Barron Hilton Donates US$1.2 Billion To Foundation
Hotel heir Barron Hilton will donate about US$1.2 billion to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. He is the foundation´s chairman. The money will come from this year´s sale of the Hiltons Hotel Corp. and the pending sale of Harrah´s Entertainment. The money will get the the foundation eventually, but initially will be put into a charitable remainder unitrust.
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Ridley Scott To Direct Movie About Gucci Fashion Empire
British film director, Sir Ridley Scott, is to make a film about the rise and fall of the Gucci fashion dynasty. The film will have a darker side relating the story of a family divided, the promise of youth, and the power of endless privilege. It will focus in one of the grandsons of founder Maurizio Gucci, and the time surrounding his take-over and turnaround of the company in 1983.
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Jet Airways Introduces 'Flying-Suites' On Its Delhi-London Service
Jet Airways, India's premier airline, recently inducted a brand new Boeing B777-300ER and an Airbus A330-200 aircraft into its fleet. While the B777-300 ER is the seventh such aircraft in Jet Airways' impressive fleet of 71 aircraft, the A330-200 is the fifth addition of its kind to the same.
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Never-Before-Told Stories By JK Rowling Sold At Sotheby´s
One of just seven copies of a new work by JK Rowling, "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" sold at Sotheby’s today for an unprecedented £1,950,000. Created, hand-written and illustrated by JK Rowling, the volume of previously untold stories attracted pre-sale interest from all corners of the world. Today, six bidders locked horns in a battle to secure it, the hammer finally falling to a representative from London fine art dealers Hazlitt Gooden and Fox. Proceeds from the sale will go to The Children's Voice, a campaign run by the Children’s High Level Group, the charity JK Rowling co-founded in 2005 with Emma Nicholson MEP that seeks to make life better for vulnerable children across Europe.
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Lionel Richie Buys Australian Art
American singer Lionel Richie, bought a work by Sidney Nolan at a Sydney auction. The artwork cost US$10,000 and is from one of Australia´s best-known artists. The untitled work dates 1989.
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Greater China Corporation Forms Greater China Art Fund
Greater China Corporation has completed an agreement to form the Greater China Art Fund in partnership with the Elizabeth Wang Gallery. Greater China is a U.S. public company with diversified operations in China and related economies.
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Art Comes To Virgin Trains' First Class Lounges
Virgin Trains customers using First Class lounges at Euston and Birmingham New Street will soon be able to enjoy viewing bespoke pieces of art while they wait for their trains. A partnership with Hedz Limited, the Midlands leading creative art and design company has given an opportunity to young people to display their talents with canvas based artwork in a very public arena. One of the company's principal activities is the running of youth engagement workshops that can produce original designs and concepts that meet the needs of commercial organisations large and small.
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Bang & Olufsen Partners With Art Basel Miami Beach
Bang & Olufsen, the worldwide manufacturer of high end audio and video products, partners with Art Basel Miami Beach to provide state-of-the-art audio and video displays for the 2007 show in Miami, Florida. The award-winning BeoVision 7 LCD home theater master, the BeoSound 6 and BeoSound 2 mp3 players, and the BeoVision 4 plasma screen will be featured in the Art Video Lounge, Art Sound Lounge, and Art Salon. Bang & Olufsen's world renowned excellence in producing clean, beautiful designs makes the company the ideal choice for exhibiting true-to-life sound and picture art at the legendary Art Basel Miami Beach show, Thursday - Sunday, December 6 - 9, 2007.
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New Director To Head Vatican Museums
Pope Benedict XVI has named former Italian culture minister Antonio Paolucci to head the Vatican museums. Paolucci is taking the place of Francesco Buranelli who was re-assigned today as the director of the Commission for the Cultural Patrimony of the Church and inspector of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology.
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MetLife Foundation Awards US$1 Million To Thirteen Museums
MetLife Foundation today announced the grant winners of its Museums and Community Connections program. Thirteen art museums were awarded grants totaling $1,000,000, directly benefiting over 1.4 million people. Grants range from $30,000 to $100,000. The purpose of the competitive program is to strengthen communities, broaden programming and promote museums as centers of education without boundaries. The winning museums will use the grants for exhibitions, artist residencies and programs that extend their reach into diverse communities and make art part of people's lives.
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