Today, for the booming young population of Africa and its diaspora, the relationship is more direct. There’s a reciprocity of inspiration, fueled by a multitude of creative efforts and propelled by social media platforms like TikTok. - The New York Times
"It’s heartening to see the strong GDP growth in the arts and creative sector over the past year despite the ongoing challenges from the effects of COVID and cost-of-living pressures. The GDP of $14.9b is a 12-month increase of 10% - compared to total economy GDP growth of 5.3%." - The Big Idea
The Sphere is a distillation of an evolving relationship among art, artist, and technology—somewhere between a warm embrace of and a final surrender to screens. It is an acknowledgment and maybe even a tribute to the ways in which our screens have become extensions of ourselves... - The Atlantic
After conceding the heavily criticised Arts Grants and Annual Arts Grants models (as well as the universally unpopular application cap structure) were no longer fit for purpose late last year, CNZ has spent the early part of 2023 taking on feedback from the creative community on what it needed. - The Big Idea
"The Walt Disney Company on Tuesday released a study showing its economic impact in Florida at $40.3 billion as it battles Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his appointees over their takeover of the district that governs the entertainment company’s massive theme park resort in central Florida." - AP
These attractions tend to lean heavily on novelty, and their shelf life can be very short — the 2021 flurry of immersive Van Gogh shows already seems to have petered out. - Axios
"In all my years doing research at the National Archives, I had never cried. …" The Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and co-founder of the National Museum of African-American History and Culture writes about the implications of his research into the post-Civil War Freedmen's Bureau. - MSN (The Atlantic)
"About 150 artists and cultural workers including photographer Nan Goldin and poet Eileen Myles flooded the lobby of the New York Times headquarters in midtown Manhattan." - Hyperallergic
This article intervenes in this debate by assessing the use and value of the long tail of metadata associated with the UK’s rich cultural events landscape – theatre productions, music and comedy gigs, sporting fixtures, days out and more – as a data resource for academic research, policymakers and CCI organisations. - Taylor & Francis Online
"'If you want to see a diverse and vibrant cultural community come to fruition, you have to build it," said Guy Ben-Aharon, founder of The Jar, which gathers small, disparate groups of people invited by "conveners" to evenings centered on particular artists from different disciplines. - MSN (The Washington Post)
"Street fights erupted between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian demonstrators outside Los Angeles’ Museum of Tolerance after a private screening of video showing the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants." - AP
"The growing tendency of artists to pronounce on everything from microaggressions to macropolitics shows that we need a fundamentally different understanding of the role played by artists and their institutions." - Compact Magazine
"More than 1.1 million jobs in the capital (21.1%) in 2021 were held by people employed in the creative economy, up from 882,000 (16.9%) in 2016. … (Mayor Sadiq) said London’s creative industries 'are a huge success story, ... supporting businesses across the country through their supply chains'." - London Evening Standard
