"The temptation to simplify morality when social injustice is rife is understandable, but reading Dostoevsky makes me impatient with the schematic bent of our age. To be fully human is to acknowledge, as Prospero puts in “The Tempest,” “this thing of darkness” as our own." - Los Angeles Times
As the number of COVID cases continues to spike, "organizers behind a number of livestreaming concerts and theatre shows in Ontario say the province's stricter stay-at-home orders have forced them to sideline an array of upcoming virtual events. … The changes come after Premier Doug Ford introduced a new directive which, as of Thursday, requires residents to stay home,...
"The German government has announced that it will hand out €32 million ($38 million) this year to national cultural institutions undertaking modernization projects, including updating security systems. More than 73 cultural venues across Germany" — and outside the big cities in particular — "will benefit from the grant." - Artnet
The Kennedy Center Honors announced today that the lifetime artistic achievement recipients for its 43rd ceremony will be choreographer and actress Debbie Allen; folk singer-songwriter Joan Baez; country singer-songwriter Garth Brooks; violinist Midori; and actor Dick Van Dyke. - New York Magazine
“It’s like we’re having a cultural book-burning,” said Jason Salsman, a spokesman for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in eastern Oklahoma, whose grandparents contracted the virus but survived. “We’re losing a historical record, encyclopedias. One day soon, there won’t be anybody to pass this knowledge down.” - The New York Times
"In December, owners and operators of theaters and music halls across the United States breathed a sigh of relief when Congress passed the latest coronavirus aid package, which finally set aside $15 billion to help desperate cultural venues. But that came more than six months after a host of other countries had taken steps to buffer the strain of...
The awards to country music stars Toby Keith and Ricky Skaggs weren't even officially announced; word went out in a tweet from Bloomberg News. So the question arose on social media: what is this medal and how big a deal is it? Reporter Jessica Gelt provides an explainer. - Los Angeles Times
In the U.S., some artists have turned to philanthropic or community support to get by. But in France, dancers, musicians, even the set-builders, costumers and lighting designers who work on the production enjoy regular unemployment support. - NPR
“The ‘X-factor’ that drew me to an organization was their organic feel. Anyone with money or political ambition can rent a space, start a 501(c)(3) and write a fancy application. The part you can’t fake is the organic passion and joy that comes from serving your community. I kept my eyes and ears open for that, and that’s how...
Political developments have revealed a nation split more fiercely than most people ever imagined. Many of the civic institutions that have sustained American life — both for good and for ill — are beginning to teeter. - San Francisco Chronicle
" announced on Tuesday a statewide program of indoor and outdoor shows over the coming months that will feature upwards of 150 performers — among them Hugh Jackman, Wynton Marsalis, Renée Fleming, Amy Schumer and Chris Rock. The public-private partnership, which Cuomo called the 'New York Arts Revival,' commences next month and is the most ambitious attempt yet by...
New South Wales was the last of the country's states to establish a rescue package for artists and organizations devastated by the pandemic-related lockdowns — and when the $50 million fund was finally set up, there was unusual secrecy around the application process and the breakdown of money awarded. Seven months later, $30 million hasn't even been allocated yet,...
"The NEA conducted in-depth interviews with nine arts organizations to identify common practices among those who have successfully reopened their doors to audiences or visitors during the pandemic. In addition to these case studies, the NEA also drew from national service organizations in the arts, document scans, and interviews with arts management consultants." - American Theatre
Architect Frank Gehry has unveiled a bold plan to transform the river into more than just a concrete flood channel and establish it as an unprecedented system of open space. - Los Angeles Times
That doesn't just mean to make the boulevard more environmentally friendly. "Anne Hidalgo said the planned work, unveiled in 2019 by local community leaders and businesses, would turn the 1.9 km (1.2 mile) stretch of central Paris into 'an extraordinary garden'. … The eight-lane highway is used by an average of 3,000 vehicles an hour, most passing through, and...
