11-28-05 Briefs: Arts in L.A.

Like I said earlier, I'm still trying to break out of the L.A. Times mold. Please e-mail relevant articles from your local press.

• L.A. libraries have been improving with a "70% explosion in library usage over the last decade."


• The Geffen Playhouse re-opens tonight.


• The Los Angeles Times Family Fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation is focusing on Arts Education with Inner-City Arts.


• Tyler Green, writing in a L.A.Times editorial, is angry with LACMA for the pending future of some of its art.


• In another L.A. Times editorial, Sony BMG is lambasted for privacy issues on their CDs.

Vegas Vs. Los Angeles

Today, the L.A. Times displays an ominous portrait of Las Vegas juxtaposed against Los Angeles. It almost feels like the Times is sleeping with The Strip. After all, they have a blog dedicated to it. The article made me feel like L.A.'s economy is going to rumble and the city will be deserted. That means culture too:

Los Angeles also lost out on at least two popular Broadway shows. This year, billionaire hotel mogul Steve Wynn is leading the city's efforts to bring first-run Broadway productions to Vegas permanently.

Thanks to his exorbitant offers - $5 million for "Avenue Q" and $10 million for "Spamalot" - the shows won't tour the region, blacking out theaters in the L.A. area.

Of course, in the broader picture, none of this sense of panic is true. Los Angeles is already quite an astonishing city that is in an infancy of a wonderful flourish of things to come. Within the Culture industry, we are strong and only getting stronger. While City of L.A. Cultural Affairs Department may be seen as weak these days, other efforts in the works are on its way. Vegas' success can only help Los Angeles...especially when Vegas will be a suburb of L.A.

Arts High School Passes

"LAUSD passed the grant agreement! The school moves forward…" as reported by Andre Pineda on his blog.

Briefs: Arts in L.A.

I'm going to get more diverse than just LAT, but it's a start:

• Having an arts campus downtown could be major. LAUSD will vote later today. I'll be following this story.


• I find myself and many friends in the same boat. We just don't go to movies anymore. Did Netflix kill the video store star?


• For those who work in Arts Education, this might be a good book to check out - The Norton Anthology of Children's Literature: Traditions in English'.


• L.A. makes No. 2 best art city! Well, according to Tyler Green on his blog for ArtsJournal.


• Regretfully, Dave Holland, the longtime director of the Lone Pine Film Festival passed away last week.

Downtown Development pushes out Artists?

L.A. Times: Living Gets Loftier in Downtown L.A.

"'...when you are an artist, you need larger spaces to work in, at a reasonable rent. Now, the rents are going up and the spaces aren't that big.'"

10 years from now, what will downtown's occupation demographics look like? What percent are artists now? What percent will they be tomorrow?

Read Full Article

Why have a blog?

I've always wanted some center point for Los Angeles Cultural Managers to meet and share ideas and learn from others. Obviously, a blog run by just me is not the ideal forum. So in the meantime, I hope this blog will be a place to come to learn the latest news in our industry.

That industry being "Cultural Managers from a Government Point-Of-View."

Who knows how this will turn out. I'm going to let it happen as it goes. No business plan here. No Chart-of-Work. I'm going to improvise and create. Let's build a stronger cultural Los Angeles region. Join me and send me tip, a lead, or a newsworthy story of today to talk about.

Cheers,

Zach Behrens
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A little about me: I work for the City of Santa Clarita's Arts & Events Office and I run another blog about Sherman Oaks, politically and life stylistically.