Random Notes from the Outback

In a recent post at Category305.com, Juan Carlos Rodriguez offers poignant commentary on the soullessness of Miami's Calle Ocho Festival.

Over at the Louisville Eccentric Observer, Elizabeth Kramer catalogs the range of local art inspired by the war in Iraq, and makes a strong case for more of it.

Who would imagine that you'd find 3,000-year old art and a world-class collection of ancient medical texts in the home of a retired doctor in Missoula, Montana? Or that he would be so eloquent in explaining his fascination with art that depicts birth defects? In an installment of the ongoing, multimedia Art at Home series at Missoulian.com, collector Bruce Beckwith talks about his peculiar passion.

Cincinnati residents will soon see a wave of new murals around town, thanks to a $400,000 civic project sponsored by the city, Proctor & Gamble, and UBS Investments.

Studies, studies, and more studies: the Berkshire Economic Development Corporation thinks it has a blueprint for developing local arts tourism; the Rand Corporation has come to the conclusion that Philadelphia could use more centralized coordination of local arts marketing efforts; and Minnesota Citizens for the Arts has pegged the economic impact of artists in the state at $205.2 million dollars.