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Petition Tag - art
1. Mandate Music and Art Education in our nation's elementary schools 
All americans should work to enhance and support music and art education in our nation's schools. A child's first years offer a critcally important window of opportunity to develop skills that determine their success. Mandating music and art on the elementary level insuring it become a part of every child's core curriculum is essential.
Ensure music and art are included as a part of a well balanced education addressing the whole child, to prepare them for the creative thinking necessary for success in the work force of the future.
Teaching students to be creative is a deliberate process and deserves its weekly exposure and guided practices by art and music educators.
2. Save the wall / Salvemos el muro
Mosayko Vallarta has been commited to make Vallarta shine brighter by bringing art to the streets. Volunteers have dedicated 3 months making the mosaic mural in the Romantic Zone.
Mosayko Vallarta ha estado comprometido a hacer que Vallarta brille aun mas trayendo arte a sus calles. Voluntarios han dedicado 3 meses haciendo el mural de mosaicos en la Zona Romantica de esta ciudad.
3. Save The Gaiety for Community Use
195-197 City Road, Cardiff was once the iconic Gaiety cinema and later a Spin Bowling Alley. The building had been left empty for several years (we believe since 2006) and the company who owns it have fallen into debt.
Throughout the years that this building was empty, it has been abused by drug addicts and people stealing fixtures from the inside of the building. Earlier this year, a group of individuals have entered the building and are trying to set it up as a free social centre for the use of the community. Because of seeing lots of enthusiastic and supportive members of the community, we think this is a valid project.
We want to set up various skillshare sessions in the space, including several workshops in arts and crafts, music, performance art, language, yoga, climbing, freerunning etc. We would also like to us the space to kickstart several art projects and hold exhibition, all of which will be completely free.
Bonne Mares Limited have recently won a courtcase for a standard possession order, meaning they can send baliffs and remove us from the building whenever they choose. We need to act now if we want to save the space, which will otherwise be left to rot away (judging from the lack of interest from both buyers and owners).
We would ideally like to gain some sort of legal possession, preferably we would like to be able to look after the building until it is sold. We do not want any money but are more than willing to fix it up and work on it. We think this is both in the interest of the owner and the local community.
If you want to find out more about the project please visit http://welcometogremlinalley.wordpress.com/ or http://www.facebook.com/GremlinAlleyCardiff or send us an email welcometogremlinalley@riseup.net
If you would like to see our project come into fruition, please show support by signing this petition. We appreciate any kind of help we can get.
Thank you.
Ross was the host of the public television series The Joy of Painting. The show ran from January 11, 1983, to May 17, 1994, and still appears in reruns in many broadcast areas and countries, including the PBS oriented Create.
During each half-hour segment, Ross would instruct viewers in the art of oil painting using a quick-study technique that kept colors to a minimum and broke paintings down into simple steps that virtually anyone could follow.
5. Keep Watermans in Brentford
see http://www.KeepWatermansInBrentford.org.uk for full background and http:///www.brentfordtw8.com for news
剛過去的特首選舉，14名自動當選選委，在未有向業界諮詢投票意向下，一致支持梁振英。現在立法會選舉在即，我們發現代表業界的「體育、演藝、文化及出版」功能組別當中的「文化小組」，卻只接受團體選民登記。 對於這種政策歧視，我們感到非常憤怒。
7. Keep Emily Fisher Charter School Open
It was announced on March 2nd,2012 that Emily Fisher Charter School in Trenton, New Jersey will be closed June 29th. The reason is because the test scores put the school in the bottom three percent statewide.
8. Get Art Competitions Back in the Olympics!
From 1912 to 1948, art competitions divided into five categories (sculpture, music, architecture, painting, and literature) made up a portion of the Olympics. Medals were awarded for works inspired by sports.
Unfortunately, artists were thought to be professionals, while athletes were required to be amateurs, so they(the art competitions) were removed from the competition.
9. Support Second Saturday Hanalei
If you have ever attended a Second Saturday Hanalei (SSH) event and enjoyed yourself, please sign our petition to ensure its survival. It has been running successfully for over two years, having grown, evolved and adjusted accordingly to take into account any concerns by retail tenants of Hanalei.
Second Saturday Hanalei is a volunteer-run, art-focused community event. It’s purpose is to build a healthy community, in part by strengthening the connection to traditional Hawaiian values and implementing them wherever possible in contemporary life.
SSH provides a dedicated space and time for the community to gather together, watch movies, listen to local musicians and view local artists and their work. The event has become a dependable gathering for the north shore’s residents and visitors; our fun night to meet and socialize and for the art community to showcase, share and promote their work in a family-oriented environment.
Apparently now Second Saturday Hanalei cannot be held in the Hanalei Center, the grassy are where SSH erects the movie screen and we gather to view and mix amongst ourselves. This location is the best infrastructure for the event. It is a safe and centralized spot that is safe for pedestrians and children and can be seen from all around Hanalei. The coordinators are committed to handling and addressing any problems or issues the Center has faced as a result of SSH.
10. Save Fine Arts Programs in Hartland Schools
Hartland Consolidated Schools has unassigned all fine arts teachers at the elementary level and plans to have one music teacher and one art teacher cover two elementary buildings.
As a result students at the K-4 level will only receive one semester of art and one semester of music per school year.
11. Extend Second Saturday Art Walk Hours
Regarding street artists and vendors at the Second Saturday art walk. These hard working artists make most of their money on this night - and used to make most of it between the hours of 8 and 10 pm.
With the art walk closing at 8 pm - it has greatly impacted many people. The customers coming in through the art walk are also disappointed that they don't get done with dinner in time to come out and buy.
During the Summer, many people will not come out until the later hours due to heat, thus impacting artists even more.
12. Keep the Art
The school board and administration at Hobson Public School in Hobson, MT (http://www.hobson.k12.mt.us/joomla) is calling for the need to eliminate art programs in the high school curriculum.
They feel that the art program is an excuse for students to avoid doing actual work. However art has proven to be therapeutic and involve deeper trains of creative thought, and encouraging creativity in students is one of the reasons that keeps them coming to school. Art programs have proven to reduce stress levels in students as well as give them an outlet for necessary creative thought.
Many schools in cities across the country have eliminated art programs and faced the consequences of higher drop out rates. Since art has therapeutic effects such as eliminating anxiety and lifting depression, as well as rejuvenating the mind and body; Montana (who has the highest teen suicide rate in the nation) should utilize the effects art programs have on teenage minds.
13. Stop Dog-killer from Creating Sculpture for NY Public Library
Artist Tom Otterness has been commissioned by an unnamed donor to sculpt bronze lions at the Battery Park Branch of New York Public Library for $750,000. In 1977, Otterness was involved in another art project. He bought a shelter dog, chained it to a fence, shot it to death and filmed the murder in a movie he called 'Shot Dog Film.'
This crime has tainted any work he shows, publicly, and it would be a disgrace for the NY Public Library to let this project proceed.
14. Healing Through The Map Project
The Map workshops are facilitated by Wisdom in Your Life Enterprises and provide a set of practical tools for improving self-care. The Map focuses on helping participants to be more aware and manage their mental and emotional state so that they can better take care of themselves and others around them.
The workshops are hands-on and suitable for Elders, health professionals and community members. Through art, music, stories, pictures, dance and acting participants learn how to become strong in themselves, their culture and their family.
15. Let it be Understood that the Film and Video Room is a STUDIO
Within the campus of Wimbledon College of Art, there is only one studio which is at all suitable for use as a film studio.
In recent years the college has seen a vast increase in the number of students wishing to create moving image work both on the specialised Print and Time-Based Media pathway as well as in Painting, Sculpture and the school of Theatre. However, this studio is constantly being given over to staff for meetings, presentations, tutorials and other such activities which are far more flexible in their mobility.
It is not necessary for these activities to take place in this studio and there are a range of far more suitable spaces in the college (e.g. the MEETINGS room). Time and time again students are being ousted from the 'specialist' film studio and having their projects ruined for the sake of staff-led activities.
This must change.
16. Save Le Corbusier's Chandigarh
The Indian city of Chandigarh is one of the world’s greatest architectural treasures. Described by its architect Le Corbusier as “my crowning work”, it is an exceptionally ambitious and successful experiment in urban planning that has enriched the lives of the many people who have lived and worked there.
Le Corbusier worked on the design, planning and construction of Chandigarh with his cousin Pierre Jeanneret and a team of international architects from 1950 until his death in 1965. The result is the first planned city in India with beautiful green spaces and some of the 20th century’s finest buildings.
Their work at Chandigarh is now imperilled by the removal of artifacts designed by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and their team, including public property. Many of these artifacts, such as furniture, lighting, carvings, architectural drawings and models, have subsequently been sold by international art dealers and auction houses. A manhole cover from Chandigarh sold for over $24,000 at an auction in Paris in November 2010.
If the plundering of Chandigarh continues, Le Corbusier’s vision of the city will be destroyed. This article in The Guardian newspaper explains the gravity of the situation:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/mar/07/chandigarh-le-corbusier-heritage-site?INTCMP=SRCH
A group of local architects and art historians led by Manmohan Nath Sharma, who was Le Corbusier’s first assistant and later chief architect of Chandigarh, is campaigning to preserve the city’s architectural integrity.
You can help their campaign by signing this petition to urge the Indian government to:
- lobby UNESCO to make Chandigarh a World Heritage Site
- impose tighter controls on the removal of public property from Chandigarh
Your support could help to Save Le Corbusier’s Chandigarh.
17. Save the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
2011 marks the 25th anniversary of the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. It is one of the largest and most successful film festivals in the UK, with annual attendances of 28,000, and one of the UK’s most significant LGBT cultural events.
During this time the festival has played a vital cultural role, bringing audiences together to debate and discuss an extraordinary diversity of important work. It provides a space and platform for emerging talent, for provocative and political films, for innovation. Very little of this filmmaking can be seen in the UK outside of the festival. The BFI is to be congratulated for 25 years of commitment.
However, this year’s festival will be a shadow of its former self, with a radically cut-down programme of 6 days, rather than 14 and a substantial reduction of the activities and facilities that have made it an internationally acclaimed event. Of particular concern is the loss of the annual tour of festival highlights that ensured that the festival was enjoyed by audiences across the UK.
With 15% cuts to funding as a result of the government’s spending review, the BFI is necessarily having to tighten its belt. As such it’s understandable that some cuts need to be made to its activities. However, we are deeply concerned that the substantial cuts WELL ABOVE 15% to the 2011 festival will hinder this year's success and are a move towards the BFI severing its responsibilities for the event. Few festivals thrive - or indeed survive - without the support and commitment of a major cultural body. If the BFI was to drop the LLGFF we fear for its future.
Furthermore, we understand that the BFI will reviewing the future of the festival in April after the 2011 event and we urge Amanda Nevill (amanda.nevill@bfi.org.uk) Greg Dyke (greg.dyke@bfi.org.uk) and Board of Governors at BFI, Ed Vaizey (vaizeye@parliament.uk) and Boris Johnson (mayor@london.gov.uk) to ensure that:
The BFI commits to organising and hosting the annual LLGFF as an integral part of its cultural programme.
The BFI commits to ensure that the festival reaches out to audiences across the UK through a tour of cinemas or by making films available through its online platforms.
The BFI explores ways to reduce expenditure while maintaining the integrity of the festival’s programme, and in particular safeguards such vital elements as length of programme, pay for the festival curators, some industry services, and a budget to help filmmakers attend the Festival to present their work.
The BFI explores new avenues for support from individual donors.
The BFI considers the impact on its own membership base (25% of BFI members book tickets for the LLGFF) if it was to drop the festival.
18. Save The Arts! (Music, Theatre, Dance, etc.)
Our petition is stating that we want funds to go the arts, not just the sports.
At our school, funds are being taken out of the arts programs (Band, Show Choir, Art Classes) and being put into sports.
19. LES ARTISTES CONTEMPORAINS PLASTICIENS SONT EN DANGER
La condition économique et sociale des artistes plasticiens en France est dramatique et n’ont même plus accès aux reliefs d’une société sans âme. Sans revenus ni soutien, la plupart d’entre eux sont au plus bas des minimums sociaux et n’en peuvent plus de se faire expulser, de ne plus pouvoir travailler, de vivre le ventre vide.
Aucune structure n’est capable de leur apporter la moindre aide car in-considérés au delà de tout respect. Les artistes subissent à la fois l’exclusion économique, la censure de fait de l’action culturelle, des médias et des politiques. Tous sont sortis de tous les rouages sociaux sans qu’aucune voix ni la moindre main se penche sur leur réalité.
Je me permets de rappeler que l’absurdité de cette situation est cruelle. Paris et les grandes villes de notre pays témoignent et se sont construits de leur présence. Les peintres et les sculpteurs ont offert à nos villes une belle part de leur identité, ont aidé à humaniser leur rayonnement international. Nous ne pouvons que les remercier et leur montrer notre attachement pour ce qu'ils ont donné. Musées et éditeurs, institutions et conservations, écoles, galeries, commerçants, quartiers et noms de rues témoignent et se nourrissent de cet héritage.
Aujourd’hui, tous les fruits économiques liés à notre art sont dans les mains de la spéculation ou de l’organisation sans que le moindre regard soit porté à la création contemporaine. Les grandes sociétés s’organisent en fondation et captent le 3/1000 de leur chiffre d’affaire pour s’aménager une vitrine culturelle qui n’est qu’un outil spéculatif de détournement d’argent social. Les grands musées nationaux se nourrissent des dations et des donations pour déployer une machinerie de spectacle et de merchandising qui n’a comme seule véritable but que de faire de l’argent à leur seul profit. Des armées d’experts, de conservateurs, de décorateurs et autres conseillers hantent les couloirs de la république avec comme seule action de perdurer leur propre activité. Tout ce qui pourrait aider à la création et surtout à ses acteurs est capté, siphonné par une prédation institutionnelle qui ne cherche qu’à être vue sur la page de garde des médias.
Mais comment peut-on imaginer une société sans artistes, seraient-ils plus dangereux que la peste et le choléra réunit ? N’y a-t-il personne pour se lever et aider les artistes à se faire respecter ? Les sources de revenus naturels existent pourtant en dehors du seul commerce.
Le droit de représentation, loi s’il en est, (code de la propriété intellectuelle Chapitre II : Droits patrimoniaux art L 122-2) est bafoué par les sociétés, les galeries, les administrations, collectivités locales et associations opportunistes. Mais oui bien sûr, il est légitime de montrer ses œuvres, d’en obtenir un revenu et de le revendiquer sans faiblesse. Est il anormal pour un musicien, un comédien, un animateur de se faire rémunérer leur prestation.
L’art contemporain est totalement absent des grands médias et pourquoi donc ? Simplement que tout ce joli monde se refuse aux droits d’auteur et préfère s’en tenir aux artistes décédés depuis plus de 70ans. Vive l’art moderne et la liberté d’expression!
Le droit de suite (code de la propriété intellectuelle section 2 Article R122-2) est partiellement appliqué, pris en partie par le ministère de la culture, sous la bronca de marchands qui ne se sont jamais inquiété de la condition de l’artiste. Qu’en pense la caisse des dépôts et consignation qui cumule cet argent frais rarement réclamé par des moribonds.
Et le reste, la foison des sociétés d’auteurs, activistes juridiques et financiers sortis des grandes écoles de commerce, qui s’organisent pour capter la manne collective liées aux droits d’auteurs (copie privée, supports numériques vierges, répartition sur les flux numériques qui ne cessent de se multiplier.
Autant d’acteurs économiques et sociaux qui se fichent totalement de la condition de l’artiste, bien cachés derrière une professionnalité « culturelle » et quelques discours langue de bois. Les artistes n’ont que faire des beaux discours. Ils veulent simplement retrouver la dignité. Ils revendiquent le droit de vivre de leur art par une application systématique et universelle du droit de présentation. La recherche artistique nourrit la force vitale des humanistes et est la clef du respect de l’individu.
Les artistes ne veulent plus être pillé et soumis à l’inculture du seul commerce. Nous comptons sur vous pour diffuser très largement ce texte. Nous vous invitons à signer nombreux cette pétition afin de faire entendre haut et fort la voix des artistes contemporains et de leur amis.
Cette pétition est la disposition de tous ceux qui voudront bien se faire connaître auprès de l’administrateur du site www.wwpas.org
20. Tell the Smithsonian to Stop Censoring Gay Artists
On Nov. 30, 2010, the Smithsonian Institution (USA) removed "A Fire in My Belly," a work of video art by gay artist David Wojnarowicz from the National Portrait Gallery, caving in to a 2-day pressure campaign by anti-gay groups and politicians, who threatened the institution's public funding. (Watch censored video here.)
Ironically, the work was part of an exhibit highlighting the marginalization of gay people, called "Hide/Seek," the first such exhibit in a public museum in the United States. (See www.hideseek.org for more information.)
Museum Officials Caved In to False Charges, Censored Work
The "objectionable" content was 11 seconds of a 4-minute video; the brief imagery within the larger work consisted of a crucifix crawling with ants, an image of the late artist's feelings of abandonment and isolation as he was dying of AIDS in 1980s America.
Anti-gay forces knowingly mischaracterized the work as "an obvious attempt to offend Christians during the Christmas season," even though the exhibit opened in October 2010 and is scheduled to run through February 2011.
Protesters Banned From Museum
When free-speech protesters attempted to restore the art to the museum, they were SILENCED, DETAINED, and BANNED from all Smithsonian facilities. (Watch the protest video here, and read the news coverage here and here.)
Smithsonian Continues Long Tradition of Silencing Gay Americans
Just as gay- and AIDS-related art was censored by the U.S. government in the 1980s, it's still happening today. AND WE REFUSE TO BE MADE INVISIBLE AGAIN.
Tell the Smithsonian -- which is part of the U.S. government -- that there is room in America for ALL people and ALL points of view.
Tell the Smithsonian to stop censoring art!
21. Save Visual Art in Leicester
Petition against the plans to permanently close The City Gallery in Leicester and reduce all public contemporary art provision in the city.
Leicester City Council has now drawn up it’s proposed budget for 2011/12 to 2013/14 (http://www.leicester.gov.uk/budget2011/) It has also submitted a new report to the Overview & Scrutiny Management Board (See proposal CS 05 on page 17 http://www.cabinet.leicester.gov.uk/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=24432) meeting on the 3rd February prior to proposals being potentially approved by Cabinet on 21st February and Council on 23rd February.
These new plans are similar to those submitted back in early December 2010 and result in funding for the City Gallery (and therefore contemporary art in Leicester) reducing from the current 2010/11 amount of £311,000 to £69,000 by 2012/13 – a 78% cut.
Whilst some of the details have altered slightly from the plans submitted to the Overview & Scrutiny Management Board in late November 2010, the substance of these proposals remains the same. The cut is still massive and leaves Leicester without any dedicated space for contemporary arts. Leicester is due to be the first city in the country to cut is only contemporary art gallery.
Below details the petition drawn up on 30th November 2010 based on the published proposals to the Overview & Scrutiny Management Board (30th November 2010), since withdrawn (7th December) then resubmitted with slight alterations and no other options (27 January 2011).
Our objections all these plans stand as they were with two minor alterations:
Objection point 5 has been given more clarification in the new proposal ‘CS 05’ (reduction in FTE posts from 6.24 to 2) but still does not make clear cuts to other workers (i.e. Educational project leaders & helpers).
Objection point 6 is now a £69k budget rather than the £34k budget, still a radical cut and still resulting in reduced contemporary art offer and exhibition space in New Walk Museum.
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A report has been submitted to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board, of Leicester City Council, prior the their meeting on 7th December with a recommendation to: “Integrate contemporary visual art services within the exhibition programme and overall offer at New Walk Museum and Art Gallery.”
These plans permanently close The City Gallery, provide a radically reduced (financially by 86.7%) contemporary visual art exhibition & education programme for Leicester and lose around £126,909 of inward investment from Arts Council England per year.
Details of previous plans submitted in December can be found here: http://www.cabinet.leicester.gov.uk/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=23614
We object to these cuts to services and seek clarification as to why:
• The options do not include a continuation of the current provision of exhibitions by City Gallery staff based at New Walk Museum, nor do they include cheaper development options either in the Central Lending Library or in other council or privately owned buildings. They are only options for large capital costs or large reductions in service.
• Options to work with other arts and/or education organisations within the city to provide a dedicated space for the display and education in contemporary art do not seem to have been explored.
• There appears to have been no consultation with current, previous and potential users of The City Gallery, or with other arts/education organisations within the city to determine to need and therefore the loss to the city if provision was radically reduced or completely withdrawn.
• Arts Council funding of £126,909 for 2011/12 will not be available without a robust programme of exhibitions - these proposals do not constitute a robust programme. Also and the option to apply for funding from 2012 onwards has been discounted thus loosing a potential investment into Leicester’s visual arts of £463,471 over four years (based on ACE 15% reduction on 2010/11 City Gallery funding).
• Under ‘Legal Implications’ Section 5.2.2 it states that: “Possible redeployment and redundancy issues for affected staff are identified in the report.” But these are not clearly identified in the report. The current number of staff, (full-time, part-time and sessional staff) are not referred to in the report and therefore a judgment on the implications of the loss of some or all of these by the Councilors at the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board is not possible.
• The proposed Option 2 budget of £34,000 per annum for the integration of City Gallery services to: “cover the staffing costs of exhibition, learning and community engagement support at New Walk Museum and Gallery.” With: “All other costs […] would be found from New Walk Museum and Gallery’s existing budget.” Would result in a loss of exhibition space and budget for New Walk Museums traditional program of displays, as well as representing in a reduced contemporary art offer, education offer and community engagement.
This petition is to ask Leicester City Council to immediately re-think these proposals and:
• Continue with current City Gallery services maintaining the 2011/12 funding from Arts Council England whilst a plan is developed for a sustainable and permanent space for contemporary visual art provision in Leicester.
• Consult with current and past users of City Gallery services, other arts/education organisations and key potential funders to determine the need for these services and how these needs can best be met within potential resources.
• Consult with Arts Council England and apply to the ‘National portfolio funding programme’ for funding from 2012 onwards (by the advertised deadline of 22nd January 2011).
• Clearly identify the implications on staffing including numbers of permanent and sessional staff that will be moved out of the organisation or made redundant.
Whilst it is acknowledged that with large cuts to local council funding as well as Arts Council funding new ideas must be thought of, we feel that these plans to not provide adequate arts services to Leicester. We are therefore feel duty bound to request that the plans be revisited with a view to finding new ways to provide contemporary visual arts in Leicester.
22. Allow a Private Tattoo Studio at 4612 Baltimore Avenue
Tattoo artists Eric Eaton, Kevin Riley, and myself (Dave Fox) are partnering in a private, appointment-only tattoo studio at 4612 Baltimore Ave in Philadelphia.
We are all well-known artists with large, appointment-based clientele, over 15 years each in the industry, and we are seeking to open a quiet studio where we can tattoo in an artistic and focused environment without the distractions of a walk-in tattoo parlor.
23. Stop Closure of Seyhoun Gallery, Tehran
Please sign this petition to keep Seyhoun Art Gallery, the oldest art gallery in Iran from closure by landowners who want to turn it into a restaurant.
Seyhoun Gallery is a Tehran landmark and home to many Iranian artists. The proposed closure of this, the oldest of Art galleries in Iran, not only deprives both artists and their audience of being able to expose and see works of art but it also sends a message of hopelessness to the artistic and cultural community in Iran.
Throughout centuries Iranians, too weary of politics, have chosen art as a venue for the expression of thoughts and feelings. With our love of culture and respect for artistic endeavor we have preserved our identity and our psychological sanity in trying times. Seyhoun Gallery is a symbol of the perseverance of Iranian culture against the vacillations of history.
Please sign this petition to keep this noble and much loved venue from closing. Let’s keep art alive!"
24. Save the Altona Bayside Festival
The Altona Bayside Festival which has been run for 33 years is very important to Altona, Hobsons Bay City and Melbourne's western suburbs as an annual community activity and for promoting arts and culture, sports and recreation. It has become an icon of the area.
Operation Recreation Inc. which has been organizing the Festival has some problems and will no longer run a Festival in 2011.
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE HONG KONG ARTS DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL IN RESPONSE TO ITS “RE-INVITATION OF PROPOSAL” FOR HONG KONG’S PARTICIPATION IN THE 54TH VENICE BIENNALE NOVEMBER 1, 2010
On October 29, 2010 (Friday), I received a phone call, followed by an email (Appendix available on my facebook and by request - yangy817@gmail.com), from the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (thereafter HKADC) regarding its decision to re-invite proposals for Hong Kong’s participation in the 54th Venice Biennale. As an “original applicant”, I was encouraged to resubmit.
I am motivated to write this letter mainly for the following reasons and concerns:
1. the discrepancy in terms of the type and amount of information in the email and on the HKADC website regarding “re-invitation” (http://www.hkadc.org.hk/en/content/web.do?page=EventsVB2010B);
2. the artistic- and cultural-political implications of the re-invitation in terms of what projects it implicitly favors now;
3. the quality (transparency, accountability, fairness) of the long-term public environment in which art operates.
26. Halt the Redundancies of Staff at Gray’s
We the students of Gray’s School of Art were concerned to hear of proposed staff redundancies at our Art School.
Staff at Grays School of Art were called to a meeting with Prof. John Watson, the Dean of Design & Technology on Wednesday 6 October 2010 and told that the Art School had a budget deficit and needed to make savings of £500,000 and these savings would be met through staff redundancies. They were told they would all receive the option of voluntary redundancy.
We are concerned that other options for saving money and funding the Art School have not been fully explored. Redundancy on such a wide scale will severely damage the quality of teaching that the school has always managed to provide.
In Aug 2009 I was approached by the council to discuss the possibility of me moving from the studio I have worked in for 10 years, at this point they suggested they would offer help with the move.
In March 2010 with no further discussion the council served me an eviction notice as if i was an illegal squatter. When I contested it they set a court date and are now trying to charge me over £1000 for their legal fees.
I have lived and worked in Haringey for over 30 years, building up a reputation as an international artist. I welcome youngsters to gain experience and have completed several community projects in the local area, leading to large scale public sculptures.
I believe I have been treated unfairly and undervalued as a creative force within the community. Surely the school would benefit from having a local artist nearby?
I believe I have been treated unfairly and undervalued as a creative force within the community and ask for support.
28. Help Get Ms. Flynn To Teach For Windsor Park Collegiate's Art Course!
Ms. Flynn has been teaching us art for about three years. She has been a part time teacher, filling in for Mrs. Sigmar, but was layed off in Fall, due to the new school year. Instead of Ms. Flynn, who has many information and knowledge about this topic Art, has been layed off for a teacher who knows nothing about Art. She's a history teacher for christ sake!
Let someone who has an Anthropology for BA with a minor in Geography, an MA in archaeology, a good portion of fine arts degree and also B. Ed, be the Fine Arts teacher for us students at Windsor Park Collegiate!
29. Endeavour 2010: Section 8 and Captain Cook
Section 8/ Cook Square in the Cook's Yard / Borough of Tower Hamlets, London, is an innovative cultural integration project by Dynacorp Ltd.
The proposal consists of two parts: the first part is a multifunctional venue for dancing, music, exhibitions, rehearsals, charity work, and the second is a public square dedicated Captain James Cook, who lived in the place.
The project is a local, private initiative challenging stereotypes of contemporary: entertainment, cultural participation and urban design. “Smart Growth” and “24-hours City” concepts are essential parts of the proposal.
The project stakeholders are local and international artists and activists, who dedicate their lives to modern arts, humanities and social evolution. The team is independent, able and willing to respond to the recent recession with passion and competence.
The petition addresses the Tower Hamlets Council, who is the most important decision maker in the development process. Without the Council and without public support we will not be able to give a chance to the ideas, works, and dreams of many people involved in this project.
You can make it happen.
Thank you,
Section 8/ Cook Square
30. Save The Stables Art Centre and Gallery
The Stables Art Centre and Gallery is a very successful small arts venue including exhibition space and meeting rooms. The building is a Grade 2 listed building and is situated in Gladstone Park, Dollis Hill, London NW2. The Arts Centre is administered by Brent Arts Council who obtain a grant from Brent Local Authority to cover the running costs. All other funds are raised separately to supprt the Art and Performance activities in and around the building.
This Grant has been removed suddenly and without warning. The infrastructure costs cannot be met and the building will close in the January 2011. We are campaigning for our grant to be reinstated forthwith.