"While the return of tourists is essential, local politicians and leaders in the cultural sector are emphasising the need to rethink how visitors interact with heritage. But how far, during the enforced hiatus in tourism, have they actually rethought their strategies to manage visitors and their experience more effectively?" Venice and Florence have some ideas. - Apollo
The Cambridge classics professor (and Twitter, TV, and book star) says that our desire to compare the U.S. to ancient Rome is normal - but not sensible. "Rome, in a way, doesn’t matter at all. It’s a very long time ago; no one’s going to get hurt by them. ... Rome helps us stand outside ourselves. For me, Rome...
After the terrible effects of COVID-19 on the arts, what should Australia do next? One think tank says the country, where arts funding dropped in the years leading up to 2020, needs a plan to "ensure creatives industries have a place at the ‘big table’ of decision making and budgets." - ArtsHub
"Hundreds of arts organisations that received grants in the Culture Recovery Fund's second round are still waiting for money to be paid out, causing damaging cashflow problems and delaying projects, … despite the second round of CRF being specifically designed to support companies during April to June." - The Stage
Turn him to face the wall in shame. That way, those who demand the statue stay get their demand met, but the implication is obvious. - The Guardian (UK)
On the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, President Biden proposed a 20 percent increase in funding for an agency the previous president always threatened to cut entirely. "According to the endowment’s analysis, the Biden spending plan would be the largest single-year increase in its funding since the jump between 2009 and 2010 when its budget rose from $155 million to...
"Robert L. Lynch, the longtime president and chief executive of the Washington-based advocacy organization Americans for the Arts who had been on paid leave since December amid workplace complaints, has agreed to retire effective immediately, the organization's board announced Thursday." - The New York Times
“For generations, the worst event in Tulsa history wasn’t spoken about in public,” said Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum in a statement. “Today, artists are helping to educate and inform people all around the world about this tragedy—and by doing so honor the memory of our neighbors who were lost.” - Artnet
"The pandemic has changed the way people think about geography. I think that you can connect with community anywhere, but there's something to be said about proximity and sharing the same spaces that I'm really missing right now." - CBC
"For the last two months, culture workers in France have been protesting on-site at scores of theaters around the country, demanding they reopen and that staff receive better financial support. But when theaters, museums, and cinemas were finally given go-ahead to open their doors on May 19 after more than six months of lockdown, few protestors cried victory. Instead,...
"The German government on Wednesday unveiled a €2.5 billion ($3 billion) fund to kick-start the country's pandemic-hit cultural sector. The fund will provide insurance in cases where a spike in coronavirus infections forces events to be canceled or postponed. It will also supplement event ticket sales if audience numbers have to be capped to meet social distancing rules." -...
"A recent surge in cases — Taiwan's worst outbreak since the start of the pandemic — has brought a halt to cultural life on the island, forcing performing arts centers, concert halls and museums to shutter just as they are coming back to life in the rest of the world. Performers from Taiwan and abroad have been caught in...
Here is the story — told, it must be said, rather against the wishes of its founder, who'd have preferred privacy — of the Alphadyne Foundation. - The New York Times
On Monday, the Biden administration sent letters to architect Steven Spandle, landscape architect Perry Guillot, sculptor Chas Fagan and commission chairman Justin Shubow asking that they resign by 6 p.m. that day or face termination. None of the four resigned. - Washington Post
