ImageAfter Art An art industry boom? Yahoo reports that, despite unrest in the financial markets, the art industry appears to be doing quite well. Experts say the market's robustness is due to "the weak dollar, expanding world wealth and new buyers from countries not previously associated with the art collecting community." /// Jeanne Claire van Ryzin at the Statesman has released her "Best of 2007" for Austin's art scene. Film Fox and iTunes will sign......

This week's news on art, books, music, and film....

Now in its sixth week, the Writers Guild of America strike is still going strong. And despite Alec Baldwin's hilarious/bizarre advice and Michael Eisner's name-calling, WGA members show few signs of giving in any time soon. Though the effects of the strike are most evident in places like Los Angeles and New York City, you may be surprised to learn that there are around 100 WGA members living here in Austin....

Photo from ImageAfter Art Fashion photography is gaining more credibility in the art world as of late. Critics prophesy the dilution of fine art in the 21st century, while supporters of the trend assert that fashion is a formative aspect of our modern culture that deserves official recognition in the arts world. /// UT-Austin names the new dean of the College of Fine Arts, Douglas Dempster, to replace the former dean who retired in the......

Photo from ImageAfter Starting today, we'll be publishing a weekly roundup of various arts & entertainment news that we've come across. Most of these developments, whether national or international, have a direct relationship with something local, whether it be an organization, individual, or our collective culture. In any case, it's a nice chance to broaden our world view -- a definite bonus (or necessity, some might argue) for a city that revels in creativity! --......

SFist witnessed a new apartment building tszuj the skyline with spectacular, gaudy turquoise aplomb, the (informal) renaming of the Mission/SOMA neighborhood border, the return of the Maltese Falcon, the Mayor Gavin Newsom mea culpa-ing over his Hawaiian getaway during the oil spill, and double-decker buses hitting the streets of San Francisco. Oh, and some baseball player named Barry Bonds is a liar whose pants, it seems, are totally on fire. LAist continues to cover the......

The Waller Creek Tunnel project here in Austin is gaining ground. Major scientific breakthrough shows that cloning embryos is much easier than anticipated... U.S. clean energy stocks are doing better than the U.S. economy as a whole. Is classical music on the comeback? Norman Mailer dies in Manhattan at the age of 84. Writers Guild of America strike in Hollywood goes into week two... We will all have less privacy in the future, says......

Okay, as much as we love Beverly Hills Cop (and Family Guy), we've actually got a more important topic to cover here. The Austin Film Festival is continuing its popular Conversations in Film series this Sunday, August 5th, with a special session on Story and Structure: What to Think About Before You Write the Script. Leading this conversation is none other than Dan Petrie, Jr., who's worked on such top films as Turner and Hooch,......

The Austin Film Festival kicked off its 13th year last night with several film screenings, the conference, and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) cocktail party at Rio Grande. And yes, for those who didn't know, the former Real World space is now a restaurant. Check out these pics of the hot happenings and stay tuned for further bulletins about Austin's very own celebration of all things cinematic.......