As government health and welfare services shut down or struggled to adapt to the crisis, cultural organisations stepped in to provide vital support – including, in some cases, fundamentals of food and heating – to their networks of participants and audiences whose usual care was falling short. - The Conversation
"There's increasing professionalisation of the form: in 2024 Sadler's Wells is opening a hip-hop academy at their new theatre in Stratford to train 16- to 19-year-olds; and there's new interest from sports scientists, ... which is the kind of thing that happens when your passion becomes an Olympic sport." - The Guardian
"She knows exactly what to do, loves without reservation, then must go. So she sacrifices. She always has to leave those that she loves. She's about non-attachment. Perhaps that's why she's such a powerful figure to me, because I'm far too attached to pretty much everything." - The New Yorker
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab have been brainstorming ways of putting deepfakes to good use. Some of these are in healthcare and treatment. - The Conversation
"I guess because it was no longer about travel. It was about age. It wasn't, 'Will the flight make it safely?' The odds are it will. Will I die? You bet I will." - Van
"I am a woman performer who wears pant/dress size 10-12. In the eyes of directors, producers, choreographers, and theatre’s other decisionmakers, that means I am undeserving of romantic love, real friendships, dignity, and accurate representation in the characters I play." - Howlround
"No matter where you swipe or tap, video is there — a torrent of pixels, fury, and sound that is, if not literally infinite, effectively endless. The quality of our online lives now hinges on how these feeds are ordered and mediated, powers that are largely automated." - The Atlantic
Knowing how to apologize on Twitter became crucial to brand management. “It’s easy to say sorry, but knowing how to say it effectively on Twitter is an essential skill that both brands and celebrities should learn,” a communications manager advised not long afterward.” - The New Yorker
The Royal Opera House, which includes the Royal Ballet, got the biggest cut (9%), while English National Ballet, Rambert, and Sadler's Wells saw their grants reduced as well. Meanwhile, many regional and smaller-scale companies received more money, and the funding pool for dance as a whole rose by 12%. - Bachtrack
Yes, that means — for now — no Tchaikovsky or Tolstoy, no Shostakovich or Chekhov or Pushkin. "The context for this rejection has to be understood, though: Ukrainians are emerging from a history in which the Russian empire, and then the Soviet Union, actively and often violently suppressed Ukrainian art." - The Guardian
"Though most museums don't share details about security matters as a policy, some of the measures being enforced will be immediately obvious to the visiting public." - Artnet
"On Friday, three activists for Ultima Generazione threw pea soup at Van Gogh's The Sower (1888) at the Palazzo Bonaparte in Rome. ... Just a day later, two activists taped themselves to the frames of two works by Goya at the Prado in Madrid. ... The pair wore t-shirts reading 'Futuro Vegetal'." - Artnet
In London, three of the four non-BBC orchestras had their grants cut, with only the Royal Philharmonic seeing no change. The major orchestras beyond the capital had funding maintained or increased, the Aurora Orchestra got a 53% boost, and grants to the National Youth Orchestra and Choir nearly doubled. - Bachtrack
"Firstly, there is a substantial transfer of funding away from opera (11% down), most of which has gone to dance (12% up). In addition, The Royal Opera, which does both, is 13% down." Two companies which do a lot of regional touring got big cuts; others got small increases. - Bachtrack
The Manchester-based ensemble Psappha and the Cambridge-based Britten Sinfonia were defunded, while the London Sinfonietta and the service organisation Sound and Music saw cuts of one-third or more. Other groups, including the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, the Manchester Collective, and the record label NMC, got new or increased funding. - Bachtrack
