There will be 80 events spread across four stages, three of them outdoors and two of those newly-constructed. (The old Dock Street Theater, site of the popular noontime chamber music concerts, will be this year's sole indoor venue.) Capacity will be about one-quarter that of a normal year. - Charleston City Paper
The open secret among anyone who enjoys the pleasure of their own company, however, is that the public health strategy of sheltering-in-place to combat COVID-19 was never a burden. It was a breath of fresh air. - ArtsATL
What's going to happen as more and more people are vaccinated to the industries that supported thousands of aspiring actors, musicians, and others in the arts? "There’s a reckoning in the hospitality industry right now as these workers — and their bosses — contemplate how much of the old normal they’re are willing to return to. The restaurant trade has...
The internet is as much part of our utilities as water and electricity. The shutdown in this globally linked economy is destructive, and only part of that is planned: "In addition to stifling speech, communication, and digital rights, the indiscriminate internet blackouts are destroying Myanmar's economy, halting pandemic-related remote schooling, and disrupting health care." - Wired
Venue operators are using their enforced downtime to scrub, buff and do major reconfigurations. In some cases, the work was commissioned and started before COVID-19. Toronto’s iconic Massey Hall, for example, closed in 2018 for a $135-million renovation that was scheduled to be completed as soon as this year, but now there’s not such a hurry. - The Globe...
The conclusion from these finds is that people in the African interior weren’t lagging behind coastal cultures at all. Some of the most important innovations in human prehistory happened in multiple areas of the continent at around the same time. - Ars Technica
"New York City is heading into one of its most consequential elections in decades. … For the purposes of this inquiry, we asked eight leading Democratic candidates to spell out their specific proposals for arts and culture in New York City." - Artnet
"For years, campaigns to oust cruise ships from the lagoon have been gaining traction, with locals claiming that the ships' massive structures erode the seabed, effectively turning the lagoon into an offshoot of the Adriatic Sea. And now, finally, the Italian government has agreed with them, passing a decree to ban cruise ships and other large vessels from the...
Every day I’m thankful for the work I get to do. I am paid to watch, to think, to write. But this week, like so many others recently, it has felt pointless, even silly, to analyze fictional stories when real people are dying." - The New York Times
“It is being slightly masked by Covid, but we are already seeing individuals losing their jobs because they don’t hold an EU passport. People are being told their application for a post is not welcome anymore, or that gigs are being postponed or cancelled because EU promoters are not certain whether British talent will be able to make it...
The prestigious, competitive art/architecture/engineering school in Manhattan's East Village charged no fees to students from its opening in 1859 until 2012, when an overambitious building program and bad management decisions led to financial disaster and free tuition was abolished, much to the fury of students, alumni, and others. There were worries that the pandemic would hamper the fundraising necessary...
With COVID caseloads on the rise again, President Macron announced a new set of restrictions, less strict than the first set introduced last year, running April 3 to at least May 2. He also said his office is preparing a timetable for "certain" cultural venues to accept visitors again, a process he hopes will start in mid-May, pandemic conditions...
As of January, 56% of the organizations surveyed still had staff furloughed or laid off due to the pandemic. That’s a decrease from the 74% of organizations that reported staff furloughs or layoffs in April 2020, when pandemic closures first started. Still, the amount these groups say they’re budgeting for personnel expenses in 2020-21 is 25% lower than in...
The South African government allocated 300 million rand (roughly $20 million) to a rescue fund for artists who lost their livelihoods due to COVID-related lockdowns. Thousands of individuals and organizations applied and were approved for relief money which hasn't arrived. News reports have said that the money has disappeared; the Arts and Culture Minister claims that it was double-allocated....
Way, way beyond the Proms: To mark the sesquicentennial of the hall's opening (Queen Victoria was all verklempt), the Beeb recounts some of the more momentous and offbeat events to have happened there, from the first-ever sci-fi convention (also the public debut of the only-the-English-could-drink-it concoction Bovril) to a séance for Arthur Conan Doyle to the first-ever sumo match...
