian cities this year Toronto Star, 15 January 2015
CANADA — "The Magna Carta is coming to Canada this summer. From June until the end of 2015, the “Great Charter” and its companion document, England’s Charter of the Forest, will be on exhibit in four Canadian cities. Dating back to 1217, two years after King John put his seal on the original Magna Carta, the Charter of the Forest was intended to restore people’s traditional rights of access to common land to graze livestock, build animal enclosures and collect firewood. It also removed the death penalty for poaching wildlife, such as venison, which was considered property of the crown, and leveled fines and prison sentences, instead. The Charter of the Forest’s aim was also to preserve common lands, woodland and countryside, by setting limits for its use in order to protect England’s natural resources.
Lord Cultural Resources has been engaged by Magna Carta Canada to develop, design, oversee fabrication and act as tour manager for the Magna Carta traelling exhibition. Commencing in Summer 2015 the tour will visit select venues across Canada.
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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.
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Our Clients and Lord Cultural Resources in the News
Sikh MP Tim Uppal says there is ‘so much we can learn’ from the Holocaust National Post, 28 January 2015
OTTAWA, ON — "A man in a blue turban stood among thousands in toques, fur hats and yarmulkes in Poland on Tuesday to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Tim Uppal was there as the head of the official Canadian delegation for the commemoration ceremony, a role in keeping with his post as Canada’s minister of state for multiculturalism. But Mr. Uppal has championed the importance of Holocaust remembrance for much longer, an unusual role for a Sikh Member of Parliament from an Edmonton-area riding with only a few hundred Jews. “There is so much we can learn from what happened here,” he said over the phone from Krakow, ahead of his visit to the camp where an estimated 1.1 million were killed during the Second World War. “And you can take those lessons and apply it to the present.” Toronto Conservative MP Mark Adler lives those lessons daily; his father Abram survived internment at Auschwitz and made his home in Toronto after the war."
Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages Shelly Glover and Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird, along with Minister of State (Multiculturalism) Tim Uppal announced on May 12, 2014, the awarding of the National Holocaust Monument National Design Competition to the team led by Lord Cultural Resources. The National Holocaust Monument, established through the National Holocaust Monument Act by the Government of Canada, will ensure a permanent, national symbol that will honour and commemorate the victims of the Holocaust and recognize Canadian survivors. It will stand in Ottawa, ON. The multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural team includes architect Daniel Libeskind, Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky, Quebec-based landscape architect Claude Cormier and University of Toronto Holocaust scholar Doris Bergen.
Smithsonian considers London outpost in Olympic Park BBC News, January 27, 2015
LONDON, UK — "The world's largest museum and research institution could be heading to London as part of a multi-million dollar refit of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The Smithsonian in Washington, DC, has been asked to open an exhibition space on the 4.5 acre site showing treasures from its 19 museums and art galleries. Its 137 million artefacts include some iconic objects, like Dorothy's ruby red slippers in the Wizard of Oz. The focus in London would be America's history and contributions to science. John McCarter, chairman of the Board of Regents, the Smithsonian's governing body, revealed as much, although he says no details have been finalised. "This is an opportunity for the Smithsonian to move into a global context and to tell America's story," he says." [see also Smithsonian accepts Mayor of London's invitation to launch satellite on British soil, The Art Newspaper, 27 January 2015]
Lord Cultural Resources worked for the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture leading the national public engagement process, the establishment of general museum and facility requirements, the development of a functional strategy, collections analysis, preparation for collections storage and operations planning. The firm also provided content development and communications services as part of the winning team of Ralph Appelbaum Associates for the exhibition design for the new museum. Moreover, the firm was engaged for concept development for the Resource Library. Lord Cultural Resources was also contracted to complete interpretive planning and concept design services for the new exhibition for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian.
Budapest Transport Museum Building to Regains Its Original Splendour hungarytoday.hu, 21 January 2015
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY — "The building of the Hungarian Museum of Science, Technology and Transport is to regain its original form under the Liget Budapest project, the scheme encompassing the comprehensive development and renewal of the capital’s largest park, Városliget. Due to the beginning of construction work, the museum will be closed to visitors for the next three years starting from 15 April, Liget Budapest’s project leaders disclosed on Wednesday. The museum is to be reconstructed according to original plans and will open in spring 2018, the statement reads. The institution will not only regain its original splendour but also experience the redevelopment of museum functions, exhibition spaces and visitor reception areas and subterranean exhibition areas will also be established." [see also Museum quarter takes further shape, The Budapest Times, 18 January 2015]
Lordculture has been assisting Varosliget in planning of the Museum of Ethnography and the New National Gallery & Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art. In November 2013, Laure Colliex, Carolyne Krummenacker and Aline Mandai from Lordculture presented at the international workshop on Budapest's Liget cultural quarter planned for the City Park.
Dahesh Museum Of Art To Reopen In New Location At 178 East 64th Street, New York Museum Celebrates 20th Anniversary with Move to East Side Townhouse prnewswire.com, 20 January 2015
NEWY YORK, USA — "The Dahesh Museum of Art today announced that it has selected a townhouse at 178 East 64th Street as its new headquarters and exhibition space. This coincides with the 20th Anniversary of the Dahesh, America's only institution dedicated to collecting and exhibiting European and American academic art of the 19th and 20th centuries. The five-story townhouse has been selected for its convenient location and spacious gallery-like parlor. The Dahesh is currently consulting with architects, with an opening date to be announced later this year. The new home for the Dahesh Museum was built in 1899 and has a limestone and brownstone facade. The building is 20-feet wide, comprising of approximately 7,000 square feet of space. Original details include two fireplaces with imported French Louis XV marble mantles and a marble foyer. The new location also includes a beautiful finished outdoor space of Italian stone."
The Dahesh Museum of Art, seeking to relocate and expand, engaged Lord Cultural Resources to assess the impact and benefits to the community and the financial feasibility of a proposed move. We recommended both programming and operational strategies reflecting the positive impact of the move. The Dahesh Museum relocated to its new home in 2003.
Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Designed by Antoine Predock Architect architectmagazine.com, 19 January 2015
WINNIPEG, MB — "“Aw, that was just showing off,” says Antoine Predock, FAIA. He’s talking about a stunt, made famous in a 1986 photograph he’s sometimes used as a lecture slide, in which he slalomed down the snow-covered roof of a building he designed in Taos, N.M.—not far from Albuquerque, where his practice has been based for some 50 years. “I’m a skier,” he explains, “and I spent a lot of decades of my life going off the marked trails.” The photograph captures a paradox in Predock’s work: On the one hand, the enthusiasm of this lifelong skier—and motorcyclist, and diver—for the kinetic, for technologically enhanced speed, and for perception in motion; and on the other hand, a deep feeling for geology, for the stillness of mountains and deserts. Most notably, perhaps, there’s an enthusiasm for architecture that—with stony materiality and eremic geometry—registers as landscape. (Or at least as something that it would be great to ski on, weather permitting.) That off-piste trajectory also reflects the singularly trailblazing-but-backcountry path of this regionally rooted architect who—despite a 1960s stint in New York and studies at Columbia University (not to mention a 1985 Rome Prize, a 2006 AIA Gold Medal, and a 2007 Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt lifetime achievement award)—has largely escaped the categorizations and approbations found on the coasts."
Last-minute museum trip inspires Winnipeg Free Press, 22 January 2015
WINNIPEG, MB — "WHEN Hillary Clinton mentioned her desire to see the Canadian Museum for Human Rights during her speech Wednesday afternoon, the wheels started spinning furiously to make it happen. The apparently off-the-cuff remark could have been a result of a conversation the former U.S. first lady had with Gail Asper, the driving force behind the museum, during a VIP meet-and-greet prior to the luncheon at the RBC Convention Centre. Upon wrapping up the sold-out event, Clinton was whisked out the door and taken directly to the CMHR before boarding a flight to Saskatoon."
Lord Cultural Resources has been working with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights since 2000 when the idea was first imagined by the late Izzy Asper. A multi-disciplinary Lord Cultural Resources team led by Co-President Gail Lord helped The Asper Foundation to develop the concept and to craft the three-volume Master Plan and business plan that went to the Prime Minister. We provided the space program and assisted with the international architectural competition that selected Antoine Predock to design the building. In 2009-10, Lord Cultural Resources organized and facilitated the cross Canada consultation process that gathered human rights stories from thousands of Canadians in 19 cities. We have continued to provide advisory services to Board and senior management on all aspects of implementation, content and the inauguration.
Bjarke ingels presents paris' europa city project in new video design boom, 13 January 2015
PARIS, FRANCE — "Offering a mix of retail, culture and leisure facilities, paris’ ‘europa city‘ is conceived as a hybrid project that combines urban form with expansive landscaping. In order to explain the 800,000 square meter scheme, creative agency squint/opera joined up with the project’s architect bjarke ingels, who takes viewers through the design with the help of a green screen and photoreal 3D and 2D graphics. See designboom’s previous coverage of the development, which is expected to open in 2020, here. ‘The programs of europa city are organized along an internal boulevard with a mix of retail, entertainment and cultural programs on both sides‘, explains BIG. ‘The boulevard forms a continuous loop traveling through six different areas themed as the various regions of europe. The central boulevard becomes the rambla, the regent street and the champs-élysées of europa city.’ Watch the videos below to find out more about the vast development."
Lordculture – the European company of Lord Cultural Resources – is providing assistance to Immochan to run the architecture competition for Europa City. Lordculture has prepared the brief and the tender documents, identified architectural teams to be invited to the competition and is preparing to make the final selection. The development of a detailed space and facilities strategy is also included in Lordculture’s services at this stage of the project. Lordculture will assist Immochan to finalize the strategic positioning of the cultural components of Europa City, the cultural program and the related business model. Our team will also be in charge of identifying and starting negotiations with cultural institutions in France and internationally who may be hosted or develop cultural programs at Europa City.
Archaeologists Recover Artifacts Under Museum Construction Site in Philadelphia Beneath the construction site of the planned Museum of the American Revolution, archaeologists have recovered thousands of pre- and post-Revolutionary War artifacts. popular-archaeology.com, 7 January 2015
PHILADELPHIA, PA — "Slated for completion and opening in 2017, construction has already begun at the site of the planned Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. But before work could begin, a team of archaeologists and other experts got busy systematically excavating and recording everything they could find beneath the surface where the museum will stand before construction work effectively wipes out what material history remains preserved below it. Historic structural remains and tens of thousands of artifacts were uncovered before the task was finally finished on October 24th, 2014 until the Spring of 2015, when further archaeological work will begin in a different location beneath the site. In all, they excavated a well and twelve brick-lined privies yielding a motherlode of finds."
Lord Cultural Resources provided management consulting, facility planning and public programming services for the Museum of the American Revolution project.
$50-Million Art Gift Kicks Off L.A. County Museum Campaign philanthropy.com/blogs, 21 January 27, 2015
LOS ANGELES, CA — "Los Angeles County Museum of Art trustee Jane Nathanson and her husband, Marc, have given the institution eight 20th- and 21st-century works collectively worth an estimated $50-million, the Los Angeles Times writes. The donation includes pieces by Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Julian Schnabel, and other major modern artists. The museum also announced on Tuesday a gift of four works from Lynda and Stewart Resnick that span from the Renaissance to the 19th century. The couple declined to estimate a value for the works. The donations launch a campaign led by Ms. Nathanson and Ms. Resnick, also a museum trustee, to encourage collectors to donate works to the institution ahead of its 50th anniversary in April."
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) commissioned Lord Cultural Resources to plan the strategy for its expansion, and to develop a detailed Functional Program for its long-range master plan, aimed at unifying its architectural statement in Los Angeles’ Hancock Park. In 2008 LACMA opened the Eli and Edythe Broad Museum of Contemporary Art, the first phase of the expansion planned by Lord Cultural Resources. The design by internationally renowned architect Renzo Piano follows our Facility Strategy and Functional Program faithfully.
First Full View of The Broad as Final Scaffolding Removed Today on Grand Avenue thebroad.org, 31 December 2015
LOS ANGELES, CA — "The much-anticipated fall 2015 opening of The Broad museum on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles moved closer with the removal today of the final scaffolding from the exterior facade of the museum and the revelation for the first time of the full "veil" wrapping the building. The exterior veil is a structural exoskeleton comprised of 2,500 fiberglass reinforced concrete panels and 650 tons of steel that drape over The Broad and appear to lift up at the south and north corners to define two street-level entrances. At the center of the Grand Avenue side of the veil is the architectural feature known as "the oculus" -- an intense indentation of the veil into the building."
Lord Cultural Resources was initially hired to work with the design team to refine the space program, review the design, and comment on the museological standards for the building. Based upon this work and the company’s ability to deliver highly integrated services, Lord Cultural Resources also prepared a comprehensive Strategic Institutional Plan that took the museum to opening day on November 11, 2012.
Museums
Museum of Wisconsin Art's finds success with new 'short story' approach to exhibits jsonline.com, 28 January 2015
WEST BEND, WI — "Sometimes walking into a major exhibition at an art museum can feel a little like trying to take in "War and Peace" on a lunch hour. There's simply too much to take in. Except, in the case of an exhibit, the problem can be compounded. Unlike a book that unfurls word after word, an art show can offer an overwhelming array of choices. Do I look at this or that? Do I linger over a few works or scan the whole thing? Do I read the text labels or not? Laurie Winters, who organized the respected but vast "Biedermeier: The Invention of Simplicity" furniture and decorative arts exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum in 2006, among many other shows, is now the director of the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend. Her thinking about the way art exhibits should be designed has changed."
At Long Last, Peru Gets a National Museum hyperallergic.com, 28 January 2015
PERU — "Machu Picchu might be Peru’s most famous tourist destination, but the Inca ruins are just one of many cherished historical sites — from the Nazca Lines to Huaca Pucllana — that have survived since ancient times, along with countless precious artifacts. Strangely enough, despite its rich cultural and artistic history, the country hasn’t had a large-scale national museum until now. Earlier this month, Peruvian Culture Minister Diana Alvarez Calderon announced that construction will soon begin on the Museo Nacional del Perù, according to Agencia de Noticias Andina. In an earlier interview with El Comercio, Alvarez Calderon explained that the plan to finallybuild one came about in conversation with President Ollanta Humala, who wanted to create an Amazon Museum in Iquitos. “I told him that an Amazonian museum is great museum of Peru was still missing.” "
Navarra’s new museum gets the royal treatment King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain open region’s first Modern art space The Art Newspaper, 27 January 2015
NAVARRA, SPAIN — "The Spanish Royal Family opened the Museo Universidad de Navarra, the first Modern art museum in the autonomous community of Navarra in northern Spain, on 22 January. In his speech, King Felipe VI remarked on the museum’s importance as a “magnificent example” of culture, art, patronage and service to society. He specifically praised the two collectors, María Josefa Huarte and José Ortiz-Echagüe, and the museum’s architect, RafaelMoneo.According to a press statement, the museum “was born out of a need tohouse and conserve two art collections”: the photography collection of the University of Navarra–which comprises around 14,000 photographs and 100,000 negatives from the 19th century to today, and includes the photography collection of the Spanish entrepreneur and photographer José Ortiz-Echagüe–and María Josefa Huarte’s Modern art collection, which she donated to the university in 2008. It includes around 50 paintings and sculptures by artists such as Tàpies, Picasso, Kandinsky, Rothko and Chillida."
Dundee's V&A Museum to be given another £6.5m from council BBC News, 26 January 2015
DUNDEE, SCOTLAND — "Dundee's V&A Museum has been given a further multi-million pound cash injection. The city council has agreed to commit another £6.5m after it emerged construction costs had almost doubled. The museum was originally due to be built on the city's waterfront at a cost of £45m but it has since increased to £80m. Last week the Scottish government pledged an extra £10m towards the construction project. And earlier it was announced that it was to receive £500,000 from the UK government's Coastal Communities Fund. The museum is among 27 projects in coastal towns and villages in Scotland which will benefit from a total of £9.58m of funding. Dundee City Council believes the project will bring huge economic benefits."
Why museums hide masterpieces away In major museums around the world, some truly great works of art are hidden away from public view. What are they – and why can’t we see them? Kimberly Bradley finds out. BBC News, 23 January 2015
WORLD — "The numbers don’t lie. At New York’s Museum of Modern Art, 24 of 1,221 works by Pablo Picasso in the institution’s permanent collection can currently be seen by visitors. Just one of California conceptual artist Ed Ruscha’s 145 pieces is on view. Surrealist Joan Miró? Nine out of 156 works. The walls of the Tate, the Met, the Louvre or MoMA may look perfectly well-hung, but the vast majority of art belonging to the world’s top art institutions (and in many countries, their taxpayers) is at any time hidden from public view in temperature-controlled, darkened, and meticulously organised storage facilities. Overall percentages paint an even more dramatic picture: the Tate shows about 20% of its permanent collection. The Louvre shows 8%, the Guggenheim a lowly 3% and the Berlinische Galerie – a Berlin museum whose mandate is to show, preserve and collect art made in the city – 2% of its holdings. These include approximately 6,000 sculptures and paintings, 80,000 photographs, and 15,000 prints by artists including George Grosz and Hannah Höch."
Rick Steves: Museums that remember the cost of war In Europe, there are some great museums that describe the history of war, without celebrating the battles Toronto Star, 23 January 2015
EUROPE — "With major anniversaries for the First World War and the Second World War coming this year, I’ve been thinking back to my recent stay in the Rhineland. A monument below my hotel window remembering Germany’s war dead still had an unused panel. My hunch is that it’ll never be used; Germany, mighty today without the help of its military, has a profound distaste for wars. As so many nations have, it rose by the sword . . . and then fell by it. All over Europe, there is little stomach for war. The motto of one military museum I visited in Vienna says it all: “War is something for museums.” And many European countries have followed this advice, creating fascinating exhibits about their military heritage."
Can a Massive Museum Expansion Get Texans Walking? What sets the expansion of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, apart is one of its secondary goals: to make the Museum District a real, walkable neighborhood. citylab.com, 22 January, 2015
HOUSTON, TX — "Four years from now, Houston's Museum District may be completely unrecognizable. The recently unveiled plans for an expansion of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, include a dramatic, glowing new museum building as well as a new center for the Glassell School of Art, both designed by architect Steven Holl. The $450 million expansion for the MFAH will cost well more than Frank Gehry's $350 million subterranean extension for the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Houston plan isn't as pricey as Peter Zumthor's $650 million stem-to-stern reboot of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, but it's in the ballpark. Houston's plan might be more dramatic, though. And so far, it's on surer footing." [see also More details on the Museum of Fine Arts Houston campus expansion, archinect.com, 16 January, 2015]
Ogunquit Museum of American Art looks forward seacoastonline.com, 22 January, 2015
OGUNQUIT, ME — "The Ogunquit Museum of American Art had a big year in 2014, with large increases in attendance, excellent exhibits and programming, growth in membership, and successful fundraising. The performance reflected ongoing efforts by the museum’s board and staff, as the museum seeks to both further engage the local population and expand its impact beyond southern Maine. “We had been on a trajectory to increase visitation steadily over the last five or six years,” said Ron Crusan, OMAA’s executive director. Indeed, the museum saw an increase of 6,500 visitors in 2014, adding up to a total of 22,140. Crusan attributed that growth to quality of programming but also to enhanced advertising via social media as well as more traditional approaches."
Plans for New Museum on ‘Sacred Isle’ of Delos greece.greekreporter.com, 21 January, 2015
GREECE — "The Central Archaeological Council (CAC) has made progress in plans to build a brand-new museum on the island of Delos, one of the best known and significant archaeological sites in Greece. The general framework of principles and specifications for a study on the construction of a new museum on the island, an island of the Cyclades archipelago located near Mykonos in the southern Aegean, was decided in a meeting on Thursday. The study will be funded by the London-based International Foundation for Greece, established by George and Aspasia Leventis. According to the specifications set, the museum will cover 5,000 sq meters or more, most of which will be underground in accordance with the principles of bioclimatic architecture and as far away from the sea as possible to ensure that the building and the exhibits are protected from the elements."
Corning’s glass museum acquires contemporary works for new wing Fred Wilson’s Othello-inspired chandelier among pieces to go on show The Art Newspaper, 19 January 2015
NEW YORK, USA — "The Corning Museum of Glass has made five acquisitions of recent works by artists Roni Horn, Klaus Moje, Ayala Serfaty, Jeroen Verhoeven and Fred Wilson, expanding its collection contemporary art and design. The museum is due to put the works on display in its new $64m wing, which is due to open in 20 March. The museum in Corning, New York, is the world’s largest collection of glass objects, spanning 3,500 years. The museum’s chief benefactor is the company Corning Inc., which makes glass for industrial and scientific use but is known popularly for its products such as CorningWare, Pyrex and Steuben."
Japanese fan to build replica of John Lennon's childhood home Local historian wants to recreate semi-detached house as a 'memorial hall' to 'apostle of peace' Lennon and Yoko Ono The Telegraph, 16 January 2015
JAPAN — "A Japanese fan of The Beatles wants to create an identical replica of John Lennon's childhood home to promote love and peace. Tatsuro Hara, the head of a local historical and cultural study group in the town of Yanagawa in southern Japan, has proposed that a plot of land that belonged to the grandfather of Yoko Ono, the late musician's wife, be turned into a park with a replica of Lennon's home as a "memorial hall". "I was born in 1943 so I grew up as part of the 'Beatles generation', so of course I am a fan," Mr Hara told The Telegraph. "The Beatles made the greatest contribution to the musical revolution and I believe that Mr Lennon is an apostle of peace," he said. "I want to make a 'Yoko Ono and John Lennon Memorial' in Yanagawa as a monument to love and peace and to disseminate the idea of peace around the world," he added."
Peter Jackson helping to open WWI museum after 'Hobbit' wrap Associated Press, 15 January 2015
WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND — "Director Peter Jackson said Wednesdayhe's putting his energy into helping launch a museum to commemorate World War I after finishing his "Hobbit" movie trilogy. If he has any plans for future blockbusters, he's not saying. Jackson was speaking at his New Zealand post-production facility where he was helping host an event to promote the local film industry. Directors Jane Campion and James Cameron also attended. Jackson is a World War I history buff who owns a number of planes from the era. He said the plan for the Wellington museum was to open during April to mark the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli battle. He said more galleries would be opened over the coming four years to mark other battles in which New Zealanders fought. The New Zealand Herald newspaper reported earlier that Jackson had been recruited by the government to curate the museum, and he was expected to gather aircraft, tanks and other artifacts from private and public collections. "That's where most of my time is now, which is good," Jackson said Wednesday. "It's fun. And it's free. The exhibits will be very, very interesting, and I'm enjoying it."
Is There a Formula for Free Admission? Museum 2.0, 14 January 2015
UNITED STATES — "There are plenty of great arguments out there for WHY to make museums free. But HOW do you do it? It's much easier for art and history museums than for those museums that rely on admissions for a majority of their income (science, children's). Nationally, admissions income generates only 1-4% of most art museums' annual revenue. Max Anderson, currently director of the Dallas Museum of Art, is a fervent champion for art museums being free. As Anderson put it, "At what point are you going to allow something like 2.5 percent of your revenue to get in the way of mission fulfillment, of serving the fullest potential audience?" Indeed. I've been curious about free admission for a long time. It's one of the things I'd like to do at our museum in Santa Cruz but haven't made happen yet. The philosophical rationale is simple: if we are really a community institution, an institution for and with the public, we should be free.
Work to start on £11.5m revamp for St Fagans museum Work is to start on a multi-million pound revamp of St Fagans National History Museum. Over £11.5m has been given to revamp the site on the outskirts of Cardiff. itv.com, 13 January 2015
CARDIFF, WALES — "Work is to start on a multi-million pound revamp of St Fagans National History Museum. It's thanks to one of the largest grants ever awarded by the Heritage Lottery fund in Wales. £11.5 million is being invested into the redevelopment of the site on the outskirts of Cardiff. Part of the revamp will include a new visitor experience integrating national collections of archaeology and social history. The project is also being supported by the Welsh Government which has given £6 million of funding support. The redevelopment will create over a 1000 volunteering placements and offer educational visits for schools. St Fagans was established as the first open-air museum in 1948 and is currently one of Wales' most popular tourist attractions with over 600,000 visitors every year."
FIFA finds piece of original WC trophy; will display stone base in new museum tsn.ca, 13 January 2015
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND — "A piece of the original World Cup trophy has been found and will be displayed in the new FIFA museum. A staff member found the stone base of the Jules Rimet trophy last month in basement storage at FIFA headquarters, museum creative director David Ausseil said Tuesday. "It's like finding an Egyptian mummy," Ausseil told The Associated Press. "You can't put a price tag on it because it's family jewels." The base is a 10-centimetre (4-inch) tall, octagonal piece of blue semi-precious lapis lazuli stone, Ausseil said. It carries the names of the first four World Cup winners: Uruguay and Italy each won twice between 1930 and 1950."
Mughal era museum near Taj soon timesofindia.indiatimes.com, 13 January 2015
AGRA, INDIA — "A museum dedicated to the Mughal era will come up in the vicinity of the Taj Mahal at an estimated cost of Rs 10 crore, and the construction work is likely to begin next year. The proposed museum will be built near Shilpagram parking on the East Gate side of the monument. The land currently belongs to the state electricity department. According to information, the project's funding will be partly taken from the corpus granted by the World Bank under the pro-poor tourism development program. The program is aimed at improving infrastructure for tourists in order to generate revenue and employment in the state. The World Bank (WB) has reportedly loaned out Rs 1,800 crore to the country for the development of the Agra-Braj corridor. Rs 10 crore, amount needed for the building of the museum, will be taken from that amount."
Berlin Museum of Modern Art to Open in 2021 artnet.com, 15 January 2015
BERLIN, GERMANY — "President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Hermann Parzinger, has announced that Berlin's Museum of Modern Art will open no later than 2021. Speaking to the DPA, he said, "It is an ambitious goal, but I am optimistic that we can make it." Most important in reaching that goal, he suggested, was a higher level of unity among the political and cultural partners behind the project who have, at times, found themselves at odds. In November, the project's biggest hurdle was cleared when the federal government approved a €200 million appropriation to fund the construction of the new museum (see €200 Million Appropriation Clears Way for Berlin MoMA). Plans for the museum have been the subject of controversy for several years, with political factions and art world figures fiercely debating where it should be located."
9.5 Million Euro Underground Art Museum Being Built In Germany artlyst.com, 10 January 2015
BOCHUM, GERMANY — "The construction has finally begun on the €9.5 million (£7.4 million) "Museum unter Tage" in the German city of Bochum, after 20 years of planning, Der Westen reports. The 1,900-square-metre museum space is being built seven meters (23 feet) under Bochum's Weitmarer Schlosspark. From the surface, the space will be recognisable from above ground only by three entrances and one emergency exit. “A staircase will lead to an underground hall from where visitors will be able to discover the artworks in three separate rooms," Andreas Schindler of the Bochum-based architectural firm Vervoorts & Schindler explained to the press."
Full steam ahead for Harbour Museum expansion Community Foundation grant allows museum to tell story of engines that powered Port Dover’s fishing fleet norfolknews.ca , 8 January 2015
PORT DOVER, ON — "Since 2002, a 1930s-era Khalenberg engine has been waiting to become the centrepiece of a museum exhibit telling the story of the engines that powered Port Dover’s fishing fleet.Today, the dream of building a heritage engine shanty at the Harbour Museum is one giant step closer to reality thanks to $5,000 in funding from the Norfolk Community Foundation. “The new heritage engine shanty will build on the narrative of Dover’s fishing and recreational history,” said curator Angela Wallace during last month’s funding announcement at the museum. That history dates back to the time of steam engines and continues on to engines fired by oil distillate, gasoline and diesel fuel, explained historian Harry B. Barrett."
Tim Hortons officially opens museum at Hamilton birthplace chch.com, 7 January 2015
HAMILTON, ON — "Tim Hortons officially opened its re-designed first location on Ottawa Street North in Hamilton Wednesday. So the coffee and donut chain threw a party. The renovated store has plenty of Tim’s memorabilia on display. And a lot of customers have been reminiscing about the Timmies of their childhood. Most of us know it’s a coffee chain that changed the way we drink coffee. But now, on the heels of a merger with Burger King, is Tim Hortons about to change even more? The party had throwback donuts and long-time staff brought back from retirement. Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger “For those of us old enough to have see the whole evolution, the uniforms are a hoot.”
Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville backs bid to save building Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville has backed a campaign to save a 400-year-old building that features in the hit TV series. BBC News, 5 January 2015
UNITED KINGDOM — "Villagers in Bampton, Oxfordshire, want to raise £250,000 to restore their library and museum, which serves as Downton Cottage Hospital for the show. It is hoped the former school could house a Downton Abbey museum. "We as a cast are trying to give something back by raising awareness about this," Bonneville, 51, said. The actor, who plays the Earl of Grantham in the ITV period drama, told BBC Radio Oxford: "When the locals of Bampton told me last summer that this place, that we had slightly taken for granted, was beginning to really face some serious problems with the roof particularly, and the upper floor, I thought the least we could do was shout about it."
New Mexican Museum to be worth the wait sfgate.com, 5 January 2015
MEXICO — "In 2001, San Francisco artist Peter Rodriguez, who founded the Mexican Museum in a storefront on Folsom Street in 1975, attended the ceremonial groundbreaking for a bold new Mexican Museum at Jessie Square, across from Yerba Buena Gardens, designed by the celebrated Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta. That red-stone structure was supposed to put the museum on the map and showcase its splendid collection — some 15,000 works of pre-Columbian, colonial, modern and contemporary works of Mexican and Latino art — housed in modest quarters at Fort Mason since 1982. Then the dot-com boom went bust, and the Mexican Museum, hobbled by stalled fundraising and ineffective leadership, had to scrap the Legorreta plans. But Rodriguez, who’s now 89 and lives at the city’s Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, never lost faith that a new museum would be built."
Detroit museum hits fundraising pledge USA Today, 5 January 2015
DETROIT, MI — "Less than a year after the Detroit Institute of Arts promised to contribute $100 million to the grand bargain rescue fund at the core of the city's bankruptcy restructuring plan, the museum has crossed the finish line. Museum board chair Gene Gargaro said Monday that he reported to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder at the end of December that the museum had reached the present-value equivalent of its pledge to raise $100 million over 20 years. "When you think a year ago we had nothing in the grand bargain account, a lot has happened to get us here," said Gargaro. "It's very fulfilling to know how generous the whole Michigan community has been." "
China’s design culture to benefit from the Bauhaus Leading university builds museum and institute aiming to inspire innovation The Art Newspaper, 4 January 2015
CHINA — "Two museums are being built in Hangzhou, the capital of China’s Zhejiang province, which has a rich cultural heritage and is now an industrial powerhouse. At the China Academy of Art (CAA), one of the country’s top art universities, the International Design Museum is due to open in 2016; the Kengo Kuma-designed Folk Art Museum is due to open this summer; and the Zhejiang Art Museum and Tianshou Memorial are being revamped. Together these projects will form the university’s new museum cluster. The art school’s International Design Museum, which will be supported by the Zhejiang provincial government, will be housed in 16,000 sq. m building being designed by a team led by the leading Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza. “It will offer a mix of short- and long-term shows, featuring Chinese and international, contemporary and historic design,” says Hang Jian, the museum’s chief curator and professor of Chinese aesthetic history and human ethics at the university. He says it is modelled on London’s Design Museum and design galleries of the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Cooper-Hewitt in New York and galleries of the Museum of Modern Art."
Tainan’s new Chimei museum opens with focus on Western art Taipei Times, 3 January 2015
TAINAN, TAIWAN — "The new Chimei Museum in southern Greater Tainan opened on Thursday, with exhibits featuring Western paintings and sculptures, musical instruments, ancient weapons and animal fossils. Visitors packed the main building — a 40,000m3 white European-style structure at Tainan Metropolitan Park — while a choir sang in the main hall during the official opening ceremony. The museum is currently displaying between 6,000 and 7,000 items, roughly half of its entire collection. Some of the most valuable pieces include Saint Martin and the Beggar, a 16th-century painting by Spanish artist El Greco; the bronze sculpture Theseus Slaying the Centaur Bianor created by French sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye in 1860; and a 1907 bronze version of The Kiss by French sculptor Auguste Rodin."
World Expo Museum, a long lasting Expo. Interview. bie-paris.org, 17 December 2014
CHINA, SHANGHAI — "The World Expo Museum, first museum dedicated to Expos, will open in Shanghai in 2016. Jointly developed with the BIE, the Museum will explain the concept and the philosophy of Expos, present their history and showcase Future Expos. The museum will also be the BIE official documentation centre. Lorelei Liu, Director of the Museum, tells us about the content of the museum, its objectives, and how they are engaging with the local citizens and the international community to promote the project. "The key phrases of the museum are: "Window to the world", "dream of a nation", and "origin of innovation". Could you tell us in what way these three axes embody the essence of World Expos?" "The content of the museum will be official and authoritative, which is why we have chosen 3 slogans that reflect the physical and tangible spirit of Expos."
Architecture
Tick-shaped Art Studio by Christian Tonko Follows the Slope of an Austrial Hillside dezeen, 28 January 2015
BREGENZ, AUSTRIA — "This weathered steel-clad artist's studio by architect Christian Tonkin has an angled body that follows the slope of the hill, but one end projects out to frame views out over the rooftops of nearby Bregenz. (+ slideshow). Entitled a Studio for Drawing, Painting and Small Sculpture, the small building was designed by Christian Tonko to sit in the garden of a house, just outside the Austrian city. Its form fits to the sloping site to minimise its visual impact on the existing residence, but its northern end peels away from the earth, creating a gap between floor slab and hillside. This creates a shape of a tick."
Kengo Kuma "Surprised" after V&A Dundee costs rise to £80 million dezeen, 28 January 2015
DUNDEE, SCOTLAND — "News: the cost to build a new outpost of the V&A museum in Dundee, Scotland, has almost doubled to the sum of £80 million – a figure that architect Kengo Kuma has claimed is "surprisingly high" (+ movie). The original price tag for the new design museum on the city's harbour was set at £45 million, but Dundee City Council has revealed that the cost is now estimated to be £80.11 million. Speaking to Building magazine, the Japanese architect's firm claimed the figure is far higher than it expected, but said it is "very pleased" that Dundee City Council, the Scottish government and the client body have decided to proceed anyway."
Antiquities next to contemporary in Prada Foundation’s new home Rem Koolhaas-designed space in Milan to open in May with Roman sculpture and 21st-century art The Art Newspaper, 23 January 2015
MILAN, ITALY — "The Prada Foundation’s long-awaited contemporary art centre and permanent home in Milan, designed by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and his OMA practice, is scheduled to open in May with an exhibition exploring classical antiquity. The show, “Serial Classic” (opens 9 May), is organised by professor Salvatore Settis, a leading Italian art historian and the head of the Getty Research Institute from 1994 until 1999. The exhibition will explore the appropriation of Greek sculpture in the Roman world, a common feature of Roman art that resonates strongly with contemporary preoccupations such as originality and reproduction."
UK Pavilion designer Wolfgang Buttress recently visited Stage One workshops World Architecture News, 23 January 2015
MILAN, ITALY — "The UK Pavilion will take part at the Milan Expo 2015 between May and October 2015. The news was published last September by WAN. The structure was designed by Wolfgang Buttress, who has recently visited Stage One, the company behind Heatherwick’s Olympic Cauldron and the Serpentine Gallery Pavilions from 2009 to present. The UK Trade and Investment Team have also joined the designer to see how the manufacturing was progressing during the visit to Stage One workshops. Under the theme Grown in Britain, the United Kingdom will showcase its culture of innovation through a 1,910 sq m pavilion, developed around the concept of the essential work of the honeybee in the food production process."
Amos Anderson museum plans unveiled Plans for the new Amos Anderson museum were unveiled on Tuesday in Helsinki. The new space is slated to open in 2018 at Lasipalatsi in the centre of the city. yle.fi/uutiset, 21 January 2015
HELSINKI, FINLAND — "While the proposed Guggenheim project remains mired in controversy, on Tuesday another art foundation unveiled plans to build a new museum in central Helsinki. The Amos Anderson foundation plans to open a new gallery at Lasipalatsi in Kamppi by 2018. The new structure is designed by the JKMM architecture practice, which is aiming to preserve and respect the historic Lasipalatsi building while adding something new to the square outside. The gallery will be built around 2,000 square metres of exhibition space, which will be built underneath the current Lasipalatsi plaza with entrances and other structures also constructed above ground. The foundation says it wants to create an accessible space for art and culture, and is especially targeting young people."
Art Gallery of NSW narrows architecture firms down to five finalists for Sydney Modern smh.com.au, 19 January 2015
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — "The Art Gallery of New South Wales has narrowed the list of architecture firms vying for its ambitious $450 million Sydney Modern project from 12 to five, and there are no Sydney firms in the running. Two Australian firms are still in contention for the prestigious project - Kerry Hill Architects, based in Singapore and Perth, and the Melbourne-based Sean Goodsell Architects - but Sydney firm Candalepas Associates failed to make the cut. The two Australian firms join Tokyo and Paris-based Kengo Kuma and Associates, Mumbai and Boston-based RMA Architects and Tokyo's SANAA, which designed Manhattan's New Museum of Contemporary Art Building, in stage two of the competition." [see also David Chipperfield, Kengo Kuma and Renzo Piano Among 12 Shortlisted for Sydney Art Gallery Expansion, archdaily.com, 22 January 2015]
A First Look at Omniplan’s Proposed Dallas Holocaust Museum archdaily.com, 18 January 2015
DALLAS, TX — "The Dallas Holocaust Museum and Center for Education and Tolerance has officially gone public with plans to build a new permanent home in the city’s West End, across from the museum’s current location. Preliminary designs, by Texas-based Omniplan Architects, indicate a modest concrete and weathered steel structure with expanded galleries that would be built on parcel bound by Ross Avenue, Houston Street and the Dallas Area Rapid Transit light. “Our focus, of course, will be on preserving evidence of the Holocaust and teaching lessons of that event,” said the museum’s president and CEO Mary Pat Higgins to The Dallas Morning News. “But we also want to deal with genocide around the world and current events related to prejudice and hatred, and goodness knows there are plenty of things happening today that prove the reason why this museum is important. I don’t know any other Holocaust museum that deals with the civil rights movement and human rights issues.” At this point, an estimated completion date has yet to be announced."
Buttress Architects unfurls its winning scroll for Blackpool Winning practice’s presentation ‘as big as the room’ bdonline.co.uk, 15 January 2015
UNITED KINGDOM — "Buttress Architects has revealed images of its competition-winning proposal for a new museum in Blackpool. The Manchester practice revealed that it took a 5.5m scroll into the interview with the council rather than boards or a PowerPoint. “It was an interesting process because there was a design element which allowed us to try out something creative,” said Buttress associate Neal Charlton. “Blackpool has a huge ego so our presentation was as big as the room because that’s how big their aspirations are.” The scroll, which contained sketches and CGI images, helped Buttress win the job against a shortlist featuring Heneghan Peng, Austin-Smith Lord, Levitt Bernstein and Bisset Adams."
Designs for Cambodian museum revealed Centre aims to raise awareness of both natural and cultural heritage World Architectural News, 12 January 2015
CAMBODIA — "Designs for the Ang Trapeang Thmor interpretation centre, a new hub for Eco-tourism in northern Cambodia have been revealed. The Royal Government of Cambodia, along with Building Trust International (BTI) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), confirmed construction works are due to commence next year. It will house eco-sustainable activities for Cambodian tourism, as well as being a reflection on the past atrocities of the Khmer Rouge period. The project aims to showcase the varied wildlife the country has to offer and it will act as a museum in order to educate and raise awareness of both natural and cultural heritage."
MOBO to Streamline Public Access to Cartagena’s UNESCO-Protected Fortress Wall stealmag.com, 6 January 2015
CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA — "MOBO Architects has won a competition to refurbish the vertical and horizontal access structures of the UNESCO protected fortresses that surround Cartagena’s colonial walled city. With an aim to create a walking tour through the bastions and walls that is both safe and pleasant, MOBO’s winning proposal offers a series of urban interventions that will unify the existing disparate structures and create a continuous pathway for pedestrians and cyclists. This, as MOBO describes, will “completely restructure the way that the citizens and visitors use not only the wall, but also the spaces in the city.”
Irvin Mayfield now leads the African American Museum's $14 million renovation nola.com, 31 December 2015
NEW ORLEANS, LA — "In May 2014, trumpet maestro and civic activist Irvin Mayfield added another job title to his long list of responsibilities, when he became the president of the board of directors of the New Orleans African American Museum in the Treme neighborhood. In March 2012 the museum, which is centered at the 1828 Meilleur-Goldthwaite villa at 1418 Gov. Nicholls St., closed temporarily to undergo a predicted $6 million renovation and expansion that was expected to take 10 months. At the time of the closure, the museum announced plans to relocate its administrative offices to an early-20th century building across the street at 1417-19 Gov. Nicholls St."
3XN reveals design for Swiss Olympic headquarters Dezeen, 10 December 2014
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND — "Danish firm 3XN has shown the first images of its design for the new headquarters of the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland. According to 3XN, the new administrative home of the organisation governing the Olympic Games will feature a "dynamic, undulating facade" and an "open and flexible" interior. Olympic Unity House will consolidate the IOC's existing operations around Lausanne, creating offices for up to 600 employees on the edge of Lake Geneva. "In recognition of the symbolism of the Olympic Games and needs of the organisation, we designed the new IOC headquarters around three key elements: movement, flexibility and sustainability," said Jan Ammundsen, senior partner at 3XN, whose previous projects include the Copenhagen headquarters of the United Nations."
Bjarke Ingels Advice to the Young (video) channel.louisiana.dk
DENMARK — "Renowned Danish architect Bjarke Ingels here offers his architectural advice to aspiring architects and explains why architecture is fundamentally important for the world we live in."
SnøhettaArchitectural Landscapes
NORWAY — "The Alexandria Library, the Opera in Oslo and the Memorial Pavilion at Ground Zero in New York - even if you don't know the name Snøhetta, you’ll know it's buildings. Meet one of the heads behind - Norwegian architect Kjetil T. Thorsen."
Technology
Museum visitors now turn away from works of art to snap photos of themselves. Jason Farago investigates this invasive trend. BBC Culture, 21 January 2015
WORLD — "I had a look at Instagram on a random Monday at 5:30pm, just as the Museum of Modern Art in New York closed for the day. The number of photos posted from the museum that day was more than 300 – and that figure counts only those images affixed with MoMA’s geotag, and thus could be a grave underestimate. What were these photos depicting? Paintings, of course, especially Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night and Ed Ruscha’s Oof, whose titular onomatopoeia is a fan favorite. Not only art, though. A lot of people seem to like taking photos of wall text, and five museumgoers, bizarrely, posted photographs of their tickets."
3D-printed sculptures create optical illusions using the Fibonacci sequence dezeen, 19 January 2015
WORLD — "Design lecturer John Edmark has created a series of designs for 3D-printed sculptures that appear to move, utilising an effect similar to a zoetrope (+ movie). Product designer John Edmark has shared instructions for creating his Blooming Zoetrope Sculptures, which are based on naturally occurring examples of the Fibonnaci sequence and "golden angles" in nature, on DIY website Instructables. As the sculptures spin on a rotating base, the leaves and patterns on them appear to move up and down when they are lit with a strobe light."
Growing products from fungus could be the start of a "biotechnological revolution" Dezeen and MINI Frontiers: Amsterdam designer Maurizio Montalti explains how biological organisms such as fungi could be harnessed to create new sustainable materials in this movie filmed in Eindhoven. dezeen, 19 January 2015
EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS — "Montalti's studio Officina Corpuscoli is researching how fungal organisms can be used to produce alternatives to plastics. "It's about envisaging a completely different paradigm in relation to production," Montalti says. "It's a paradigm based on cultivation." Biologically produced materials can be "completely non-harmful," he claims. "Once disposed of they just become new nutrients for new life." At Dutch Design Week, where this movie was filmed, he presented a series of plates, bowels and other vessels made from mycelium, the thread-like part of a fungus that usually exists underground."
3D-printed structural components will lead to "new building shapes" Dezeen and MINI Frontiers: Salomé Galjaard of engineering firm Arup says 3D-printed building components will result in more efficient and diverse architectural forms (+ movie). dezeen, 19 January 2015
EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS — "The use of metal 3D-printed structural components will "have a big impact on the visual appearance of the world we live in," Galjaard says in the movie, which was filmed in Eindhoven during Dutch Design Week 2014. The use of additive manufacturing will allow engineers to produce bespoke components using much less material than traditional welding techniques. This will open up the possibilities for new architectural forms, Galjaard believes. "If these elements become lighter then all the other elements [in a building] can become lighter as well," she explains. "It can result in different shapes of buildings. The technique will allow us to create new things, come up with new ideas."
Check out the museum that lets the visitor become the designer theglobeandmail.com, 16 January 2015
NEW YORK, USA — "At the newly expanded Cooper Hewitt, the Smithsonian Design Museum that opened earlier this month in Manhattan, this is one of the key questions confronting visitors at interactive touchscreen tables. In reimagining itself for the 21st century, the Cooper Hewitt, the only Smithsonian outpost outside of Washington, D.C., has aimed to do nothing less than transform the museum experience itself. Where most institutions encourage visitors to study historic relics or priceless artworks from a distance, this one entices them to roll up their sleeves and become active participants in the design process."
Smithsonian App Brings Fossils to Life livescience.com, 14 January 2015
WASHINGTON, DC — "A new mobile app is bringing skeletons to life at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. Users can now download the free Skin and Bones app before exploring the museum's historic Bone Hall, an exhibit of nearly 300 vertebrate skeletons that was first opened in 1881. The app highlights 13 skeletons, including one of a swordfish, and shows 3D animations of the animals and how they look and move with their muscles and skin. A new mobile app is bringing skeletons to life at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. Users can now download the free Skin and Bones app before exploring the museum's historic Bone Hall, an exhibit of nearly 300 vertebrate skeletons that was first opened in 1881. The app highlights 13 skeletons, including one of a swordfish, and shows 3D animations of the animals and how they look and move with their muscles and skin."
WHITNEY MUSEUM MASSIVELY EXPANDS ONLINE COLLECTION DATABASE artnews.com, 8 January 2015
NEW YORK, USA — "For the longest time, one visited the Whitney Museum’s online collection database with a certain amount of sadness, since images of only 700 works were available. A search for even a well-collected luminary like Mike Kelley, for instance, returned only one piece. But now the museum announced today that it has vastly expanded its online database, by a factor of 300, to some 21,000 works. It is amazing, and I wish that I could spend the rest of the day clicking through it. (Kelley now has 25 works represented.)"
Art and Culture
CultureZohn: Down Havana Way: Why Artists Are the Hope for Normalization huffingtonpost.com, 28 January 2015
HAVANA, CUBA — "To be in Havana this past week was exciting. Media crews from all over covering the Normalization and Trade talks made Havana seem like the center of the world. And in a way it now is: the re-emergence of this small island country--more recently a political football after being the richest center in the Western Hemisphere for 250 years-- to the 21st century world stage has most Cubans more than eager. Yes, huge billboards still confront you when you exit the airport and on the way into town. "Unidos, Vigilantes y Combativos" it says plastered over a huge picture of Castro, as you pass the mangy black dog, the banana trees, the horse and buggy, the forties and fifties era cars. "La Revolucion Adelante!" It feels as if nothing may have changed. But actual stages, specifically for dance, are places were some Normalization has already occurred."
Art Museums Dares Visitors To Play 'Spot The Forgery' huffingtonpost.com, 28 January 2015
LONDON, UK — "Could you tell a 16th century Titian from a contemporary replica manufactured in China? London's Dulwich Picture Gallery is putting its viewers to the test with a new exhibition called "Made in China", conceived by conceptual artist Doug Fishbone. The premise is as follows: amongst the museum's substantial Old Masters collection of 270 authentic works will be hidden a single fake -- a copy produced by Meisheng Oil Painting Manufacture Co., Ltd for the bargain price of £120 (about $180). The China-based studio is made up of around 150 artists who work tirelessly to recreate slightly altered takes on historical classics, originally by artists ranging from Botticelli to Magritte. It's one of around 1,200 galleries crammed into China's Dafen Village, which outputs around five million copies a year that can be ordered online."
Museum 2.0, 28 January 2015
UNITED STATES — "If you run a for-profit business, the bottom line is your financial profit. The goal is to make money. At the end of the day, you are measured by how much money you made or lost. That's the bottom line. People in social enterprise talk frequently about the idea of businesses with a double bottom line: money and social impact. The financial return on investment is important. But so is the social outcome of your enterprise. There are also companies that talk about a triple bottom line: financial, social, and environmental/ecological impact. And a quadruple bottom line: financial, social, environmental, and future impact. You can see where this is heading. Lines upon lines. More good things to strive for, less clarity in achieving them."
Click here to enlarge: Paris’s Modern art museum to grow its photo holdings The Musée d’art moderne is the first in France to establish a patrons group for the medium The Art Newspaper, 23 January 2015
PARIS, FRANCE — "The Musée d’art moderne de la ville de Paris is looking to dramatically expand its photography programme, the French newspaper Le Figaro reports. The municipal modern and contemporary museum is the first in France to establish a patrons group dedicated to the medium. The Musée d’art moderne is the first in France to establish a patrons group for the medium. The museum is committing more than €100,000 a year to increase its photography holdings. The funds will be divided equally between work by French and international artists. The 21 members of the new patrons group, to be joined by two others later this year, donated €5,000 each last year to finance the first batch of acquisitions. The recent additions to the collection are on view until 12 April; a fresh display of newly acquired photographs is due to be inaugurated every November, Paris’s official month of photography."
How Integrating Arts Into Other Subjects Makes Learning Come Alive blogs.kqed.org, 13 January 2015
WORLD — "Art has long been recognized as an important part of a well-rounded education — but when it comes down to setting budget priorities, the arts rarely rise to the top. Many public schools saw their visual, performing and musical arts programs cut completely during the last recession, despite the many studies showing that exposure to the arts can help with academics too. A few schools are taking the research to heart, weaving the arts into everything they do and finding that the approach not only boosts academic achievement but also promotes creativity, self-confidence and school pride. The arts integration experiment at Integrated Arts Academy at H.O. Wheeler (IAA) in Burlington, Vermont, started six years ago as an effort to break up socioeconomic imbalances in the district."
Winnipeg Art Gallery seeks Nunavut input on Inuit Art Centre Proposed centre next to gallery would house the gallery's massive collection of Inuit art CBC News, 7 January 2015
WINNIPEG, MB — "When Winnipeg's Inuit Art Centre opens its doors, Stephen Borys says it will be "more than a gallery." "It's also a place for learning, exploration, education, training. But most importantly we'd like to think of it as a forum and a place for the Inuit voice to be heard in the South," says the director and CEO of the Winnipeg Art Gallery. The Winnipeg Art Gallery already has 14,000 Inuit prints, carvings, statues and other art pieces, making up half of its entire collection. It's billed as the largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art in the world. Borys and the team behind the proposed centre hope the creation of a dedicated home for Inuit art will bring international acclaim to artists from across the circumpolar world."
8 Artists Advice to the Young (video) channel.louisiana.dk
DENMARK — "Watch, listen and soak in the words of 8 prominent artists, who have strong and diverse thoughts on what constitutes insightful advice to young artists."
Creative Economies, Creative Cities, Innovation and Urban Planning, Cultural Tourism
Toronto ranked the best city to live in the world Blog TO, 29 January 2015
TORONTO, ON — "Toronto has been ranked the best city to live in the world by the Economist. The ranking aggregates Toronto's performance across a range of indexes, which include safety, livability and cost of living. National level rankings like the Economist's Democracy and Global Food Security Index were also factored into the overall rank. So, like, we're the best. Give yourself a pat on the back. The overall rankings come as part of a new survey from the Economist Intelligence Unit that ranks cities based on how safe they are. According to this report, Toronto is the safest city in North America and eighth-ranked city in the world, trailing Tokyo, Singapore, Osaka, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Sydney, and Zurich. The safety index is ranked according to the following criteria: digital security, health security, infrastructure and personal safety.”
International Garden Festival announces the designers for its 16th edition canadianarchitect.com, 26 January 2015
CANADA — "The International Garden Festival has announced the names of the designers selected by the jury for the 16th edition of the Festival presented at the Jardins de Métis/Reford Gardens from June 26 to September 27, 2015. The competition attracted 309 proposals for contemporary gardens submitted by over 700 architects, landscape architects, designers and artists from 34 countries. “Buzz” is the operative word guiding the 2015 Festival with new creations by designers from Canada, France and Israel. The installations selected by the jury have a special energy and connection to the natural world. The temporary gardens have a degree of interactivity that encourages visitors to enter with enthusiasm. The goal is to intrigue visitors with the unusual or to impress by new ways of presenting what is common."
Hamburger Deckel project in Germany is burying the A7 autobahn to make parks and new land smh.domain.com.au, 19 January 2015
HAMBURG, GERMANY — "For decades the German city of Hamburg has been divided by a six-lane autobahn. But work has finally started on an innovative solution that relinks the city and increases parkland. And there could be a lesson for Australia. A combined 3.5 kilometres of the freeway will be decked over and covered with parks and residential development. The green space will rejoin neighbourhoods, reduce noise pollution, host 2000 new homes and harbour a new network of bike paths. The A7 is the longest national motorway in Europe, stretching 964 kilometres from Denmark to Austria and is a crucial lifeline for the country." [see also They're Going To Bury A Stretch Of German Autobahn And Cover It In Parks, fastcoexist.com, January 2015]
Cardigan Castle ready to reopen its doors to the public after £11m restoration walesonline.co.uk, 19 January 2015
CARDIGAN, WALES — "Cardigan Castle is expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors in its first year after 12 years of restoration work. Historic Cardigan Castle is to re-open its massive doors to visitors this Spring following an extensive £11m restoration. A total of 3,000 daffodils have been planted and more than 1,700 rolls of turf laid as part of the restoration work, which is aimed at making the ancient building a major tourist attraction as well as a spectacular wedding and events venue. The castle has seen its fair share of drama over the years, from pitched medieval battles between Normans and Welsh rebels, to Wales’ first Eisteddfod in 1176. Now 2015 is to be a historic year for the castle, which has been unoccupied since 1996 and will open its doors to visitors in April, following the multi-million pound restoration project which began in 2011."
Tasmania plans to open wilderness world heritage area to logging and tourism The Guardian, 14 January 2015
TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA — "The Tasmanian government is attempting to remove the term “wilderness” from the state’s wilderness world heritage area, opening the vast ecosystem to selective logging, cruise ships and landing strips for aircraft. In a draft plan, extracts of which have been seen by Guardian Australia, the term “wilderness” is dropped because it is considered “deeply problematic for Aboriginal people” and replaced by “natural area”. The document states the current terminology “implies a landscape empty of human culture”. The plan refers to the “extraction of speciality timbers” within the wilderness area, indicating that logging may be allowed for the first time since the 1.58m-hectare area was inscribed on the world heritage list in 1982."
Design Teams Announced for Jack Layton Ferry Terminal and Harbour Square Park Design Competition waterfrontoronto.ca, 12 January 2015
TORONTO, ON — "Five renowned design teams have been shortlisted to participate in an Innovative Design Competition that will set the stage for the revitalization of the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal and Harbour Square Park. An impressive number of high calibre design team submissions were received during the pre-qualification phase of the competition which launched, in partnership with the City of Toronto, last November. In total, thirty-three design teams from twelve countries submitted proposals outlining their qualifications. The proposals were reviewed by a multidisciplinary team that included both Waterfront Toronto and City of Toronto staff and the selection process was overseen by an independent fairness advisor." [see also Five design teams shortlisted for Jack Layton Ferry Terminal and Harbour Square Park Design Competition, Canadian Architect, 17 January 2015]
Disputes damage hopes of rebuilding Afghanistan’s Bamiyan Buddhas Plans are afoot to restore giant Buddhist symbols destroyed by the Taliban, but experts cannot agree on best way forward The Guardian, 10 January 2015
AFGHANISTAN — "It is always a shock reaching Bamiyan, coming face to face with the two huge cavities in the cliff face. The upright tombs stare out over the valley, a splash of vegetation surrounded by wild mountains. The town straddles the Silk Road, close to the point where it used to enter Persia, dwarfed by two massive mountain ranges, the Koh-i-Baba and Hindu Kush. The void left by the two destroyed Buddha figures is appalling, it rouses an emotion almost more powerful than their once tranquil presence did for centuries. To understand what happened you must go back to the beginning of 2001. The Taliban-led regime was on very poor terms with the international community and increasingly tempted by radical gestures. The decision to destroy the two monumental Buddha figures at Bamiyan was just part of the drive to destroy all the country’s pre-Islamic “icons”, an act of defiance to the outside world."
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