Art Business Magazine http://www.culturenet.ca/artbusiness

Art Business News

 
*Our cultural policy includes subsidy, says national arts lobby group (May 26)
*News Bites, Toronto, St. John's, Italy (May 26)
*Put your left foot in, put your right foot in, Cdn party platforms on the arts (05/26)
*Yeltsin returns trophy art law to parliament (05/26)
*Quebec artists take Canada to court (05/26)
*Rethink Canadian cultural policies says C.D. Howe Institute (05/19)
*Election call coincides with government cultural spending (05/19)
*Internet is hot topic at National Art Materials Trade convention (05/12)
*Canada Council Director set to leave (05/12)
*Canadian Copyright Bill Passes (05/05)
*Computerised Tracking and Collection of Royalties (05/05)
*Copyrighting trees? (05/05)
*New anti-tobacco law being challenged (04/28)
*New special interest group "Cultural Emergency" gears up for federal election with protests and demands (04/24)
*Copyright reform being studied by Senate (04/22)
*Anti-tobacco law passed by Senate (04/21)
*Victor Vasarely dies at age eighty-eight (04/14)
*Anti-tobacco law to limit arts sponsorships (04/14)
*Buy Canadian, but only if it gives the best return (04/14)
 
Our cultural policy includes subsidy, says national arts lobby group (May 26)
Courtesy Visual Arts Alberta, Edmonton at visartaa@planet.eon.net.
Ottawa - The Canadian Conference of the Arts has put forward, in its Federal Election Strategy Kits, five key messages that work towards a federal cultural policy. The following is excerpted from their Federal Election kit:
 
-Canadian society is built on a solid foundation of shared values which are reflected in our universal education and health care systems, in the safety net of social services for the elderly and disadvantaged, in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and in our nurturing of the arts.
-The government of Canada has recognized the intrinsic value of the arts and culture to health, vitality and quality of life of Canadians, and to the economic enrichment of the country. (Status of the Artist Act 1992)
-The federal government is urged to take the next step, and institute a coherent cultural policy for Canada.
-This federal cultural policy must encompass the following:
1. Recognition of Canadian cultural expression as an indispensable cornerstone of Canadian society.
2. Active promotion of the arts and cultural industries through Canada's foreign policies.
3. Committment of legislation to meet specific tax and social benefit needs of self-employed artists.
4. Recognition of the ownership and control of creators and copyright owners in all media.
5. Commitment to adequate and stable federal government support for the arts and cultural industries.
 
News Bites, Toronto, St. John's, Italy (May 26)
Courtesy Visual Arts Alberta, Edmonton at visartaa@planet.eon.net
Toronto - The George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art received a donation of $15-million from its benefactor, George R. Gardiner. The donation will fund ongoing operations and maintenance, including recent renovations and an exhibition scheduled to open spring 1997. (Currently, Ontario Museum News. March/April 1997:2)
 
St. John's, Nfld - Building conditions at The Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador, unless improved, will force the National Gallery of Canada to discontinue scheduling touring exhibits to that gallery. The gallery is located in a building with leaks, no humidity controls, poor temperature control and limited security. (The Herald. 12 April 1997)
 
Vatican - Francesco Buranelli, the new director of the Vatican museums, has opened up the idea of limiting visitors to the Sistine Chapel. (The Globe and Mail. 29 January 1997:A9)
 
Italy - Police have seized hundreds of paintings falsely attributed to Titian, Picasso and other masters from dozens of art galleries, private homes and warehouses in ten Italian provinces. (The Edmonton Journal. 1 March 1997:A12)
 
Put your left foot in, put your right foot in, Canadian party platforms on the arts (May 26)
Ottawa - Canadians will go to the polls on June 2 to elect a federal government. The five competing parties offer some interesting views along the political continuum. Here is what they have to say about the future of the arts in Canada.
 
Liberal Party (currently governing)
"Goodbye Red Book, hello cheque book" was Reform leader Preston Mannings assessment of the Liberal platform. Indeed, the words cut and slash have clearly described the Liberals first three years in office. They have reduced spending in all areas of national life including the arts. Canadians, now largely used to the belt-tightening rhetoric, must come to terms with a sudden spurt of government largess including a promise of $858-million to the CBC -- which will increase as the country's finances improve. The Canada Council will get $25-million in new funding plus another $10 million earmarked for commissioned art to celebrate the new millenium. Other spending includes the Canadian Television and Cable Production Fund at $200 million annually. There are also plans to help distribute and sell Canadian art products internationally through a new Trade Promotion Agency.
 
Bloc Quebecois
Concerned first for the people of Quebec, the Bloc asserts that La Service Radio-Canada (SRC), the Francophone arm of the CBC, must receive a level of funding equal to that of the Anglophone CBC. The Party will also ensure that the SRC is allowed to express separatist views in all its programming. The role of the federal government in the SRC will be eliminated. Further, the Bloc estimates that the federal government has spent almost $20-million in federalist propaganda (ie. Canadian flags, TV and other advertising). The Bloc would put an end to this.
 
Progressive Conservatives
The PCs who fell out of favor at the close of the Mulroney era, are back with 25 percent popular support. This party would do little to resolve the debate over what to do with the nation's broadcasting company. It plans only to privatise the CBC's production facilities. In keeping with this move to privatisation, yet not sever subsidy or votes, the PCs plan to increase user fees at museums and parks and decrease funding to a number of cultural and recreational/sports organisations. The PCs would also trim $500-million from the Heritage department's $2.05 billion budget.
 
Reform
The Reform takes the PC's platform further to the right in its "Fresh Start" agenda. Reform plans to privatise both English and French CBC-TV with the exception of two news programs, Newsworld and Réseau de l'Information. Public radio would remain under government control. The party would not change funding for parks, recreation or arts institutions/programs.
 
New Democratic Party
Swinging all the way to the left, the NDP guarantees full financial support to the CBC to ensure that it becomes "a world class public broadcaster".
 
The only other target in the NDP cultural platform is newspaper giant Conrad Black. "Half the daily newspapers in Canada are now owned by one person with an aggressive political agenda and little toleration for dissent...." The NDP promises to legislate diversity in the media.
 
Yeltsin returns trophy art law to parliament (May 26)
By Adam Tanner, Reuters. Courtesy The Museum Security Network, dedicated to all aspects of cultural property protection http://museum-security.org/
Moscow - President Boris Yeltsin has refused to sign a law asserting Russian ownership of art seized from Germany in World War II and sent it back to parliament, the Kremlin said on Thursday. A Kremlin statement said Yeltsin had returned the law to the Federation Council upper house of parliament because of "violations in constitutional procedures in adopting the law". The Federation Council followed the State Duma lower house in overriding Yeltsin's veto of the law by a large majority earlier this month.
 
It was not clear if Yeltsin planned to challenge the decision in the Constitutional Court, an action his aides have said was likely, or if he just wanted to appeal to deputies to change their minds.
 
The presidential press service did not specify which articles of the constitution had been violated. A spokesman said Yeltsin had not signed the document and had returned it.
 
Yeltsin vetoed the law, which says trophy art acquired by Russia during and after World War II should stay in Russia, in March, but the State Duma lower house and then the Federation Council rallied enough votes to overrule the presidential veto.
 
Itar-Tass agency quoted the president's office as saying the fact that the Federation Council voted by postal ballot on the issue gave him legal grounds to challenge the way it was approved.
 
Germany, Russia's biggest Western trading partner, wants Moscow to return the art seized by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II. The treasures include a rare Gutenberg Bible and paintings by Impressionists Claude Monet and Henri Matisse.
 
But many Russians argue they should stay as compensation for Soviet suffering during World War II. About 27 million Soviet citizens were killed in the war.
 
The issue remains controversial more than half a century after the end of the war because only in recent years has Moscow admitted it still held a huge collection of the art.
 
Some of the treasures, including gold unearthed in what is now Turkey by German archeologist Heinrich Schliemann in 1873, are currently on display in Moscow. Schliemann said the gold belonged to King Priam of ancient Troy, immortalized in Homer's epic "The Iliad".
 
However, vast quantities of paintings, books and other trophy art are still held in storage facilities across Russia.
Quebec artists take Canada to court (May 26)
Montreal - A coalition of Quebec artists, Artists For Sovereignty, has initiated a court action against the Canadian government.
 
The group, supported by the Union des artistes and the Quebec writers union, claims that a recently created federal policy is "offensive and discriminatory" against artists that promote sovereignty. Specifically, the policy states that certain grants to artists for international travel be given to artists whose artwork promotes national unity.
 
The court action which names Minister of External Affairs Lloyd Axworthy and his department, asks that the policy be struck down as unconstitutional.
 
"It amounts to conscripting art and culture for partisan ends," singer Paul Piche was quoted in the Globe & Mail (May 22).
 
"No free and democratic country should tolerate such a policy."
 
Rethink Canadian cultural policies says C.D. Howe Institute (May 19)
Toronto - In its policy paper "A Matter of Choice", the C.D. Howe Institute makes a number of proposals for change to Canadian cultural policies.
 
The C.D. How Institute in Toronto is a non-profit economic research think tank. It began its study of Canadian cultural industries after the World Trade Organisation ruled against a Canadian protectionist measure. Last January, the WTO rejected Canada's bid to set tariffs on American split-run periodicals in Canada. If the WTO ruling stands, the Canadian government may be forced to reduce protections, financial and legislative, to cultural industries. A decision on Canada's appeal of the WTO ruling is expected by July.
 
The Howe Institute report suggests that the movement toward more open cultural policies is encouraged by the growth of Canadian cultural exports -- $3-billion in TV, film, recordings, books in 1995. The more Canada exports, the more obvious the country is as a target for retaliatory measures abroad if protectionist policies are too stern at home.
 
The Howe report also covers a number of problem areas related to cultural subsidy. The report suggests that government subsidy encourages production of art products but virtually ignores distribution. Agency mandates such as that of the Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council are not geared to connecting product and consumer.
 
The Institute also proposes that any producer of books, magazines or TV programs carrying Canadian content regardless of their ownership should be allowed to apply for some of the annual $1.6-billion Ottawa spends in cultural subsidy. Senior policy analyst for the Institute, Daniel Schwanen, was interviewed in the Globe (April 23).
 
"I think we can get better cultural value for our money... If someone does a better job at providing Canadian content and marketing it, let us stop rewarding the people who aren't doing such a good job."
 
Election call coincides with government cultural spending (May 19)
Ottawa - As the Canadian election set for June 2 draws near, coincidentally, a number of arts organisations have received an unexpected infusion of federal money.
 
In a redistribution of Canada Council funding through its Program and Operating Assistance for Artist-run Centres program, about 72 artist-run centres across the country have received an unexpected increase in this year's grant allowance. This redistribution, however, does not include Toronto. The C.C., a federal arts funding agency, sent notice last week to eight Toronto artist-run galleries and production centres that their operating grants for 1997 will be immediately cut. The total amount granted to these Toronto organisations dropped from $311,400 to $236,600. Is it possible that funds ear-marked for Toronto have been siphoned off in this reallocation process? While little has been heard from the 73, a press release from the eight Toronto organisations expresses their surprise and confusion at this sudden development.
 
"Why was funding to Toronto artist-run centres cut so drastically without warning, cause or explanation?"
 
In another happy announcement on April 23, Heritage Minister and Deputy Prime Ministry Sheila Copps declared the first federal loan guarantee program for the publishing sector with a reserve of $2-million. The reserve, that will be inplace for the 1998 fiscal year, will encourage banks to lend money to the industry. As well, another $2.3-million was given to the "Bippy-Dip" or the Book Publishing Industry Development Program. This amount does not restore the program to its 1995 level of $23-million. It currently sits at $15.2-million. The program was hit in 1995 with the 54 percent federal budget cut to the publishing sector.
 
In a Globe and Mail report (April 24) an unnamed publisher at the gathering for the Copps announcement was heard to utter, "Nice to think they'll run around for the next little while handing out money. Too bad we don't have elections every two years."
 
In another unexpected announcement, the Art Gallery of Hamilton, previously stymied by a $200,000. cut in government grants and rumoured debt resulting in 9 layoffs including its only curator, has been granted a temporary reprieve by the federal government. Once again, Minister Copps has come through with well over $100,000. to sustain the beleaguered institution. While the municipal government could not provide the $250,000. requested by the museum's board it did manage to match the Minister's gift with another $100,000. AGH President Rick Helm expressed his deep gratitude to the Minister and added that "The Board was pleased to be able to make the decision to keep the Gallery open during the summer based on a stronger financial picture for 1997, and an ability to prevent debt increases in the short term."
 
Internet is hot topic at National Art Materials Trade convention (May 12)
Chicago -- Internet related issues hovered over this year's NAMTA Convention. A growing number of the over 500 convention exhibitors and thousands of retailers are building web sites or getting on board with the "mall" sites.
 
A primary concern of art materials retailers is loss of business to on-line catalogue sites of distributors or other retailers. At a panel discussion conducted by Internet consultant David Pyle of Art Services in Parker Colorado, one retailer expressed his belief that the Internet will be the death of the small "mom and pop" retailer. Attempting to put such fears in perspective, the panel agreed that the more high tech the art materials industry becomes the more consumers will seek the high touch that is available only through the retail outlet.
 
But few art materials distributors and retailers are making much money through their sites at present. An Internet "mall" containing 600,000 pages, Art Net Village, is registering 160,000 unique URLs a month. However, few pages or sites within the larger site are generating revenue. The most prominent star in the Village mall is Hanes clothing which sells US$3,000. a day in blank t-shirts.
 
A significant question which came out of the discussion was how does a retailer get the consumer from the website and into the store. One response was to integrate the efforts of webmaster and the store owner by offering, for example, coupons through the site which can only be redeemed at the retail location.
 
For now, however, for the retailer, distributor or manufacturer, the value of the Internet currently lies in its ability to distribute information to customers.
 
Canada Council Director set to leave (May 12)
Ottawa - Director of the Canada Council, Roch Carrier, will not be renewing his three year contract after it expires on May 30.
 
Under Mr. Carrier's leadership, the C.C. has undergone some of its most dramatic changes in its 40 year existence.
 
Part of his decision not to stay may be rooted in the response he had during his November 1994 tour of 17 cities. He and chairwoman Donna Scott consulted artists, writers, actors, and others on how best to deal with impending budget cuts. Many artists disliked the promotional tour and refused to participate.
 
Shortly thereafter, in March 1995, the C.C. received a $10-million budget cut and dismissed 67 of its 238 employees. It also dropped the Art Bank program and its support for certain arts training including the National Ballet School.
 
Mr. Carrier's most controversial move was to implement a "Fund for Future Generations" which appeals to senior Canadian artists to donate money. Mr. Carrier was recently in Vancouver to receive the first donation to this program, $4,000. from painter Takao Tanabe.
 
Canadian Copyright Bill Passes (May 5)
Ottawa -- After 11 months, Bill C-32 has become law as it received Royal Assent today. This is the first major revision of Canada's Copyright Act since 1988 and for the most part addresses copyright reform issues from the 1980s. The Government has promised that once this bill was passed, it would proceed with Phase III amendments which will deal with digital issues.
 
C-32 provides royalties to producers and performers of sound recordings, a levy on recordable, blank audio media to compensate creators for private copying of their musical works; provisions to give exclusive distributors of books in Canada greater protection in the Canadian market; and exceptions from copyright law for non-profit schools, libraries, archives and museums as well as people with perceptual disabilities. See http://pch-inet.pch.gc.ca/cgi-win/dgcom.exe? View:7NR027E.
 
Computerised Tracking and Collection of Royalties (May 5)
U.S. -- Copyright Clearance Center Inc., the largest U.S. licenser of photocopy reproduction rights, is establishing a computerized collection mechanism for the collection of royalty fees at commercial printers and copy shops. This follows a growing trend amongst corporations and academic institutions to track and charge for the use of copyright materials. The new ease and efficiency of doing so is expected both to enhance the levels of compliance, and to make it harder for commercial printers and copyshops to defend actions brought against them for copyright infringement based on compliance difficulties. Anticipated problems stemming from the system are the disincentives placed on copying protected works and, perhaps more importantly, a possible reluctance by printers and copy shops to consider requests by patrons to copy materials pursuant to the fair use doctrine without payment of royalties.
 
Copyrighting trees? (May 5)
Tuscany, Italy -- Prompted by the recent Oscar winning cinematography of the film "The English Patient", shot in part in Tuscany, Italian officials are contemplating passing new laws to "copyright" the Tuscan image and scenery, including olive groves and cypress trees. Despite theoretical problems associated with attempts to copyright such well-known and even stereotypical images, it is admitted that the practical enforcement of any such law could prove to be difficult. While the law's contemplated field of application is, currently, film and television, it could be expanded to include print advertisements for various products including automobiles.
 
[The above three articles are courtesy of The Law Offices of Lesley Ellen Harris, Copyright and New Media Legal News, Vol. 1, No. 6 (April 25, 1997). Please submit comments, questions, suggestions and email addresses for subscribers (lawyers and non-lawyers) to copylaw@interlog.com. Copyright 1997 Lesley Ellen Harris. Please also see http://copyrightlaws.com]
New anti-tobacco law being challenged (April 28/97)
Montreal -- Canada's three largest tobacco companies have failed in their attempt to impose an interim stay on the new federal anti-tobacco law. Bill C-71, recently passed by the Senate, is expected come into effect immediately. The law severely restricts tobacco advertising and sponsorships.
 
Imperial Tobacco Ltd., RJR-Macdonald Inc. and Rothmans Benson & Hedges Inc. are now pressing a Quebec Superior Court Judge Grenier to grant an injunction until May 5. The tobacco companies want to challenge the law on the basis that it is unconstitutional. The law cannot take effect until the Quebec judge has made his decision. Once enforced, however, anyone found breaking certain parts of the law can receive fines up to $300,000. or two years in jail.
 
With the passing of the Bill, arts and sports groups are expected to lose millions of dollars in tobacco sponsorships. A complete ban on sponsorships does not take effect until Oct. 1, 1998, which gives these groups time to find replacement funding. In the meantime, Senator Kenny has publicly stated that there are already plans to amend the anti-tobacco law. Kenny has suggested that he will promote a tobacco tax dedicated to replacing sponsorships of the arts and sports events.
Post-script: Meanwhile, in Richmond, Virginia, the chairman of Philip Morris Cos. Inc. is open to discussions on tobacco regulation to end health-related litigation. The company is attempting to settle lawsuits by twenty-four states seeking to recover smoking-related health costs. The Globe reports (April 25) that Philip Morris accounts for about half of the cigarettes sold in the U.S. The company, which also owns Kraft Foods, Post cereals, Maxwell House coffee and Miller beer, had sales of about $69-billion last year.
 
New special interest group "Cultural Emergency" gears up for federal election with protests and demands (April 24)
Montreal -- As the Federal Liberal government prepares to drop the writ and dissolve Parliament, a new special interest group named "Cultural Emergency" is just beginning their work to elicit promises in money and legislation from the parties vying for prime ministership. Cultural Emergency is a newly-formed, nation-wide initiative of arts organisations, artists, and arts supporters, organising around federal, provincial and municipal arts cutbacks. Initiated by the Independent Film & Video Alliance, Cultural Emergency has called for a National Day of Action Against Arts Cuts on April 26, 1997.
 
A variety of actions are taking place across Canada, as artists take to the streets, the cabarets, and the offices of the federal government.
 
* Vancouver: In keeping with Vancouver's camp performance art tradition, performers, giant puppets & stiltwalkers lead a Cultural Emergency Parade. Starting at the Vancouver Art Gallery with drumming by Sawagi Taiko, paraders will pause for a street performance by "Jean Chrétien" at the Ministry of Heritage regional offices, concluding at the Vancouver Public Library with a "literary speak-out" featuring the city's most outrageous spoken word performers and lounge singers. Participants will also take part in an outdoor fax-off to federal ministers.
 
* Kamloops, BC: In response to Canada Council cutbacks, the Writer's Union hosts an evening of protest readings on April 25th at the Kamloops Public Library.
 
* Calgary: Em Media and other Calgary art groups are organising: THE CULTURAL EMERGENCY PARTY @ The Arts and Media Club, on Saturday April 26. Featuring escapades, sword swallowing, drag queens, 50/50 raffles (conveniently divided up like Culture Ministers' concept of budgeting : the winner only gets 15%), radio broadcast on ten different bandwidth, bands, CuSeeMe internet connection and Chat group, carryings-on, mass faxing to the offices of Jean Chrétien and Madame Copps, videos, films, slides, animations, pleas for mercy, begging for food, doing the hootchie koo and the Rumba (all at once) and all sorts of other wacky and desperate things that artists suffering cuts do on a Saturday night in Calgary.... (Info: contact Sheila Urbanoski, 403-263-2833)
 
* Edmonton: Artists and arts groups are holding an event at the Gazebo park in Strathcona, at 11:00, on the 26th with press and politicians invited for high noon.. They plan on a cultural emergency...bring your wounded art and artists...there will be sirens flashings lights, wheel chairs and stretchers...in addition they will provide artists with bad face painting (think really wounded), chalk outlines for the bodies, and signs of local arts organisations which have folded recently due to cuts (Phoenix Theatre) they will be providing bandages with the emergency logo silk screened on.
 
* Regina: A Cultural Emergency postcard campaign sweeps the prairies. Saskatchewan Film Pool co-ordinates the mailing of 5000 postcards to Sheila Copps.
 
* Ottawa: Artists are planning a protest gathering on Parliament Hill, 12 pm to 2 pm, on April 26. During the week people can drop by SAW Video and participate in the creation of a video letter to be sent to Mike Harris. On Friday April 25 people are being asked to fax politicians either from SAW Video or from home. People are being encourged to also write personal letters to politicians.
 
* Montreal: At the regional offices of the Ministry of Heritage, artists present a giant cheque - made out to the artists of Canada for $339 million - demanding that Sheila Copps sign it. $339 million is the amount cut from cultural funding during this past Liberal mandate. On the flip side of the cheque is a petition signed by supporters of the arts. Followed by video screenings, letter faxing and the taping of a video letter to Sheila Copps.
 
* Halifax: An action is planned to take place on April 25 at noon outside Mary Clancy's office, the MP in the north End where most of the artists live. There will be a van with banners indicating Cultural Emergency, Ambulance. It will parade through the North End followed by mourners in black ending in front of Clancy's office. Pallbearers will bring out "Art" on a stretcher, and protesters will present Mary Clancy with an urn of the ashes of art and leave it on her doorstep. (Info: contact Jim McSwain, 902-492-2125)
 
For more info contact: Penny McCann, President (613) 562-8130 or Peter Sandmark, National Coordinator (514) 522-8240
 
IFVA/AVCI, 4550 rue Garnier, Montreal, QC, H2J 3S7 tel: (514) 522-8240; fax: (514) 522-8011; email; ifva@cam.org;
www.culturenet.ca/ifva
Copyright reform being studied by Senate (April 22)
Ottawa -- Amendments are being proposed to the Canadian copyright legislation currently before the Senate. If the Senate agrees to the amendments, Bill C-32 would return to the House of Commons. Such a move would result in a quick end to the copyright debates and the legislation given the pending election call rumoured for April 28/97. Parliament will be dissolved by an election call.
 
A group representing Canadian artists, performers, publishers and producers charged that the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is pushing for amendments in the Senate. Robert Pilon from the Association quebecoise de l'industry du disque, du spectacle et de la video (ADISQ) commented on what he perceived as stalling tactics in the Globe (April 8).
 
"If this bill dies we would be condemned to accelerating levels of uncompensated exploitation of our intellectual property. If copyright isn't secure, investment will dry up, creators will lose opportunities."
 
In particular the "neighbouring right principle" has been a source of debate. David Basskin of the Canadian Music Publishers Association said the principle "is extremely important for individual artists and freelance artists". The principle provides royalties to performers and producers from radio stations where only composers and record companies have received royalties in the past. However, CAB managed to get exemptions for two-thirds of Canadian radio stations on the neighbouring rights issue. Other amendments proposed by CAB would affect only minor areas of the Bill.
 
Michael McCabe, president of CAB responded that the charge of lobbying for amendments simply to kill the bill is "patently false". However, McCabe confirmed that he thought the Bill was flawed. Other groups representing universities and libraries are also pressing the Senate to make changes.
Anti-tobacco law passed by Senate (April 21)
Ottawa -- The federal anti-tobacco legislation cleared the Senate unamended, despite the efforts of Liberal Senator Colin Kenny.
 
Mr. Kenny had defended amendments to Bill C-71 but after pressure from Health Minister David Digwall and other Liberal members of Parliament, Mr. Kenny backed down. Kenny had proposed amendments that would see a dedicated tax on tobacco companies. Proceeds from the tax would be spent to educate children about the dangers of smoking and to replace lost sponsorship to arts and sports organisations. These groups will certainly feel the effects of the new restrictions to be placed on tobacco advertising when the law takes effect in the fall of 1998. Last year, about $60-million was spent by tobacco companies in sports and arts sponsorships.
 
Mr. Kenny was warned that his amendments would require that the Bill go back to the House of Commons where it would die on the order paper if not passed prior to the rumoured election call on April 28. Rather than lose the legislation, Mr. Kenny abstained from voting. The Bill was passed 75-1 in favour.
 
Bill C-71 will replace the Tobacco Products Control Act, a federal advertising ban struck down in September, 1995, by the Supreme Court of Canada. The new legislation will not go unchallenged by the Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers Council. The Council has suggested that Bill C-71 violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
 
Victor Vasarely dies at age eighty-eight (April 14)
London - Victor Vasarely was known for his optical paintings in which colours and shapes seem to vibrate within the picture plane.
 
Born Gyozo Vasarhelyi in Pecs, Hungary in 1908, he left medical school to study art in Budapest in 1929. The school, which followed Bauhaus principles, gave Vasarely a strong foundation in graphic design. Moving to Paris in 1930 he changed his name to Vasarely and worked as a graphic designer. By the late 1940s, the artist discovered the geometric optical patterns, "the inner geometry of nature", which made him famous. In the 1960s, this much imitated style became known as Op Art.
 
In the 1970s, Vasarely had become so critically and financially successful that he created two museums to exhibit his art. One he created out of a restored castle in Gordes, Vaucluse. In 1976, this museum was incorporated as the Vasarely Foundation. The foundation, based in Aix-en-Provence, was endowed with 800 Vasarely works. In January, 1997, however, the organisation was shut down after allegations of tax fraud of US$3.37-million for 1993. The foundation has had its tax exempt status revoked because it sold works to other galleries in Germany, Switzerland and Korea. Adding to the foundation's troubles, US$7.46-million has disappeared and its former president has been jailed for abusing the trust. Vasarely, however, was never implicated in the activities.
 
Vasarely passed away in London. He is survived by his wife and two sons.
Anti-tobacco law to limit arts sponsorships (April 14)
Ottawa - First it was a proposed extra levy on cigarettes to support the arts -- a dedicated tax which was met with suspicion by the Canadian Conference of the Arts and others. Such taxes have a habit of losing their way to those for whom it was promised. Now, severe limitations on cigarette advertising would see arts events lose millions of dollars in tobacco sponsored money.
 
"Bill C-71 will lead to event cancellations, make no mistake," commented Max Beck of the tobacco funded Alliance for Sponsorship Freedom. Mr. Beck is also general manager of Ontario Place, an outdoor performance and entertainment venue in Toronto. Mr. Beck would see changes to the anti-tobacco law C-71 which has already been passed by the House of Commons but still pending in the Senate.
 
While it is easier to deal with tobacco companies than government because you know always know where they stand, artists and arts organisations must come to terms with the prestige they give to tobacco. Senator Colin Kenny voiced his strong anti-tobacco sentiments in the Globe (April 3).
"Do you really think tobacco companies are so altruistic... or do you think they're doing it to sell a product that kills people."
 
In support of Mr. Kenny's view is the 300 member Artists for Tobacco-Free Sponsorship. Juno Award winning singer-songwriter Andrew Cash commented in the Globe, "I will say with respect to artists that it's very difficult to turn the money down... Tobacco sponsorship itself is as addictive as the product."
Buy Canadian, but only if it gives the best return (April 14)
Ottawa - A recent revelation that the Canada Council's investment portfolio is made up mostly of foreign securities has upset the Canadian Conference of the Arts.
 
The Canada Council relies on Parliament for 85 per cent of its budget. The balance comes from investments made using endowments and donations, approximately $214-million worth in 1996. Last week it was revealed that only 40 percent of the council's investments were in Canadian securities.
 
Speaking out against this apparent lack of confidence in Canada, the Canadian Conference of the Arts wrote a letter to the council (March 11) in which they insisted that the council's investment committee show greater support for its own country.
 
Council chairwoman Donna Scott, however, defended the council's actions saying that it has a responsibility to maximise its money.
 
"The people who manage our money can get the best security plus the best return and they said without exception to do that they had to be free to invest wherever the returns would be best."
 
While there are no investment restrictions on Crown corporations or agencies such as the C.C., a Globe report adds (April 3) that Canadian citizens are prohibited from investing more than 20 per cent of their pension or RRSPs in foreign securities.