Earlier or later in his or her professionship, an arts manager will face legal aspects.
Questions about copyright and intellectual property as well as problems with contracts- the manager should have a basic understanding to prevent crises in legal matters. No doubt, that he cannot replace a lawyer as the expert in such a case. We have chosen the relationship between Arts and Law as our special topic for this month and hope, you will get benefits with reading some of the 27 articles about it. One highlight is a report by our EU correspondent Tanya Wittal-Duuerkop. She wrote a review about the last European Writers congress in Brussels, which had a strong part and even a resolution about authors rights. This makes us obvious how much legal aspects can involve political dimensions, too.

Conference of the ESA Research Network for the Sociology of the Arts
Lueneburg and Hamburg (Germany), March 28-April 1, 2007

The ESA Research Network Sociology for the Arts is organizing its 8th meeting at the end of March 2007 in Lueneburg (Germany), with additional events in near-by Hamburg. The main conference venue will be at the University of Lueneburg, close to the medieval old town. The conference will feature keynote lectures, plenary discussions, paper sessions, workshops, and round tables.

The House of World Cultures realizes together with its partners Baltic Sea Cultural Centre (Poland), Danish Center for Culture and Development (Denmark), Intercult (Sweden) and Visiting Arts (Great Britain) the project Europe Now | Europe Next, a series of on-line and real-life Encounters accompanying the EU enlargement.

INTA, the International Urban Development Association and Direct94 - the Delegation for the Economic and Cultural Relations of the County Council of Val-de-Marne in France - have taken the initiative for a European reflection on the role of cultural institutions as tools for mediation and redevelopment of the public urban space. A seminar under the title "New Museums: Performing Tools for Social Cohesion", will taking place on 12-13 march 2007 in Val-de-Marne, France.

This study is commissioned by the European Parliament in July, 2006. The content has threefold: Rights Management in the European Union, National Rules Governing Collective Management of Rights, and Details of National Legislative Frameworks. The report presents, for instance, the management of copyright and related rights, music rights management, the right management business in music, EU institutions and right management, the complexity of a regulatory approach, and recent market development.

"Protecting Cultural Heritage: International Law after the War in Iraq", which took place on February 3, 2006 in Chicago, examined international legal provisions for protecting cultural property during armed conflict and occupation, and offered suggestions on how to strengthen them. Panelists considered the legal status of the 1954 Hague Convention, its applicability to the events in Iraq, and proposals for a new protocol to the Hague Convention that addressed the problems that arose in Iraq. The need for a new protocol is urgent given the possibility of war in other regions rich in cultural heritage resources.

The Culture 2007 is a funding programme which is intended as "a coherent, global and complete tool for multicultural cooperation in Europe and should contribute actively to the development of a European identity from the grassroots". The general objective of the programme shall be "to enhance the cultural area shared by Europeans and based on a common cultural heritage through the development of cultural cooperation between the creators, cultural players and cultural institutions, of the countries taking part in the Programme with a view to encouraging the emergence of European citizenship".

This programme has 1-2 year collaboration projects and 3-5 year multi-annual collaborative projects. The deadline of application is on February 28, 2007.

This extended paper focuses on contemporary debates around the social impacts of the arts and the problem of their measurement and evaluation. It attempts to put forward a new framework for the understanding of the so-called transformative powers of the arts, by suggesting that a historical-critical approach is needed to tackle this research topic. The paper therefore presents a detailed critical analysis of the numerous claims that have been made in the West over time, from Classical Greece (V century BC) to the present day, for the ways in which the arts can affect individuals and transform society. It offers a taxonomy of these suggested impacts, both positive and negative, with a view to establishing an appropriate conceptual basis for the discussion and investigation of what the social impact of the arts might mean.

Under pressure from rampant file-sharing and dwindling sales, major record labels are closer than ever to releasing music online with no copying restrictions, a step they once vowed never to take.

The article explores the challenges of community involvement and of equal representation agendas in museums in a multicultural society. The aim is to contribute to an increased understanding of power struggles and controversies associated with community dialogue and shared authority approaches in museums. These topics are analyzed in relation to the colonial legacy of Western museums and to discourses of multiculturalism, representation and inclusion.

Dr. Harry Hillman Chartrand examined five significances of the Canadian Copyright Act from the historical, cultural, economic, legal and political sectors in this paper. However, what are his viewpoints and individual statutes?

The main aim of the Cultural Policy Research Award (CPRA) is to stimulate academic research in the field of cultural policy. The overall area covered by the award is applied comparative cultural policy research. Emphasis is placed on research which analyses various aspects of cultural diversity in Europe and which seeks to inform policymaking and benefit practitioners active in the field.

What can Cultuur 2.0 mean? Is it dangerous, a precious gift, or maybe even both? How can art & cultural institutions, artists and Web 2.0 companies conspire to make the most of the opportunities Web 2.0 brings?

The international conference will take place on May 30 - 31, 2007 in Amsterdam, Holland.

This paper deals with the Danish cultural heritage understood as the tangible heritage, mainly buildings. The paper briefly describes the political economy of conserving the cultural heritage and the means of preserving it. The main focus of the paper is, however, on the present Danish conservation policy. The paper presents estimates of the costs of preserving the cultural heritage on a national scale. It is concluded that while the level of conservation probably conforms to the wishes of the Danish people marginal decisions are probably misguided. In particular, a detailed examination of the practices of the Danish Conservation Board is presented. The Board is not guided by the recommended cost-benefit perspective but rather in practice devoted to preserving architectonical values.

In November 2006, ICOM held the annual meeting and conference in Taipei, Taiwan. The main theme was New Roles and Mission in Museums, which focused on fivefold:
1. A New Social Relevance Human vs. Economic Values
2. Local, Regional and National Identity
3. Different Types / Roles for Museums from the Perspectives of Management
4. International Activity
5. New Challenges: What Role for Central / Local Governments?

This issue is all about Entrepreneurship and Business Start-Up.

Museums and the Web addresses the social, cultural, design, technological, economic, and organizational issues of culture, science and heritage on-line. Taking an international perspective, senior speakers with extensive experience in Web development review and analyze the issues and impacts of networked cultural and natural heritage. Together, we are transforming communities and organizations. The annual conference will take place from April 11 to 14, 2007.

This paper investigates consumers perception of the three kinds of sponsor that play a role in backing financially Canadian artistic and cultural organisations: government departments, crown corporations and private companies.

This report presents 10 strategies for Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council, which aims to protect cultural heritage, reduce cultural diversities, and improve arts development. It includes: to recognize and support professional artists, to foster creative communities and regions, to support aboriginal peoples and regions, to increase and enhance creative education, to provide creative workforce and career development, to preserve and strengthen tangible cultural heritage, to safeguard and sustain intangible cultural heritage, to increase and promote cultural industries and creative enterprises, to develop and encourage cultural tourism, and to establish creative cultural research and information.

Let us begin with a story about art. In this story, art produces aesthetic works of durability and stability things that stand up on their own. The act of artistic production doesnt come from nowhere; neither is it born in the heads of private individuals. It doesnt dwell in a social nothingness. Nor does it start with a blank canvas. Any moment of production involves the reassembling and rearranging of the diverse materials, practices and inuences that came before it and which surround it. Out of this common pool, art creates aesthetic works with emergent properties of their own. From the social world in which it lives, art creates affect and precept. It forms new ways of feeling, seeing and perceiving the world. It gives back to us the same object in different ways. In so doing, art invents new possibilities and makes available new forms of subjectivity and life. Art is creative
and productive.