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Downtown Scene Reclusive Artist Elsa Rensaa Spreads Her Wings

The New York gallerist James Fuentes is presenting Elsa Rensaa’s paintings in a two-part exhibition: Out of the Wilderness and Into the Blue. "Her paintings, rendered with meticulous applications of thin acrylic washes, bring forth lush, syncretic visual portals," he says. "They draw from a vast and visionary range of references, including Ancient Nordic, Egyptian, and Eastern imagery, in addition to Renaissance, Art Nouveau, and Dada art movements, with a Lower East Side iconography that is distinctly recognizable as Rensaa’s own."

Patrice Floyd talks about the importance of collaboration for students and organizations

Patrice Floyd, Founder & Artistic Director of the Javacya Arts Conservatory, shares the importance of collaboration for students and organizations.

Meet Gary Bartz: Saxophonist and 2024 NEA Jazz Master

In this tuneful podcast, 2024 NEA Jazz Master Saxophonist Gary Bartz talks about his life and career, touching on his roots, influences, collaborations, and the philosophical underpinnings that have guided his artistic journey. Born in Baltimore in 1940, Gary’s musical journey began in a segregated America, where he found music to be a universal language that could transcend societal barriers. He discusses his early encounters with music which were deeply influenced by his family’s musical gatherings and his exposure to the records of Charlie Parker, which ignited his passion for the saxophone at the age of six. He talks about moving to New York City in 1958, immersing himself in the city’s vibrant jazz scene, his time at Juilliard and the thrill of playing alongside legends like Max Roach (NEA Jazz Master, 1984),  Charles Mingus,  Art Blakey (NEA Jazz Master, 1988),  Miles Davis (NEA Jazz Master, 1984)  and McCoy Tyner...

You Cannot Be Serious.

Sackler Donations Are Back… And No, That’s Not Good News I get that this is a 43-year-old reference. But it ...

Randy Cohen shares the importance of numbers and storytelling when advocating for the arts

Randy Cohen, Vice President of Research at Americans for the Arts, shares the power of sharing the impact of both stories and numbers in advocating for the arts.

Can the Arts Fortify State Economies in Times of Financial Crisis? Yes, Apparently

Little over three years ago, after nearly a full year of COVID-19 in the United States, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) published a research report on “the arts and culture sector’s contributions to economic recovery.” Doug Noonan, an economics professor at Indiana University Indianapolis, had authored the report, using data from the U.S. Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (ACPSA), an initiative of the NEA in partnership with the Bureau of Economic Analysis.  Noonan analyzed state-level rates of recovery from the Great Recession (2007-2009). State arts economies, while they “suffered disproportionately” from the recession, were also among the quickest to bounce back, he found. Their subsequent growth rates, moreover, exceeded those of the U.S. economy as a whole. It also turned out that the states with the greatest post-recession growth were those with larger arts economies.  The report was among many written while the pandemic was in full force, in an...

On the high price of West End tickets

The Guardian has a new editorial up about how the price of a theatre ticket in London is too darn high. I imagine it would be possible to write a similar piece about theatre in any big North American city as well. But it makes some questionable claims and assumptions, so, here we go… “Theatre’s in a perilous state. My wife went the other day, it cost her nearly £200 – who could afford that?” asked the actor David Harewood. Well, for a start … your wife? Not to be (too) flippant about this, but a necessary condition for any presenter charging nearly £200 is that there are some people who can afford it and will actually pay it. Though a survey by The Stage newspaper revealed that top prices for West End shows appear to be stabilising, with a 0.4% rise last year compared with a 20% surge in 2022 from pre‑pandemic levels, that still leaves...

How Subsidy for Big Tech Wrecked the Arts (and Journalism)

Companies like Netflix, Amazon, Facebook, Spotify, Apple and Google have subsidized what they offer (super-cheap or free content, faster service and better accessibility) to capture audience and attention in ways that have played havoc with culture producers and artists everywhere, whether or not they create on any of these platforms.

Harlem Renaissance Renegade: Metropolitan Museum’s Over-Hyped, Underachieving “Blockbuster”

In this DEIA-oriented era, I may incur censure by mildly disparaging The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism—an exhibition that, before

Making a Living as a Writer Was Never Easy, But …

When I was a salaried reporter, I did pretty well over the course of more than two decades at three major metro dailies in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. It always helped to get freelance work, however.

Nonprofit Arts Leaders: One Final Note About the Upcoming War

…until, of course, the catalyst event happens, at which point you’ll probably think to yourself, “How did Alan know?” Your ...

IMPORTANT CORRECTION

I’ve deleted my last post, about what the Cleveland Plain Dealer printed as CIM’s response to the faculty vote of no confidence. It wasn’t CIM’s response at all, but instead a statement made in the past about another situation, which the Plain Dealer highlighted as if it was CIM’s response now. They’ve now removed it, but I think using it in the first place was shocking behavior on their part. It’s a disgrace, and would have been no matter who their story was about.

CIM response

When the Cleveland Plain Dealer ran its story about the Cleveland Institute of Music faculty denouncing the school’s administration — see my last post — they hadn’t gotten CIM’s response. Hadn’t come in time. Now they have it, and it’s pathetic: “We are not going to go into detail about any personnel issues, but as with any situation like this one, CIM will conduct a thorough and fair investigation,” Cleveland Institute of Music spokesperson Kathleen Drohan said in a statement. “We have retained an outside, independent party to conduct this investigation. To protect the process and privacy of all involved, we do not plan to comment any further.” That’s mind-blowing. Normally an institution launches an independent investigation to assess one or two alleged bad actors. But this one has to judge the entire institution. Its top leadership, everything they’ve done. And, I’d think, the board as well. Since the board chair (as...

Donna Collins talks about the importance of arts advocacy

Donna Collins, Executive Director of the Ohio Arts Council and Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, talks about the importance of arts advocacy and its impact on our communities.

5 reasons declining media coverage of the arts isn’t the problem

Arts coverage in mainstream has been in decline for decades. It's not what's to blame for the current audience crisis. Out of date marketing practices are the reason. But arts organizations can take action that can bolster audiences, mission, and re-engage staff at the same time.

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