|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
Featured StoryFive global firms shortlisted for grand Bihar museum
News One, 4 September 2011 PATNA – "The Bihar government has shortlisted five global architecture firms to design and build a world class museum in Patna, according to the state building construction department. To be built on 17 acres of land in the heart the city, the museum will showcase Bihar’s heritage dating to the Buddha and Mahavir. 'The theme will be Bihar’s contribution to the history of the world’s civilisation,' Bihar Art and Culture Minister Sukhda Pandey said. 'Vaishali here was the first democracy in the world.' According to the department, the shortlisted firms are the New York-based Studio Art, Tokyo-based Maki and Associates, Boston-based Safadi Art, London-based Foster and Partner, and Oslo-based Snøhetta. Each firm will submit a proposal by November and one among them will be selected by year-end. The timeline for completion is four years. A brainchild of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the new museum seeks to join the ranks of Grand Egyptian Museum (Egypt), Louvre-Lens (France), Guggenheim in Bilbao (Spain) and the Canadian Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg (Canada), an official said. Earlier this year, the department had floated a global tender to engage architects. 'These five were shortlisted from 22 on the basis their wide global experience in designing and building,' the official said. Toronto-based Lord Cultural Resources has been selected as the master consultant for the project. Last month, its top officials had made a conceptual presentation before Nitish Kumar. The firm has been master consultant in about 1,800 such projects in 48 countries, including the National September 11 Memorial and Museum (New York), National Museum (Singapore), King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture at Dhahran (Saudi Arabia) and West Kowloon Cultural District (Hong Kong). ..." Cultural
News,
a free service of Lord Cultural Resources, is released at the end of every
week by our Librarians: Brenda Taylor and Danielle Manning. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest digest of cultural
news.
|
|
|
Our Clients in the
News
AGO hires Heather Conway as chief business officer TORONTO –
“After a search that went on for months, the Art Gallery of Ontario
has filled the crucial and newly created position
of CBO, chief business officer. Heather
Conway, a veteran of the corporate trenches, is the new key player. Next week
she moves in full-time at
the quirky and mercurial museum on the Grange. There has
been no official announcement, but Conway’s appointment was enthusiastically
confirmed by CEO Matthew Teitelbaum when the Star called. “I am
thrilled to have Heather joining our leadership team,” says Teitelbaum. “She will have a major role as we try
to implement a sustainable model in changing times. The goal is to make the
AGO more relevant and increase
our footprint in the community.” …” We can pay for Port Lands plan, Waterfront Toronto
says TORONTO – “In a challenge to Mayor Rob Ford, Waterfront Toronto’s
board chair says the agency will have no problem coming up with the money for
flood protection in the Port Lands. TIFF’s big opening gala gamble
pays off Linda Barnard, Toronto Star, 7 September 2011 TORONTO – “For the first time in the 36-year history of the Toronto
International Film Festival, the opening-night gala and the parties
sandwiching the screening are the hottest tickets in town. It’s all thanks to TIFF’s decision to ditch
the conventional opening feature — usually a Canadian title — for a
documentary about the world’s biggest rock band, following the path of
festivals like Cannes and Venice that favour star power for the opening slot. From the Sky Down, starring U2 and directed by Oscar winner Davis
Guggenheim, features the tantalizing lure of Bono and The Edge (other band
members Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. are not confirmed) walking the red
carpet for the world premiere of the movie at Roy Thomson Hall Thursday
night. They’ve also been invited to the pre-gala cocktail bash at the Ritz
Carlton Hotel and the huge after-party at the Liberty Grand. …”
MuseumsDia Annexes Even More Space for
Its Planned Chelsea Museum Julia
Halperin, ARTINFO, 7 September 2011 NEW
YORK — “Reminder: the Whitney isn't the only marquee art name opening a giant
new space in Chelsea in the coming years. The Dia
Art Foundation confirmed yesterday that it has completed an $11.5 million
purchase of a new building at 541 West 22nd Street, adding some extra legroom
to the 50,000-square-foot expanse next door that it has been planning to
transform into a ground-floor exhibition venue. …” Allentown Art Museum of the Lehigh Valley Announces
New Branding and Logo Museumpublicity.com,
7 September 2011 Allentown, PA – “The Allentown Art Museum has
announced a new logo and branding initiative. Designed by Klunk
& Millan, the new visual identity is a striking
reflection of the Art Museum’s exterior facade and provides viewers with a
reassuring feeling of forward movement, both into the future and into the
spectrum of world-renowned art. Iconic Japan cartoon cat gets his own museum Global
Museum, 6 September 2011 JAPAN
– “He's a small, blue robot cat from the future who's
been the inspiration for an animated TV series, served as Japan's cartoon
cultural ambassador and is beloved around the world. Now,
the iconic Doraemon has his own museum on the
outskirts of Tokyo - though he shares the space with his creator, Fujiko F. Fujio. The
museum collection features 50,000 items, many of which are original drawings,
as well as a desk and other things used by Fujio
until his death in 1996. The museum building also includes a small theatre
and coffeeshop. …” MBAM: de nouveaux espaces éducatifs en 2012 Éric Clément,
La Presse, 6 September 2011 MONTREAL
– “Le Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal
(MBAM) a donné le coup d’envoi,
cet après-midi, des travaux d’agrandissement de ses espaces éducatifs
qui deviendront en septembre
2012 le StudiO Arts & Éducation Michel
de la Chenelière. Fondateur d’une maison d’édition de manuels scolaires, Michel de la Chenelière
a en effet accordé un très gros don personnel au MBAM dans le but de favoriser l’accès à l’art
à des dizaines de milliers de jeunes. …” Réouverture du
Musée des cultures à Bâle Artclair.com, 6 September 2011 BALE, SUISSE – “Après deux ans de travaux, le Musée des cultures de Bâle rouvre ses portes.
Il est le plus grand musée
ethnographique de Suisse et l’un
des plus importants d’Europe.
Le 6 septembre 2011, après deux années de travaux, le musée de Bâle rouvre au public. Son site
a été réaménagé.
Les architectes bâlois
Herzog et de Meuron ont procédé à la reconstruction, à la rénovation et à l’expansion du lieu. …” Museum for the people: Architects renovate and
expand museum using sustainable design World Architecture News, 5 September 2011 OAKLAND, CA – “Originally designed by Pulitzer‐winning
architect, Kevin Roche and renowned landscape architect, Dan Kiley, the Oakland Museum is an icon of mid‐century
modernism. Roche's design united Oakland's collections of art, history, and
natural sciences under one roof, which had previously been housed in
different museums across the city. Inspired by the vision of OMCA as a
"museum for the people," Roche designed a community gathering
place, with terraced gardens, a central courtyard, walkways, koi pond, and outdoor sculpture courts that continue to
provide an urban park for Oakland residents and visitors. …” Museum Schloss Moyland
Foundation: The museum of modern and contemporary art with the world's
largest Beuys collection is celebrating its
reopening 17 and 18 September 2011 e-flux, 5 September 2011 BEDBURG-HAU, GERMANY - “As of 17 September 2011, the Museum Schloss Moyland will present
its collection based on a whole new concept and in a castle interior that has
been correspondingly redesigned. The Museum Schloss
Moyland is one of the leading art museums in the
state of North-Rhine-Westphalia and constitutes an international Beuys Centre. Key Aspects of the New Concept The museum will present focal points of its collection in regular
rotating exhibitions extending over three floors of the castle building and
including complexes that have rarely been shown before. The museum's unique
holdings of works by Joseph Beuys will make up the
nucleus of these presentations combined with the stocks of the foundation's
own Joseph Beuys Archive. The new thematic concept
aims to promote the oeuvre of Joseph Beuys, to
highlight the diversity and particularities of the museum's collection and to
spur the visitor to make new discoveries. As Dr. Bettina Paust,
Artistic Director of the Museum Schloss Moyland Foundation, explains:
"The new presentation form at Museum Schloss Moyland is centred on the artwork yet avoids theatrical
exaggeration." The redesign of the interior of the castle building is
also aligned with this new principle. The structural measures were carried
out by the architects Hilmer & Sattler and
Albrecht (Berlin/Munich). …” From telegram to 3G: A museum on history of communication Sevim Şentürk,
Today’s Zaman, 4 September 2011 ISTANBUL – “Communication has become quite easy nowadays. Distances
have become closer and we can now have instant access to our loved ones with
a range advanced technology tools, including 3G devices and the Internet. We
are quite lucky considering this was not the case in the not-so-distant past.
There was a time when it was a lot more difficult to stay in touch with
family and friends; today's generation is not familiar with the limitation of
communication options as they have never experienced such days. We may
occasionally hear stories of the inadequacy of services and poor conditions
from our grandparents. Now, however, we have the opportunity to observe the
progress of communication tools through the years. Türk
Telekom, a leading communication provider in
Turkey, has brought together a variety of communication devices from the
past, which had been sitting idle in archives, in an attempt to highlight how
the people have communicated since the 1800s. …” SCAD to Open Major Teaching Museum Devoted to Contemporary Art and
Design Levent Ozler,
Dexigner, 3 September 2011 SAVANNAH, GEORGIA – “The new SCAD [Savannah College of Art and Design]
Museum of Art is a significantly expanded and re-imagined contemporary art
and design museum conceived and designed expressly to enrich the educational
milieu for SCAD students, professors, and art and design enthusiasts. SCAD
Museum of Art re-opens to the public on Saturday, October 29. Inaugural
exhibitions at the new museum include: Bill Viola, "The Crossing"; Liza Lou, "Let the Light In"; Kendall Buster,
"New Growth: Stratum Field"; a solo exhibition of recent works by Kehinde Wiley; and selections from the SCAD Museum of
Art's Permanent Collection, including the Evans Collection of African
American Art, presented in the new Walter O. Evans Center
for African American Studies within the museum. "SCAD has a tradition of
fostering innovative and dynamic art experiences, and the SCAD Museum of Art
advances this rich tradition," commented SCAD President Paula Wallace,
who initiated and oversaw the development of the expanded museum in Savannah.
"Rather than a place to view artworks in isolation, our museum is a
kinetic think-tank, a collaborative wellspring of ideas and inspiration for
SCAD students and professors." …” Rise and fall of the British Empire museum As the scale of unethical disposals emerges, who knew what? Gareth Harris, The Art
Newspaper, From issue 227, September 2011, Published online 3 Sep 11
(Museums) BRISTOL – “When the director of the British Empire and Commonwealth
Museum was dismissed earlier this year, the chairman of the Bristol-based
museum’s trustees, Sir Neil Cossons, gave as the
reason “the unauthorised disposal of museum objects”, and the director’s
“abuse of his position”. According to Cossons, the
trustees fired Gareth Griffiths
in February and immediately called in the Avon and Somerset police. In March,
the British publication, Museums Journal, reported that two items from the
collection were available on the open market. One month later, New Zealand
magazine, Listener, reported that four items had passed through the hands of
a London dealer. Further research now reveals that at least 150 items left
the Bristol museum’s collection, taken away for sale by ethnographic art
dealer Douglas Barrett. In addition, another police investigation, this time
by the Art and Antiques Unit of the Metropolitan Police, had started in July
2010, having received information from the Commonwealth Institute, which gave
around 11,800 items to the museum (BECM) in 2003. Barrett says that he has
done nothing wrong, and that he selected the objects openly from the stores
with Griffiths, and paid £115,000 in three installments to the museum for some of the pieces. …” Travelling space show costs too much for Cdn
museums The Canadian Press, CTV News, 3 September 2011 MONTREAL — “The Canadian Space Agency's elaborate plans to celebrate
its 20th anniversary in 2010 with a travelling international exhibit
backfired because the show was too big. The original idea was to bring "Cosmomania: The Incredible Space Adventure" from
France to Canada to criss-cross the country and visit museums and science
centres. Emails provided under an access-to-information request show several
centres were told they couldn't present the Cosmomania
exhibit -- or they rejected it -- because of a lack of space. The information
obtained by The Canadian Press reveals Cosmomania
ended up costing taxpayers $637,756. That included $288,226 to rent it from
the French museum that originally organized the exhibit. The idea was the
show would be free for the public and that the space agency would pick up all
shipping, set-up and dismantling costs. Cosmomania,
a 50-year retrospective of space exploration, was originally organized by the
Cite de l'espace museum near Toulouse and visited
several French cities. …” Japanese American National Museum searching for new director Mike Boehm, Los Angeles Times, 2 September 2011 LOS ANGELES – “The Japanese American National Museum is going through
its second leadership transition since 2008, this one promising to end with
the ascension of a new generation at the Little Tokyo institution. Both its
past directors had been on board since before it opened in 1992. Museum
officials announced this week that Akemi Kikumura
Yano has stepped down as executive director after nearly three years, and
that two of her deputies will serve as interim co-executive directors while a
national search goes forward to find a new leader. Yano was at the
museum for 24 years as a curator, program director and executive; her
predecessor, Irene Y. Hirano, led the museum from 1988 to 2009. …” Bonnie Pitman: Expanding the Art Museum’s Reach Jerome Weeks, Art&Seek,
September 1, 2011 1:39 PM DALLAS, TEXAS - “Bonnie Pitman stepped down as the director of the
Dallas Museum of Art in April for health reasons. Even as she did, studies
that Pitman led at the DMA have begun to help museums modernize and expand
the ways they present themselves. KERA’s Jerome
Weeks reports this may be Pitman’s most important legacy to the art world.
When Bonnie Pitman came to the DMA in 2000 as deputy director, she quickly
saw the museum was not drawing the numbers of people it should. She held
public conversations with some 400 Dallasites of
all walks of life to learn why, and she discovered, as she says, “The people
who knew us loved us. The people who didn’t know us,
didn’t know as at all.” The DMA had no settled image or brand or appeal;
there was no clear public awareness of just what it held, what it was about.
So the DMA hired the research firm, Randi Korn & Associates. Museums often survey visitors for
demographic data like income, age, media preferences. But Pitman was after
very different information. Beginning in 2003, the firm interviewed nearly
four thousand visitors to determine: Why do we go to museums? Pitman: “Do you
want to be involved in learning from scholars, creating works, responding to
artists? What type of experience do you want to have?” …” Stratford Beacon Herald, 1 September 2011 ST. MARY’S, ON – “From museums to farms and from St. Marys to Sebringville there was
provincial money flowing Tuesday. The St. Marys Museum was given a $53,000
grant, while De Wetering Hill Farms and Erbcroft Farms were each given a $7,250 grant. The museum will use $15,000 to get a microfilm reader to preserve the
Journal Argus newspapers and begin the digitization of the archival collection.
…”
ArchitectureExpansion Planned for New York’s Center
for Architecture Rogers
Marvel Architects is designing the new, 2,000-square-foot space, which is
slated to open in early 2012. Architectural
Record, 7 September 2011 NEW YORK – “When AIA New York opened its Center for Architecture in 2003 in the heart of Greenwich
Village, it was among a handful of AIA chapters that offered a communal space
intended to both serve members and engage the public. The center
quickly became a vibrant gathering spot and found itself squeezed for space.
Now, eight years, 20 exhibitions, and more than 1,000 public programs later,
it is expanding. Korean Starchitect H-Sang Seung on Helming the Gwangju
Biennale With an Imprisoned Ai Weiwei Janelle
Zara, ARTINFO, 7 September 2011 SOUTH KOREA – “H-Sang Seung,
the founder of Seoul-based architectural firm IROJE, is a giant in Korean
architecture, renowned the world over. Aside from the commercial,
residential, religious, and educational buildings he's designed in Seoul, his
work has been showcased in Venice, Tokyo, and Abu Dhabi. Get a First Look at the New Clyfford Still
Museum in Denver, Designed by Brad Cloepfil ARTINFO, 6 September 2011 DENVER, COLORADO – “Designing a museum for an artist known for his terribilità is no easy assignment, which is why
Brad Cloepfil, whose Clyfford
Still Museum is scheduled to open in Denver on November 18, must be glad that
the legendarily ornery Abstract Expressionist is dead. The first photographs
to be released of the anxiously anticipated building, however, suggest that
the architect has paid close attention to the late artist's temperament —
with the result reflecting both Still's exacting expectations for his art and
his personal astringency. Cloepfil, of Allied
Works Architecture, has designed the museum to be the ideal place to see
Still's work; the architect said that he felt the building "should
settle into the earth and engage the surface of the prairie." …” superunion architects + powerhouse
company: jøssingfjord museum designboom, 2 September 2011 JǾSSINGFJORD, NORWAY - “Norwegian firm Superunion
Architects has collaborated with Danish and Dutch practice Powerhouse Company
to propose the 'Jøssingfjord Museum' for the
National Association of Norwegian Architects Competition to create a new
cultural facility for Jøssingfjord, Norway. Paying
homage to the past occurrence of mining activities in the immediate area, the
center accentuates the presence of the nearby hydro
power station and naturally occurring geology and caves. Carefully incised
into the base of a gorge, the form allows nature to be hierarchical to the
structure while minimally obstructing views across the valley. …” Angela Brady is second woman to become Royal Institute of British
Architects President Recent News, artdaily.org, 2 September 2011 LONDON – “Angela Brady will become President of the Royal Institute of
British Architects (RIBA), the UK body for architecture and the architectural
profession tomorrow (1 September 2011). Angela takes over the two-year
elected presidency from Ruth Reed. Angela is the 74th RIBA President, a
position previously held by Sir G. Gilbert Scott and Sir Basil Spence among
others; she is the second woman President. …” Arc of Light: Light rail bridge provides vital link between developing
communities World Architecture News, 2 September 2011 DENVER, CO – “The build out of light rail and
commuter rail transit in Denver, Colorado, is the largest infrastructure
project in North America and is expected to transform the region. The West
Corridor light rail, currently under construction, is the first of several
rail corridors that will be built in the region over next 10 years. The
corridor originates at lower downtown Denver’s historic Union Station and
terminates in the City of Golden. The corridor travels through the City of
Lakewood with a new station located on land recently owned by the U.S.
General Services Administration (GSA). …” Urban planning in China: P&T Group design Metropolitan Central
Business District in Tianjin World Architecture News, 2 September 2011 TIANJIN, CHINA – “The new Metropolitan
Central Business District is located southwest of Tianjin.
Its key element is the iconic 597m tall, 117 storeys
of 117 Goldin Financial tower,
which provides international Grade A office space and a 350 room five star
luxury hotel at the top. …” World Architecture News, 2 September 2011 TALLINN, ESTONIA – “The first international Tallinn Architecture Biennale (TAB) takes place September 8th - 11th in the Estonian capital. TAB’s main theme is landscape urbanism and the relationships between the fields of architecture, landscape architecture and urbanism. TAB comprises of multiple types of events: exhibitions, vision competition, symposium, lectures, discussions, workshops and guided tours in various parts of Tallinn. …” Technology U.S. cash helping spawn Canadian tech hubs Emily
Jackson, Globe and Mail, 6 September 2011
CANADA – “Big U.S. technology companies are on the hunt for mobile and
Internet startups based in Canada. Art and CultureChina’s New Cultural Revolution: A Surge in Art
Collecting Robin
Pogrebin, The New York Times, 6 September
2011 CHINA
– “As auction houses prepare for their fall sales, Chinese collectors are
expected to be a major boost for the market, raising their paddles for
big-ticket artworks despite a backdrop of global economic turmoil. With China’s economy booming, art collectors
there have become an increasingly powerful force in the market, demonstrating
a growing interest in Western as well as Asian art. […] The
current Chinese influx is fueled by the sort of new
wealth that has made the country home to the world’s largest number of
billionaires, according to the Hurun Rich List
2010, China’s version of the Forbes 400. The number of Chinese billionaires
is expected to increase 20 percent each year through 2014, according to Artprice. …” Have the Vandals Returned to Rome? Goons Attack the Colosseum and Other Historic Landmarks Noah
Charney, ARTINFO, 6 September 2011 ROME
— “Rome, of course, has a history of vandalism — it's where the term was
brutally coined. But rarely in recent years has the city seen as much
violence to its landmarks as it did this weekend, when hooligans attacked the
Trevi Fountain, the Fontana del Moro in Piazza Navona, and the Colosseum. …” London 2012:
Shakespeare Festival leads cultural events Helen Bushby, BBC News, 6 September
2011 LONDON – “The World Shakespeare Festival is the "trump card"
putting "art at the heart of the Olympics", the head of the
Cultural Olympiad has said. Ruth Mackenzie said the event, which is part of
the London 2012 Festival - will put "culture back up there with
sport" during next year's Games in London. It will include thousands of
performers in 70 productions, with global artists acting in their own
languages. The British Museum will host a show on London during Shakespeare's
time. Festival director Deborah Shaw said at the launch of the festival,
which is being produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, that it would
"redefine what's possible in creating a festival in a global age."
…” Hiding Up in Telluride, Silver on Screens A. O. Scott, The New York Times, 5 September 2011 TELLURIDE, COLORADO — “In the local vernacular, the Telluride Film
Festival is known as The Show. Each screening — of an Oscar aspirant, a
restored classic, a provocative documentary, a slow and quiet piece of
cinematic art — is its own show, but so is this town itself, a silver-mining
outpost high in the San Juan Mountains long ago converted to an oasis of
western-bohemian chic. The Show, which occurs every Labor
Day weekend (this is the 38th edition), evokes the eager, collective
do-it-yourself spirit of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland musicals, as a school
gymnasium, a restored opera house and a pocket-size park on the main street
are converted into movie theaters. There is also
plenty of the business of show, manifested in the names of sponsors read out
before every screening, and in the presence of renowned filmmakers and big
movie stars on the streets. Telluride’s mix of glamour and rusticity has a
special charm. The selection of films tends to be eclectic and surprising,
and the small size, short duration and remote location of the festival
combine to give it a relaxed, informal atmosphere. The festival headquarters
is called Brigadoon, and the event has an ephemeral, miragelike
quality. For four days we’re all hanging out watching movies and comparing
notes on them. You, me, my teenage son, the visiting film students with wide
eyes and orange badges, the nice couple from Tucson, Werner Herzog, George Clooney, Glenn Close. ...” Edinburgh International Festival box office down 3% Thom Dibdin, The Stage News, 5
September 2011 EDINBURGH – “The Edinburgh International Festival has closed with box
office income down 3% from last year, in the face of a slightly smaller
programme on an Asian-influenced theme which organisers acknowledged was
“challenging”. The festival’s initial box office estimate is £2.58 million,
down from £2.67 million in 2010. All performing arts productions are
finished, with the visual art exhibition by Hiroshi Sugimoto continuing until
the end of the month. A festival spokesman pointed out that there were fewer
seats available at this year’s staged events, adding that the festival is
waiting until all figures are in before releasing total ticket take-up. The
spokesman emphasised that the festival has balanced its budget this year. …” At Burning Man, Air-Conditioning, RVs Make Inroads Stu Woo and Justin Scheck, The Wall Street
Journal, 3 September 2011 BLACK ROCK CITY, NEVADA—“The giant Burning Man art festival, in its
official manifesto, calls on attendees to exhibit "radical
self-reliance" as they camp and frolic on the dry lakebed here for a
week every year. Burning Man's mantra is so compelling that some 50,000
participants have gathered in this rustic setting for the 25th annual rite.
But some bourgeois Burners are calling upon more than spiritual vibes to tap
their inner self. They've got hired help. Elon
Musk, chief executive of electric-car maker Tesla Motors and co-founder of eBay Inc.'s PayPal unit, is
among those eschewing the tent life. He is paying for an elaborate compound
consisting of eight recreational vehicles and trailers stocked with food,
linens, groceries and other essentials for himself
and his friends and family, say employees of the outfitter, Classic
Adventures RV. Burning Man is like any other community, with "a lower
class, a middle class, an upper class," says Dane Johnson, a Classic
manager, standing outside the Musk compound. "We cater to the upper.
People with money do not wish to stay in a tent." …” NYC's Plan to Support Emerging
Artists? Send Them to an Old Folks Home Julia Halperin, ARTINFO, 2 September
2011 NEW YORK—“Senior centers aren't just for
bridge, shuffleboard, and bingo anymore. They are also, apparently, a place
for high art — at least in New York, anyway. The city's Department of
Cultural Affairs announced today a call for artists to participate in a
program called SPARC: Seniors Partnering with Artists Citywide. The
initiative will place approximately 50 artists-in-residence at senior centers across the five boroughs of New York City. …” Montreal’s new symphony hall is about to make its debut. Acoustically,
will it thrill? Robert Everett-Green, Globe and Mail, 2 September 2011 MONTREAL — “The backstage area is still mostly raw concrete, and
sheets of bright green insulation are visible on the exterior. But the
essential part of Montreal’s new symphony building – the hall itself – is
ready for its public debut this week. Like many projects that take decades to
get started, this one is finishing at a gallop. Workmen were still prowling
around as the musicians of l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal had
their first chance to play in their new principal home at Place des Arts last
week, and the word is that they liked what they heard. The new 1,900
seat-auditorium is a very shapely container. Toronto architects Diamond +
Schmitt and a pair of acoustical consultants (Sound Space Design’s Bob Essert, working under contract to the architects; and Artec’s Tateo Nakajima,
reporting to the Quebec government) have left almost no surface without some
kind of curve. …” Whistler embracing cultural tourism in bid to widen its appeal Wendy Stueck, Globe and Mail, 2
September 2011 WHISTLER, BC – “Heads down, thighs pumping, cyclists are a common
sight on the Sea-To-Sky Highway these days, some of them no doubt prepping
for the RBC GranFondo Whistler. The one-day race –
set for Sept. 10 on the scenic, winding route between Vancouver and Whistler–
debuted just last year but has already become a hit, with 7,000 people signed
up to ride and thousands more expected to take in post-race revelry in
Whistler. The event’s popularity has come as a relief to founders and
supporters, including government agencies that oversee road closings for the
race. The rising number of cyclists on the highway also speak to
behind-the-scenes strategies in Whistler, where politicians, community
leaders and volunteers are involved in a long-term effort to make the
community as well-known for festivals and cultural events – sports-oriented
or not – as for powder and gondolas. …” Georgina art gallery wants move: Eyes up former Sutton school Heidi Riedner, YorkRegion.com, 1
September 2011 ONTARIO – “The Georgina Arts Centre and Gallery is at the head of the
class when it comes to vying for available space at the former Sutton Public
School site. Now that the town officially owns the building and property on Dalton
Road in Sutton at a cost of $888,706.50, the GACG was the first to present a
proposal for its future use. Armed with a vision of creating a community hub, both
the centre’s new board chairperson, Brian Busby and executive director
Heather Fullerton, offered plans to council Monday for the site as the new
home for the arts centre and gallery. …” Conseil des Arts de Montréal: Montréal souhaite mieux célébrer ses créateurs Jean-François Cyr, Canoë.ca, 1
September 2011 MONTRÉAL – “Pour mieux faire rayonner le talent des créateurs
et célébrer leur
excellence, le Conseil des arts de Montréal, en collaboration avec la Ville et plusieurs autres partenaires, a annoncé jeudi la création des Prix de Montréal pour les arts et la culture. Neuf bourses et un Prix hommage
seront ainsi remis lors d'un événement annuel qui aura lieu
pour la première fois le 1er novembre
prochain. …” Europe Braces for a Shift in the Arts By Roslyn Sulcas, The New York Times, 25
August 2011 “LONDON burns as disenfranchised youth loot and smash windows. Outside
the Greek Parliament, the police, brandishing shields, confront screaming
protesters. Tens of thousands camped in Madrid’s Puerta
del Sol square demonstrate against the soaring unemployment rate. These are
some of the images emblazoned across newspapers and televisions over the last
weeks, painting this European summer as a season of outrage and mayhem, an
ominous portent of sweeping economic and social change. But life, and art,
went on. At the 10,000-seat Epidaurus Ancient Theater, performances of the Bridge Project’s “Richard
III,” starring Kevin Spacey, sold out. The Athens Festival, which presented
the show, saw its tickets sales increase by 24 percent over last year, and
the Barcelona Festival too found its audiences unexpectedly larger, while in
France the Avignon, Montpellier and Aix-en-Provence
Festivals were as large-scale and popular as ever. Perhaps, as a number of
festival and theater directors hypothesized in
recent conversations, people turn to art in difficult times. But, as they
also soberly acknowledged, there is no doubt that the current crises that
beset Europe are going to have a major effect on the arts. State support for
culture — long posited as a taxpayer’s right, like decent roads or health
care — is showing distinct signs of erosion, with a move toward the American
fund-raising model, which suggests that art is a luxury to be paid for by
those to whom it matters. …” Institutional Models for Culture SICSUR, as reported by IFACCA, 22 August 2011 ARGENTINA – “SICSUR [Sistema del Información Cultural del Mercosur]
distributed in 2010 a survey on institutional models for culture in its ten
member countries. It asked about the type or national body in charge of
cultural policy, its hierarchical rank within its governmental structure and
its main cultural policy objectives. In November 2010 a preliminary analysis
of this survey was carried out and the final results will be published in
November 2011. The preliminary analysis points out that five countries have a
Ministry of Culture (Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru), two have a
National Secretariat (Argentina and Paraguay), there is one National
Direction (Uruguay) and one Council (Chile) it being the only one in which
the regions and the sectors are represented. …” New major arts festival planned with the focus on arts, creativity and
ageing Creative Scotland, 18 August 2011 SCOTLAND – “Next year, Scotland's world famous festivals will be joined
by another major event, an inspiring and ambitious annual festival of the
arts for, by, with and about older people organised by Creative Scotland and
Age Scotland, in partnership with The Baring Foundation. The new festival,
based loosely on the Welsh Gwanwyn and Irish Bealtaine festivals, will be launched specifically to
engage older members of society. It forms part of Creative Scotland’s
drive to encourage those who have not engaged with the arts to connect more
with cultural events and activities. The 2008 "Taking Part" study
on attendance and participation in the arts found that older people are less
likely than many other groups to be involved in the arts. …” Economies and Tourism
Tourisme : une
bonne saison, malgré la météo Le Figaro, 2 September 2011 FRANCE – “D'après la DGCIS, le nombre de nuitées a progressé de 3,1% cet été par rapport à l'année dernière.
Mais toutes les régions françaises n'en bénéficient pas. La saison touristique
n'a pas été aussi morose que la météo du mois
de juillet l'avait fait craindre. Elle serait même finalement plutôt bonne, d'après le bilan dressé cette semaine par la direction générale
de la compétitivité, de l'industrie
et des services (DGCIS). Selon des chiffres encore provisoires, le
nombre de nuitées a progressé de 3,1% cet été par rapport à l'année dernière,
le mois d'août ayant finalement été plus porteur que juillet. […] Hausse du
tourisme culturel […] globalement, l'effet
du mauvais temps a été compensé
par l'attrait croissant des touristes
pour les offers culturelles, dont
les grandes villes tirent pleinement bénéfice. …” Gatineau tourism group receives
$100K for feasibility study Ottawa Business Journal, 1 September 2011 OTTAWA – “A tourism group called Destination Gatineau
has received $100,000 in repayable federal funding for a feasibility study
aimed at “a distinctive tourism offering” along the Ottawa River. The
group is looking to develop the area between the Chaudières
Falls and the Gatineau River, a spot that already
has the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the former E.B. Eddy plant and
Jacques-Cartier Park. …” By Ian Mount, The New York Times, 1 September 2011 BUENOS AIRES – “ARGENTINA may seem like one of the last countries on
earth to offer lessons for dealing with economic malaise. Once the
eighth-largest economy in the world, it steadily slid through the 20th
century, thanks to decades of repressive dictatorships and inconsistent
market experiments. This ended ignominiously in 2001, when it defaulted on
$100 billion in sovereign debt, plunging over half its 35 million people into
poverty. That, at least, is the Argentina people know. Since then, it has
performed an economic U-turn — an achievement largely unnoticed outside Latin
America, but one that President Obama and Congress
should look to for inspiration. Argentina is not without problems, but its recent economic record
speaks for itself: the economy has grown by over 6 percent a year for seven
of the last eight years, unemployment has been cut to under
8 percent today from over 20 percent in 2002, and the poverty level has
fallen by almost half over the last decade. The streets of Buenos Aires are
choked with cars as Argentines are on track to buy some 800,000 new vehicles
this year; the wine mecca of Mendoza is full of
high-end tasting rooms, hotels and restaurants offering regional haute
cuisine; and plasma TVs and BlackBerrys have become
household staples among the urban middle class. …” |
|
|
