The walkout by part-time faculty (87% of the total) at the New School University, which encompasses both Parsons and Mannes, began on November 16 and ended over the weekend with tentative agreement on a new contract which includes pay raises, health insurance, and compensation for work outside the classroom. - Artforum
Books on Amazon are cheap and arrive quickly. Spotify offers tens of millions of songs and podcasts for less per month than what we pay for a single CD. But for creators, chokepoint capitalists—the firms that control access to their work—are an exploitative nightmare. - The Atlantic
The pandemic was over in 2022, phew! Well, of course it wasn’t. But live entertainment pushed forward, with mask mandates dropping, and people rushing to buy things like, oh, Taylor Swift tickets! - Baltimore Sun (AP)
"After ample reflection and prayer, I have made the painful decision to downsize our blessed hamlet. Lord be praised, not all is lost. The petting zoo will continue to prosper, and the gift shop will actually be receiving an expansion. However, we will be purging many of the village’s less popular features." - The New Yorker
Many artists have found that old age, for all its physical and emotional burdens, can be a moment of creative liberation comparable to, even superior to, anything in youth. - Washington Post
John Killacky, performing arts curator at the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis 1988-1996, presented much of the work attacked by right-wingers: Holly Hughes, Ron Athey, Tim Miller, Bill T. Jones, and Karen Finley, whose We Keep Our Victims Ready at the Walker was a lightning rod. - The Arts Fuse (Boston)
"As well as offering workshops in ballet, contemporary dance, hip-hop and singing, she explains, the Paris Opera will also launch an apprenticeship programme for production skills, such as make-up and set design" in the South American territory, over 4,000 miles from mainland France. - Radio France International
"A survey of professionals across the performing and visual arts found overall incomes for women were 25% less than their male counterparts, ... almost double the size of the pay gap in the overall workforce, research commissioned by the Australia Council has found." - The Guardian
As a group, arts leaders from all sectors and geographies must now recognize the threats to cultural institutions: potential physical harm to artists; damages and destruction of works of art in their care; censorship from autocratic governments, religious fanatics, and liberal sensitivities. - The Berkshire Eagle
“For me, diversity is always a thing I like to think about as sort of necessary to enhance the vibrancy of an organization. Even in symphony orchestra. We’ll be able to play more music better. We’ll be able to connect with the community better. We’ll be able to educate the people better.” - The Arizona Republic
Outgoing president Jair Bolsonaro dissolved the Ministry of Culture on his first day in office, slashed arts funding by half or more and politicized much of what remained. President-elect Luiz Inácio da Silva says that he will undo this damage, though he hasn't yet nominated a culture minister. - The Art Newspaper
"Oleksandr Tkachenko argues that such a 'cultural boycott' would not amount to 'cancelling Tchaikovsky', but would be 'pausing the performance of his works until Russia ceases its bloody invasion'." - The Guardian
"Russia isn't just physically attacking Ukraine; it is also trying to destroy our culture and memory. ... The Kremlin (has) made clear that culture was a tool and even a weapon in the hands of the government." - The Guardian
Many of the wealthy individual donors whose regular gifts have kept the region's institutions running are passing away, and their heirs may not have similar priorities. As elsewhere, many corporations are shifting their philanthropy from the arts to health and social justice. What happens now? - Boston Magazine
A series of surveys and workshops has evidently found a consensus that "the big, 700-ish seat theater is kind of the least needed thing" and that adaptive reuse of existing facilities makes far more sense. - Boulder Beat
