The latest offerings from local cultural institutions with The Totam’s picks for the week:

TONIGHT: Bob Colacello, legendary Interview editor and Andy Warhol’s go-to guy of the 1970’s speaks at the San Francisco DeYoung Museum’s Koret Auditorium as part of their Warhol Live exhibition programming. 6:30 PM - 7:15 PM

Also, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Observant Eye series offers participants the opportunity to study particular works of art selected from the Museum’s collection over informal discussions with distinguished educators and curators in the galleries of the Museum. 6:30 – 8:00 PM

Sunday, February 22nd: PS1’s spring cycle of exhibitions opens with shows by artists Kenneth Anger, Jonathan Horowitz, and Lutz Bacher. DJ Big Vern Burns on the 3rd Floor. 12-6pm

Why not continue your tour of Queens from PS1 in Long Island City to The Queens Museum in Corona Park, and start some spring cleaning to boot? Artist Derick Melander will be collecting secondhand clothing in the Museum’s parking lot every weekend until April 26th for his participatory project “Into the Fold” (2009), creating a site-specific work from folded and stacked second-hand clothing with the help of museum guests.

The Whitney Museum of American Art is offering a $5 recession special admission price through March 8, for those who join their email list- see here. A perfect opportunity to see the newly-opened Sites exhibit and catch up on Alex Bag’s video installation on the ground floor.

Better yet, see some free art presented by the MoMA during your commute: the museum takes over Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue/Pacific Street subway station, filling it with reproductions of over 50 works of art from the MoMA’s collection as a gift to the city’s subway riders. Make your experience interactive via their mini-site by downloading a free audio tour and posting photos of your visit to share.

Tags: admission, artworks, Atlantic Avenue, audio tour, Big Vern Burns, Bob Colacello, Brooklyn, collection, commute, Derick Melander, DeYoung, interactive, Koret, Metropolitan, MoMA, Museum, Observant Eye, Pacific Street, PS1, Queens, Queens Museum, secondhand clothing, Sites, spring, subway station, Warhol Live, Whitney.

Via Gothamist.com:

Politicker NY reports today that New York City cultural institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center, and the American Museum of Natural History are losing up to 42 percent of their municipal funding due to budget cutbacks by Mayor Bloomberg’s administration. This news comes in on the heels of Bloomberg’s press conference touting the free activities available to residents in our city’s museums, parks, theaters, etc..

Facade of the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, New York. Photo by Paul Masck, released with a Creative Commons license, July 2005.

With drastic cuts being made or proposed at many city-funded agencies, it’s not unusual to see arts funding slashed at the Department of Cultural Affairs. However, Bloomberg’s cuts seem to be in opposition to a commitment the city made at the Creative New York Conference just two years ago, to establish a dedicated industry desk for cultural nonprofits overseen by the city’s Economic Development Corp. The desk focuses on recruiting and helping nonprofit groups get financing, real estate and workforce training.

Despite the cuts, the mayor himself has a had a long-standing history of personal philanthropy, funding cultural programs of all sizes in New York City out of his personal fortune, and through significant “anonymous” gifts to the Carnegie Corporation. According to the New York Times, in 2005, Bloomberg had donated over 140 million to many local institutions during the last years of his first term alone, leading critics to speculate that the donations were an effective way to stifle dissent and influence voting constituencies that benefited from his largesse.

What are the ramifications of substituting large sums of private money for public funds in support of government-backed programs and institutions? Can the artistic community, and others who rely on, or run nonprofits be bought?

This year, with the end of the mayor’s second term approaching in 2009, the Times reported that Bloomberg and his aides finally called in the favor last month. The administration asked organizations who have received donations from the mayor to show their support for his bid for a hotly contested third term in office, a move which was met with harsh disapproval from top political figures in the city.

Supplied with testimony from leaders at cultural organizations like the Public Art Fund and the Alliance of Resident Theaters, the City Council voted to extend term limits for all elected officials in the five boroughs on October 22nd.

It’s payback time, and except for Bloomberg, I’m not sure who wins.

Tags: Alliance of Resident Theaters, Art, arts, Bloomberg, budget, Carnegie, city, City Council, corporation, cultural institution, Department of Cultural Affairs, funding, Gothamist, Lincoln Center, mayor, Metropolitan, Museum, Natural History, New York, New York Times, philanthropy, Politicker NY, Public Art Fund, term limits, third term.