Tag Archives: culture
The intrinsic value of art
Four weeks ago, the Louvre Museum presented the largest overview of German painting ever seen in France. De l’Allemagne, 1800-1939 De Friedrich à Beckmann brings together 200 works, most of … Continue reading
The Swiss Cultural Programme in the Western Balkans
Next week, I will be in Sarajevo for a conference to mark the end of the Swiss Cultural Programme in the Western Balkans, (SCP) after almost 15 years. Set up … Continue reading
Artful integrity: on Alistair Cooke
In August 1983, New York experienced a heat wave of unusual ferocity. One evening, in his 15th floor apartment overlooking Central Park, the BBC’s correspondent, Alistair Cooke, sought to divert … Continue reading
What is the Parliament of Dreams?
When I started this site, at the beginning of last year, I called it the Parliament of Dreams because I’ve used that metaphor to suggest how I see the unique … Continue reading
Where angels might fear to tread
Diversity has become an increasingly frequent subject in arts management during my working life. It is a focus of conferences, programming, policy and, naturally, of debate in the media and … Continue reading
For the good of the others
‘Inform, educate and entertain’ This week, Radio 4 has been broadcasting a series of 45-minute programmes by Melvyn Bragg under the title The Value Of Culture. It’s a sign of the strength and … Continue reading
Copyright vs. the Honesty Box
‘Whereas Printers, Booksellers, and other Persons, have of late frequently taken the Liberty of Printing… Books, and other Writings, without the Consent of the Authors… to their very great Detriment, … Continue reading
Those who get it, and those who don’t
As the crisis sapping the Western economies continues, the division between those who get it and those who don’t becomes wider and more important. Unfortunately, those who don’t get it … Continue reading
Memories worth having
Is it worth it A new winter coat and shoes for the wife And a bicycle on the boy’s birthday Elvis Costello, Shipbuilding, 1983 The trouble with utilitarianism, apart from ethics, … Continue reading
The Shoreline and the Sea
What is the difference between culture and heritage? It’s a question that has often arisen in my work and which, if it doesn’t have a neat solution, is still a … Continue reading
