“Robert Gentile, 80, had been scheduled to stand trial last month for selling a loaded firearm to a convicted killer, charges his attorney contends were the product of a federal sting operation intended to pressure Gentile into leading agents to paintings stolen in 1990.”
Preserving Native American Languages – There’s An App For That
There are several apps for that, actually, and video games as well; they’re seen as good ways to meet young people on their own ground. Alli Joseph (of the Shinnecock Indian Nation) gives a brief survey of what’s out there.
Oscar Brand, 96, Folksong Legend Who Hosted Radio Show For 71 Years
“[He was] a folk troubadour, raconteur, broadcaster and writer whose radio show Folksong Festival aired for 70 years and helped introduce then-unknown entertainers such as Bob Dylan, Arlo Guthrie and Joan Baez.”
A Suburban Museum That Struggles: Bellevue Arts Museum
“But after a rocky start as a contemporary art and education center when it moved into its new building by architect Steven Holl—a willful building easily blamed for everything that was wrong with BAM, despite more intractable difficulties with the Eastside institution’s identity and philanthropy—BAM went on to become artistically unique, creative, and surprising.”
The New York Fringe Festival Is Taking Next Year (And Only Next Year?) Off
The producing artistic director said that the 20-year-old festival “needed to figure out how to best serve its artists, audiences and alumni — in part by taking the time to analyze its trove of data on them.”
Once Bankrupt, The Louisville Orchestra Working On A Comeback
“From 2013 to 2016, ticket income rose 82.5 percent after a 60 percent increase in season subscriptions and a 128 percent increase in single ticket sales. Individual donations have jumped 34.5 percent.”
The Mysterious And Winding Path To Publishing, In English, Writing By Magritte
“Weirdly, a fully translated (albeit rough and typewritten) manuscript of Magritte’s Selected Writings by the now-dead translator Jo Levy had been languishing in an archive in Caen, France for close to 30 years, unbeknownst to just about anyone.”
The New York Public Library Just Became A Vital Source Of Hip Hop Dance Knowledge
“The library is making a statement. … Ballet, modern dance, tap — the library is placing hip-hop culture on the same pedestals as other established dance movements.”
How Banning Books That People Worry Will Harm Children *Actually* Harms Children
“Fifty-two percent of the books challenged or banned in the last 10 years feature so-called “diverse content”—that is, they explore issues such as race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, mental illness, and disability.”
Is It Ethical For A Museum To Mount A Show Where The ‘Guest Curator’ Owns Most Of The Art?
“A solo private collection show is difficult for a museum to justify, because it restricts curatorial independence in telling art’s story. However, in my experience, crediting the collector as co-curator is almost unprecedented for a major museum.”
The Rise Of The New, Spiritual Museum
“Today’s shift from particular religions to a generalised spirituality is a global trend noted by architects as well as theologians—Daniel Libeskind has spoken about it since his design for Berlin’s Jewish Museum in the 1990s. It is most evident in the way the iconic museum employs connotations to nature and the cosmos.”
Orchestras In The U.S. Depend Almost Entirely On The Health Of Their Cities
“It used to be understood that there was a group of good community citizens, usually associated with the big companies in town who had deep ties to the community and a sense of civic responsibility. … Now companies are changing, they’re owned by holding companies, their headquarters are elsewhere, and CEOs move around.”
The Case (Which Shouldn’t Need To Be Made, But Somehow Does) For Hiring Asian American Directors
“When Asian American directors don’t make the short list to work on plays by Asian American writers, my heart breaks. When this happens, we’re not just being denied a job, we’re being denied an invaluable opportunity to connect with our peers.”
Two Stolen Van Goghs, Missing For 14 Years, Recovered In Italy
“The paintings, Seascape at Scheveningen (1882) and Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen (1884/85), early works van Gogh painted in Holland, were stolen from the Amsterdam [Van Gogh] museum very early one December morning” in 2002.