IMA funding under threat
There is a looming financial crisis at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, according to this Le Monde report. Arab states are supposed to be funding 40% of its budget, which keeps running a deficit, but they often push for something in exchange (exhibitions for Qadhafi's son or insignificant Kuwaiti artists) and have been running late with payments. Just like the help they always promise the Palestinians.
Still, funding something like the IMA would probably get more diplomatic bang for the buck for France than its recently launched 24-hour news station. At less than 25 million euros a year for about one million visitors annually, a great library and bookshop, and some of the best exhibitions in Paris (not to mention a Jean Nouvel building that became an instant Paris landmark with its photo-reactive diaphragm windows), it's a steal.
Still, funding something like the IMA would probably get more diplomatic bang for the buck for France than its recently launched 24-hour news station. At less than 25 million euros a year for about one million visitors annually, a great library and bookshop, and some of the best exhibitions in Paris (not to mention a Jean Nouvel building that became an instant Paris landmark with its photo-reactive diaphragm windows), it's a steal.