Three national lockdowns in Britain, as well as tough social distancing guidelines, have hampered the business of England’s court system this past year, creating a huge backlog of cases. Since July, the country’s courts service has been renting suitable spaces — like theaters, but also conference centers and local government buildings — then turning them into temporary courtrooms. -...
What is unique about Ashton Edwards is that he is a man doing serious en pointe work in a professional ballet setting. "Ashton led us there," says PNB director Peter Boal, speaking of Edwards' request to study en pointe. "Ballet can be a little bit slow. We said, 'Why not? Lead us and we will work with you.' "...
Humans have hunted Sulawesi warty pigs for tens of thousands of years, and they are a key feature of the region’s prehistoric artwork, particularly during the ice age. - The Guardian
It is impossible to know what drives a person to suicide. But in his final months, his mental state took a turn for the worse as pressure grew to finish the project and stress mounted over costs, according to dozens of interviews with friends, family and colleagues. - The New York Times
Heidi Zuckerman, who hosts the independently produced podcast “Conversations About Art” and who wrote the “Conversations With Artists” book series, was at the Aspen Art Museum from 2005 to 2019. She revamped the institution’s mission, making it more contemporary, and oversaw the creation of a $45-million museum building designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Shigeru Ban. - Los Angeles Times
"My intention was to show that the relationships are probably spurious, meaning that background influences are the main drivers of the relationships, and once those outside influences, like demographics, etc., are controlled for, the relationship essentially disappears. But hang on. Much to my surprise, not only did they not disappear, but the relationships are really strong." - ABC (Australia)
“The years and years of work that we had done to create a pro-arts Congress, whether Republican or Democrat, really came through,” said Nina Ozlu Tunceli, executive director of the Americans for the Arts Action Fund. “Congress became a firewall to prevent that termination from happening.” - The New York Times
"So what can the city and/or state do? From grants and loans to small theaters to negotiating with and supporting landlords with non-profit tenants to programs that keep paid staff in their jobs, rather than sending them onto unemployment, to initiatives that care for freelancers and independent contractors who make up so much of our cultural ecosystem, there is...
Just wow. "The findings, from Jan. 9 through Friday, highlight how falsehoods flow across social media sites — reinforcing and amplifying each other — and offer an early indication of how concerted actions against misinformation can make a difference." - Washington Post
The crowd-funded helium balloon made its first appearance during the 45th president's first UK state visit in 2018, and has since made something of a world tour. The creators: "We hope the baby’s place in the museum will stand as a reminder of when London stood against Mr Trump – but will prompt those who see it to examine...
Or so says pianist Finghin Collins, who's also artistic director of Music for Galway and the New Ross Piano Festival. Collins: "Ireland has done extremely well in the arts, in the sense that many, many classical music organisations, and others, have pivoted very quickly into the online space. If I speak to my colleagues in France, Germany, Switzerland, continental...
Long before he murdered Lana Clarkson, it was clear Phil Spector (who died over the weekend) was not a good guy. "Ronnie Spector’s 1990 autobiography Be My Baby laid bare the full horror of their marriage: the house surrounded by barbed wire and guard dogs; the threats to kill her, either himself or via a hitman; the gold-plated, glass-topped...
Cancel them. No reform. Abolition. "Why are horror stories of racism, sexism, and abuse in art galleries open secrets that remain unaddressed? The dominant agents of the commercial art world — galleries, auction houses, PR firms, and dealers — hold an obscene amount of power over images and their narratives. ... Employers are beholden to profit, and artists turn...
The plot has issues. The characters have issues. The filming of dance itself has issues. "Then there are the voice-overs, each more overwrought than the next. 'There’s a wicked paradox in ballet,' one intones. 'Great flexibility is expected to blossom in a rigid world. The brutal rules and endless isolation, the messing of your mind, it somehow contorts your...
