Kamloops

Kamloops Art Gallery suffers financial blow They’re called the Lucky 17 in a B.C. government news release, but one of the Kamloops organizations cited isn’t feeling so fortunate these days. The 17 community groups are recipients of the latest round of gaming grants.  The Gallery grant was considerably lower than last year.   The reduction was a surprise after Premier Christy Clark committed to restoring funding for the arts. Last year, the gallery laid off a staff member, axed publications, halted acquisitions for its permanent collection and reduced its hours to tighten its belt.   Kamloops Daily News, June 8, 2011

Edmonton

Design submissions sought for Royal Alberta Museum The province is putting out the call for a designer for the new Royal Alberta Museum. The Alberta government will choose the five best qualified contractors from those who throw their names in the hat and invite them to submit a proposal.  Edmonton Journal, June 7, 2011

Saskatchewan

Rescue Of 350,000 Books Proves To Be Huge Storage Problem For Rural Saskatchewan Woman "We're talking 30 tonnes of books. The weight of the books is pulling the house apart. The books range from old textbooks to volumes of Shakespeare to 'How-To' manuals. Shaunna Raycraft tried selling the books on eBay, and to collectors and used book stores, but no one wants the task of sorting through them." CBC, June 7, 2011

Los Angeles

Getty Acquires Major 20th-Century Art Archive "Harald Szeemann, the famed Swiss art curator, left behind a trove of documents, books and correspondence when he died in 2005. His personal archive, which cut a scholarly swath through much of 20th century Western art, will have a new home at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles, starting in September." Los Angeles Times, June 7, 2011 

LA Street Art Show Illustrates Conflicts In The Form An artist famed for his illegal work is invited to show at a museum but subsequently arrested for his artistic endeavours. The police clampdown "became almost like a carnival game, like shooting fish in a barrel", according to Monica LoCascio, author of the Stickers street art books and arts editor of Paper magazine online. The Art Newspaper, June 7, 2011

New York

The Shaky Finances Behind the Met’s Admission Fee Increase  Harold Holzer, the Met's senior vice president for external affairs, told me today that, unlike fiscal 2010, when the Met had an operating surplus of $3.7 million, the museum expects to run a deficit of about $2 million in fiscal 2011, ending June 30.  Culturegrrl (blog) June 7, 2011

Website could be holy grail of private market prices  Art.sy will unite would-be collectors with art and dealers they may not know. And it’s all built on trust.  The Art Newspaper, June 8, 2011

London

London's high-rise sculpture park unveils bold ambition  Organisation launched to run exhibition space on the roof of a car park.  The Art Newspaper, June 6, 2011 

Venice

National Pavilions At The Venice Biennale: Some Artists Resist The Very Idea "Allora & Calzadilla's work in [the US pavilion at] the Biennial is part of a growing trend: artists representing their countries at the Venice Biennale in unorthodox ways or resisting the idea of national representation altogether." Los Angeles Times, June 6, 2011

Beijing

The Need To Help Ai Weiwei "A curator's signature on an online petition is not enough. The great museums should publicise China's detainee via their sites." The Guardian (UK) June 7, 2011

Cheryl Siegel, Librarian/Archivist

Vancouver Art Gallery

750 Hornby Street Vancouver BC, V6Z 2H7

604-662-4709