"Not too long ago, stars aligning their images with multivitamins or prepaid debit cards might have been eyed skeptically, their efforts coded as a cynical money grab (George Clooney for Nespresso) or a pitiful last resort (the Joan Rivers Classics Collection for QVC). When celebrities cashed in, they also risked diminishing their credibility as serious artists. Now the opposite...
"Just as an example, when I put a post on Facebook that I was looking for someone to help clean my house, I got at least 50 replies from artists that I've seen on stage and people that I've worked with. I also know of artists who have been in the profession for many years who have had to...
Last summer, COVID forced the cancellation of the flagship of the Festival City's summer events; this year, with new cases falling in Scotland and people getting their shots, the show will go on — in three specially constructed outdoor pavilions "specially built to maximize air flow and allow social distancing." Edinburgh's weather being what it is, the pavilions will...
A recent Harvard study showed that students actually learn more when education is built on “active learning,” which promotes working collaboratively on projects. And now, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the disruption of education as kids and young adults have been forced to learn from home. In the collective reckoning on what learning should look like going forward, I’ve found...
An American company is suing a Chinese company in U.S. federal court for copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property violations. The goods in question? Interactive toy robots. And both the defendant's motion to dismiss the case and the plaintiff's response have invoked the famous movie robots. - The Hollywood Reporter
Research confirms that arts education contributes significantly to social-emotional well-being as well as college, career and citizenship readiness. - San Diego Union-Tribune
Why did the media not come out and treat it as the truly awful (and unacceptable) fact that it was? "Unlike past stories, The Hollywood Reporter’s offers, for the first time in Rudin’s almost 40 years as a producer, an unromanticized affirmation of the seemingly endless anecdotes about him as a manager. It details his alleged misbehavior as well as his...
The Small Business Association opened a grant portal for arts venues closed down by the pandemic - and, after a few hours of deep misery for every arts venue trying to apply, took it all offline, indefinitely. "Anyone who tried to log on to apply for grants when the portal first opened was met with different error messages at...
"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
