“The Japanese government formally declared a state of emergency in Tokyo on Thursday, due to rising numbers of COVID-19 infections. Restrictions will be in place throughout the duration of the Games, and may mean that spectators are banned from some events in Tokyo and nearby prefectures.” – Variety
Issues
New York City Considers Setting Up ‘Nightlife Districts’
“The city’s Office of Nightlife is recommending that officials identify areas with low residential density ‘where a limited 24-hour [per day pilot] program might be tested.” – AP
Extraordinary Times: Smithsonian Natural History Museum Turns To Art To Demonstrate Climate Change
The museum staff decided the situation is so complex that they had to turn to photography and conceptual art to address it. – Washington Post
Why The Statue Of Liberty Never Lived Up To The Hype
Why does its meaning seem so unstable, especially now, as a small-scale copy makes its way from France to D.C., where it will be installed at the French ambassador’s residence later this month? – Washington Post
The Battle For 1776: America Struggles With, And Over, Its Founding Myths
“For scholars, the rosy tale of a purely heroic unleashing of freedom may be long gone. But does America still need a version of its origin story it can love? … In civic life, where we stake our beginnings matters.” – The New York Times
England’s Arts Venues Can Operate At Full Capacity Starting July 19
Just two more weeks, then no more three-foot distancing and no more mandatory masks, said Boris Johnson. – Variety
Does It Matter Where Arts Funding Comes From?
It seems artists are now welcome to protest about funding arrangements. But this is a no-win situation for the artists. – ArtsHub
How Charleston Is Finally Reckoning With Its History In The Slave Trade
From the Old Slave Mart on Chalmers Street to historic plantations and downtown mansions to the new International African American Museum to walking tours for visitors, the Holy City is facing up to ugliness that it long tried to decorously ignore. – National Geographic
It’s The Chinese Communist Party’s 100th Birthday, And Socialist Realism Is Back
Not only are they reviving classics of the Cultural Revolution like The Red Detachment of Women, new works celebrating the Party’s achievements are being written for and performed by opera houses, ballet troupes, orchestras, choirs, and even Chinese hip-hop artists. – The New York Times
An NFT Of The Internet’s Source Code Sells For $5.4 Million
With bidding starting at $1,000, a total of 51 collectors competed for the NFT during a sale titled “This Changed Everything.” The winning bid was place around 10 minutes before the end of the auction. – ARTnews
New York’s First Queer History Museum Will Be Hosted By New York’s First Museum Of Any Kind
As part of a major renovation and expansion of its Central Park West headquarters, the New-York Historical Society (founded 1804) will devote an entire floor to the new American L.G.B.T.Q.+ Museum, expected to open in 2024. – The New York Times
David Frum: Why Are States Turning Against Academic Testing?
Across the U.S., blue-state educational authorities have turned hostile to academic testing in almost all of its forms. – The Atlantic
How Artists Are Using Tech/How Tech Is Art
The NEA research examines the creative infrastructure supporting tech-focused artistic practices and provides insight into the existing challenges and opportunities faced by artists and organizations working at the intersection of arts and technology. – NEA
Why The Minister Who Slashed Britain’s Funding Of Museums Is Now Chairman Of Its Biggest One
George Osbourne, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer in David Cameron’s Conservative government from 2010 to 2016, instituted savage cuts to the budgets of arts institutions. Why did the board of the British Museum unanimously choose him as chairman? For the same reason that American arts organizations put rich and powerful people on their boards. – The Guardian
YouTube Buys Naming Rights For New 6000-Seat Theatre In LA
The 6,000-seat performance venue at the Hollywood Park sports and entertainment complex in Inglewood, Calif., will be called “YouTube Theater.” – Variety
Philadelphia’s Annenberg Center Changes Name
“Penn Live Arts is the new moniker for the group and series long known as the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. The switch comes as the major arts presenter evolves to become more closely integrated with Penn students, faculty, and curriculum, and as it plans to increase the number of presentations it does in locations beyond its campus at 36th and Walnut Streets.” – MSN (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Liverpool Is About To Be Stripped Of Its UNESCO Status
And Boris Johnson doesn’t care at all. In fact, he’s putting another monument – that’s right, unbelievably, Stonehenge!? – at risk as well. – The Guardian (UK)
The Longstanding, Fascist Focused, Whitewashing Of Rome
Rome was hardly white, whether in architecture or demographics. But historically, Europeans and white Americans – and especially Mussolini and his followers – have thought, and represented in art, otherwise. Why it matters today: “Cultural practitioners have an unprecedented chance to help the wider public engage with an idea of Rome that’s more diverse, realistic and interesting than the monochrome fantasy that has dominated our recent past. As white supremacists storm the centres of Western governance, this is not just a niche issue.” – Aeon
Taking A Turn At The Culture Of Trees
It feels as if there has been a dendrocentric turn in culture recently; a new sensitivity to the arboreal and, more broadly, the botanical. – The Guardian
John Cage, Harry Hay And LA’s Pioneering Place In Gay Rights
Gay Angelenos like to remind their counterparts to the north and east that L.A. played a crucial, perhaps decisive, role in gay-rights history. Five men sat together on the hillside in the late afternoon, imagining a world in which they did not have to hide. – The New Yorker
The Impossibility Of Meaningful Work In Venice
“They perfectly embody the circumstance of generations of Italians stuck in precariato (‘precarious work’), unable to work year round, to start a family, to buy or even just to rent a flat on their own.” – Hyperallergic
Yes, There Will Be A Cultural Olympics In Tokyo This Summer — Sort Of
“The Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage has unveiled plans for the inaugural Olympic Agora, an exhibition and series of art installations that celebrate the ideals and spirit of the games. … Onsite installations will be complemented by a digital program, including virtual exhibitions and artist talks on the Olympic Agora website and the Olympic Museum’s social media channels.” – Artnet
Survey: Scots Ready To Attend Arts Events Again
The audience attitudes survey for national arts agency Creative Scotland has found that outdoor events currently have much more appeal to potential audiences than indoor entertainment. Nearly two thirds of Scots said they would be comfortable attending outdoor theatre, music or comedy shows. – The Scotsman
Biden’s Picks For Replacement Members On National Council On The Arts
NEA Expands Access To Millions In Pandemic Relief Funding
“The National Endowment for the Arts announced Wednesday that it will make $80 million in pandemic relief available to more arts and cultural organizations, including first-time applicants and those that have never received support from the federal arts agency. The relief funds will also support local arts agencies that will distribute the federal dollars to grass-roots organizations in their communities.” – MSN (Washington Post)