"Culture has been a potent driver of Chicago for decades, of course, but this still is a unique moment, especially with the new availability of federal money. Hence it’s high time to develop some new cultural spaces and both the private and the public sectors will need to get involved. This change of emphasis, which seems to me inevitable,...
As lockdowns arrived and spread, many mutual aid networks, mostly small-scale, were put together on the fly to help the many thousands of suddenly unemployed arts workers. Those funds had been planned, and expected, to be temporary measures lasting only a couple of months. But, as the pandemic ran on and shutdowns continued, furloughs became layoffs; even now, as...
"As the government prepared on Thursday to start taking applications for a $16 billion relief fund for music clubs, theaters and other live event businesses, thousands of desperate applicants waited eagerly to submit their paperwork right at noon, when the system was scheduled to open. And then they waited. And waited. … Shortly after 4 p.m., the Small Business...
"After trade union representatives in Paris entered the shuttered Odéon Theater, a movement to occupy playhouses spread rapidly. … Yet with the infection rate rising, the movement finds itself facing difficult options. Protesters can't be seen to flout restrictions or draw large crowds, so there have been no impromptu plays or theatrical tableaux. … Yet public actions are needed...
Student responses show that their biggest concerns are the high cost of tuition for remote classes and the changes to their social lives on campus. But students interested in the arts say they have embraced the difficulties of virtual arts learning by pivoting to digital showcases, as well as platforms like Instagram and TikTok. - American Theatre
The 50th anniversary celebration is part of 1,110 dance, theater, jazz, comedy and musical concerts and events in the 2021-2022 season. The total represents a 25 percent cut from pre-pandemic averages, Rutter said, and many of the special performances have been scheduled for 2022 as a hedge that vaccines would by then be widely available. - Washington Post
"California officials shocked the performing arts community Tuesday when they announced plans to fully reopen the economy June 15 if certain vaccination and hospitalization benchmarks are met, leaving leaders of theaters, music groups and more scrambling to revisit plans for spring and answer a long list of questions." - Los Angeles Times
Out of 700 businesses surveyed by the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), which represents businesses like nightclubs, bars and festivals, 70% felt that vaccine certificates, negative testing or immunity proof were not necessary to reopen, the organisation said. And 69% felt they would have a negative impact on business. - BBC
"While a copyright dispute about computer code might not seem like a subject of particular consequence for them, an opinion from Justice Stephen Breyer concluding that Google made fair use of copyrighted material will very likely be discussed for quite some time and be invoked in other contexts. As such, a few lines in particular from today's opinion regarding...
"Like budding flowers awakening just in time for spring, music, dance, theater and comedy began a cautious return this past week as venues were allowed to reopen with limited capacity — in most cases, for the first time since March 2020. … Reporters from The New York Times visited some of the first indoor performances, and spoke with the...
There will be 80 events spread across four stages, three of them outdoors and two of those newly-constructed. (The old Dock Street Theater, site of the popular noontime chamber music concerts, will be this year's sole indoor venue.) Capacity will be about one-quarter that of a normal year. - Charleston City Paper
The open secret among anyone who enjoys the pleasure of their own company, however, is that the public health strategy of sheltering-in-place to combat COVID-19 was never a burden. It was a breath of fresh air. - ArtsATL
What's going to happen as more and more people are vaccinated to the industries that supported thousands of aspiring actors, musicians, and others in the arts? "There’s a reckoning in the hospitality industry right now as these workers — and their bosses — contemplate how much of the old normal they’re are willing to return to. The restaurant trade has...
The internet is as much part of our utilities as water and electricity. The shutdown in this globally linked economy is destructive, and only part of that is planned: "In addition to stifling speech, communication, and digital rights, the indiscriminate internet blackouts are destroying Myanmar's economy, halting pandemic-related remote schooling, and disrupting health care." - Wired
Venue operators are using their enforced downtime to scrub, buff and do major reconfigurations. In some cases, the work was commissioned and started before COVID-19. Toronto’s iconic Massey Hall, for example, closed in 2018 for a $135-million renovation that was scheduled to be completed as soon as this year, but now there’s not such a hurry. - The Globe...
