Vancouver

B.C. government gives in to artists' demands that Legacy funds go to B.C. Arts Council with fewer strings attached

“The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts has done an about-face on how it will disperse the rest of its $10 million Legacy funding.”  Georgia Straight, September 1, 2010

B.C. government rethinks arts funding

“Amid criticism over cuts to arts funding, the B.C. government is giving the provincial arts council a $7-million bump. The British Columbia Arts Council, still shaken by the recent resignation of chair Jane Danzo, will receive the money to distribute to artists and arts groups this year.” Globe & Mail, September 1, 2010

B.C. adds $7M to Arts Council budget

CBC News, September 1, 2010

Provincial arts funding creates friction

“Critics in the arts sector have taken issue with how the Spirit Festivals program was rolled out and believe the money could be better directed to support the needs of financially ailing organizations.” Georgia Straight, September 2, 2010

Mexico Fest celebrates the fathers of the revolution

“As Mexico Fest celebrates independence, a local photographer shows the battle-scarred survivors of its battle for democracy.” Georgia Straight, September 2, 2010

Edmonton

Art gallery gushes oil

“The new Art Gallery of Alberta has snagged an internationally acclaimed photographer for its first fall exhibition, with a subject near and dear to Albertans' hearts: oil. A collection of 56 photographs by Canada's Edward Burtynsky shows the effects of oil on our lives, from the natural environments altered by its extraction to the cities and suburban sprawl generated around its use.” Edmonton Journal, August 31, 2010

Kleinburg

McMichael gallery to announce major new art acquisition ...on Wednesday

“The McMichael Canadian Art Collection yesterday announced plans to unveil a "major art acquisition" -- but not until Wednesday. Also coming at the same time are details around a new outdoor sculpture garden to be built on the gallery's grounds in Kleinburg.”  National Post, September 2, 2010

Toronto

Material instinct: Julian Schnabel's AGO exhibit showcases his filmmaking techniques off-screen "I've always liked making things, ever since I was a kid,” Julian Schnabel told me as we sat at a rough-hewn table outside the lodge adjoining his outdoor studio in Montauk, N.Y.”  National Post, September 1, 2010

New York

Lincoln Center's New 'Electronic Infoscape'

Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the architects of Lincoln Center's redevelopment project, see the LED and video displays they have placed about the campus "not just [as] finishing touches: they are an extension, and in many ways the ultimate expression, of a wholesale reimagining of the complex as more porous, inviting and immediate." New York Times, September 2, 2010

Great Britain

Uh Oh. Two Thirds In UK Poll Think Arts Funding Should Be Cut

"Two-thirds of people agree with the government's stance on cutting arts funding and increasing reliance on private cash, a survey has suggested. And a fifth of the 2,022 British adults questioned said visual arts should not be given any government funding." BBC, September 2, 2010

Florence

Florence Journal - Battle Brews Over Michelangelo's 'David ...

The battle over Michelangelo's masterpiece revealed other disputes over the way Italy's cultural heritage is managed.  When a report commissioned by the federal government emerged this month claiming that Italy — and not the city — was the statue’s rightful owner, local tempers flared. The sculpture, Mayor Matteo Renzi retorted, had always, and would always, “belong to Florence.”  New York Times, September 1, 2010

Venice

The Problem With Architecture Exhibitions

"[They] fixate on trying to represent buildings that are missing. Photographs, drawings and pretentious wall texts only highlight the fact that yours is a second-hand experience." But this year's Venice Architecture Biennale "is much more about what should happen inside buildings, the pure experience of space." The Guardian (UK), August 31, 2010

Cape Town, South Africa

Controversy: Cape Town Museum Director Takes Down The Gainesboroughs, Puts Up African Art (Oh My)

"For the first time I thought it wasn't really appropriate because it's a kind of colonial English collection and there are many of those around the world in the English colonies. It wasn't really showcasing any aspect of South African culture that was unique to the history of this period. It was a conscious decision to show contemporary work in those spaces." The Guardian (UK), September 2, 2010