Ottawa

Canada Prizes Are Sent Back To The Drawing Board

"The Canada Council for the Arts will administer the hotly debated prizes as well as the $25-million endowment the government has pledged to form them. ... Even the scant details made public when the Canada Prizes were first announced in late January of 2009 have been wiped away, and virtually all options are on the table...." The Globe and Mail, May 4, 2010

CANADIAN PRIZES FOR THE ARTS AND CREATIVITY CREATES ADVISORY PANEL
The Canadian Prizes for the Arts and Creativity will be awarded in 2011, but to whom and for what reason is still unknown.  National Post, May 4, 2010

Canada Prizes to be awarded by 2011

The Canada Prizes for the Arts and Creativity are scheduled to be awarded for the first time in 2011 and the federal government says public consultation will help establish the structure for the prizes.  CBC, May 4, 2010  (see also:  Consultation on the Canada Prizes to make your contribution)

Toronto

AGO’s Tut show draws more than 400,000 visitors

That’s less than the record attendance of more than 750,000 who visited Tut’s first show at the AGO in 1979, a record that’s particularly astounding given that the exhibition only lasted two months.
Globe and Mail, May 4, 2010

Oakland, California

In Theory The Oakland Museum Should Work...

The Oakland Museum of California's return to active life offers a way to measure, yet again, the gap between architectural theories and real life. San Francisco Chronicle, May 4, 2010

New York

What's The Tax Deduction For A Bondage Machine?

"The Museum of Sex," which is a for-profit company, "has a tax-exempt affiliate, known as the Muse Foundation of New York, that takes in tax-deductible donations for the museum's collection. ... The arrangement is far from typical, though, according to several lawyers who specialize in tax matters involving foundations." The New York Times, May 4, 2010

NYC: Shepard Fairey Mural Is Illegal Advertising, Must Go New York City's Department of Buildings has "issued a stop work order" to the owners of the downtown land "where Fairey's mural was erected last month. The buildings department said the owners did not have a permit to erect a structure in the area and that the mural violated zoning laws prohibiting advertising on the property." Wall Street Journal, May 3, 2010

Of Compost, Molecules and Insects, Art Is Born

A growing number of artists are rummaging through the life sciences for materials and ideas.  New York Times, May 4, 2010

London

Ten Years Of Fantastic Projects In The Tate Turbine Hall

"The Turbine Hall presents an enormous opportunity, but also a huge career risk. One doesn't want overblown monstrosities, or for artists just to make grandiose versions of the kind of things they have done elsewhere." The Guardian (UK), May 4, 2010

This Year's Turner Prize Shortlist - But They're Old!
"It's odd that a bunch of quadragenarians should make up the entirety of the short-list. The blurb says that the purpose of the prize is to "promote public discussion of new developments in contemporary British art." What new development is any of this lot heralding?" BBC, May 4, 2010

Turner Prize Shortlist - Not Good Enough? "The Turner prize is about finding and rewarding brilliance, and it should be able to convince us that someone on the shortlist might turn out to have a touch of genius. Two of this year's list, the Otolith Group and Dalwood, are in my opinion duds - as far from genius as it is possible to get. Which leaves two worthwhile contenders." The Guardian (UK), May 4, 2010

Turner Prize finalists include singing artist

Tate Britain named four artists for the art prize for young artists on Tuesday.

They are: Susan Philipsz, a Glasgow sound installation artist, Dexter Dalwood, a Londoner who creates paintings and collages inspired by historic events, Angela de la Cruz, a Spanish-born painter and sculptor who works in London, The Otolith Group, London-based film artists Anjalika Sagar and Kodwo Eshun.  CBC, May 4, 2010

Cheryl Siegel | Librarian | Vancouver Art Gallery | 750 Hornby St. | Vancouver, BC | V6Z 2H7 | 604-662-4709  | fax 604-682-1086 | www.vanartgallery.bc.ca