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Monday, 29th June 2009

Latest News from L'Aquila

5:06pm

Following initial reports of April's earthquake in the Abruzzo region of Italy, very little news of the region's progress has been reported overseas. Here we bring you the latest news from our contributor Andrew Hopkins, who teaches at the university in the devastated city of L'Aquila.

It was the Faculty of Arts that was hit hardest when the earthquake struck L’Aquila on 6 April. Following a long-standing policy in cultural politics here in Italy, the plethora of disused monumental buildings that each town abounds in were given over to the Universities to use. While Engineering, Medicine and Biotechnology had customised...

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Friday, 26th June 2009

Weekly Art News Round up

4:37pm

BANKSY NEW SHOW.

A unique collaboration between Banksy and the Bristol Museum has recently been unveiled. The exhibition, which is Banksy’s first museum show, has already attracted thousands of visitors to his home city. The exhibition is themed according to Banksy’s take on classical art. Banksy, who has exhibited all over the world, is delighted to be holding his first government-funded exhibition, which he describes as, ‘his vision of the future, to which many people will say: “ You should have gone to Specsavers”.’

MOCA

Things are looking up for MOCA, with news that more, quite substantial,...

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Back to the Futurists

4:04pm

Futurism, the Italian modernist movement, was explosive and brilliant – the opening line of the Futurist Manifesto reads ‘We want to sing the love of danger, the habit of energy and rashness’ – and it was also occasionally bonkers. Futurism’s founder, Filippo Marinetti, called for a ban on the consumption of pasta, something unlikely to catch on in his homeland of Italy. The movement is commemorated at the moment by art events marking the 100th anniversary of the Futurist Manifesto.

The Tate’s current show ‘Futurism’ is worth a browse if you’re truly interested in the visual art of this period...

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Friday, 19th June 2009

Weekly Art News Round-up

4:47pm

1. Guggenheim to cut 8% of its jobs:

The Guggenheim Museum in New York has announced that it will cut 25 positions from its full-time staff, following an 18% reduction in the museum’s endowment in the last year. A record high attendance this year has helped to ensure that no exhibitions will be cancelled and the opening hours will remain the same, despite the recession.
- New York Times article

2. Dartmouth receives $50m donation for new Arts Centre:

An anonymous family has given Dartmouth College $50m, the institution’s largest ever donation, towards a new arts centre. The...

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Wednesday, 17th June 2009

Italy after the earthquake...

2:24pm

In his editorial in the current issue of Apollo Michael Hall discusses the impact of the earthquake that shook the Abruzzo region of Italy on 6 April. Hardest hit was the city of L'Aquila – nearly 300 people were killed and an estimated 30,000 are still camped out in tents on the edge of the city while its devastated infrastructure is investigated. All of L'Aquila's historic buildings have been damaged, for example, S Bernardino, Sta Maria di Collemaggio and the Porta Napoli (to access the editorial, click on the link: editorial).

While the Italian authorities are rightly focusing on...

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Spaced out

A recent exhibition in Nottingham showcases contemporary artists' exploration of the Communist-era space race.

Architecture - The return of classicism

Cast aside by Modernists for much of the 20th century, Classicism
has a comeback of sorts, with an excellent new book reappraising
architecture partnerships and a recent exhibition at one of the very
institutions that so derided the style.