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Filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier, 79

"The filmmaker, cineaste and critic who emerged in the wake of the French New Wave with such classics as The Clockmaker of St. Paul, A Sunday in the Country and 'Round Midnight, … five-time César Award winner (two prizes for directing, three for screenwriting) … was accomplished in a wide variety of genres and epochs, from gritty crime...

After Three Decades As Artistic Director, Kevin McKenzie To Retire From ABT

"The company announced on Thursday that McKenzie, 68, will continue to oversee programming and performances through 2022 while a search for a successor begins this summer. … A former principal dancer with the company, McKenzie is a direct link to the founders of Ballet Theater, which was formed in 1939 by Richard Pleasant, and partially financed by a dancer,...

Germany Tries To Figure Out How To Go About Returning Benin Bronzes

"On the heels of a German state visit to Benin City, … the culture ministry and museums are now playing catch-up. … Culture minister Monika Grütters has called a meeting with relevant state culture ministers and museum directors in April to try to find a national strategy to address the handling of objects and art that were looted from...

Actor Jessica Walter Dead At 80

"Walter's six-decade acting career spanned across film and television, from Clint Eastwood's directorial debut, Play Misty for Me, to the voice of Malory Archer on the animated series Archer, to Emmy-nominated roles on Trapper John, M.D. and Streets of San Francisco. won an Emmy for portraying the title character on the police drama series Amy Prentiss. For younger...

Connecting Dance And Nursing

Devynn Emory, 40, sees nursing as “not so far away from dancing,” they said in a video interview. “It’s really just another understanding of how the body works.” - The New York Times

NYC Mayor Orders Vaccinations For Theatre Workers

At a news conference, Mr. de Blasio said that in addition to the Broadway vaccination site, there would be a mobile vaccination unit to serve theater workers beyond Broadway. The sites will be staffed by theater workers, many of whom have been relying on unemployment insurance since Broadway shut down over a year ago. - The New York Times

Debates Are Roiling The Translation World — Who Gets To Translate?

Debates ensued about whether the choice of a translator should be only merit-based or whether identity should play a part. Another thread was about publisher practices and how translators are chosen. Some White translators who have spent their careers translating writers of color into other languages questioned their own pursuits. - Washington Post

UK Arts Organizations Have Bled Memberships During COVID. What To Do?

The decline in cultural memberships has undoubtedly been accelerated by Covid-19. Just this month, the Royal Academy (RA) reported a loss of 18,000 members since February 2020. Other organisations should prepare themselves for a similarly large exodus. - Arts Professional

Can We Preserve Brains? Can We Preserve You?

The implications surrounding a human brain-preservation technique that can keep the entire connectome intact are profound. If indeed, you are your connectome, defined by all the memories and essences of you imprinted in its structure, then it’s essentially you that’s preserved. Your connectomic self. - Aeon

How The Meanings Of Words Flip From Negative To Positive

"Today innovation is one of the most hallowed words in the contemporary lexicon. That onetime pariah term is now revered. Linguists call this process one of “semantic shift,” a significant change in a word’s meaning. Examples of such shifts are no further than Google News: cookie, cancel, gay, pod." - The American Scholar

Literature Of Contagion: When Writers Tell Stories Of Plagues, How Do They End?

Edgar Allan Poe ended his short story with "Darkness and Decay and the Red Death illimitable dominion over all." Others, from Daniel Defoe to Mary Shelley to Jack London, leave only a few survivors behind. José Saramago and Albert Camus handle things more subtly but perhaps more painfully. Jill Lepore gives us a look. - The New Yorker

Michigan Opera Theatre Charts A Bold New Course

"This is a moment for change. Casting singers of color is really easy, but my focus has been on composers, librettists, conductors. I’m thinking about this season as a statement of principles, and that’s what I hope for going forward.” - The New York Times

China’s Architects Turn Attention To Ailing Villages

After a couple of decades of enormous urban growth led to thousands of emptied-out villages, both Chinese government policy and the mood of ordinary people there have turned toward the countryside and its revitalization. Architects are joining the effort, using traditional building methods and materials to create less expensive structures that are easy and cheap to maintain. - The...

The Metropolitan Opera Crashes Into Social Media

Either way, the Met’s tweet (sent out to an audience of over 243,500 followers, roughly 304 times Wu’s audience) drew more attention to Jennifer Wu’s original joke than it likely would have seen on its own merits. Even the most viral posts on Twitter have a relatively brief life cycle. Yet this public comment, combined with Wu’s suspension, gave...

Modernist Architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen Dead At 91

"His residences had signature touches like 45-degree pitched roofs, clean lines, minimal ornamentation, masterful use of lighting and windows, and décor that included his own furniture and fabric designs — a body of work that earned him many honors, including induction into Architectural Digest's AD100 Hall of Fame in 2017. - The New York Times

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