|
|
||
 |
 |
|
|
|
||
  Previous Issues |
||
|
|
|
|
Featured StoryQR codes offer guided tour of new museum
Bruce Own, The Winnipeg Free Press, 24 August 2011 “ A good smartphone and about half an hour is all it takes for a self-guided tour of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights construction site. Just click a photo of one of five Quick Response code signs attached to the fence around the massive site at The Forks and you can hear what workers are building on the other side. How much the QR code signs appeal to people will help the museum's staff develop a similar interactive tour when the $310-million museum opens in about two years, spokeswoman Angela Cassie said Tuesday after taking the Free Press on a QR exterior tour. "But we don't want technology to be a barrier to anyone," she added. The five QR code stations outside the museum's work site provide an explanation of its design and architect Antoine Predock's intention to create a building that swirls upwards like a cloud. 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 and Lord Cultural Resources in the News
Holland Cotter, The New York Times, 1 September 2011 “The Brooklyn Museum is doing some territorial reshuffling on its
first floor. What has long been the gift shop will soon be a new cafe, while
the shop itself will move into a former exhibition gallery nearby. The change
will give the museum’s two primary social and commercial attractions a gain in
size or visibility, but in the process art is taking a bit of a hit. As part
of the revised floor plan the African galleries, which once claimed a
privileged spot right off the lobby, have already been relocated a distance
away. They’re now smaller than before, and they’re not fully enclosed, so
they have a transient, work-in-progress look. But there’s good news. Within
limitations the new permanent-collection display, titled “African
Innovations,” is effective. It eliminates the graphic overkill of the former
installation, sets out work with an easily graspable logic and over all shows
the African holdings to decent advantage. It would be pretty hard not to. The
stuff is spectacular, an institutional treasure …” TIFF turns
classy live theatre into movie palace Martin Knelman,
thestar.com, 30 August 2011 TORONTO – “Let’s hear it
for one of the biggest stars making a splashy debut at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.
Movie lovers, meet the Princess of Wales Theatre. The place is already known
and loved by patrons of live theatre, having played home over the past 18
years to Miss Saigon, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Hairspray, Lord of
the Rings, Priscilla Queen of the Desert and, just this summer, Hugh Jackman in Concert. Next week, just after the opening of
Toronto’s 36th fall film orgy, the P of W joins the exclusive club of
large-capacity culture palaces that have been used for TIFF galas and special
presentations …” Fords seek
to revise waterfront plan that was years in the making Elizabeth
Church, Globe and Mail Update, Monday, August 29, 2011 TORONTO – “Waterfront Toronto is defending its plan
for the port lands – which involved years of consultations – following the
revelation that the Ford administration has a plan of its own, and is seeking
to put control of the development solely in the hands of the city. The
existing plans for the 1,000-acre site, which received unanimous approval
last year from the former city council, took years to hammer out, along with
investment from three levels of government, said Marisa Piattelli,
spokeswoman for Waterfront Toronto, the agency created by the federal,
provincial and city governments to oversee revitalization of the eastern
harbor and Lower Don Lands. …” Robyn Doolittle, thestar.com,
30 August 2011 TORONTO – “In Doug Ford’s Toronto: A wide-eyed tourist arrives at
Union Station, camera in hand, and jumps on board a newly built monorail (not
operated by the TTC, by the way). Our visitor could head west to Ontario
Place, checking out a soccer game at BMO Field or spend a day wandering
around the water park, but let’s assume they’re looking for something a bit
more exciting: like a ride on the world’s largest Ferris wheel. For that,
they would head eastbound, past the Toronto Star building at the foot of Yonge St., taking in views of the Toronto Island, before
hanging a right turn on Cherry St. Cross the Keating Channel, then Ship
Channel, and there’s Toronto’s bigger and bolder version of the London Eye.
It would be a “cash cow” for the city, Ford said Tuesday. …” There’s fog
in Doug Ford’s waterfront vision Robyn
Doolittle, thestar.com, August 31, 2011 TORONTO – “Councillor
Doug Ford tried to clarify his waterfront vision Tuesday, but ended up
further confusing officials about the city's intentions for the Port Lands.
The uncertainty is in the geography. Ford hopes to lure private investors to
build a monorail system, world-class shopping mall and a gigantic Ferris
wheel on a barren portion of land south of the Don Valley Parkway known as
the Port Lands. Specially, these “very preliminary” projects are slated to be
built south of the Ship Channel, below a section of land known as the Lower Don
Lands. The Lower Don Lands make up the northwest portion of the larger Port
Lands and is where Waterfront Toronto
has completed plans for a mixed-use community …” Don’t kill waterfront neighbourhood, urban designer says Daniel Dale, thestar.com, 30 August 2011 TORONTO – “Councillor Doug Ford frequently says he would like the city
to conduct itself more like a business. But Toronto would be squandering
millions if it chooses to pursue his vision for the Port Lands instead of the
existing plan for a mixed-use neighbourhood, says a prominent urban designer
involved in the planning. “I’m looking at this with a certain amount of disbelief,”
urban designer Ken Greenberg said Monday. “I find it hard to believe that
such a thing would actually happen.” Greenberg was part of the team that won Waterfront Toronto’s international
competition to design the area known as the Lower Don Lands. On Tuesdsay, after Ford elaborated on his vision, Greenberg
added: “This flies in the face of common sense in so
many ways.” …” [For more commentary on this issue, see also Port Lands councillor Paula Fletcher slams ‘backroom’ planning,
by Elizabeth Church, From Wednesday's Globe and Mail, Published Tuesday,
Aug. 30, 2011 9:53PM EDT, Last updated Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011 6:13AM EDT, Ford’s 'abrupt and odd' move to take control of Port Lands denounced,
by Elizabeth Church, From Tuesday's Globe
and Mail, Published Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011 3:00AM EDT, Last updated
Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011 10:04PM EDT and The not-so-funny truth about Toronto’s Ferris wheel idea,
by Siri Agrell, From
Thursday's Globe and Mail,
Published Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011 8:29PM EDT, Last updated Thursday, Sep.
01, 2011 4:58AM EDT] Mandel
defends Alberta Museum designs CBC News, Sunday,
August 28, 2011 EDMONTON, ALBERTA –
“Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel is defending the designs for the new Royal Alberta Museum. The province
plans to build the museum at 103A Avenue and 99th Street in downtown Edmonton
— but the four designs recently released have drawn criticism from the public
and a city councillor. Mandel said the backlash is
uncalled for. “People have overreacted to four schematics that can be dressed
up and changed and looked at in a different way,” he said. “I’m not going to
comment anymore than [to say I’m] really pleased the province is building the
new museum downtown. The Royal Museum is going to be a great asset to our
city of Edmonton [and] the province of Alberta.”…” If it’s September, it must be Venice: but Europe’s film festivals face
a new threat Celebrities will grace the Lido's red carpet this week but
the magic of the world's oldest film festival is fading. Big stars with eyes
on Hollywood awards now seek plaudits at the upstart in Toronto as a better
proving ground for success. Jason Solomon, The Observer,
guardian.co.uk, 28 August 2011 “As holidaymakers fold up the sunloungers
and head back to Milan and Rome, they are rolling out the red carpet on the
Venice Lido and dusting off the gold leaf lion statues that line the processionary route. The Venice film festival not only
extends the travel industry's summer season, it kickstarts
the film industry's awards season frenzy. For some, that first red carpet of
the season may stretch from Italy all the way to the Oscars in Los Angeles
next February. […]For its 68th manifestation, Venice has wrested back some
much-needed stardust and artistic heft. However long-established the
eleven-day event has been (it is the world's oldest film festival, founded at
the behest of Benito Mussolini – understandably, they don't make too much of
this connection any more), it has been in danger of losing lustre to the
upstart Toronto festival, which
begins only nine days after Venice starts …” New museum mustn’t build more walls in city Adam Kasa, edmontonjournal.com,
27
August 2011 EDMONTON, ALBERTA – “The new Royal
Alberta Museum is not just a building; it's going to be a huge piece of
our city. The question we have to ask ourselves is not just what kind of
building excites us architecturally, but what kind of city we want to build.
Over the next five years the arena, museum and other projects just north of
downtown will see over $1 billion going into a few small city blocks. If we
think the surrounding neighbourhoods will remain unchanged we're either
extremely clairvoyant, or disastrously naive. Since we know it's a lot harder
to change a piece of a city once it’s built – think South Edmonton Common –
we’ve got to get this the right first time around …” Kudos for three great art shows in Canada Martin Knelman, Toronto
Star, 26 August 2011 “Call it a tale of three cities and a tale of three stunning
exhibitions that have been drawing art lovers all summer. As autumn looms,
all three are shifting into last-chance mode. But it’s still possible to
catch all three if you plan your schedule carefully. First to move into the
going-going-gone stage is the one closest to home. The Art Gallery of Ontario’s landmark Abstract Expressionist show
from New York’s Museum of Modern Art will close on Sunday, Sept 4 after a
14-week run. This is one of the most thrilling exhibits the AGO has ever had.
It would be a crime to miss it …” Esther Gordy Edwards, founder and the driving force behind Motown Museum, dead at 91 Recent News, artdaily.org, 25 August 2011 DETROIT – “Esther Gordy Edwards, the sister of Motown
Records founder Berry Gordy Jr. and the driving force behind the museum that
continues to preserve the label's legacy, has died at age 91. The Motown Historical Museum, which Gordy
Edwards founded in 1985, announced her death on Thursday. …” Bytown Museum director takes new
post Kristy Nease, Ottawa Citizen, 24
August 2011 OTTAWA – “The director of the Bytown
Museum is moving on to a new job after three years of shaping the
museum’s “new community focus” and forging a strong relationship with the
city’s arts community, the museum announced Wednesday. Mike Steinhauer served his last day on Friday after accepting
a new position at the Department of Canadian Heritage, said Francesco Corsaro, the museum’s development director. …” Takeaways from "Act
Locally/Think Globally" Symposium Ericka Hedgecock,
ESI Design, August 17, 2011 “If there is one key takeaway from this year's Society for Environmental
Graphic Design Exhibition and Experience Design Symposium it was this: Work
your networks. Starting or expanding your business abroad is a complex, if
not daunting, endeavor. Developing a network of international partners,
fabricators, vendors, and resources requires trust and faith – trust in the
value of your ability and services, and faith that you can work together to
produce your vision to exceed the expectations established between you and
your client. How and where to start? Held annually since 2004 at the
extraordinary Cranbrook Academy of Art, the 2011
Symposium topic was "Act Locally/ Think Globally". SEGD is a global
community of people working at the intersection of communication design and
the built environment. In addition to a robust conference and workshop
schedule, SEGD provides advanced learning and leadership to a community of
1,600 members. This year's symposium brought valuable insight into the
challenges and opportunities of establishing yourself in the international
marketplace. Below are highlights from our discussions: 1. Develop cultural intelligence. Though your clients may
seem Westernized, their cultural assumptions vary. Brad King, VP of Lord Cultural Resources maintains that attention
to your process and expectations are essential to success. Communication is
filtered through culture, and being aware of cultural context can limit
misdirection and misunderstanding. Invest in your firm's cultural literacy
and adapt your processes to reflect your understanding of the local culture.
Relevancy isn't just about showing up …”
MuseumsBenghazi museum shows scars,
triumphs of Libya revolt Alexander Dziadosz, Reuters, 1
September 2011 BENGHAZI, LIBYA – “Free for
the first time to make art about whatever he wants, veteran Libyan sculptor
Ali al-Wakwak chose gnarled mortar shrapnel, bullet
casings and shattered gun barrels as his medium. "I saw the ammunition
around, and so I thought I'd make something nice with it," the stout,
bearded 63-year-old said as he sat sipping espresso outside a new art museum
displaying his works near Benghazi's port. As with many of the exhibits at
the museum, housed in a monarchy-era palace, Wakwak's
motifs revolve mostly around war, testament to the scars the six-month old
uprising against Muammar Gaddafi has left on the North African country. But
the fact the new museum exists at all is a triumph for local artists, and
many see it as evidence of the creative and open future they hope awaits
their country despite its fractious politics, beleaguered public services and
glut of heavy weapons …” Museums Get Creative with
Their Permanent Collections Benjamin A. Snyder, Hyperallergic,
1 September 2011 “Every time a museum comes
up with a creative and intelligent way to take advantage of their own
permanent collection, an angel gets its wings. Do not get me wrong; traveling
blockbuster exhibitions are not all bad. But, bear in mind that when they hop
from museum to museum, countless masterpiece works from esteemed permanent
collections are shuttled off to dark storage rooms hidden far from public
view. In recent years, the economic downturn has made expensive traveling
exhibitions less appealing to (or, in some cases, flat-out unfeasible for) a
number of museums. One recent high-profile victim of this trend was Jeffrey Dietch’s popular (if not popular with the critics)
mega-display “Art in the Streets” at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary
Art, which was set to travel to New York next year but was scratched by the
Brooklyn Museum, who cited “unfortunate” budget concerns relating to the
show’s high price tag. Instead, museums are turning more, and with more
creativity, to their own permanent collections. Is necessity the mother of
invention once again, or is there a common interest among museums to breathe
new life into their own holdings? (Or both?) Either way, the public is
reaping the benefits …” Christchurch museum ready to
re-open Hamish Clark, 3 News, 1 September 2011 CHRISTCHURCH, NZ - One of
Christchurch's oldest buildings is opening its doors again, six months after
the February earthquake. The Canterbury Museum escaped the quake relatively
lightly, with minor damage and fewer than 200 exhibits affected. Conservator Shasha Stollman has been
restoring the museum’s priceless porcelain back to its original condition.
One French vase was mounted inside a wire bracket in the Mountford
Gallery when the quake hit. “We have got 12,000 objects on display and of
that less than 200 were damaged and we think that is a fantastic result,”
says acting museum director Nigel Tecofsky …” Fort Worth museum celebrates
50 years of art Rachel Peel, The Rambler.org, 31 August 2011 FORT WORTH, TEXAS – “Amon Carter Museum of American Art captured an audience
of 4,000 people Aug. 13 in Downtown Fort Worth. The Amon
Carter Museum of American Art celebrated its 50th anniversary with free food,
live music and an ARTinteractive opportunity for
the community. Amy Gabaldon, Keller resident, said
she has been to the museum before, but when she received an email about the
event she and her family decided to attend.
"I don't know if they do this every year or not, but it's
awesome," Gabaldon said. "My favorite
part about the event was the free dinner." Andrew Walker, director of
the Amon Carter, came to Fort Worth in April 2011
and said when he came to the museum the plans for the 50 Fest had already
been made. The 50th anniversary is a year-long celebration …” Catherine Pégard,
d’un château à l’autre Artclair.com,
31.08.2011 PARIS – “La nomination de
Catherine Pégard à la présidence
du château de Versailles a été
confirmée mercredi 31 août. Une nomination très politique qui sonne comme un cadeau pour services rendus. «
La grande culture, les qualités
d’organisation et le talent avéré
en matière de communication » sont-ils des qualités suffisantes pour diriger une institution aussi lourde que le Château de Versailles ? Il semble que le ministre de la Culture, Frédéric Mitterrand a dû se creuser la tête pour faire l’éloge de Catherine Pégard, dont la nomination à la Présidence
de l’Etablissement public du château, du musée et du domaine national de
Versailles a été confirmée
mercredi 31 août en Conseil des ministres …” Museums waging war on exhibit-eating bugs BBC News,
31 August 2011 “Collections of
irreplaceable and valuable artefacts in many of
Britain’s museums and heritage properties are under threat from a growing
army of insects, particularly moth and beetle larvae. Can we stop them
munching away on our precious relics? "If you have ethnographic objects
from around the world which were collected maybe 200 years ago, maybe some of
these people are no longer producing these objects, maybe some have even died
out... you can't just go and get another one." "Bug man" David
Pinniger, an entomologist and renowned heritage
site pest control consultant, knows how important it is to put an end to an
infestation before the damage becomes irreversible …” London philanthropists support
Middle Eastern art Eislers launch foundation to fund shows at the Tate and
British Museum Gareth Harris, The Art Newspaper, Web only, Published
online 30 August 2011 LONDON – “Husband-and-wife
philanthropists Maryam and Edward Eisler have launched a new foundation that will fund
curatorial posts, acquisitions and major shows at institutions such as the
Tate and the British Museum (BM). The latter has acquired modern and
contemporary Iranian works through the new foundation ...” World’s first Jackie Chan
museum to open in Shanghai The kung fu superstar will soon
host his own movie studio, art gallery and Avenue of Stars beside Suzhou
Creek CNNGo,
August 30, 2011 SHANGHAI - “Jackie Chan
might just be the most famous Chinese in the world. He's certainly one of the
most talented. The 57-year-old multilingual Hong Kong-born celebrity is a
kung fu master, stars in and directs movies, croons pop songs and organizes
charity events. Now the world's first museum bearing his name is set to open
in Shanghai. The Jackie Chan Museum, built inside a revamped factory, is expected
to open later this year, reported Shanghai Daily. […]
The Jackie Chan Museum is a part of Shanghai Putuo
government’s plan to redevelop its 14 kilometer-long Suzhou River bank area.
More than 10 other museums are planned to open along Suzhou Creek in Putuo by the end of 2013, including Shanghai Textile
Museum, Shanghai Brand Museum and Shanghai Matchbox Museum, all of which will
be located in old factory buildings …” Art Gallery of Hamilton
announces new design space Recent News, artdaily.org, Monday, August 29, 2011 HAMILTON, ONTARIO – “The
Art Gallery of Hamilton will unveil a storefront dedicated to design and
incorporating retail, event and performance space on the ground floor of 118
James Street North in Spring 2012. The generously-sized space is located in a
20th-century commercial building and features exposed brick, hardwood floors,
a pressed tin ceiling and large windows. “We were approached by the owners of
118 James Street North to partner as tenants on the ground floor of this
revitalized building. We were impressed by their commitment to downtown and
to maintaining the integrity of the building,” says AGH President and CEO
Louise Dompierre. “The unique space offered the Art
Gallery of Hamilton the opportunity to expand its retail and Art Rental and
Sales operations, to develop a memorable event venue, and to host various
Gallery performances, screenings and other activities.” …” $4 Million Raised for Arkansas
Arts Center; Debt Erased Jan Cottingham,
arkansasbusiness.com, 8/29/2011
3:33:42 PM LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS –
“Warren Stephens, chairman of the Arkansas Arts Center Foundation, on Monday
announced that the foundation had raised $4 million for the Arts Center,
eliminating the center's troublesome debt. The gifts included two challenge
gifts of $1 million each made by two donors who wished to remain anonymous, Stephens
said. All the foundation directors, as well as others, then chipped in,
raising the additional money - $2.17 million in total - to match the
challenge …” In Edinburgh, Festival
Exhibitions and a New Museum Paul Levy, The Wall Street Journal, 26 August
2011 “One of the most cheering
aspects of the 12 Edinburgh summer festivals is that they are finally
beginning to cooperate with each other and coordinate events—for their own
benefit and for that of festivalgoers. The best
example is the Edinburgh Art Festival's many events. There has been an
explosion of the visual arts in the city this summer, with the Edinburgh International
Festival even partnering two exhibitions and devoting three pages of its
official brochure to them. And if that
is not enough, Edinburgh's completely transformed National Museum of Scotland
(www.nms.ac.uk/scotland) has just reopened its doors, with its revamped
display of 20,000 objects in 36 galleries. You'd never guess it from the
museum's foursquare building on Chambers Street in the center of town, but
the inside is a delicate Victorian cast-iron set of galleries around a vast
open space, and with superb overhead natural lighting. The restoration, by
the Scottish firm Gareth Hoskins Architects, has made possible the display of
some of the museum's holdings in the way originally intended: by daylight, in
a floor space with light, elegant overhead arches and slender columns. The
collection poses plenty of problems, however, and these are not so
successfully dealt with by the American museum exhibition design firm Ralph Applebaum Associates …” VMFA, VCU announce record $115
million cash gift Holly Prestidge
and Michael Paul Williams, Richmond
Times-Dispatch, Published: August 25, 2011, Updated: August 25, 2011 -
11:43 PM RICHMOND, VIRGINIA – “With
Champagne flutes held aloft, the leadership of the Virginia Museum of Fine
Arts and Virginia Commonwealth University toasted bequests totaling $115
million — the largest cash gift in each organization's history. In an
announcement made Thursday afternoon in the museum's Marble Hall, they said
nearly $70 million will go to the VMFA to create a restricted art purchase
endowment and to support the museum's recent expansion …” [see also Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, VCU and 13 charities to receive $125
million bequest Recent News, artdaily.org,
26 August 2011] |
|
|