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La dama de la cultura
Cada vez que ponemos el pie en un museo es muy probable que Gail Lord, co fundadora de Lord Cultural Resources, haya tenido algo que ver en el resultado. Charlamos con ella para entender de dónde viene y hacia dónde se dirige un sector clave en España.
José María Álvarez; fotografía Adrián Domínguez, Esquire (Spain), Enero/January 2012 issue, p. 95
SPAIN – "Dicen que la síntesis espiritual de un país tiene mucho que ver con su arte. Probablemente movida por esta máxima, la canadiense Gail Lord se diera cuenta en 1981 (junto a su marido, Barry Lord) de que muchos de los lugares por los que viajaba en el mundo "no cuidaban como deberían su patrimonio para hacer de la visita una experiencia plena." De ese modo nació Lord Cultural Resources, compañía pionera especializada en la gestión de bienes y servicios culturales por todo el mundo. Tal y como nos explica, "nos encargamos desde la planificación del espacio (edificio o museo) en colaboración con arquitectos, pasando por el desarrollo del recorrido con expertos en diseño, hasta la confección de una estrategia o estudio del mercado local que permita explotar al máximo los recursos de cada lugar."
Rights museum left in lurch
Opening delayed; out of money; a top executive quits
Mia Rabson, Winnipeg Free Press, 17 December 2011
OTTAWA, Canada – "The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is now without a board chairman as the institution grapples not only with cost overruns but also delays in its opening.
Winnipeg business heavyweight Arni Thorsteinson's resignation takes affect Jan. 1.
There is no word yet on a replacement for Thorsteinson -- whose abrupt decision to leave the board was met with silence from the federal government that initially appointed him.
Thorsteinson will now rejoin the museum's fundraising arm as a board member instead."
BP plc : BP and Leading UK Cultural Institutions Extend Partnerships with £10 Million Sponsorship
4-Traders.com,
19 December 2011
BRITAIN – "Four of the UK's major cultural institutions
- the British Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, the Royal Opera House,
and Tate Britain - today announced the renewal and extension of their
long-standing partnerships with BP.
In total, BP
will invest almost £10 million in the four partnerships over the next five
years. Taken together, these agreements represent one of the most significant
long-term corporate investments in UK arts and culture."
[For
more commentary on this topic, see also, Galleries renew £10m BP deal despite environmental protests, The Guardian, By
Mark Brown, 19 December 2011]
3DS assuming tour duties at the Louvre museum
Paris museum's
audio guides to be replaced with Nintendo's handhelds
Matt Bradford,
Gamesradar.com, 19 December 2011
PARIS, FRANCE – "Nintendo has inked a deal with operators of
the Louvre museum in Paris to swap out existing audio guide devices
for 3DS systems. According to tech blog PhysOrg.com, the partnership will see
Nintendo provide 5,000 3DS units pre-loaded with content that will allow Louvre
visitors to better navigate the 652,000 square foot facility, embark on
themed tours for all ages, and listen to recorded history lessons on many of
the 35,000 art pieces on display.
Louvre officials
believe installing Nintendo's three-dimensional handheld will make the museum
more appealing to tech-savvy tourists, and give its estimated 8.5 million
yearly visitors a more hands on experience."
[For
more commentary on this topic, see also Au
Louvre, les Nintendo DS se substitueront bientôt aux audioguides, Artclair, 16 décembre 2011]
Ces
monuments victimes de leur succès
Le Figaro, 21 décembre 2011
PARIS, FRANCE – "L'année 2011 a enregistré une forte fréquentation au
Louvre, à Versailles et à la tour Eiffel. Cet afflux doit désormais
être planifié."
Senegal's president lays foundation stone for Black
Civilization Museum
Xinhuanet.com,
21 December 2011
DAKAR, SENEGAL –
"Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade on
Tuesday laid the foundation stone in the capital Dakar for the Black
Civilization Museum which is funded by China to the tune of 30 million U. S.
dollars.
The museum will
be constructed besides the Grand National Theatre, which was also constructed
by China and inaugurated in April.
The design of
the museum was made by the Beijing Institute of Architecture and the
construction work will be done by Shanghai Construction Group within 28
months."
Reach wins BCMA award
Abbotsford
Times, 20 December 2011
ABBOTSFORD, BC –
"Although it opened just three years ago, The Reach Gallery Museum in
Abbotsford was presented the 2011 Award of Merit from the British Columbia
Museums Association.
The award was
given to The Reach for the 2010 exhibition, Beadwork - Radical Practices.
This important award recognizes The Reach Gallery Museum Abbotsford and its
curatorial program.
The award of merit
is given to individuals, institutions or agencies for outstanding, innovative
or creative achievement in the museum, art gallery, archives or heritage
field in British Columbia."
Un
musée privé à Dubaï
Connaissance des
Arts, 20 décembre 2011
DUBAÏ, UAE – "Le mois dernier, l’homme d’affaire d’origine
iranienne, Ramin Salsali, consultant dans l’industrie pétrochimique, a ouvert
à Dubaï un espace d’un peu moins de 100 m2 pour exposer sa collection
personnelle d’art contemporain et de photographie et celles d’autres
collectionneurs privés."
Why have museums forgotten the teens?
It's not enough
to be family-friendly – we need to persuade teenagers that museums are for
them too, says Mar Dixon
The Guardian, 19 December 2011
BRITAIN –
"In recent years, a lot of emphasis has been placed on ensuring young
people are not only welcomed but actually encouraged into UK museums and
cultural institutions. Almost every venue now has, or is developing, a family
scheme with children their main target.
But what about
teenagers – a group that could have benefited the most from free museum
entry. In reality, they're the ones who have received the least
attention."
With prestigious new museum, Arkansas seeks image overhaul
Bill Bowden, Arkansas
Democrat-Gazette, 19 December 2011
LITTLE ROCK, AR
– "With the Nov. 11 opening of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art,
the state of Arkansas is expanding its marketing to include national magazine
subscribers from Atlanta to Austin.
A $300,000
one-time advertising buy will pitch Arkansas as a destination for arts and
culture, while still promoting the state as a place for outdoor activities
such as hiking and camping."
Un
musée irakien rachète des œuvres pillées lors des conflits
Artclair, 19 décembre 2011
SULAYMANIYAH, IRAK – "La pratique est contraire à toutes les
consignes de l’UNESCO et de la communauté muséale internationale. Pour
enrichir ses collections, sérieusement dépouillées au cours des conflits, le
deuxième musée le plus important d’Irak rachète aux pilleurs des objets
volés."
Qatar Museums Authority Open MIA Park
MuseumPublicity.com,
19 December 2011
DOHA, QATAR –
"On December 15, in the presence of His Highness the Emir, Sheikh Hamad
Bin Khalifa Al-Thani and more than 700 dignitaries and special guests, Qatar
Museums Authority inaugurated the MIA Park, a new cultural destination on
Doha’s Corniche."
Wedgwood Museum faces selloff to pay £134m pension debt after
court ruling
Museum
collection can now be sold to meet deficit of Wedgwood Potteries, even though
the two separated half a century ago
Dalya Alberge, The
Guardian, 19 December 2011
STOKE-ON-TRENT,
BRITAIN – "Britain is set to lose a world-renowned museum following a
high court ruling which could force it to sell its collection to pay off a
£134m pension deficit.
The Wedgwood
Museum in Stoke-on-Trent faces being forced to sell its historic collection
of china, masterpieces by Stubbs, Romney and Reynolds, and an archive linked
to the nation's social and industrial history.
Judges in
Birmingham ruled that the pottery collection owned by the museum was an asset
of Waterford Wedgwood Potteries, which went bust in 2009. The collection can
now be sold to pay off creditors, the largest of which is the Pension
Protection Fund.
The decision has
shocked the art world because it could prove to be a test case for other
public collections."
Fermeture du Centre Niemeyer en Espagne le jour de
l’anniversaire de son architecte
Artclair, 19
December 2011
AVILÉS, ESPAGNE
– "Le Centre d’art Niemeyer a fermé ses portes le 15 décembre 2011 par
décision des autorités régionales. Ces dernières reprochent à la Fondation
Oscar Niemeyer, gestionnaire du lieu, des dépenses trop importantes. Elles
estiment aussi avoir été écartées des prises de décision. Le complexe devrait
rouvrir au premier trimestre 2012, sous le contrôle de la région et avec un
autre nom. La Fondation Oscar Niemeyer compte porter l’affaire devant la
justice."
Frick Collection Opens First New Gallery in Nearly 35 Years
MuseumPublicity.com,
19 December 2011
NEW YORK, NY – "The Frick Collection has opened a new
gallery—the first major addition to the museum in nearly thirty-five years.
Located on the Fifth Avenue side of the historic mansion, it was created by
enclosing a covered garden portico."
Neon Museum visitors center to be finished in May
Conor Shine, Las
Vegas Sun, 19 December 2011
LAS VEGAS, NV – "Amid a sea of neon signs recalling Las
Vegas’ heritage, officials from the city and the Neon Museum talked about
construction of a visitors center they hope will help the site grow into a
key piece of downtown’s revitalization."
Plains Art Museum Receives Big Gift
KFGO, 19
December 2011
FARGO, ND –
"The Plains Art Museum has announced a big gift and that means work can
start on a major addition. The Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Center for
Creativity will be housed in two buildings to the west of the museum. The
project will cost about $2.8 million."
La Plaza stumbles as push for national museum gains foothold
L.A.'s Latino
facility, which opened in April, is in a financial hole while bills have been
introduced to create a Latino museum as a branch of the Smithsonian.
Mike Boehm, Los
Angeles Times, 19 December 2011
LOS ANGELES, CA
– "Television's highest-earning actress and a San Francisco art museum
chief are two of the key figures in the bid to establish a new museum on the
National Mall in Washington, D.C., devoted to the history and culture of
American Latinos.
But Eva
Longoria, who will rally public support for a bill in Congress to create the
museum, and Jonathan Yorba, chairman of the museum-lobbying group that picked
her, also played key roles in the creation of a problem-plagued Los Angeles
museum and cultural center focused on the contributions of Mexican Americans
in Southern California."
Freedom Center in jeopardy: Museum lacks funding to continue
mission
Mark Curnutte,
The Cincinnati Enquirer, 18 December 2011
CINCINNATI, OH —
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, hailed as a beacon of freedom
worldwide, could close by the end of 2012 if it can’t find $1.5 million a
year to cover its future budgets.
Jorge Pérez saddened by Miami Museum of Art controversy
Developer Jorge
Pérez is saddened by the controversy surrounding his $35 million naming gift
to the MAM
Lydia Martin, Special to the Miami Herald, 17 December 2011
MIAMI, FL – "Jorge Pérez, whose Related Group giddily filled Miami’s skyline with
glossy condo tower after glossy condo tower, [text omitted] will admit he’s feeling a bit out of sorts right now, a time when he expected to feel nothing but the elation that comes from steering your business back from the brink a business $1 billion dollars poorer today than during the boom, but solid enough for Pérez to be able to make a major donation to the Miami Art Museum in exchange for naming rights.
But to a
backdrop of a Miami finally making headway in its quest to be called a
serious cultural center, Pérez’s gift is being greeted by a community divided
over the idea of the MAM becoming the PAM. Or, the Jorge M. Pérez Art Museum
of Miami-Dade Country. Perhaps the Pérez, for short."
[For
more commentary on this topic, see also Jorge Perez Controversy: Miami
Art Museum Naming Backlash Draws Cries Of Racism, Huffington
Post, 20 December 2011]
First Sikh museum opens Saturday with Lt.-Gov. Point
Christina Toth, Abbotsford
Times, 15 December 2011
ABBOTSFORD,
ON – "Lieutenant-Governor
Steven Point will be in Abbotsford Dec. 17 to officially open the Sikh
Heritage Museum, the first of its kind in Canada, at the historic Gur Sikh
Gurdwara on South Fraser Way.
"There are
no other museums (on Sikh history) in the country. There are exhibits but not
a museum in itself that caters to Sikh heritage," said Navneet Sidhu, a
project coodinator with the University of the Fraser Valley.
The museum will
feature photos and artifacts donated by local Indo-Canadian families,
including a few who had uncles and grandfathers settle here almost a century
ago. The project has been two years in development and is supported by
federal government funds, through Canadian Heritage."
Deux prix pour le Musée des beaux-arts
La Presse, 21 décembre 2011
MONTRÉAL, QC – "Les architectes de Provencher Roy + Associés ont été
récompensés deux fois lors de la remise des Grands prix du design pour avoir
signé le nouveau pavillon d'art québécois et canadien Claire et Marc Bourgie
du Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal."
Libération, 21 décembre 2011
NEW YORK, NY – "L'architecte néerlandais s'attaque au Delegate's Lounge du siège de
l'organisation, à New York."
Three architects selected to receive the 2012 A.I.A Thomas
Jefferson Award for public architecture
Recent News,
artdaily.org, 21 December 2011
WASHINGTON, DC –
"The American Institute of Architects
has selected, Alexander Cooper, FAIA, Daniel Feil, FAIA, and Robert Peck, Hon.
AIA, to receive the 2012 Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture. This
year’s award recipients will be honored and receive their awards at the 2012
AIA National Convention and Design Exposition in Washington D.C."
It’s Time to Rethink ‘Temporary’
Allison Arieff, Opinionator
(The New York Times), 19 December 2011
UNITED STATES – "We tend to view architecture as permanent, as
aspiring to the status of monuments. And that kind of architecture has its
place. But so does architecture of a different sort.
For most of the
first decade of the 2000s, architecture was about the statement building.
Whether it was a controversial memorial or an impossibly luxurious condo
tower, architecture’s raison d’être was to make a lasting impression.
Architecture has always been synonymous with permanence, but should it be?"
Award puts Saskatoon in architectural spotlight
Mary Catherine
O'Connor, Smartplanet.com, 18 December 2011
SASKATOON, SK – "When you ponder Canada’s many contributions
to the annals of architecture, Saskatoon might not jump immediately to mind.
But Canadian Architect magazine has awarded the Remai Art Gallery of
Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, one of its eight 2011 Awards of
Excellence. Toronto-based Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects designed
the building, in association with Smith Carter Architects and Engineers."
[For
more commentary on this topic, see also Remai gallery receives national award, David Hutton, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, 16
December 2011]
'We're Building Assembly-Line Cities and Buildings'
Interview with
Star Architect Rem Koolhaas
Gregor
Schlaeger, Der Spiegel, 16 December 2011
HAMBURG, GERMANY
– "Renowned architect Rem Koolhaas is viewed as one of
the most important theoreticians of his trade. In an interview with SPIEGEL,
he discusses soulless cities, the failings of Europe's largest urban
redevelopment project in Hamburg and the problems with SPIEGEL's brand-new
headquarters."
Culture on the Go: CIBER report says mobile browsing will
transform the web
Recent News,
artdaily.org, 22 December 2011
NEWBURY, UNITED
KINGDOM – "A new report, Culture on the Go, from UK
web-watchers CIBER Research, shows how access to information is changing as
people search for, read and use information on the move. A growing proportion
of web browsing happens on smartphones like the new Mac iPhone 4S and tablets
like the iPad, and no longer on PCs and laptops in homes and offices. This
shift will have a radical impact on the design and functionality of websites,
and will inevitably reflect back to the desktop screen itself."
Metropolitan Museum enhances online access to its collections
with Google Goggles
Recent News,
artdaily.org, 22 December 2011
NEW YORK, NY – "The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that it is
collaborating with Google to allow users to search the Web via pictures they
take on their mobile phones, to increase access to information online about
its encyclopedic collections. Beginning this week, image-based searches on
Google Goggles for works of art in the Met’s collections—whether from
reproductions in books, posters, or postcards, for example, or in the
galleries themselves—will produce direct links to extensive information about
works of art on metmuseum.org, the Museum’s website."
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Announces First E-Book
MuseumPublicity.com,
21 December 2011
NEW YORK, NY – "The Guggenheim becomes the first museum to
release an exhibition catalogue e-book. As part of the museum’s foray into
digital publishing, Guggenheim Publications is not only releasing new e-book
titles such as the Cattelan catalogue but also making available historic
out-of-print titles for online browsing and publishing digital versions of reprinted
titles, including I’d Like the Goo-Gen-Heim, a timeless introduction to
modern art for young readers."
[For
more commentary on this topic, see also Guggenheim launches museum exhibition catalogue in digital
format and expands online publications, Recent News, artdaily.org, 21
December 2011]
Seeding your ideas in the digital culture using Google
Currents
Patricia Martin,
Culture Scout Blog, 19 December 2011
[GLOBAL] – "Creating content that’ll be published
electronically raises a touchy question: will people actually want to read
it? Truthfully, digital publishing lacks the "curl-up-and-read"
coziness of standard print. More so than print, electronic formats are still
emerging just as attention spans are narrowing.
It’s proving
difficult to design content that is truly engaging for smaller digital
formats. Sometimes it feels like a race to the bottom intellectually as
nuances and complexities are shaved off, leaving Neanderthal nubs for people
to nibble on."
The Droit De Suite Dilemma (And Why It's Just A Bad Idea)
Abigail R.
Esman, Forbes, 22 December 2011
BRITAIN & US
– Just as droit de suite – the requirement that artists receive royalties on
secondary sales of their work – is about to go into effect in the UK, the US
Congress has introduced its own droit de suite bill, which would require
payment of a seven percent fee on resales above $10,000. As described
in The Art Newspaper, "The
Equity for Visual Artists Act of 2011, would set aside 7% of the price for
works resold for more than $10,000 at major auction houses, such as
Christie’s and Sotheby’s, with half the proceeds going to the artists and
half to non-profit art museums."
[For
more commentary on this topic, see also Droit de suite bill introduced in US Congress: Legislation would see artists and museums split
a royalty fee of 7% for auction resales over $10,000, By Helen Stoilas, The
Art Newspaper, 15 December 2011]
Thieves hit sculptures as metal prices soar
Lucy Bannerman,
The Australian, 22 December 2011
BRITAIN – "A much-loved bronze artwork by one of
Britain's foremost sculptors is thought to be the latest casualty of the
metal theft epidemic spreading across the country.
Barbara
Hepworth's Two Forms (Divided Circle) joins the lengthening list of public
and private property being lost to an illicit trade that costs the British
economy an estimated pound stg. 700 million ($1.09 billion) a year."
[For
more commentary on this topic, see also Robada
en Londres una escultura de bronce valorada en 600.000 euros, EFE, El País, 21 de diciembre de 2011]
¿Por
qué no hay ministerio de Cultura? 'El ahorro no es tanto. Importa el mensaje
de austeridad'
Luis Alemany, El
Mundo, 22 de diciembre de 2011.
MADRID, SPAIN – "Más o menos, todo el mundo contaba con ello:
el Gobierno de Mariano Rajoy no tendrá ministro de Cultura. José Ignacio Wert
será responsable de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, como lo fueron Pilar del
Castillo, Esperanza Aguirre y el mismo Mariano Rajoy en la era Aznar. Un
trinomio donde Educación es el plato fuerte. Habrá, eso sí, un secretario de
Estado de Cultura, cargo que en los 90 ocuparon Luis Alberto de Cuenca y
Miguel Ángel Cortés, y que ocupará la sede de la Plaza del Rey de
Madrid.Miguel Ángel Cortés explica las razones del 'descenso de categoría'
política."
[see
also ¿Los
últimos días del Ministerio de Cultura?, By
Luis Alemany, El Mundo, August 31, 2011]
'Sería lamentable que Altamira no pudiera abrir al
público'
El director del
Centro de Estudios aboga por una apertura limitada
EFE, El Mundo,
22 de diciembre de 2011.
SANTILLANA DEL
MAR, CANTABRIA, SPAIN – "El director del Centro de Investigación
Altamira, José Antonio Lasheras, dice que sería "lamentable" que
las pinturas rupestres no pudieran ser accesibles al menos para unos pocos
después del esfuerzo que se ha dedicado a conservarlas, aunque el
cierre seguirá hasta que los riesgos sean "asumibles."
L'Institut
français teste le rattachement sous sa tutelle de 12 postes culturels à
l’étranger
Artclair, 21 décembre 2011
PARIS, FRANCE – "Dès janvier 2012, 12 postes culturels à l'étranger
quitteront le giron des ambassades pour être pilotés directement par
l'Institut français. Une expérimentation – réversible – prévue dans le cadre
de la réforme du réseau culturel à l'étranger."
Des
milliers de documents précieux détruits dans l’incendie de l’Institut
d’Egypte au Caire
Artclair, 21 décembre 2011
CAIRO, EGYPT – "Au cours
d’affrontements entre manifestants et forces de l’ordre, l’Institut d’Égypte
au Caire a pris feu, le 17 décembre 2011. Le bâtiment contenait 200 000
archives et manuscrits d’une grande valeur patrimoniale, à l’image de la
première édition de la « Description de l’Égypte ». Le ministère de
la Culture a annoncé, le 19 décembre 2011, que la France était prête à
apporter son soutien à la future campagne de restauration via les experts de
la BNF. Pour le moment, les employés et membres de l’UNESCO tentent de
récupérer les ouvrages non calcinés avant que l’édifice ne s’effondre."
Lancement
d’un partenariat public-privé pour la réalisation de la Cité de la musique
sur l’île Seguin
Artclair, 20 décembre 2011
NANTERRE, FRANCE – "Le conseil général des Hauts-de-Seine a voté
vendredi 16 novembre le lancement d’un partenariat public-privé (PPP) pour la
réalisation de la Cité de la musique sur l’île Seguin. Un projet qui suscite
le mécontentement de l’opposition locale."
European Theatre Convention launches "Young Europe
2" on multilingual artistic education
European
Festivals Association, 20 December 2011
BERLIN, GERMANY
– "For the 2nd time, the ETC develops
with the support of the Culture Programme of the European Commission the 2
year European artistic education project: "Young
Europe 2: Multilingual Creation and Education in Theatre" with the aim to establish a European
multilingual drama repertoire for young people, focusing on artistic
education through theatre and multilingualism in theatre. Based on the
successful first project edition, which was attended from 2008-2010 by over
20 000 young people in 8 countries, "Young
Europe 2" will take place until autumn
2013 offering young theatre professionals and adolescents across Europe to
work and create across multilingual borders."
Edinburgh to host major culture summit in 2012
Thom Dibdin, The
Stage, 19 December 2011
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND
– "An international cultural summit is
to be held during next August’s Edinburgh International Festival, to which
all ministers for culture from the countries attending the 2012 Olympics have
been invited.
Under the banner
of "Culture as an International
Dialogue", the two-day event will bring
together ministers with prominent artists, thinkers and those involved in
developing and implementing cultural policy. It is being organised as a
collaboration between the Scottish and UK governments, the EIF and the
British Council."
A Plan for America's Largest Urban Park
David Lepeska, The
Atlantic Cities, 19 December 2011
CHICAGO,
IL – "The largest urban
park in the contiguous United States is coming to Chicago.
A new project,
backed by at least $17 million from the state, aims to turn 140,000 acres of
under-used and post-industrial land along the Second City's southern rim into
a public recreation hub called the Millennium Reserve.
Illinois
Governor Pat Quinn hopes to add private funding to the project, figuring the
reserve will boost the economy and create hundreds of jobs. Environmental
groups have been calling for a makeover for the Calumet region for years.
"The Millennium Reserve Plan represents the first viable, large-scale
attempt to protect and enhance the Lake Calumet area through an integrated,
cooperative approach to land and resource management," the Sierra Club of
Illinois said in a statement."
NASAA News and Current Information
National
Assembly of State Arts Agencies, 13 December 2011
UNITED STATES –
"WolfBrown Reports on Participatory Arts
Practices
A WolfBrown
report commissioned by the Irvine Foundation examines new trends in arts
participation. In Getting In On the Act: How Arts Groups Are Creating
Opportunities for Active Participation, the authors give a helpful
overview of participation's role in today's culture ecology, the benefits of
participatory arts practice, and the kinds of programs and activities that
have used these practices. Central to this report is WolfBrown's newly
developed spectrum of participation, ranging from spectating to
audience-as-artist, that gives artists, organizations and funders a way to
easily define the audience's role in a performance. Also included are
successful participatory arts practices case studies across a range of
disciplines."
Year of Creative Scotland 2012
International
Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA), 12 December 2011
SCOTLAND – "Scotland-wide celebrations for the Year of Creative
Scotland 2012 have been mapped out by the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and
External Affairs.
On a visit to
Glasgow Print Studio, Fiona Hyslop unveiled a map representing our creative
nation by artist Murray Robertson as she confirmed more details of the 2012
programme.
The Year of
Creative Scotland 2012 will begin with a bang this Hogmanay, with a
spectacular fireworks display in Scotland’s capital, and will continue until
31 December 2012. Through an exciting programme celebrating our world-class
events, festivals, culture and heritage, the year puts Scotland’s creativity
in the global spotlight with a focus on cultural tourism and developing our
creative sector and events industry."
How healthy is the arts sector?
New
Arts Index launched to provide an annual health check on the arts measuring
everything from financial investment to audience numbers
The
Guardian, 5
December 2011
UNITED
KINGDOM – "A new Arts Index has been launched at the House of Commons, a
kind of annual health check for the state of the sector and there are lots of
interesting facts and statistics to ponder.
The
Index is published by the National Campaign for the Arts. The actor and
director Samuel West, a trustee of the NCA, says in an introduction:
"The way the arts are funded and the policy that underlies that funding
is changing fast. Now is a good time to catch up. Now, perhaps more than
ever, we need to be able measure the health of our sector and to trace the
positive or negative effects of change. The UK Arts Index lets us do
this." So what does the
index tell us?"
Scots-Chinese cultural agreement
The
Scottish Government, 5 December 2011
SCOTLAND
– "A Memorandum of Understanding on Culture between China and Scotland
has been signed today, committing the governments in Beijing and Edinburgh to
supporting greater exchange and collaboration across the arts, creative
industries, heritage and national collections - one of three major cultural
agreements sealing links between the two nations.
First
Minister Alex Salmond signed the MoU along with China's Minister of Culture
Mr Cai Wu at a ceremony in Beijing.
The
intergovernmental MoU commits to closer ties across four key areas: cultural
collaboration; best practice; educational outreach; and networking
opportunities. It follows discussions between the First Minister and His
Excellency Cai Wu on July 9 2010 in Beijing on the opportunities for building
on the already significant cultural exchanges and ties between China and
Scotland."
Economics speaks louder than words when making the case for
UK culture
John
Tusa's call for a unique language for the arts may limit the sector's ability
to engage with Whitehall, argues Dave O'Brien
The
Guardian, 5
December 2011
UNITED
KINGDOM – "Discussions of how best to value arts and culture are
currently the essential talking (as well as typing and tweeting) point of the
sector, with debate limited to neither one art form nor one region of the UK.
John Tusa's recent article on finding the right language for the arts has added much to
the debate. However his demand for a unique language could limit the sector's
ability to engage with Whitehall and the public."
The Messy Art of Saving the World: Design for the
Marginalized Millions
This is the
fourth post in a 7-part series from Panthea Lee of service design
consultancy, Reboot. In The Messy Art of Saving the World, Lee will explore
the role of design in international development.
Core 77, 19
December 2011
CHINA – "You hear a lot in the United States about China
these days: While we're occupying Wall Street, they're "taking our
jobs" and enjoying a booming economy.
But look a
little closer, and you'll see that the so-called 99% exist in China, too
(even though we often don't hear their protests). The country's transition to
a market economy has left many citizens behind, and rapid growth has created
a large, deep gap between rich and poor.
During a recent
research trip to China, we saw this inequality in stark relief. "The
city folks just get richer, and us peasants just get poorer," we heard
time and again in rural areas; between 1985 and 2009, the income gap between
urban and rural households increased 118 percent. The country's 55 different
ethnic minority groups suffer as well; Mongols, for example, forbidden from
their traditional livelihoods, now live on irregular, unreliable, and
psychically devastating social support payments from Beijing."
Asian art turns from plaything of Hong Kong's young rich into
moneyspinner
Demand for
high-end Chinese art booms as the growing number of millionaires seek
alternative investments
The Guardian, 18 December 2011
CHINA – "In a luxury apartment perched on the leafy hills of
Hong Kong, Kai-Yin Lo browses through a trove of Chinese art acquired over
several decades, reflecting how her niche, scholarly pursuit has hit the
mainstream.
Despite giddy
Chinese art prices showing some strain from global economic uncertainty,
collectors like Lo think values will continue to rise due to limited supply
and continued strong demand as Asian collectors become more affluent."
Foreign
investment in China down first time in 28 months
Arabnews.com, 15
December 2011
BEIJING, CHINA –
"China's economic growth could be slowing further as
data showed the first year-on-year drop in foreign direct investment in 28
months and a fresh fall in new orders signaled a further contraction in
factory activity.
The data
highlights increasing risks to China's growth emanating from a deterioration
in developed market economies while domestic demand is being dented by
government efforts to rein in rampant real estate inflation.
"Growth
momentum remains weak with additional downside risks from exports and the
property market not yet fully filtering through," said Qu Hongbin, chief
China economist at HSBC."
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LordCultural 
LordCultural