from The Guardian -
Top draws: museums and galleries offer light amid the economic gloom
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As if the answer is as simple as one of merely playing the numbers game - in which free-entry policies must surely count as a statistical bias. And that dreaded "E-" word to boot: "A cultural trip out is a good, cost-effective way of keeping everybody entertained". Is this the end of art galleries and museums as we know it?
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from Goethe-Institut Newsletter -
The New Old Buildings: Remarks on the Reconstruction Debate
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A unique page in the history of architecture must surely be that of a concerted exercise in the re-construction of historic buildings that were destroyed during the 2nd World War. Oddly, the debate of whether these architectural re-constructions could be considered as "authentic" is muted, as best - perhaps a tacit admission of complicity in war-time (wanton) destruction. Hence, it is refreshing to read a different take on these buildings - as evidence of a unique 20th-century sensibility, rather than as historic relics:

"The interpretive reconstruction of historical buildings will go down in the history of architecture as a stylistic feature of the late 20th century, practised against a backdrop of criticism of modernity and efforts to redefine regional identity and create cityscapes that would serve as commercial experience centres. In this context, the new old buildings are authentic through and through."

from The Guardian -
Victorian concrete house to be restored
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Bringing up an interesting idea of using parts of the urban sprawl as primary sources for technical research and architectural study.
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from The New York Times -
Why University Museums Matter
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Perhaps after the heady rush of ever increasingly elaborate and flashy blockbuster exhibitions that have defined - or dictated, even - the museum-going culture of the last couple of decades, the present global financial crisis is an opportunity, of sorts, for a turn towards a more sustainable (and interesting) mode of exhibition-making:

"But at least one good idea seems to be gaining ground. In a bleak economy, when our big public museums threaten to sink under budget-busting excesses, the university museum offers a model for small, intensely researched, collection-based, convention-challenging exhibitions that could get museums through a bumpy present and carry them, lighter and brighter, into the future."

from The Guardian -
Zen and the art of online data
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Reconciling the diagrammatically opposite poles of access and preservation, the International Dunhuang Project (IDP) seeks to bring together institutions to work collaboratively. This would also ensure that digital copies are spread across a handful of locations, just in case.

Perhaps the idea of digital preservation is better understood in Europe and China:

"The IDP has been in talks with the Indian authorities for the past 10 years, but has met with countless bureaucratic obstacles. 'I am sure we will reach an agreement eventually,' she added."

This must qualify as the best example of long-term thinking (and perseverance) that I have come across for a while.
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5 years old and over 600 posts ... !

Just to announce that this blog is now 5 years (to the day) in the making and has more than 600 posts in the archives. Happy reading!
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