Looking for Owners
The Musée d¡¯art et
d¡¯histoire du Judaïsme was founded as a non-profit-making organisation and opened
in 1998 with the joint aid of the City of Paris and the French government. From the
outset, the City of Paris and the Culture Ministry committed themselves to the project on
an equal basis, both for the necessary initial investments and the museum¡¯s annual
running costs.
Having inherited the collection of the private Jewish museum in rue des Saules, the Musée
d¡¯art et d¡¯histoire du Judaïsme also benefited from the allocation of the Hôtel
de Saint-Aignan by the City of Paris and of major collections by the Culture Ministry,
including the Isaac Strauss Collection formerly in the Musée de Cluny.
Looking for owners features paintings looted by the Nazis from the homes of French Jews.
The fifty-three works include features artists such as Delacroix, Ingres, Monet and
Seurat.
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Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro, Italy
¡¡
 The Rossini Opera Festival is a classic example of a celebration of music
dedicated to Gioachino Antonio Rossini, the inspiration behind a musical heritage. Rossini
composed more than 30 operas, sacred music and chamber music.
Held in Pesaro Italy since 1980 - the birthplace of Rossini - the Festival is the only
singular international operatic event promoting known and unknown operatic repertoires
contributed by Rossini.
The crowning moment of this systematic revival of Rossini's "buried" works was
the recovery of IL VIAGGIO A REIMS, the mythical score that disappeared after its first
performances in 1825, and of which not even manuscript copies seemed to have survived. Its
accidental re-discovery and its revival in Pesaro in 1984 constitute one of the most
important musical events of the 20th century.
And don't forget the great location!
¡¡
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The Palio Horse Race, Italy
Every year August 16
(and July 2) the beautiful medieval city of Siena comes alive for one of the world's most
breathtaking folk festivals, Il Palio. The event is known around the globe as a totally
unique horse race, but it is much, much more. The evening before the race it is estimated
that 25,000 people eat outside, as each of the 17 contradas (neighborhoods) stages a
sumptuous banquet to ¡°rehearse¡± their surefire victory celebration.
The Palio is run to
celebrate the miraculous apparition of the Virgin Mary near the old houses that belonged
to Provenzano Salvani. The holy apparition was therefore called "Madonna di
Provenzano" in whose honour the very first Palio was run on August 16, 1656. The
Palio was run for the first time in 1701 in honour of the "Madonna dell'Assunta"
the patroness and Advocate of Siena through all the tragic events since she protected the
Sienese militia at the famous battle of Monteaperti on September 4, 1260, against the
Florentines.
The Palio is a historical
secular tradition strictly connected with the origin of the Contradas of Siena (districts
into which the town is divided). The Contradas are spectacular agonistic institutions each
having their own government, oratory, coat of arms, appellations, sometimes titles of
nobility, emblems and colours, official representatives, festivities, patron Saints, with
protectors, delimited territories and population which consist of all those people who
were born or live within the topographic limits of the district, according to the
proclamation issued by Violante Beatrice of Bavaria on January 7, 1730, at that time,
Governess of the town. Originally, there were about fifty-nine "Contrade";
now only seventeen remain.
On the morning, of
the race, each horse is led into the contrada church to be blessed. After this most solemn
event, the city erupts, as excited citizens flock to the beautiful shell-shaped Piazza del
Campo. 50,000 people file into the middle of the square, with a few thousand seated
on bleachers and terraces in front of the 15th-century palazzi that line the perimeter. The
pageant begins, and for three hours, enthralled spectators are transported back to the
Middle Ages. The horses and jockeys arrive, each passionately hailed by the denizens
of its contrada. Officially, the jockeys now attempt to line up their mounts behind the
rope which marks the tenuous starting gate, but everyone knows they are really taking
their time, making secret deals to crush their patrons¡¯ enemies. Spectators watch as the
judge lowers his arm for the start of the race. No one cares if, in the pandemonium, a
jockey is unhorsed. The first horse to cross the finish line wins, with or without a
rider.
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| ¡¡ Running at the Tate Gallery,
London
A runner speeds
through Tate Britain¡¯s dramatic neo-classical sculpture galleries, again and again,
running as if their life depended on it, every day for four months. The tightly
choreographed live performance Work No. 850 has been specially devised by Martin Creed for
the Tate Britain Duveens Commission 2008 sponsored by Sotheby¡¯s.
Work No. 850 centres on a
simple idea: that a person will sprint as fast as they can every 30 seconds through the 86
metre gallery at the heart of Tate Britain. Each run is followed by an equivalent pause,
like a musical rest, during which the gallery is empty.
Work No. 850 is about the
purest expression of human vitality. This investigation into the body celebrates
physicality and the human spirit, the constant ebb and flow of nature. Work No.
850presents the beauty of human movement in its purest form, a recurring yet infinitely
variable line drawn between two points.
This new work extends
Creed¡¯s career-long investigation into physical experience and everyday life and relates
to other works the artist has made exploring basic human activity depicting vomiting, Work
No. 503 (2006), defecating, Work No. 600 (2006) and sex, Work No. 715 (2007). As with
previous art works and music by the artist, rhythm and order are integral to this piece.
The pace echoes the rhythm of Creed¡¯s renowned Work No. 227 The lights going on and off
(2000) displayed in his Turner Prize exhibition in 2001.
 Martin Creed said: ¡°I like
running. I like seeing people run and I like running myself¡ running is the opposite of
being still. If you think about death as being completely still and movement as a sign of
life, then the fastest movement possible is the biggest sign of life. So then running fast
is like the exact opposite of death: it¡¯s an example of aliveness.¡±
Stephen Deuchar, Director
of Tate Britain, said: ¡°Martin Creed has responded to the historic Duveen gallery spaces
with a compelling, simple and lyrical project. In lifting an everyday activity out of its
usual context and dropping it into the central galleries of Tate Britain, it upsets any
preconceived ideas of how to move appropriately through an art space. At the same time it
asks us to reassess a mundane activity as if it were a theatrical event.We are simply
delighted to be presenting it.¡±
Creed¡¯s Work No. 850 is
the latest in an ongoing series of contemporary sculpture commissions in the Duveen
Galleries at Tate Britain, which now, through the generous support of Sotheby¡¯s, is an
annual event. Previous contributors to the biennial event included Mark Wallinger (2007),
Michael Landy (2004), Anya Gallaccio (2002) and Mona Hatoum (2000). The series builds on a
long tradition of exhibitions in the Duveen Galleries, which has included memorable
installations by Richard Long, Richard Serra and Luciano Fabro.
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The
Sziget Festival, Obudai Island, Budapest, Hungary
Sziget is gaining an
admirable position on the international festival market. 2008 kicks off for the
sixteenth year with an Iron Maiden concert on the 12th of August; and the customary
variety of 60 locations with 200 daily programs follows during the next 5 days.
The Sziget festival is the most prominent cultural event in the region with continuous all
day and all night entertainment. More like a festival combo rolled into one event, international
stars mix with world music peculiarities, delicacies of new music genres, electronic music
parties, unique theatre and dance performances and circus and community collage
performances. Local museums and cultural venues extend the Sziget experience -, just
in case you want a break from the action. This one may not be suitable for the
feint-hearted but it a try - particularly because of the unusual location.
¡¡ |
Brisbane Fashion Week
 Leona Edmiston
World-class fashion is high
on Brisbane¡¯s agenda as the city gears up for Queensland¡¯s premier fashion event, the
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival - Brisbane.
Returning to the river city
from Sunday 24 ¨C Friday 29 August 2008 for the third consecutive year, this year¡¯s
event promises to be more show-stopping than ever with the likes of nationally renowned
designers Easton Pearson, Alex Perry, Lisa Ho, Leona Edmiston and Nicola Finetti all
taking part.
The 2008 program delivers an exciting range of runway shows, fashion workshops and
lunches showcasing the best in Queensland and Australian Spring/Summer fashion with 25
events, 30 Queensland designers, alongside15 national and 22 international designers.
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