ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

Today's Stories

On The Whole Screentime Front, Some People Think Kids Belong In Front Of TVs Instead Of IPads

Are some screens better than other screens? Possibly! "Research strongly supports the benefits of ‘co-viewing,’ or actively engaging with screens together with your child. This can be easier on a TV, where the screen is bigger.” - Slate

How ‘Shirley Card’ Color Processing Shaped Our Understanding Of Analog And Digital Photos

The Shirley card, which set Kodak color processing values, was intensely racist. - El País English

When A Protest Musician Becomes A Grandparent

Billy Bragg has been putting in the hard work for literal decades. And "here he is in the seaside retirement resort, still fighting the good fight." - The Observer (UK)

Science Fiction Can Be Great, But Boy Howdy Did It Screw Up On Conspiracy Theories

The man who invented the deep state "wasn’t just a writer and soldier. He was an anti-communist intelligence operative who helped define U.S. psychological operations, or psyops, during World War II and the Cold War. His essential insight was that the most effective psychological warfare is storytelling.” - The Atlantic

If New York Bookstores Were People

In honor of yesterday’s Independent Bookstore Day (which, of course, we could all celebrate every day), here’s a visual analysis of some of the bookstores of New York. - The New York Times

Young Researchers In Britain Are Desperate For Better Access To Cultural Archives

One curator says, "If this project has taught me anything it is about the need to educate and to introduce learning around how to preserve and protect archival materials. … On a community level there needs to be more of an awareness about preservation and archiving our stories.” - The Guardian (UK)

The Challenges Of Translation In Shogun

"Court etiquette of the Sengoku era, as well as the gender politics of the time, mean a lot of things cannot be said explicitly. Even if you speak the same language as someone, you can never fully know them, and yet you all have to work together." - Vulture

The Golden Age Of Mid TV

How did Donald Glover (Atlanta) and Maya Erskine (PEN15) become the poster chlidren for middle-range, middle-of-the-road, no-stakes characters? Their work is just fine in Mr and Mrs Smith, but … well. "What we have now is a profusion of well-cast, sleekly produced competence.” - The New York Times

The Paramount Acquisition Drama Continues With An Ousted Longterm Executive

Bob Bakish "has been with Paramount and its Viacom predecessor since 1997. He was recruited by Redstone in 2016 to help bring order to a company that had descended into public legal brawling among shareholders and a battle for control.” - Variety

The Surprising Things The Walker Art Center Did To Its Gift Shop

“‘It’s a shop disguised as an exhibition, or an exhibition disguised as a shop,’ Clark said. 'We kind of built a house, and we blew the roof off,’ Altay added.”- The New York Times

Losing TikTok Would Mean Losing A Lot More Than Fun Dance Videos

One creator: “I don’t think that banning an app that many people have used to raise funds for each other, bring awareness to different issues, and hold people accountable ... can even be argued as remotely an action that is being taken to care for the greater needs of the people.” - Time

As Phones Become Mere Commodities, Apple’s Walled Garden Is Crumbling

“We’re a long way from the ‘wow’ moment of that first iPhone. It’s not all vibes, either" - some of it is legal decisions imperiling Apple’s monopolistic dominance. - The Verge

Traditional Museums Are, Finally, Waking Up To Children

At the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver, for instance, an Art Crawl "is held three times a month for newborns through 14-month-old children, who can crawl freely through selected galleries and are encouraged to stop at each work to engage in an interactive activity." - The New York Times

Kerry Condon Is The Most Successful Irish Woman Actor

Did you know that? She’s happy if you don’t. - Irish Times

Should The Louvre Move The Mona Lisa To Its Own Room?

"Such a move would give visitors, many of whom visit the Louvre for the famous painting alone, a better experience, Laurence des Cars told the broadcaster France Inter." - Agence France-Press (The Guardian UK)

Why Reading Was Intended To Be Done Out Loud

Until approximately the tenth century, when the practice of silent reading expanded thanks to the invention of punctuation, reading was synonymous with reading aloud. Silent reading was terribly strange, and, frankly, missed the point of sharing words to entertain, educate, and bond. - The Atlantic

Is AI Ruining Facebook?

The Meta AI experience has so far been a spam-filled one. Nowhere is that clearer than on Instagram where the search function, once a place to look up a friend’s account, now exists seemingly to usher users into conversation with a chatbot. - Fast Company

Report On Misogyny In The UK Music Industry Is Rejected

The report was widely heralded as a turning point. Finally, the boys’ club of the music industry was laid bare. But on Friday, April 19, the government issued its response to the report’s recommendations – a wholesale rejection. - The Conversation

German University Study Center Named Best New Building In Europe

The architects describe the building as acting like a microchip on a circuit board, a central meeting point connected to all parts of the university campus. There is no front or back, but nine equal entrances all around the 1,000 square metre (10,760 sq ft) building, making it feel like an open hub. - The Guardian

No One Is Going To Buy Your Book

The DOJ’s lawyer collected data on 58,000 titles published in a year and discovered that 90 percent of them sold fewer than 2,000 copies and 50 percent sold less than a dozen copies. - The Elysian

By Topic

As Phones Become Mere Commodities, Apple’s Walled Garden Is Crumbling

“We’re a long way from the ‘wow’ moment of that first iPhone. It’s not all vibes, either" - some of it is legal decisions imperiling Apple’s monopolistic dominance. - The Verge

A Moral Obligation To Disrupt On Behalf Of The Planet?

As a citizen waking up to this terrible truth, as the situation becomes more and more desperate, does the obligation to take desperate measures – in terms of the tactics we’re prepared to undertake, not just the policies we’re looking to bring about – increase? - Aeon

Study: Our Perception Of Time Is Influenced By What We Experience

When viewing larger or less-cluttered scenes, participants were more likely to experience time dilation; thinking that they had viewed the picture for longer than they actually did. The opposite effect — time constriction — occurred when viewing smaller-scale, more cluttered images. - Nature

How AI Will Be (Is) Wrecking The Internet

LLMs have begun to disrupt the traditional relationship between writer and reader. Type how to fix broken headlight into a search engine, and it returns a list of links to websites and videos that explain the process. Ask an LLM the same thing and it will just tell you how to do it. - The Atlantic

Why Did Oxford University Shutter Its Future Of Humanity Institute?

Nick Bostrom – who popularized the theory that humanity may be living in a simulation, one that Musk often repeats – spoke about the closure of the institute in a lengthy final report published on its website this week. - The Guardian

Why Many Of Us Are Going Back To Pre-Digital Analog Tools

From vinyl records to film cameras, all manner of apparently written-off technologies have been making a comeback, including modular synthesizers – one of the earliest types of this now-ubiquitous electronic instrument. - The Conversation

Young Researchers In Britain Are Desperate For Better Access To Cultural Archives

One curator says, "If this project has taught me anything it is about the need to educate and to introduce learning around how to preserve and protect archival materials. … On a community level there needs to be more of an awareness about preservation and archiving our stories.” - The Guardian (UK)

Losing TikTok Would Mean Losing A Lot More Than Fun Dance Videos

One creator: “I don’t think that banning an app that many people have used to raise funds for each other, bring awareness to different issues, and hold people accountable ... can even be argued as remotely an action that is being taken to care for the greater needs of the people.” - Time

With DeSantis’s Feuds Fading, Government At Disney World Is Blessedly Boring Again

"What made this (latest) meeting different from most during the past year or so was that it came a month after Disney and DeSantis’s board appointees reached a deal to end their state court lawsuits over DeSantis’s takeover of the district." - AP

Arts Council England Is Broken. Theatre Leaders Have Some Ideas To Fix It

Leaders from across the theatre sector have outlined their vision for a reformed Arts Council England, warning that an unchanged funding body could stoke competition for cash in its current "binary system of extremes". - The Stage

Study: New Zealanders’ Participation In The Arts

Among the encouraging stats, participation in the arts has reached its highest level since the survey began in 2005, up to 54%. Young people, deaf and disabled, Māori and Pacific peoples participate in the arts most frequently. Engagement in the arts has had a bump too, up three per cent from the last survey at 78%. - Big...

How America Got Hooked On Credit Card Culture

By the late 1960s, bankers increasingly saw credit cards, which combined innovative information technology with access to affluent consumer markets, as the road to the future – as the key to innovating around the restrictive financial rules. - Aeon

When A Protest Musician Becomes A Grandparent

Billy Bragg has been putting in the hard work for literal decades. And "here he is in the seaside retirement resort, still fighting the good fight." - The Observer (UK)

Report On Misogyny In The UK Music Industry Is Rejected

The report was widely heralded as a turning point. Finally, the boys’ club of the music industry was laid bare. But on Friday, April 19, the government issued its response to the report’s recommendations – a wholesale rejection. - The Conversation

Exit Interview: Chicago Lyric Opera’s Anthony Freud

I think the simplistic stereotype of my European colleagues assuming that American general directors are kicked around mercilessly by unconscionable wealthy donors is as wrong as the American perspective of European general directors dreaming about art and waiting for the next public funding check to drop through the letterbox. - Van

Jazz Is Pulled From Phoenix Public Radio Station KJZZ

A statement from station management said, "After years of observing audience data, it is clear that listeners are not staying for music programming. The KJZZ news and information programming has greater loyalty." (A separate jazz service remains available online and on high-definition radio.) - Arizona Republic (Phoenix)

Behind San Francisco Conservatory’s Big Bets On The Future

"At Curtis, it’s just the music, but we tell you you’ll know something about how the music business works and we think you should know something about risk-taking. … And now we’ve expanded to say you should think about how performance experiences will be successful in the future.” - San Francisco Classical...

No-Name Philadelphia Pops Orchestra Now Wants The Name

The self-organized group of musicians playing under the No Name Pops banner is negotiating with the family of late pianist and conductor Peter Nero to acquire the Philly Pops name. - Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

How ‘Shirley Card’ Color Processing Shaped Our Understanding Of Analog And Digital Photos

The Shirley card, which set Kodak color processing values, was intensely racist. - El País English

The Surprising Things The Walker Art Center Did To Its Gift Shop

“‘It’s a shop disguised as an exhibition, or an exhibition disguised as a shop,’ Clark said. 'We kind of built a house, and we blew the roof off,’ Altay added.”- The New York Times

Traditional Museums Are, Finally, Waking Up To Children

At the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver, for instance, an Art Crawl "is held three times a month for newborns through 14-month-old children, who can crawl freely through selected galleries and are encouraged to stop at each work to engage in an interactive activity." - The New York Times

Should The Louvre Move The Mona Lisa To Its Own Room?

"Such a move would give visitors, many of whom visit the Louvre for the famous painting alone, a better experience, Laurence des Cars told the broadcaster France Inter." - Agence France-Press (The Guardian UK)

German University Study Center Named Best New Building In Europe

The architects describe the building as acting like a microchip on a circuit board, a central meeting point connected to all parts of the university campus. There is no front or back, but nine equal entrances all around the 1,000 square metre (10,760 sq ft) building, making it feel like an open hub. -...

The Louvre Is Considering Moving Mona Lisa To Its Own Underground Room

"A recent survey showed tourists did not enjoy the experience (of seeing the famous portrait), with comments ranging from 'never been so disappointed' to 'torture.'" Says the museum's director, "Moving the Mona Lisa to a separate room could put an end to public disappointment." - The Telegraph (UK) (MSN)

Science Fiction Can Be Great, But Boy Howdy Did It Screw Up On Conspiracy Theories

The man who invented the deep state "wasn’t just a writer and soldier. He was an anti-communist intelligence operative who helped define U.S. psychological operations, or psyops, during World War II and the Cold War. His essential insight was that the most effective psychological warfare is storytelling.” - The Atlantic

If New York Bookstores Were People

In honor of yesterday’s Independent Bookstore Day (which, of course, we could all celebrate every day), here’s a visual analysis of some of the bookstores of New York. - The New York Times

The Challenges Of Translation In Shogun

"Court etiquette of the Sengoku era, as well as the gender politics of the time, mean a lot of things cannot be said explicitly. Even if you speak the same language as someone, you can never fully know them, and yet you all have to work together." - Vulture

Why Reading Was Intended To Be Done Out Loud

Until approximately the tenth century, when the practice of silent reading expanded thanks to the invention of punctuation, reading was synonymous with reading aloud. Silent reading was terribly strange, and, frankly, missed the point of sharing words to entertain, educate, and bond. - The Atlantic

No One Is Going To Buy Your Book

The DOJ’s lawyer collected data on 58,000 titles published in a year and discovered that 90 percent of them sold fewer than 2,000 copies and 50 percent sold less than a dozen copies. - The Elysian

The Onion Has Been Sold To A Very Apt Buyer

"Chicago-based firm Global Tetrahedron — which shares a name with a mock corporation that served as a long-running gag on the satirical news site and was featured in its staffers’ 1999 book Our Dumb Century — has purchased The Onion (from) G/O Media." - HuffPost

On The Whole Screentime Front, Some People Think Kids Belong In Front Of TVs Instead Of IPads

Are some screens better than other screens? Possibly! "Research strongly supports the benefits of ‘co-viewing,’ or actively engaging with screens together with your child. This can be easier on a TV, where the screen is bigger.” - Slate

The Golden Age Of Mid TV

How did Donald Glover (Atlanta) and Maya Erskine (PEN15) become the poster chlidren for middle-range, middle-of-the-road, no-stakes characters? Their work is just fine in Mr and Mrs Smith, but … well. "What we have now is a profusion of well-cast, sleekly produced competence.” - The New York Times

The Paramount Acquisition Drama Continues With An Ousted Longterm Executive

Bob Bakish "has been with Paramount and its Viacom predecessor since 1997. He was recruited by Redstone in 2016 to help bring order to a company that had descended into public legal brawling among shareholders and a battle for control.” - Variety

Is AI Ruining Facebook?

The Meta AI experience has so far been a spam-filled one. Nowhere is that clearer than on Instagram where the search function, once a place to look up a friend’s account, now exists seemingly to usher users into conversation with a chatbot. - Fast Company

“The Movie Critic” Was Supposed To Be Quentin Tarantino’s Final Film. Why Did It Fall Apart?

He reportedly had major stars attached and very enthusiastic studio (Sony) behind the project. Yet he dropped it all last week; he'll still make a 10th film, but it won't be this one. He's not saying why, but some observers have ideas. - The Hollywood Reporter

FCC Fines Non-Profit WBAI For Broadcasting Commercials

FCC Media Bureau Chief Holly Saurer says they negotiated a consent decree with Pacifica in which the broadcaster acknowledges that it has violated the underwriting laws and sponsorship ID rules. - Inside Radio

Has Tamara Rojo Pulled Off A Miracle At San Francisco Ballet?

A new ballet so popular it got an extra seven performances at the end of the season. Big — and younger — crowds. Conga lines in the lobby at after-parties. In her first four months of programming, Rojo has transformed the vibe at War Memorial Opera House. - The San Francisco Standard

Bringing Professional Ballet To Green Bay, Wisconsin

Pacific Northwest Ballet principals Kyle Davis and Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan had long wanted to bring fully professional dance to Davis's hometown. After several years of preparation and (of course) delay because of the pandemic, the first Green Bay Ballet Festival is now underway. - Pointe Magazine

How A Star Of Ukraine’s National Ballet Washed Up In Miami Beach

Stanislav Olshanskyi fled Putin's invasion of Ukraine for the Netherlands, where he was discovered by choreographer Alexei Ratmansky; later that same year, he found himself joining Miami City Ballet. He's relieved, but the adjustment from his solid Slavic schooling to MCB's fleet Balanchine style hasn't been easy. - The New York Times

How Breakdancing Got Into The Paris Olympics

Bizarrely, Paris 2024 may well be the only time we will see breaking in the Olympics in the foreseeable future, although the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) is determined to ensure it returns in Brisbane 2032. - The Conversation

A Changing Of The Guard At Smuin Contemporary Ballet

Celia Fushille is stepping down after 17 years as artistic director (the first after founder Michael Smuin), passing the reins to Amy Seiwert. "Seeing these artists I've worked with for so long, and what Amy is pulling out of them, it just brought tears to my eyes," says Fushille. - Bay Area Reporter

The Women Who’ve Founded Dance Companies In The US Since 1929

“Keeping track of these female-founded ballet companies is vital in understanding the pivotal and often unknown role of women in shaping the American ballet sector,” said DDP Research Consultant Aanika Khansaheb. - Dance Data Project

A Bad Omen: At Le Moulin Rouge In Paris, The Blades Fell Off The Red Windmill

"The blades fell onto the street below in the early hours of the morning. The cause of the collapse is not clear. Police say there were no injuries. The first three letters of the Moulin Rouge sign also fell off." - BBC

Standup Comedian Asks Mother With Fussy Baby To Leave Venue, Brouhaha Breaks Out

"Comedian Arj Barker’s interaction with a mother who brought a seven-month-old baby to his comedy show in Melbourne on Saturday night has sparked outrage, sympathy and debate about the woman’s decision to bring her infant to the gig and his decision to ask her to leave." - The Guardian

In Praise Of Pro Wrestling, America’s Proletarian Theater

"It was just after 3 AM on a Saturday night in South Philadelphia, and I was watching an angry inflatable chicken fight a Japanese otter mascot in the middle of a hastily assembled wrestling ring. Around me, several hundred other spectators chanted, 'Holy shit! Holy shit!'" - The Nation

All The Ways A New Play Changes In Previews

"'The key learning moments for a playwright,' says writer David Eldridge, 'are when you first hear actors read the script, and when the play meets an audience. We’re incredibly rigorous in the rehearsal process. But somehow, when you put it in front of an audience, it exposes unnecessary overwriting.'" - The Guardian

The War On Theatre

In the Educational Theater Association’s most recent survey, 85 percent of American theater teachers expressed concern about censorship. Even Shakespeare is at risk: In Florida, new laws led to the restriction of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” to grades 10 through 12 and “Romeo and Juliet” could not be taught. - The New York Times

How Five Actors With Limited Musical Training Became A Band For Broadway’s Stereophonic

“'I was like, as long as someone is musical, any idiot can be in a band,’ Butler said. ‘I can write to whatever level.’ Later Butler realized that this was perhaps naïve.” - The New York Times

Kerry Condon Is The Most Successful Irish Woman Actor

Did you know that? She’s happy if you don’t. - Irish Times

After 20-Odd Years, Shelley Duvall Has Returned To Acting. Here’s Where She’s Been All This Time.

She returned to her home state, Texas, and settled in a rural town not far from Austin. Yes, there have been struggles with mental illness and mobility (from a longstanding foot injury), but, at 74, she's happy to be acting again, and her director praises her work. - The New York Times

Esperanza Spalding, Chay Yew, Nataki Garrett Among Winners Of $525,000 Doris Duke Artist Awards

The MacArthur-like prizes, given annually to up to six artists working in contemporary dance, theater, and jazz, go this year to theater directors Chay Yew and Nataki Garrett, dance artists Shamel Pitts and Acosia Red Elk, and jazz musicians esperanza spalding and Miguel Zenón. - Doris Duke Foundation

Harvey Weinstein’s Rape Conviction Overturned By New York State’s Highest Court

“We conclude that the trial court erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes,” said the 4-3 decision by the New York Court of Appeals. “The remedy for these egregious errors is a new trial.” - AP

Literary Critic Helen Vendler, 90

In an era dominated by poststructuralist and politically influenced literary criticism, Ms. Vendler, who taught at Harvard for more than 30 years, adhered to the old-fashioned method of close reading, going methodically line by line, word by word, to expose a poem’s inner workings and emotional roots. - The New York Times

Murder Of Art Dealer Brent Sikkema: Lawyers For Defendant Up And Quit

"Attorneys Greg Andrade and Edna de Castro were representing Alejandro Triana Prevez, the Cuban man who has testified that he stabbed Sikkema to death (in Rio de Janeiro) as part of a murder-for-hire scheme allegedly orchestrated by Sikkema’s ex-husband, Daniel Carrera." They have resigned "for reasons of personal conscience." - Artnet

AJ Premium Classifieds

Executive Director – Cantabile Youth Singers of Silicon Valley

Seeking an entrepreneurial, strategic and creative business leader to contribute to this award-winning youth choir's next chapter of growth.

Executive Director – Ballet Idaho

The Executive Director will work in a shared leadership relationship with the Artistic Director with both positions reporting to and working collaboratively with the Board of Directors.

Executive Director – Opening Act

The Executive Director will steward the organization with a love for theater and arts education combined with a talent for strategic leadership.

Executive Director – Voices of Ascension

The Executive Director will collaborate with the Artistic Director and program chairs to ensure successful program delivery and with the Board of Directors

CFO- Arena Stage

The CFO is a critical member of the Senior Management Team and important ally to Arena’s co-leaders providing operational leadership and oversight in all matters of ongoing financial management, accounting and strategic business development.

AJClassifieds

Director of Development – National Black Theatre

National Black Theatre (NBT) seeks a Director of Development with an energetic, entrepreneurial attitude, a collaborative spirit, and a well-founded dedication to and excitement for the mission of this organization.

Biggs Museum seeks their next Executive Director

The Biggs achieves its vision and goals within the standards and best practices as an American Alliance of Museums accredited institution, including championing the next phase of expansion.

Chief Executive Officer, Motown Museum

The CEO will be a dynamic, high-energy leader with a minimum of 10 years of strategic leadership experience.

Chief Programming and Engagement Officer

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust (PCT or the Trust), one of the nation’s premier arts presenters and a major catalytic influence in the city of Pittsburgh, seeks a chief programming and engagement officer (CPEO).

Oregon Shakespeare Festival Seeks Director of Production

The Director of Production will oversee the management of...

Payroll/HR Administrator, Mark Morris Dance Group

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION: This position supports the entire organization, interacting regularly...

Science Fiction Can Be Great, But Boy Howdy Did It Screw Up On Conspiracy Theories

The man who invented the deep state "wasn’t just a writer and soldier. He was an anti-communist intelligence operative who helped define U.S. psychological operations, or psyops, during World War II and the Cold War. His essential insight was that the most effective psychological warfare is storytelling.” - The Atlantic

Has Tamara Rojo Pulled Off A Miracle At San Francisco Ballet?

A new ballet so popular it got an extra seven performances at the end of the season. Big — and younger — crowds. Conga lines in the lobby at after-parties. In her first four months of programming, Rojo has transformed the vibe at War Memorial Opera House. - The San Francisco Standard

After 20-Odd Years, Shelley Duvall Has Returned To Acting. Here’s Where She’s Been All This Time.

She returned to her home state, Texas, and settled in a rural town not far from Austin. Yes, there have been struggles with mental illness and mobility (from a longstanding foot injury), but, at 74, she's happy to be acting again, and her director praises her work. - The New York Times

NPR Has Serious Problems. They’re Well Beyond Any Alleged Bias.

"Internal documents … and interviews with more than two dozen current and former public radio executives show how profoundly the nonprofit is struggling to succeed in the fast-changing media industry. It is grappling with a declining audience and falling revenue — and internal conflict about how to fix it." - The New York Times

What’s The Logical Endpoint Of Pop Culture’s Insane-And-Dangerous-Ballerina Trope? A Ballerina Vampire, Of Course!

"Unlike Black Swan, the darkly funny Abigail — which follows a band of kidnappers as they discover that their prisoner, supposedly an adolescent ballet student, is actually a centuries-old vampire — doesn’t aim for profundity. But entertainment-world depictions of ballet, even in campy romps like Abigail, carry weight." - The New York Times

St. Louis Public Radio Claims Immunity From Lawsuits For Defamation. You May Not Believe The Reason.

Sovereign immunity. St. Louis Public Radio claims immunity from lawsuits as an arm of the state of Missouri. - Riverfront Times (St. Louis)

Call Salvador Dali On His Lobster Phone To Ask An AI Dali Your Burning Questions

Cool and deeply creepy at the same time: “The artist's AI voice was trained on voice samples taken from archival interviews Dalí did in English over his career. (He spoke four languages — Catalan, Spanish, French and English — sometimes interchangeably.)” We’re ready for the four-language answers. - NPR

Indigenous Artists Win Top Prizes At Venice Biennale

“The exhibition’s top prizes both went to Indigenous artists, with the Golden Lion for the main curated exhibition going to the Mataaho Collective, which consists of four Māori women artists. ... The Golden Lion for the National Pavilion was given to Archie Moore (Kamilaroi/Bigambul), who was Australia’s representative." - ARTnews

When Inigo Philbrick And I Tried To Cut A Banksy Out Of The Wall It Was Painted On

Orlando Whitfield (as recounted in his new book): “I mean, this is great, but it’s on a fucking wall. A door was one thing, but this is different.” Philbrick: “I know. But it has to be doable, right? Has to be. Think of all those frescoes they move in Italy.” - The Guardian

How Harlem Stage Has Helped Create Choreography Careers

The series E-Moves is 25 years old now, and one of its "intended effects has been to take choreographers who work mainly ‘downtown,’ in white-dominated dance institutions, and bring them ‘uptown’ to Harlem." - The New York Times

Disastrous Decisions In The UK As Birmingham Council Slashes All Arts Funding

Birmingham is a bellwether for the UK. Nothing “could be more emblematic of the way that Britain currently devalues life: when we only focus on our most basic needs, dismissing leisure, art, literature and culture as something decadent and middle-class, we do ourselves an injustice.” - The Observer (UK)

Artist Faith Ringgold, Who Wove Black History Into Quilts And Books, Has Died At 93

“For more than a half-century, Ms. Ringgold explored themes of race, gender, class, family and community through a vast array of media, among them painting, sculpture, mask- and doll-making, textiles and performance art.” - The New York Times
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