Vancouver 

Quality of design, creation makes mark

Signed Without Signature, at the Museum of Anthropology, “showcases Haida art that sets artists apart.” Vancouver Sun, December 2, 2010

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra withdraws from Alliance for Arts and Culture

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra has withdrawn its membership from the Alliance for Arts and Culture.  VSO president and CEO Jeff Alexander said the move was made because "We had a difference of opinion on how to advocate on a certain topic." Georgia Straight, December 1, 2010

Charities bite the hand that bleeds them

“Since 1999, when a memorandum of agreement was signed with the NDP government of the day -- an agreement that it says guaranteed 33.3 per cent of gambling revenues would go to charities and not-for-profits -- the BCACG has seen that share fall to 10 per cent.”  Vancouver Sun, December 2, 2010

Memorial planned for arts patron and affordable housing champion George Riste

“The Or Gallery will be holding a memorial reception today, (December 2^nd), to honour George Riste, a champion of affordable housing and the gallery's landlord, who passed away November 24 at the age of 89.” Georgia Straight, November 29, 2010

Leadership Council assembled to push the PuSh

“The PuSh International Performing Arts Festival has collected some heavy hitters from the Canadian arts and culture scene to help spread the word about the event, which takes place January 18 to February 11, in its largest iteration yet.” Georgia Straight, November 29, 2010

Toronto

$50 antique shop find sells for $75,000

The Canadian work of art by Walter J. Phillips, that “sold for $75,000 at auction Monday apparently surfaced at an antique shop in England, where a man bought it for a mere $50.”  Globe & Mail, December 2, 2010

Ottawa

Canadian museum makes successful $20,000 bid for Vimy medal

“A rare gold medal with a Canadian connection, worn by King Edward VIII only a few months before he abdicated the English throne, is on its way to the Canadian War Museum, thanks to a successful bid at auction in London.” Globe & Mail, November 29, 2010

New York

‘On Line’: Drawings Leap Off the Page at MoMA - Review

Who said a line had to be flat? A new exhibition at MoMA, “On Line,” explores all possible dimensions. New York Times, November 2, 2010

Sperone Westwater Gallery Challenges Convention

The new Lower East Side home of the art gallery Sperone Westwater, designed by Norman Foster, seems an almost Trumpian expression of ambition. New York Times, November 2, 2010

Miami

Art Basel Miami Beach - The Parties Get a Jump Start

Four days and a small sliver of mostly man-made beachfront can barely accommodate the hordes of dealers, collectors, artists, designers, photographers, journalists and hangers-on that descend en masse for a quick pre-holiday sun and high-ticket spending. New York Times, November 2, 2010

France

A First Look At The New Picasso Trove

"The works date from 1900 to 1932, ranging from pictures of Picasso's friends in early impoverished "Blue Period" Paris days to some finished drawings in the precise highly valued style of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres from the 1920's. There are also Cubist pictures in the mix." Adobe Airstream, December 1, 2010

Beijing

Artist Ai Weiwei Stopped From Leaving China

"China's best-known artist Ai Weiwei has been stopped from leaving the country minutes before he was to board his plane, he told the Guardian." The Guardian (UK), December 2, 2010

Singapore

Singapore Art Fair to Display Asia's Best

Lorenzo Rudolf, the director of Art Stage Singapore, plans to bring together Asia's top artists with some of the world's top collectors. New York Times, November 2, 2010 

International

Art Gets Unmasked in the Palm of Your Hand

Contemporary museums around the world are developing smartphone applications that serve as digital guides. "Smartphones can overlay digital content, like images or movies, across real spaces." With the most advanced apps, visitors can "use their phones as lenses, allowing them to see otherwise invisible images - like sleek computer-generated sculptures or floating interviews with artists - on the screens as they … point their phones' cameras at objects." New York Times, November 2, 2010