"Over 1,000 cultural figures, including artists and curators, have addressed a letter to President Vladimir Putin and parliamentarians expressing fears that law is so sweeping that it could encompass 'any public activity in the process of which knowledge and expertise are disseminated' including 'exhibitions, festivals, conferences, the activity of popularisers of science and art.' The science community is also vocally protesting against the law." - The Art Newspaper
The last thirty years have seen management displace the creators to become the powerful figures of the arts world … Increasingly, even the section of artistic talent has been seen slipping from the hands of the sector towards the marketing and sponsorship departments … Australia needs its artists to initiate change, to rethink the present in the light of the past and begin to invest in a body of work that will in turn become their legacy.’ - ArtsHub
"As it happens, this year’s wide-open mayoral race — a political rarity in Boston — offers the cultural sector a golden opportunity to flex a little political muscle. At this early stage of the race, all of the candidates are looking for a way to stand out, and their agendas are still evolving. The cultural sector needs to ensure that the arts occupy a prominent place in the campaign conversation. Being the Arts Candidate would seem to be a pretty potent political brand." - Boston Globe
The dispute burst into the open earlier this year when Emily Johnson severed her connection with Peak Performances and wrote about her decision in “A Letter I Hope in the Future Doesn’t Need to Be Written,” which she posted online on Jan. 22. In it she likened Jedediah Wheeler’s behavior — what she recounts as his screaming, his failure to apologize, his use of power — to “white rage.” - The New York Times
Known as NFTs, such tokens have taken off in recent weeks in what’s either an ecologically destructive speculative bubble or a promising new funding model for art and media, depending on whom you ask. - Los Angeles Times
"We added up the total emergency cultural aid packages from nine countries around the globe to show you how they compare. We looked at the size of each country's bailout in dollars, and then calculated what the totals amount to per person in order to account for differences in population size." - Artnet
The performing arts, heritage sector and spectator sports – areas of the economy that depend on ticket sales– have lost more than 60 per cent of their GDP value. The only subsector to suffer more is air transportation, down 87 per cent on its GDP. - The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Perhaps they're not used to the world of 2021. "The truth underlying their emotional, often highly personal defenses of Allen is that he’s become subject to the forces of change that have finally begun to challenge the old world order, when a girl’s place was tantalizing Allen or other actors on screen, no matter how nerdy or neurotic those men might be, or how young the woman." - Los Angeles Times
The Mouse promised change at the protests in the wake of George Floyd's death. But the online chatter over racism on The Bachelor has only grown. "As the furor crests heading into the finale, neither Disney nor ABC has commented publicly on the matter, despite leadership’s less than year-old pledge to be open about racial issues. The subject was not raised during this week’s Disney shareholder meeting. Neither Disney nor ABC responded to requests for comment from The Times." - Los Angeles Times
Yes, there are secret committees. "And they're just one strange, clandestine part of a voting process that is largely shrouded in mystery." Yikes. - Vice
One reason we tolerate an even more frayed social safety net for artists than we do for everyone else: “The allure of artistic work often obscures — from arts workers themselves and the public at large — the working conditions that arts workers face,” according to the report, noting that organizations frequently ask arts workers to work for nominal fees or for free. - San Francisco Chronicle
"Citing corruption and waste under previous administrations, centre-left President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced hefty budget cuts across all government departments in May 2019. The ministry of culture lost 75% of its operating budget and expects to receive just $693m this year, a severe blow to arts institutions and those who depend on them for their livelihoods." Add to that the financial blows from pandemic-related closures, and programming has been slashed, conservation and basic maintenance cut or deferred, and salaries unpaid. - The Art Newspaper
"The relief bill includes $470 million earmarked for cultural organizations, with $135 million each for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and $200 million for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The bulk of the NEA and NEH funding — 60 percent — is set aside for direct grants and relevant administrative expenses for programming related to the pandemic. The rest will go to state arts agencies and regional arts organizations to help support local institutions and nonprofits." - Artnet
"The National Audit Office … examined the allocation of the funds so far and found that of the £1bn that has been made available, about £830m in grants and loans has been awarded to different organisations but only £495m of that has been paid out, auditors said." - The Guardian
"Across the nation thousands of actors, musicians, dancers and other entertainment industry workers are losing their health insurance or being saddled with higher costs in the midst of a global health crisis. Some were simply unable to work enough hours last year to qualify for coverage. But others were in plans that made it harder to qualify for coverage as they struggled to remain solvent as the collapse of the entertainment industry led to a steep drop in the employer contributions they rely on." - The New York Times
