The Week in Review: October 15
Highlights, conversations, and news from the world of arts & culture.
ART THIEF STRIKES IN EUROPE
Art news made the front pages this week, when seven valuable works of art were stolen from the Kunsthal Rotterdam, including paintings by Matisse, Monet and Picasso. Collectively, the works are worth hundreds of millions of euros.
A suspect has yet to be identified.
NATIONAL BALLET OF CANADA TOURS INTERNATIONALLY FOR FIRST TIME IN A DECADE
Toronto-based The National Ballet of Canada will visit Los Angeles for the first time in 35 years to debut their production of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: a celebrated work by British choreographer Christopher Wheeldon which sold-out during its first run in Toronto during 2011. This will be the first time the company has had the opportunity to showcase their work on the international stage in almost ten years.
ART WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL REVEALED
Art Review magazine's annual Power 100 list was released this week, to much anticipation within galleries, auction houses and studios across the globe. Top of the list is Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, who runs the Documenta 13 art fair in Kassel, Germany. A new, surprising entry is Russian pop and protest group, Pussy Riot, charted at 57. Two of the group’s members are currently in prison for staging a performance in a Moscow cathedral, condemning Putin’s regime.
Pussy Riot was named one of the 100 Most Powerful in the Art World by a group of independent judges.
BRUCE NORRIS RETRACTS RIGHTS TO CLYBOURNE PARK
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Bruce Norris, recently retracted the rights to Clybourne Park given to The Deutsches Theatre in Berlin. He discovered that the company intended to use a white actress for an African-American role. The company said they would “experiment with makeup” so the actress could play the role – something many newspapers have condemned as the equivalent to blackface.
The Arts Club Theatre Company in Vancouver recently presented Clybourne Park to positive reviews.
ENO SUGGESTS YOU UNDRESS FOR THE OPERA
The English National Opera have launched their “Undress for the Opera” campaign to encourage younger audiences to attend the season, and – according to Artistic Director, John Berry – to ward off the idea that opera is “too stuffy, too posh, too expensive.” The invitation to wear what you like is accompanied by club-style bars, specially themed cocktails, and pre- and post- performance talks about the evening’s performance.
We’ll put away the gloves and monocles then…
JOHNNY DEPP STARTS BOOK IMPRINT
Everyone’s favourite pirate and long-time actor Johnny Depp has launched his own book imprint, Infinitum Nihil, as part of HarperCollins. Some of the first books to be published include The Unraveled Tales of Bob Dylan by bestselling historical Douglas Brinkley, and a novel by Woodie Guthrie.
From pirate to paperback prince – Johnny Depp steps into publishing
Categories: MPMG