ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

ISSUES

Australia Is Working On A New National Arts Policy. Here Are Artists’ Demands:

Battered by rolling lockdowns, key figures in the sector have said COVID-19 disruptions exposed job insecurity, poor remuneration, and a thinning of government grants that made a career in arts, entertainment and culture untenable for all but a lucky few. - Sydney Morning Herald

Arts Journalism Is On Life Support

Arts criticism, which used to nurture the innovative, is on life support. Independence of judgment and expertise are in short supply. When it comes to political matters, the chatter never stops. But the mainstream media (online and off-) have pretty well kicked arts critics to the curb. - Arts Fuse

In Narendra Modi’s India, Archaeology Isn’t Just A Battleground, It’s A Political Weapon

That Hindu temple built over the destroyed mosque in Ayodhya (said to be the birthplace of the god Rama) was just the beginning.  Modi is encouraging "searches" for evidence of Hindu worship at numerous mosque sites.  And he and his militant Hindu party aren't the only ones acting like this. - ARTnews

Three Years After A Ferocious Battle, There’s Finally A New Official Definition Of “Museum”

When a new definition of the term was proposed to the International Council of Museums in 2019, the arguments over the wording were so furious that the submitted text was withdrawn.  An 18-month participatory process came up with a compromise text that ICOM has voted to adopt. - Museums Association (UK)

Anish Kapoor: I Fear For The Culture Of India

 In every field of culture, the "folk" takes second place. This denies the inventive power of our people. Modi's Hindu regime uses this hierarchical structure to impose its dominance by asserting Sanscritic superiority in the form of a Hindu hierarchy. - The Art Newspaper

American Entertainment Companies Bet Big On China. Now They’re Losing Billions

Companies that once saw China as a vital growth market stand to lose out on billions of dollars in $100 concert tickets, $12 matinee stubs and $5 bets. - Wall Street Journal

In Seattle: How Do You Rebuild A Creative Culture?

Arguably, our culture of leadership is in disrepair. Our ability to recognize and celebrate excellence is in doubt. Our effectiveness at building consensus is broken. Our ability to celebrate dissent and debate (one of our greatest strengths) is damaged. How do you fix it? - Post Alley

Bullfighting Is Fading Away In Spain.  So How Can They Repurpose All The Bullrings?

Most of them are in city and town centers, and many are architecturally significant and can't or shouldn't be demolished. Yet they're usually too small for soccer matches or rock concerts.  A few, however, have been remade into cultural centers, notably in Barcelona, Benidorm, and Tenerife. - The Guardian

Why It’s So Hard To Define Who Is A Millennial

A Pew Research Center poll from 2015 found that, regardless of the parameters, only 40 percent of millennials say they identify with their generation’s label (compared with 58 percent of Gen Xers and 79 percent of baby boomers). Does a generational cohort really exist if only a minority feel they belong to it?  - LA Review of Books

Artists Who Built Their Careers Around Instagram See The Platform’s Changes Yanking Away Their Audience

"'But things have changed since Instagram was in its golden years,' says who's watched her reach and engagement plummet in recent months as IG began implementing changes — new features that have ushered the biggest vibe shift in its history." - CBC

Live Performances Have Been Back, But The Pandemic Isn’t Over

And that means audiences have been thin on the ground. "Fewer than half as many people saw a Broadway show during the season that recently ended than did so during the last full season before the coronavirus pandemic." - The New York Times

In New York, Writers Gather To Read, And Support, Salman Rushdie

"The writers included Gay Talese, Kiran Desai, Roya Hakakian, Colum McCann, Amanda Foreman, A.M. Homes and many others; their remarks were sometimes calls to action, and sometimes highly personal." - The New York Times

HBO Max Just Pulled 200 Older Episodes Of Sesame Street

It's a move that confirmed every pessimistic prediction about making the show for a private entity. "Some of the most notable episodes HBO Max once streamed are no longer available, including an episode that aired in 1983 and featured Big Bird confronting death." - The New York Times

Radical Rethink Needed For Australian Cultural Policy

The right of citizens to participate in, and contribute to, the cultural activities of the community is accepted in a number of the international agreements to which Australia is signatory. In an age of streaming platforms, public funding cuts and rising inequality, these cultural rights must be revisited and reasserted. - ArtsHub

How HGTV Changed The Look Of American Houses

Flipping and landlording are both seductive economic propositions—so much so that shows about successful, self-made flippers and investment-property renovators have become their own genre on HGTV, which is consistently ranked the most popular non-news cable channel. - The Atlantic

Our Free Newsletter

Join our 30,000 subscribers

Latest

Don't Miss

function my_excerpt_length($length){ return 200; } add_filter('excerpt_length', 'my_excerpt_length');