Miriam Zolin
Junior Member
Two stars! Making progress...
Posts: 61
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Post by Miriam Zolin on Aug 29, 2006 10:15:03 GMT 10
Just when I thought the job of being a moderator on this site was an complete doddle! Bugger! Punter, mate, This is a great post. Vibrant, passionate, on-topic. Fabbo, Dahlink. However, I gotta say, the name-calling is not OK. Prob'ly best to save that for the in-person chin-wags we're all having about this with peers and colleagues. This is a friendly public forum, aka community. Keep the stuff that may lead to an accusation of slander out of it. OK? Speaking as someone who learned the hard way to tailor my outbursts to the medium, you might even want to edit it out... albeit after the horse has bolted  Ta. (gawd, I hate sounding like an effing school teacher) Miriam |
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jj
New Member
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Post by jj on Aug 29, 2006 14:13:56 GMT 10
Trouble with festivals (most of the time) is the people running them are not as hip as the people playing in them.
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Post by aj on Aug 29, 2006 18:47:33 GMT 10
It would be worse if the people onstage were less hip than those behind the scenes !!
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Post by kazuo on Aug 30, 2006 9:23:14 GMT 10
It would be worse if the people onstage were less hip than those behind the scenes !! good point but highly unlikely!! |
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Post by glean on Aug 30, 2006 12:34:01 GMT 10
so all those people who work as volunteers and for crap money to run festivals etc aren't hip that's not fair at all.
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Post by mim on Aug 30, 2006 15:52:08 GMT 10
I think they're talking about the decision makers. The gophers are incredibly hip.
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Post by Kenny on Aug 30, 2006 16:28:38 GMT 10
Oi! Gophers are BEYOND hip. Cute, too.
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Gb
Full Member
Posts: 132
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Post by Gb on Aug 30, 2006 22:32:45 GMT 10
ANOTHER ARTICLE - THIS ONE FROM ARTSHUB...
Jazz Festival spat
Arts Hub Australia
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Carlo Pagnotta - says his vision of 'international' was different to that of Festival Chairman Albert Dadon.
The artistic director of the Umbria Jazz Festival (UJF) – whose two-year collaboration with the Melbourne International Jazz Festival (MIJF) ended acrimoniously this month – has strongly rejected MIJF claims that the decision to part ways was mutual.
One of the world’s top jazz events, UJF lent its name and director Carlo Pagnotta to the Melbourne Festival two years ago, in an effort to build its profile. While this year’s Festival was cancelled – allegedly due to the Commonwealth Games – the 2005 “Umbria Melbourne Jazz Festival” was generally hailed as a success, with a strong Italian and American flavour.
After this month’s divorce, the first press release off the ranks came from MIJF. On 23 August, Chairman Albert Dadon professed himself “delighted to announce an exciting new direction for the 2007 event
"It comes down to one thing: you are not prepared to give Australians any credit and you want a bigger festival because of the name Umbria Jazz."
“The Boards of the MJIF and UJF have mutually agreed to end their association,” he wrote.
“Carlo and I remain friends, and I value his contribution to jazz in Melbourne. However … we believe that next year it is time to put the focus back on Melbourne.”
It’s not clear whether Dadon and Pagnotta were still “good friends” two days later, when UJF issued a press release of his own. The decision to part ways was very much Umbria’s, Pagnotta declared.
“The reduction of the budget has convinced the artistic director Carlo Pagnotta, together with the Umbria Jazz Association, to cancel an event which was no longer able to present the usual high standard demanded by the Umbrian festival for these initiatives abroad.”
Further strains on the friendship came on 25 August, with this response from Dadon. “Some people want to be seen as winners at all costs, as if partnerships were combats that needed a winning side.”
“The reality is that we did not get along. It was impossible to agree on the artistic balance and keep the integrity of what we (as in we Australians) are here for: promote Australian jazz and Melbourne. The rest is pure spin.”
It seems the “good friends” hadn’t been getting along for a while. Certainly not after August 14, anyway, when, according to Pagnotta, Dadon sent him this:
“IT ALL COMES DOWN TO ONE THING: YOU ARE NOT PREPARED TO GIVE AUSTRALIANS ANY CREDIT AND YOU WANT A BIGGER FESTIVAL BECAUSE OF THE NAME UMBRIA JAZZ. CARLO, LET'S FORGET UMBRIA JAZZ IF THAT WILL ALLEVIATE THE PRESSURE.”
“SO LET'S GO BACK TO OUR NAME: MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL.”
“NOW PLEASE LET'S REVISIT EVERYTHING UNDER THAT LIGHT. ONE THING YOU DON'T SEEM TO BE GETTING: WE HAVEN'T GOT MONEY AS YOU WOULD LIKE. THIS IS REALITY.”
At the core of the dispute, really, is what sort of reality Pagnotta was promised when he came on board in 2004. Was UJF promised the budget to give a genuinely international flavour to the event, or was it just there to give an international name? If MIJF is “here (to) promote Australian jazz and Melbourne”, as Dadon claims, why call itself “international” at all?
Dadon may not want to be reminded of comments he made to The Age back in 2004.
“The Melbourne jazz event has international as part of its title but until now that hasn't been very meaningful,” he said.
“Carlo is the man to change that.”
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Post by punter on Sept 1, 2006 19:28:09 GMT 10
&^)*&(^&%(&^(&^
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Post by punter on Sept 1, 2006 19:46:08 GMT 10
In all seriousness, is it possible to get Albare sacked??? I mean what is his public accountability? Given that government money is being used to fund this fiasco, is it possible to move a motion of no confidence? How does all of this work, who is he accountable to??
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Miriam Zolin
Junior Member
Two stars! Making progress...
Posts: 61
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Post by Miriam Zolin on Sept 1, 2006 22:14:30 GMT 10
...and I'd add this to Punter's question, who is accountable for the entity known as the MIJF? I'd genuinely like to know...
Miriam
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Post by freddy on Sept 2, 2006 5:15:40 GMT 10
It depends on the legal structure of the MIJF. Is it an incorporated association or a non-profit company limited by guarantee. In either case it is responsible to the members or shareholders but who they might be depends on whether membership is open to members of the public, and if it is if there is only one class of member (one who can vote and one who can't - this sort of thing can be changed in the association's constitution or articles of association).
Shareholding in a non-profit company limited by guarantee is usually restricted to the board members. Most of the major arts companies are structured like that to prevent take-over battles which lead to instablity. The board could vote a motion of no confidence in Dadon and he'd have to step down but it's probably made up of yes men who wouldn't do that. You could start a public campaign calling on his resignation with letters to the press and maybe it would work.
The problem is, does anybody with influence or a reputation as a successful jazz organiser, spring to mind as a replacement for Dadon? Then there's the question of replacing Pagnotta - it may be an idea to look outside of Melbourne but Melbourne is notoriously hostile to outsiders.
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Post by punter on Sept 2, 2006 10:33:32 GMT 10
Adrian Jackson is the obvious choice but there are heaps of people who would do a more competent job than Albare I mean you couldn't do much worse right?  Can anyone else shed any more light on the board structure? Perhaps a public campaign might be a good idea... who's up for that? |
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oj
New Member
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Post by oj on Sept 2, 2006 13:11:19 GMT 10
Adrian Jackson used to manage the MIJF in the late '90s and it lost its funding a few years later.
Adrian Jackson does a great job with Wang' but why not let someone new, who also knows about the music, take over?
Another thing, it was patently stupid to hold to first Melb-Umbria Jazz Festival in 2005 then not hold it in 2006 due to the C'wealth Games. That action basically said to the Umbria organisers - thanks but p... off.
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Post by aj on Sept 2, 2006 16:29:32 GMT 10
Just to clarify : Adrian Jackson was artistic director for MIJF from 97-04 (leaving aside the cancelled year of 02) ; never manager. Various folks worked their butts off as manager of MIJF : Caroline Moore, Peter Sprott, Kate McKibbin, Gideon Brazil, Christine Monk, Odilla O'Boyle. None lasted too long, as they found the wage didn't compensate for the workload involved.
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