Visual Arts Ohio Museums Expand Despite a down economy, four museums in Ohio are embarking on big expansion projects. The Cleveland Museum of Art announced plans two months ago for a $225 million renovation and expansion, the Toledo Museum of Art is spending $27 million on a new, 47,000-square-foot center for glass art, in June, the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati will open its new $37-million Lois and Richard Rosenthal Center, designed by Zaha Hadid of London, and the Akron Museum is raising $34 million for an expandion. The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 03/20/03 Posted: 03/21/2003 7:49 am Dresden Old Masters Won't Be Returned Yet The director-general of Dresden’s 12 museums says he won't return Old Master paintings from the reserve collection to the refurbished store of the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister. The storage area was flooded last year when the River Elbe and its tributaries broke their banks and a new storage facility is not likely to be built soon. The Art Newspaper 03/17/03 Posted: 03/21/2003 7:31 am Steal-To-Order Ring At Australian Museum? An investigation into the theft of tens of thousands of objects from the Australian Museum suggests that many of the artifacts may have been stolen from the museum's mail room. "The Independent Commission Against Corruption, which has recovered a 'substantial amount' of items pilfered from the mammals collection, is looking at the possibility that a steal-to-order racket, with foreign links, has been operating at the museum and some zoos for years." Sydney Morning Herald 03/21/03 Posted: 03/20/2003 4:05 pm Music UK Radio Follows Song Guidelines British radio stations are editing their playlists, avoiding songs that contain "offensive or insensitive material" during the war with Iraq. "We need to match the mood and tone of the nation, which seems to be changing on an hourly basis." BBC 03/21/03 Posted: 03/21/2003 7:25 am Rattle At The Top Is there a bigger star in classical music than conductor Simon Rattle? "Rattle's career path has been a perfect, shooting-star arc from the National Youth Orchestra to Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra to his mould-breaking 10 years with the City of Birmingham Orchestra. At 48, he is very young to be a conductor of international repute and he remains, to many, the perennial high-achieving golden boy of British classical music. He certainly seems to be much too amiable and accommodating to have survived and thrived in one of the notoriously brittle areas of the arts." The Telegraph (UK) 03/21/03 Posted: 03/20/2003 9:31 pm English National Opera Fails To Get Bailout The English National Opera, which is thought to have asked the Arts Council for a £10 million bailout because it is "on the verge of bankruptcy, has been turned down, offered a smaller funding package instead. "The package is believed to contain £2 million to pay for seats which tilt back, and a system for surtitles - a surprise request for a company founded to produce operas in English." Martin Smith, the company's chairman, "claims that the company will be £4.2 million in the red by January, and insists a fifth of its workforce of 500 will have to go if it is to survive. The number of productions will also have to be cut." The Guardian (UK) 03/21/03 Posted: 03/20/2003 7:22 pm English National Opera Settles With Chorus The chorus of the English National Opera has called off a threatened strike after making a deal with the company for layoffs. "Around one-sixth of the choristers have agreed to take voluntary redundancy, leaving a permanent chorus of 50." BBC 03/20/03 Posted: 03/20/2003 3:42 pm Arts Issues DC: Invest In Arts And Economy Will Improve Washington DC has a budget deficit of $127 million. But some are advocating the city invest $100 million in the arts. "One of the cardinal rules of business is that it takes money to make money, and experts say investing in arts and theater projects is the way to spur economic development. City councilwoman Sharon Ambrose, the mayor and a number of cultural leaders argue an improved arts community would prompt a better quality of life for the city." Washington Business Journal 03/14/03 Posted: 03/21/2003 7:42 am Baghdad Of Old "Between the 8th century, when it was constructed, and the 13th, when it was destroyed, Baghdad was the wealthiest, most learned and most opulent, city in Islam. Baghdad in the 10th century had a million inhabitants. In Europe at the time, where most people lived in huts, there was nothing to compare with it. Baghdad had 100 bookstores. And the grandest library assembled since the sack of Alexandria's. The city represents, and not only for Iraqis but for Arabs across the board, a time when the Arab world knew itself to be the center of civilization, of science and art and mystery. The symbol of Baghdad is richer, and deeper, than whoever is messing it up right now." Washington Post 03/20/03 Posted: 03/21/2003 5:59 am Columbia U Getting Serious About The Arts? While some universities seem to be moving away from the arts, Lee Bollinger, the new president of Columbia University, believes the arts are "integral to the university experience." Now that "he finds himself running a major Ivy League research university in the most highly cultured city in the United States. He gives every sign of relishing the prospect of forging more ambitious, more glamorous bonds between the arts and the university." The New York Times 03/21/03 Posted: 03/20/2003 9:48 pm Artists Cancelling Appearances In The US Some international artists have begun cancelling performances and appearances in the US because of the war, though not many yet... Los Angeles Times 03/21/03 Posted: 03/20/2003 9:42 pm NJ Arts Groups Press For Smaller Funding Cuts New Jersey arts groups are certainly happy Governor James McGreevey is reconsidering eliminating state arts funding. Instead, the cut might be 50 percent. But this isn't good enough some say. "The chop would actually represent a 60% slice over two years, since the State Legislature cut the arts budget by 10% last session. A 60% cut will cause a lot of damage to cultural institutions in the state in an already difficult economy. 'We feel we are a solution to economic problems because we generate a lot of money for the state of New Jersey. We continue to be puzzled by the governor's decisions to slash our funds when we're a billion-dollar industry to the state." Backstage 03/20/03 Posted: 03/20/2003 4:50 pm People Holmes To Head Atheneum Willard J. Holmes has been named director of Hartford's Wadsworth Atheneum. "Holmes, 54, is deputy director of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. His selection ends a five-month search begun after the surprise resignation of director Kate Sellers in October." Hartford Courant 03/21/03 Posted: 03/21/2003 6:35 am Alagna And Gheorghiu Leave Met Opera Because Of War The husband-and-wife team of soprano Angela Gheorghiu and tenor Roberto Alagna have canceled their remaining performances of "Faust" at the Metropolitan Opera because of the war in Iraq. "They had war concerns and terrorism concerns." Nando Times (AP) 03/20/03 Posted: 03/20/2003 4:22 pm Theatre Broadway - A Season Of Bad News? Some Broadway watchers are worrying about the health of area theatres. "Daily ticket sales have been sluggish all winter and everybody expects them to fall further now that war has started in Iraq. But yesterday several producers and theater owners were surprised that the plunge wasn't as precipitous as they had expected." New York Post 03/21/03 Posted: 03/21/2003 6:48 am Publishing An Adult Cover-up For Harry So you love Harry Potter, but you feel kind of funny toting around a kid's book? Harry's publishers have the solution - two covers - one for kids, the other for adults. "Bloomsbury Publishers unveiled the designs Thursday. The adult edition of 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' features a somber black and white picture of a phoenix, while the children's version of the boy wizard book is illustrated with a more vibrant red and orange bird rising from flames. Newsday (AP) 03/21/03 Posted: 03/21/2003 7:05 am Struggling To Get By On $111 Million Profit The book business is good. At least good enough for superstore Barnes & Noble to earn $111 million profit in the fourth quarter of last year. But though that's up 32 percent from the previous year, the company's spin makes it seem like the company is barely getting by. "Barnes & Noble store sales were $1.2 billion for the quarter, an increase of 4 percent. Sales at stores open at least a year, known as same-store sales, fell 3 percent." Yahoo! (AP) 03/21/03 Posted: 03/21/2003 6:41 am Book-Of-The-Month Club Going Global "The popularity of books tends not to cross borders as easily as movies and pop music. Many readers prefer homegrown writers and resist what could be called literary globalization." Still the Book of the Month Club is planning to launch a "global marketing initiative" for its selections. "For the first time, it's offering an International Book of the Month, recommending the same title to readers around the world." USAToday 03/21/03 Posted: 03/20/2003 10:16 pm Competing Against The Superstores When superstore bookseller Borders came to Carlton Australia, local independent bookstores feared business would go down 15-30 percent, as it has elasewhere where Borders entered the market. But after a few months business is down only one percent. Why? One theory is that there's a new kind of customer developing - the "neo-consumer." These are people who are looking for public spaces to connect with. "Many people are seeking a home away from home, a place to hang out, and they are finding it in cosy bookshops, cafes and bars." The Age (Melbourne) 03/21/03 Posted: 03/20/2003 3:34 pm Media Kermit Moving To Disney? Disney says it may buy the Muppets. "Disney had been on the verge of buying the company more than a decade ago, but the deal collapsed after the death of founder Jim Henson." BBC 03/21/03 Posted: 03/21/2003 7:28 am The Oscars At $30,000 A Pop All guests, nominees and presenters at the Academy Awards will go home with "gift bags." At one time the bags were a modest thing, but "designers and companies looking to win some high-profile promotion have been vying to have their products included in the Academy Awards gift baskets for years. At first a relatively modest undertaking, Hollywood's version of the goodie bag has swollen to ridiculous size and value, with this year's priced at approximately US$30,000." National Post (Canada) 03/21/03 Posted: 03/21/2003 6:54 am Will Oscars Become Anti-War Demonstration? "The thought of what might be said at Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony - four hours of spotlight-loving liberals making live speeches to a worldwide audience of billions - has to be giving George W. Bush's spin doctors the spins. While presenters have been sternly warned to stick to their scripts," there is no policy concerning the acceptance speeches. "The only instruction nominees have been given is that they not begin a lengthy list of names that most viewers are unfamiliar with. Other than that, winners can choose to use their time on stage to air their opinions about anything else going on in the world." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 03/21/03 Posted: 03/21/2003 6:31 am With Dropouts And Cancellations - Should Oscar Cancel? At what point should the Oscars be cancelled? The red carpet has been rolled up and a few presenters have dropped out, writes Roger Ebert. "Whatever the reasons given by the dropouts, they added up to a dilemma for the Academy: If there are enough cancellations, does there come a turning point when a pall settles over the Oscars, and Hollywood loses the spirit to carry on?" Chicago Sun-Times 03/21/03 Posted: 03/21/2003 5:46 am "American Spirit": Sure We're Invading Iraq - But That Doesn't Mean We Can't Still Have Fun Should the Oscars cancel? Not if the American people have their way. A poll reports that 9 of ten people asked believe the show should go on. "This is a true testament to the American spirit. While nearly everyone is concerned about our troops, in post-Sept. 11 America, people strongly feel that we all must continue living our lives." National Post (Canada) 03/21/03 Posted: 03/21/2003 5:07 am Radio - Music With A Corporate Voice What will people be listening to on the radio as the war goes on? Pretty much the same thing across the country. "I don't think it will be anything like radio during the Vietnam War when radio was the voice of the revolution and the voice of the other side. Now you're not going to get any of that: you're going to get the voice of the corporate world." The New York Times 03/21/03 Posted: 03/20/2003 9:54 pm Attracted To Coming Attractions Previews of movies "embody the great promise of modern consumerist entertainment: that there will always be more. They are like the still-wrapped packages under a Christmas tree: the one you are about to tear into might turn out to be a pair of wool socks or a cheap knockoff of the toy you really wanted, but there is still all this other stuff yet to be opened up. Whatever disappointments the movies themselves might bring are safely in the future, as you feel the rush of all their expensive promise — the fights, the explosions, the computer-generated imagery, the macho repartee — in compact, thrill-packed doses. Big, commercial movies may rarely be surprising these days, but the possibility that they might be is always there." The New York Times 03/21/03 Posted: 03/20/2003 9:46 pm Movies - What Are Today's Classics? Are there movies being made today that will be judged as cinematic classics? Yes. But it make take years before they're recognized as such. "The great movies tend to have a level of complexity to them that isn't entirely obvious to the viewer at first glance. Sometimes there's this stealth factor at work. A movie just plants a seed in you. And you don't realize it until you've gone home, and you've tried to forget about it - and you can't." Christian Science Monitor 03/21/03 Posted: 03/20/2003 4:12 pm