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Friday, May 19, 2006

Gioia: The NEA's Back National Endowment for the Arts chairman Dana Gioia says the agency has left its sometimes controversial past behind. "Some of artists the NEA supported in the late 1980s and 1990s prompted conservatives to try to destroy the agency. Its detractors argued it was funding art that was obscene and offensive. Its budget was cut by 40 percent. Today, it is far less controversial and there is little public criticism of its offerings, which include Shakespeare, poetry and opera." Washington Post 05/19/06

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Corporate Funding? It Has Its Downsides "The art world's increasing reliance on the private sector for funding creates a series of challenges. First, rich companies tend to be interested only in the best-known brands. Second, if not handled carefully, sponsorship can leave galleries open to accu-sations of kowtowing to commercial interests." New Statesman 05/22/06

NAC Drops Gag Order "The public row between [Canada's] National Arts Centre and its employees over a controversial confidentiality policy ended yesterday when the NAC dropped its demand that staff sign a document some considered a gag order... To ease union worries, the NAC at first agreed to soften the letter, but eventually decided to drop it altogether. The policy will now be covered under Canadian common law, which specifies that employees cannot disclose their employers' secrets even if they haven't signed a confidentiality agreement." Ottawa Citizen 05/17/06

San Antonio May Pursue A PAC "A consultant hired by the city [of San Antonio] to study local needs for cultural facilities has sketched a recommendation for a new multi-hall performing arts center — price tag unknown — and about $20 million in upgrades to existing venues." San Antonio Express-News 05/17/06

Richmond Ponders Extra Funding For Evicted Arts Groups The city of Richmond, Virginia now finds itself without a primary performance venue, after the Carpenter Center, home to multiple area arts groups, closed for a multi-year renovation. In the interim, the Richmond Symphony, Virginia Opera, Richmond Ballet, and other Carpenter tenants are looking to the city to help them offset the revenue shortfall from being homeless. But divvying up the stopgap funds has proved to be a bit of a challenge for city officials. Style Weekly (Richmond) 05/17/06

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Who's Gagging Whom? The Ottawa chapter of the American Federation of Musicians has been outspoken in denouncing a new confidentiality agreement proposed by the National Arts Centre for its employees, and has encouraged members of the NAC Orchestra to refuse to sign. But apparently, the union itself has rules governing what its members can and cannot say publicly. A union bylaw states that members should not speak ill of one another publicly. However, union officials note that the bylaw is part of a code of ethics, not a legally binding command, and further point out that, while the bylaw is only in effect while a musician is a member of the Ottawa local, the NAC's new rule would require that employees stay silent for their entire lives. Ottawa Citizen 05/16/06

Monday, May 15, 2006

UK Facing End-Of-Year Academic Crisis There is an ongoing targeted strike in the UK by lecturers at the country's universities, and as the school year draws to a close, the continued refusal of lecturers to mark papers, assign grades, and give tests puts thousands of British students at risk of having their graduation delayed. "Many universities [expect] the greatest disruption to take place in subjects such as history, sociology and education, where academic staff tend to be the most unionised." The Guardian (UK) 05/16/06

NAC To Reconsider Internal Gag Order In response to vociferous objections from unions at the National Arts Centre, the confidentiality agreement the NAC had asked all employees to sign is under review. "The letter threatens workers with punishment or termination if they break the confidentiality agreement," and opponents say that it would nullify a law passed in 2004 to protect whistleblowers. CBC Ottawa 05/15/06

  • Ottawa Orchestra Demands Silence (From Its Employees) Ottawa's National Arts Centre has ordered its employees, including the members of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, to sign "a document promising to reveal no supposedly confidential information about the [NAC] for as long as they live." The push for silence comes in the wake of months of controversy over NACO music director Pinchas Zukerman's relationship with his musicians. As one might expect, the union representing the NACO players is not pleased with the proposal... Ottawa Citizen 05/13/06

Sunday, May 14, 2006

The NEA At 40 The National Endowment for the Arts celebrates the milestone. An exhibition gives some idea how far. "We've come a long way. Parallel to the art of engagement has been a politics of disengagement, at least when it comes to arts funding. The only reason the NEA could meet in the midst of this exhibition without a firestorm is that, politically, the NEA has disengaged not just from funding this kind of art, but from the people, artists, curators and audiences who are interested in it." Washington Post 05/14/06

Vancouver's Precinct Of Culture? Vancouver wants to build a "cultural precinct". "Among other things, the development might include a provincial Asia-Pacific Museum of Trade and Culture, a National Gallery of Aboriginal Art and two performance halls. Some observers are skeptical; the provincial government, until very recently, has had an appalling record when it comes to supporting the arts." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 05/13/06

A Fight To Get gays On The Curriculum A bill in the California state legislature would "forbid the teaching of any material that reflects adversely on persons due to sexual orientation. 'One of the things that contribute to a safe or unsafe environment for kids are the teaching materials. If you have teaching material that didn't say anything at all about gay and lesbian people, it is assumed that they never did anything at all. But if it said anything about gay and lesbian people, the whole atmosphere of the school was safer for gay and lesbian kids, or those thought to be gay and lesbian'." The New York Times 05/12/06

Soaked In Media (For Fun And Relaxation) In Japan, those in search of a reality escape can go to media immersion centers. "The first Gran Cyber Café opened in 1999. Today there are 10, serving some 5,000 people a day. Each has a slightly different orientation — some are geared to teenagers, some to salarymen — but the atmosphere is the same throughout the franchise: equal parts lending library, newsstand, arcade, Kinko's and youth hostel. An inspired extension of the basic Internet cafe, the Gran Cyber Cafés shift their meaning the more you study them, as if by a trick of their trademark low light." The New York Times 05/14/06


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