Arts

Announcing 'The Blooker Prize,' the World's First Literary Prize for 'Blooks,' Alias Books Based on Blogs or Websites

RALEIGH, N.C., Oct. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- The world's first literary prize for books based on blogs or websites -- known for short as "blooks" -- is announced Monday by its sponsor, Lulu (www.lulu.com), a website that enables anyone to publish and sell their own books.    » read more »

Seismic Event Shakes up San Francisco Literary Scene

Booklovers Brace for Litquake

EMERYVILLE, Calif., Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Litquake, a San Francisco literary festival, is poised to shake readers for a sixth year. The nine-day event celebrates the written word and showcases San Francisco as an epicenter of literary invention. "Our intention," says event co-founder Jack Boulware, "is to keep books and literature exciting."    » read more »

The Juilliard School Hosts 'American Society and the Arts'

Panel Of Leading Thinkers and Performing Artists Discuss Current State of the Arts

NEW YORK, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, as part of its centennial celebration, The Juilliard School hosted a special symposium, "American Society and the Arts." The panelists included Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, soprano Renee Fleming, composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim and historian/writer David McCullough. Joseph W. Polisi, president of Juilliard, served as moderator of the event, which was attended by the media and the public at large.    » read more »

"Landmarks of New York" Exhibition To Visit 40 Countries

Photographs, texts tell the story of New York City

15 September 2005
By Michael Jay Friedman
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- An exhibit of photographs and texts depicting outstanding New York City landmarks is set to travel to 40 countries between 2006 and 2008, organizers say. The U.S. Department of State and the Octagon Museum of the American Architectural Foundation on September 15 previewed The Landmarks of New York, collection, which portrays buildings ranging from iconic office skyscrapers like the Chrysler and Flatiron Buildings to the New York Public Library and Ellis Island Immigration Center.    » read more »

Seven Jazz Greats Are Named NEA Jazz Masters, The Nation's Highest Honor In This Distinctively American Art Form

September 13, 2005

National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Dana Gioia today announced that seven living legends of American music will join the ranks of the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters. Initiated in 1982, the NEA Jazz Master title is the nation's highest honor in this distinctively American art form. In addition to the coveted designation, each member of the Class of 2006 will receive a fellowship award of $25,000 and be invited to participate in outreach efforts, including broadcasts and NEA Jazz Masters On Tour.    » read more »

Jimi Hendrix: Can You See Me? - A Life Through the Lens, San Francisco Art Exchange's New Exhibition, is the Most Extensive Pictorial Tribute to the Most Incomparable Musician Ever Assembled

- Opening September 24, Unprecedented Show Features Work By a Host of Legendary Photographers Including Many Previously Unseen Images
- Contributors, Many of Whom Will Attend the Opening, Include Eddie Caraeff, Henry Diltz, Karl Ferris, Bruce Fleming, Eddie Kramer, Gered Mankowitz, Jim Marshall, David Redfern, Ethan Russell, Jerrold Schatzberg, Grace Slick, Dominique Tarle, Baron Wolman and Ronnie Wood

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- September 18, 2005 marks the 35th anniversary of the death of one of the most influential and visionary forces in contemporary music, Jimi Hendrix. In the four short years that this pioneering artist changed the face of rock and roll -- conjuring sounds out of a guitar that no one had previously imagined, much less played -- Hendrix became a legend in the truest sense of the word.    » read more »

U.S. Grants Support Cultural Preservation in 76 Countries

Since 2001, Ambassador's Fund has awarded 292 grants in 106 countries

30 August 2005

Through the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation, U.S. State Department is helping less-developed countries preserve historic sites and manuscripts, museum collections, and traditional forms of music, dance and language. This year the fund is awarding grants that will support 87 cultural preservation projects in 76 countries. Among the cultural heritage being preserved with fund support are rock art sites in Honduras, Kenya and Namibia; South Arabian texts inscribed on wood in Yemen; a manuscript collection in Kosovo dating from the Ottoman Empire; the historic center of Kabul, Afghanistan; two important Islamic monuments, the Ak-Saray-Ding Tower and the Sultan Takesh Mausoleum, in Kunya Urgench, Turkemenistan; and a former GULAG camp in Perm, Russia.    » read more »

Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month With the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra With Arturo O'Farrill Jazz Con Salsa September 30 and October 1 at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall

Latin jazz big band melds salsa and jazz with concert performances featuring special guest artists Joe Lovano, Lew Soloff and Greg Osby

NEW YORK, Aug. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Jazz at Lincoln Center's Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra with Arturo O'Farrill celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month with concert performances on September 30 and October 1, 2005 at 8pm in Rose Theater at Frederick P. Rose Hall. The concerts, entitled Jazz con Salsa, feature the big band performing the best of Latin jazz with salsa flair. Jazz con Salsa is the band's first concert series of Jazz at Lincoln Center's 2005-2006 season.    » read more »

Alcor Denies Origins of Ted Williams' 'Death Mask'

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Aug. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Joe Waynick, CEO and President of the Alcor Life Extension Foundation, denied insinuations by New York City's First Street Gallery that artist Daniel Edwards' so-called "death mask" of Ted Williams is actually cast from the former Red Sox baseball phenomenon. In addition, Waynick denied claims that Alcor made contributions of Alcor promotional items to the artist, Daniel Edwards.    » read more »

National Endowment for the Arts Announces USArtists International Grants

Seventeen U.S. dance and music ensembles receive grants to perform at European festivals

August 17, 2005

Washington, D.C. - The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), in partnership with the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation (MAAF), today announced the 2005 grant recipients for the USArtists International (USAI) program. Seventeen U.S. dance and music ensembles will receive a total of $99,000 to perform at festivals in 11 European countries, including the Edinburgh International Festival (Scotland), the Cannes Festival de Danse (France), and the International Folk Music Festival (Poland). Individual grants ranged from $3,000-$10,000. Grantees include the Kronos Quartet, a Grammy Award-winning chamber group (San Francisco, CA), Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, a cross-cultural contemporary dance ensemble (Fort Lee, NJ), and The Rose Ensemble, a vocal group specializing in Gregorian chant (St. Paul, MN). Additional support for USAI is provided by the JP Morgan Chase Foundation.    » read more »

Jazz Musician Chris Parker Receives Inaugural Pittsburgh Jazz Society/Mellon Jazz Scholarship

PITTSBURGH, Aug. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Jazz drummer and guitarist Chris Parker has been selected as the recipient of the inaugural Pittsburgh Jazz Society/Mellon Jazz Scholarship, a $5,000 tuition award presented by the Pittsburgh Jazz Society and Mellon Jazz as part of their support for jazz education in the Pittsburgh area.    » read more »

Most Americans Think of Tattoos as a Form of Art According to New Zogby Poll

- Dennis Rodman Most Famous Celebrity Cited for His Body Art -
- Attitudes Toward Tattoos Shifting to Mainstream -

SILVER SPRING, Md., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Tattoos and body art are gaining acceptance in mainstream culture according to a July 2005 Zogby International poll. The findings of the poll, commissioned by TLC on the heels of the successful premiere of its new series MIAMI INK on July 19, 2005, gauge Americans' attitude toward the art of tattoo. In a nationwide telephone poll of 1,042 interviewees conducted between July 26 and 30, 2005, seven questions about tattooing were asked. The margin of error is +/- 3.2 percentage points.    » read more »

Niyaz Group Blends Sufi and Western Musical Styles

Music performance combines ancient Sufi poetry with modern beats

15 July 2005
By Mercedes L. Suarez
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The traditional sounds and instruments of Persia, Turkey and India were intertwined with modern beats at the Smithsonian Institution’s Freer Gallery on July 14. The unique multi-cultural sound was created by the musical group Niyaz in a concert billed as “Sufi Fusion.â€?    » read more »

America's Monterey Symphony Chorus will Present a Free Concert at the University of Uppsala Cathedral, Sunday, July 24, 13:00

OTTAWA, Canada, July 6/PRNewswire/ -- On Sunday, July 24, 13:00, the Monterey Symphony Chorus, under the direction of Leroy Kromm, will present eighteen different a capella works prepared for the Chorus' tour of Scandinavia and Russia. Chorus director Leroy Kromm is a professor of voice at the San Francisco Conservatory and a much sought after bass-baritone soloist whose performance schedule has taken him all over the world. The July 24 performance will take place at the University of Uppsala Cathedral in Uppsala. The concert is open to the public and free of charge.    » read more »

Writers Honored at 18th Annual Bram Stoker Awards

- The Horror Writers Association (HWA) Honors Excellence in Horror Writing
- Honors Lifetime Achievement of Author Michael Moorcock at Gala Event in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, JUNE 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Saturday night the Horror Writers Association (HWA) honored excellence in horror by presenting this year's Bram Stoker Awards at its annual banquet and ceremony in Los Angeles. Best-selling authors David Morrell, Clive Barker and Chuck Palahniuk were on hand for the festivities. Morrell served as Toastmaster. Palahniuk's story, "Guts," was a nominee. Barker's book, "Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War," won in the Work for Young Readers category.    » read more »