Good Morning,
Homeland Security has circulated a “be on the lookout” alert to law enforcement nationwide for a comedian whose satire of immigration enforcement went viral (The Guardian). File it next to the universities quietly disinviting commencement speakers who might say something challenging (The Conversation), and the plan to build a 250-foot triumphal arch on the strength of a permission slip Congress signed 101 years ago (The Washington Post). Three different mechanisms — a watchlist, a heckler’s veto and a century-old loophole — are all determining who or what gets to occupy public space and what doesn’t. Turbulent times, my friends, turbulent times…
Elsewhere the question is gentler: not who gets silenced, but who is paying to keep culture alive. New Zealand is handing most of its arts-funding decisions to as many as 16 regional bodies (The Big Idea), a Finnish museum is covering four artists’ salaries and health insurance outright (The Art Newspaper) in a radical rethink of how to support artists (remember yesterday’s story about music venues in the UK allowing touring bands a place to sleep after their gigs), and Canada’s culture regulator just told streamers they will have to spend 15 percent of their revenue on Canadian content (AP) if they want to operate in the Great White North. Three countries, three evolving notions of where cultural support should come from.
And in a file marked the audience always finds a way: Seattle Opera held its first official Furry Night, led by the baritone singing Escamillo — better known to the fandom as Chester the Geroo (The Stranger).
All of our stories below. Have a great Memorial Day weekend.
Doug
