“In 2019, inclusive spaces that are comprised of voices from the neurodiverse and disabled community are still extremely rare. Despite the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 29 years ago, neurodiverse and disabled communities continue to face collective discrimination from failures to accommodate in access, transportation, employment, education, and many other arenas. Unfortunately, the art world is no exception.” – Hyperallergic
Despite Government Pressure, Hong Kong Arts And Culture Workers Support Protests And Strikes
With many of Hong Kong’s main cultural institutions being government-operated or -funded, a large number of workers in the arts-and-culture field are considered civil servants, which means they take big risks if they participate in the demonstrations currently rocking the territory. Nevertheless, they persist. – The Art Newspaper
Netflix And Amazon India Are Taking On Material Bollywood Has Never Dared Touch
New features and series from the streaming giants deal frankly with such subjects as corruption, government dysfunction, the drug trade, religious and communal violence, and female sexuality. Says the director of one such series about why online studios can treat topics Bollywood can’t, “It’s a given that movie-watching in India is a family experience, a community experience. Families didn’t sit together to see Sacred Games.” – The Guardian
At Louvre, Reservations Will Be Mandatory By End Of This Year
The world’s most visited museum has become a victim of its own success, with its usual crowd control problems made even worse by the move of the Mona Lisa to a new room. So reservations, which have been available but not required for entrance, will be made mandatory. – France 24 (AFP)
Theatre Union Accuses Arts Council England Of Not Enforcing Pay Rules
According to Equity, theatre employers are not always paying industry standard terms and conditions on funded projects, despite it being a requirement of receiving a grant. It described the funding body’s policing of this situation as “poor”. – The Stage
Orange County’s Crystal Cathedral Reborn – But Music Still Doesn’t Work
Tim Mangan: “To put it briefly, these were cathedral acoustics: echoey, murky, swimmy, with a decay time of several seconds. Aurally, it was like playing in a high school gymnasium or Carlsbad Caverns. It’s no place for a couple of hundred musicians to perform an intricate piece of classical music.” – Voice of Orange County
Senate Confirms Trump’s Pick For NEA Chair
Walter Benjamin Believed WWI Changed Human Nature, But Culture Gave A Little Hope
It seemed like a good time to republish this, LitHub decided. “In their buildings, paintings, and stories, humanity is preparing to survive culture, if it comes to that. And the main thing is, they laugh as they do it. Their laughter may sound barbaric now and again. Let it. It may be that the individual will surrender a bit of humanity to the masses who will return it to him one day with compound interest.” – LitHub
NYCharities Just Disappeared, Taking Thousand Of Small Dance Companies’ Dollars With It
This is not a pleasant story. “In theory, NYCharities was a small dance company’s dream. Free to use, the nonprofit acted as a clearinghouse for companies to accept credit and debit card donations online. It also allowed companies to sell tickets to galas and events, set up recurring donations and even give donors the option to pay processing fees themselves—an important feature for dance companies with small budgets.” And then? Well, it stopped transferring money, returned no phone calls, and disappeared. (Now the NY Attorney General is investigating.) – Dance Magazine
More Than A Year After 40 Artists Withdrew From A London Museum, They’re Still Demanding Answers
The timeline: Last August, “more than 40 artists removed their work from the exhibition Hope to Nope at the Design Museum in London after the museum housed an event hosted by the arms manufacturer Leonardo. At the time, the museum assured the protesting artists, who organized in a group named Nope to Arms, that it will review its due diligence policy related to commercial and fundraising activities.” Or … not, apparently. – Hyperallergic
Oh, Hello, 80 Percent Of Books Published Between 1924 And 1963 Are In The Public Domain
Wow, thanks for your data mining project, New York Public Library! Why, though? Because “until the 1976 Copyright Act, US works were not copyrighted unless they were registered, and then they quickly became public domain unless that registration was renewed.” And most people – and publishers – did not renew that registration. – Boing Boing
Email Used To Be Amazing
Then it became a “productivity tool” for work, and “regular folks don’t want to organize their private lives as if they were office jobs.” But it’s not too late to save the technology, if we start now and proceed with deep reinvention. – The Atlantic
Producers Pushed Producer Lulu Wang To Make ‘The Farewell’ In English With Some White Leads
But she said no, every time, and the film seems to have turned out OK. “It broke the box office record set by Avengers: Endgame for per-screen average, taking in $351,330 in four theaters when it opened in limited release.” – Variety
A Gothic Bridge Is Destroyed In Belgium So Bigger Boats Can Go Down The River
The federal government is not happy with the town of Tournal, where, after years of argument and discussion, a crane pulled apart the bridge over the Scheldt, in sections. “A crowd on the river’s banks audibly reacted when some of the brickwork was seen falling into the water on Friday. Many watching a live stream on the website of the regional television station, Notele, wrote of their sadness at saying ‘goodbye’.” – The Guardian (UK)
The Reasons For Reader’s Block Vary, But They All Lead To One Thing
That is, reader’s block means you’re not reading a book. Why? – The New York Times
What Is Community Theatre For?
Jocelyn Allgood, who participates in several community theatres near her in Texas, says that “it’s our small contribution to humanity — to ease the burden of life, to make you laugh, to stir that emotion burning inside of you — be it jeers for the villains, tears or cheers for the heroes and (we hope) applause for the cast.” – Dallas Morning News
London’s Smallest Stages Are Hosting Wagner
The artistic director of the Fulham Opera (which is doing Die Meistersinger this summer) says there’s good reason for smaller opera halls: “The immediacy, the storytelling, the quality of the voices up close and personal … the joy that radiates off the stage. I don’t think people fall asleep in our shows.” – The Stage (UK)
Phil Hynes, Backstage Lighting Force For ‘Saturday Night Live,’ Has Died At 96
Lorne Michaels: “He was a force to be reckoned with, and his presence and strength were something I came to rely on. … He will be missed, but if God has him now, despite all the arguing, heaven will be much better lit.” – The New York Times
Tanglewood’s Bet On Staying Relevant
Unlike some new facilities attached to performing arts complexes — the Kennedy Center’s REACH extension, opening in September, comes to mind — TLI is not aiming to be radically new or different. Its mission includes expanding the older, more affluent audience it already cultivates in the region. – Washington Post
Benjamin Millepied’s LA Dance Project Announces New Dance Festival
The new festival this fall will feature six world premieres from choreographers including 2013 MacArthur fellow Kyle Abraham, Jacob Jonas and Janie Taylor — plus collaborations with noted artists on sets and costumes. – Los Angeles Times
The Law Governing The Rebuilding Of Nôtre-Dame Has Been Passed, And …
“It explicitly states that the cathedral must be rebuilt as it looked before the fire … and it limits derogations to the existing heritage, planning, environmental and construction codes to the minimum.” The new law also lays out the structure of a new agency to be created to oversee the reconstruction. – The Art Newspaper
Why Do American Orchestras Keep Running Into Financial Trouble?
The Balitmore Symphony is not alone; almost every concert season sees news stories about a U.S. orchestra facing potential ruin (often with a strike or lockout raising the stakes). Why? There’s the “cost disease” phenomenon as well as longer-term trends that, say some observers, may see orchestras in cities 100 miles or less apart merge. – The Baltimore Sun
The Rent Is Too Damn High, Say Edinburgh Fringe Performers
“Changes to rental rules in Scotland and an increasing lack of affordable accommodation are threatening to turn the fringe into ‘a glorified industry showcase’, according to artists.” – The Guardian