Fear of COVID, to be more precise. "Even before you realise what you have done, anxious sideways looks will have been exchanged, the seeds of doubt sown. Coughing has become the equivalent of randomly shouting 'fire' in a theatre – a gesture guaranteed to provoke fear." - The Guardian
"Is there perhaps a clandestine pact to encourage audiences back out with some concerted cheerleading? If so, then the critics are doing us a disservice." - The Observer (UK)
Board members including Shonda Rhimes, Eva Longoria, and Jurnee Smollett have resigned, making way for an entirely new board as "the group continues to grapple with allegations that it has failed women who asked for its support." - Los Angeles Times
Early in the 2000s. the People's Republic created a string of new mega-developments — building much faster than people were moving in. Images of wide boulevards and flashy architecture completely devoid of people spread worldwide. Finally, folks are arriving and the cities are showing some life. - Bloomberg Businessweek
"Making History: Kansas City and the Rise of Gay Rights" opened last weekend and was supposed to be there through Christmas. It lasted four days. The State Senate's only gay member is furious. - The Kansas City Star
After last month's announcement that the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities is moving $5.3 million in grants from large, traditionally dominant institutions to smaller, often minority-focused ones, the big guys are starting to fight back. - Artnet
As petrodollars flowed and it became one of Latin America's most prosperous cities, Caracas built cultural and architectural landmarks such as Parque Central, the Museum of Contemporary Art, University City, and Teresa Carreño Theater. Now, amid shortages of money, staff, and good management, they're moldering away. - Bloomberg CityLab
As of Sept. 1, any adult in Texas may carry a gun in public, concealed or not, without any license. Private businesses and venues may still ban guns and use metal detectors, but staffers worry that communicating this to some patrons will be, er, challenging. - KERA (Dallas)
With pandemic restrictions (excepting some audience capacity limits) lifted just around opening day, 520,000 tickets were sold for events at the International, Book, Film, and Fringe Festivals. The great majority of those, 400,000, were for Fringe events, and another 350,000 people watched Fringe shows online. - The Scotsman
With overseas travel blocked, people from the state capitals are traveling to regional towns and boosting attendance there, and more local people are coming to venues as well. - Arts Hub (Australia)
One challenge many faculty members faced was lack of practical knowledge. Almost invariably, we found faculty unable to think outside of the framework for individual action when asked to act in solidarity with student workers. - The Point
Dead-internet theory suggests that the internet has been almost entirely taken over by artificial intelligence. Like lots of other online conspiracy theories, the audience for this one is growing. - The Atlantic
Little Amal, a 20-foot representation of a nine-year-old Syrian refugee girl, is being walked by her handlers from Gazantiep, Turkey to Manchester, England. A local council in Greece is the first, and probably not the last, to ban her from town. - The New York Times
A vibrant, educated, outward-looking civil society formed, and many Afghans facing Taliban 2.0 have no memory of the shockingly brutal Taliban regime that fell in 2001. Kabul may not be governable by the old Taliban methods. - Washington Post
At this tumultuous moment, I think we each have to decide for ourselves which pieces of art to keep, and which to throw out. Perhaps fandom -- defined as the attachment to the artist as creator -- should no longer be the point. - CNN
