Above the Fold

A round-up of the latest news in the arts world.

Russian customs has barred the export of six works of art, including two depicting Vladimir Putin, Russian president, on their way to the exhibition “Learning from Moscow” at the Städtische Galerie in Dresden, Germany. The pieces, meant to be part of a 40-work exhibition by contemporary Russian artists (now 34?), were apparently held because they could provoke “international discord”. Meanwhile, a documentary about the murder of Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko entitled “Rebellion: The Litvinenko Case” will be shown as a late entry at the Cannes film festival.

JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, has already made plans for an all-night autograph session at the Natural History Museum in London in July to celebrate the release of her final Harry Potter book “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” 1,700 children will be chosen by raffle to attend the event.

According to Americans for the Arts, a non-profit organization focused on advancing the arts in America, non-profit arts groups contributed $166.2 billion and 5.7 million jobs to the American economy in 2005.

The trilogy madness continues. Pirates of the Caribbean 3 “At World’s End” will be released in America tomorrow night, and has already received mediocre reviews, most of them complaining that the plot is too complicated. Honestly though, does that really matter? Rumors abound that it will join the likes of Shrek and Austin Powers in adding a fourth installment to the series.