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A Theater Company Makes Its Way Back After The Pandemic Killed Its Founder

"The Fonseca Theater, located in a working-class neighborhood on west side whose actors are more than 80 percent people of color, staged its first show on Friday night since its founder, Bryan Fonseca, died from complications from COVID-19 last September. And not just any show — the world premiere of Rachel Lynett's play Apologies to Lorraine Hansberry (You...

What Made Ida Lupino The First Lady of Film Noir

"In The Bigamist, … no one gets beaten up or shot. No one robs a bank or a payroll, and the culprit's downfall is signaled by nothing more violent than a baby's sudden cry from out of the dark. Yet it qualifies as a noir, this smoky, black-and-white study in human failure, thwarted desire, and quiet desperation. When you...

Eugene Robinson: The Power Of DC’s Black Lives Matter Plaza’s Yellow Letters

"The fight for justice has produced many unforgettable images over the past year — former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck; multiracial throngs of protesters filling the streets of cities around the world; Floyd’s face projected on the graffiti-marred statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond; Chauvin being led away in handcuffs after being convicted of...

Yiddish Theater Was Basically A Historical Accident

The great flowering of Yiddish-language drama in the late 19th and early 20th centuries reached its apogee in New York, but it was born in the Romanian city of Iași and grew up, very quickly, in Odessa — a place in which public performance in Yiddish was illegal except for five crucial years. - Tablet

Do We Need A Way To Appeal Decisions Made For Us By Machines?

Any decisional mechanism, whether human- or machine-operated, will generate errors. An individualised appeals mechanism might reduce the volume of errors. But it might also increase it. - Psyche

The Benedictine Monk Who Roams The World Helping To Save Ancient Manuscripts

" the world's most renowned, prolific and peripatetic manuscript conservationist. Over the past 20 years his work has taken him from the Balkans to the Himalayas, from the Sahel region of Africa to the Middle East, injecting him into the heart of conflict zones and resulting in several narrow escapes from rebel movements and religious extremists." - Smithsonian Magazine

What Bob Garfield Did To Get Fired From ‘On The Media’ — Plus All The Other Conflicts At WNYC

Almost all the incidents roiling America's largest public radio station happened behind closed doors, but, as Times media columnist Ben Smith puts it, "one thing I learned this week about public radio is that no matter what is happening, someone is always recording it." So he has the details of what Garfield called his "anger mismanagement," the newsroom mini-rebellion...

Paulo Mendes Da Rocha, Leading Brazilian Architect And Pritzker Prize Winner, Dead At 92

"He was globally recognised as a major architect of the 20th century, despite rarely building outside his native Brazil. … Because he worked with large expanses of raw concrete – a cheap and abundant material in his home country – his name was often linked with Brazilian brutalism. But it was a label Mendes da Rocha rejected." - Dezeen

San Diego Mayor Maintains 50% Cut In Arts Funding

"San Diego arts organisations are still struggling from last year's 50% cut in the city's arts and culture budget, which Mayor Kevin Falcouner instituted to offset lost tax revenue in the early months of the pandemic. These cuts now remain in the mayor's proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, despite the pandemic easing in the US, which has...

Smaller Museums Across U.S. Try To Reach Communities They’ve Missed Before

"This is an existential moment for museums across America, with many facing yawning budget deficits alongside calls for deep structural change — and visitors only trickling back through their doors as the pandemic's chill on cultural life slowly lifts. For some directors of small and midsize museums, the events of the last 12 months have given fresh urgency to...

France Takes Its €300 Culture Pass For Young People Nationwide

"After a regional trial run, French president Emmanuel Macron is launching his program to fund cultural activities for young people nationally. Culture Pass, as the initiative is called, is now open to all 18 year olds in France, and will be extended to high schools across the nation in 2022." - Artnet

Nearly Half Of UK Musicians Consider Leaving Country Because Of Brexit

"More than 40% of musicians polled about their work in the European Union said they would consider relocating to Europe to continue accessing jobs, with a fifth contemplating changing career entirely. Musicians warned that the red tape and additional costs of touring and working in Europe after Brexit would have substantial impacts on their careers." - The Stage

Marin Alsop – A Career Of Firsts

Alsop satisfies exactly none of these stubborn criteria for conducting an orchestra, which is perhaps why her career has been an exercise in exhausting the potential of the word “pioneer.” Owing to her severe allergy to “can’t” and “don’t,” Alsop’s achievements are many and, more often than not, warrant some celebratory disclaimer to the tune of “first woman to...

Coming: A Clash Over Where We Work?

A poll by the Best Practice Institute and reported in Newsweek found that some 83 percent of CEOs want employees back full-time, while only 10 percent of workers want back in. A seismic standoff is building. “There is a belief in our culture that we’ve proven that most jobs can be done virtually. But that’s not the belief within...

Finding The Balance Between Dance Body And Mind

Dancers can spend their whole careers seeking out a rich mind–body connection. Achieving that sense of integration can be incredibly satisfying, leading to better physical and mental health, and a more holistic performance quality. But what happens when that connection goes too far, leading to anxiety or obsession instead of artistic fulfillment? - Dance Magazine

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