“Following the release of the six-part documentary Who Killed Malcolm X? – which launched on the streaming platform on 7 February – the Manhattan district attorney will look into the case of the civil rights activist, with the possibility that the case may be reopened.” – The Guardian
How A Theatre Powered The Downtown Revival Of Illinois’s Second-Largest City
That city is Aurora, an outer-ring suburb of Chicago with about 200,000 people, and the theatre is the twice-restored, 1,885-seat Paramount. in fact, writes Chris Jones, “with the exception of Cleveland, which has benefited immeasurably from the Playhouse Square Center, I’d argue that no Midwestern downtown has been more changed by a single arts organization.” – Chicago Tribune
Why The Trump Administration’s Greek Columns Plan For Federal Buildings Will Be A Bust
While much of the criticism that has been directed at NCAS’s proposal thus far (from the American Institute of Architects, from the profession at large, and from more or less the entire critical establishment) only threatens to elevate the group’s standing—reigniting a tiresome 1980s Style War, pitting pop historicists against high-minded modernists—it has tended to obscure some of the creepier implications of the incipient decree. The classicists may think they’re about to score a coup. In truth, they are setting themselves up to be consumed by a political project at odds even with their own, admittedly backward-looking agenda. – Art in America
California’s New Freelance Law Is Playing Havoc With Artists
“Since AB5 took effect on January 1, hundreds of thousands of Californians are finding their businesses in tatters. Musicians can’t join bands for a one-night gig, chefs can’t join forces with caterers, nurses can’t work at various hospitals, and writers must cap their submissions per media outlet to 35 per year.” – City Journal
Overheard At LA’s Art Fairs
“I walk into the wrong entrance at the large industrial building hosting the Spring/Break Art Show. ‘Sorry!’ a young cheery Englishwoman at a desk tells me. ‘This is a dumpling-associates popup!’ I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more beautiful sentence.” – Hyperallergic
Living At The Intersection Of Dance, Social Media, And Teenage Life
Who profits when a 14-year-old Black teenager creates a dance and shares it – and it goes viral? Not she.”TikTok, one of the biggest video apps in the world, has become synonymous with dance culture. Yet many of its most popular dances, including the Renegade, Holy Moly Donut Shop, the Mmmxneil and Cookie Shop have come from young black creators on myriad smaller apps.” – The New York Times
Checking In On (What’s Left Of) This Professional Writers Organization
After massive fallout from accusations of racism and pandering to a small (possibly racist) publisher, Nora Roberts weighing in on the homophobia of the organization, Twitter-led discoveries of years of lies and ignoring actual ethics violations, and numerous chapters resigning their memberships, you’d think things might be changing, but the Romance Writers of America continues to face consequences: The entire board (some of whom had been appointed by a president-elect at the center of the controversy, who resigned in January) just resigned. – Publishers Weekly
The Need For Civic Protest
Protest is meant to bring a reality that lurks beyond the sight lines of most people crashing down in front of them. When resistance to the current order arises, citizens are put to the test. We are forced to reveal where our allegiances lie. What are we willing to support, or do, in the pursuit of rightness and justice? – Maclean’s
Gibney Dance Reinvents From The Inside Out
Gibney is becoming a commission-based repertory group—that is, a company not grounded in the aesthetic of a founding choreographer—and allow it to double in size from six dancers to 12. The model will allow Gibney to work with renowned and rising international choreographers representing a broad range of aesthetics and techniques. “The stage is set,” Davis said, for Gibney “to establish a wholly new paradigm for a contemporary dance company.” – Inside Philanthropy
“Les Miz” Song Has Become A Defiant Protest Anthem In China
Do You Hear the People Sing?, the defiant chorus from the musical Les Misérables, has become a song of protest in Hong Kong and, more recently, mainland China. Explicit references to Li Wenliang, the Wuhan doctor censured for his warnings about the coronavirus outbreak, and to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, are stamped upon – but lines from the song slip through the net on China’s social networks Weibo and WeChat, fostering a community of covert opposition. – The Guardian
These Two Made Millions On Scamming Online Arts Tickets
Peter Hunter and David Smith tricked selling sites over two-and-a-half years, buying £4m worth of tickets that they sold for £10.8m. They targeted events including Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift gigs and Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, Leeds Crown Court heard. – BBC
Why Has A Whole Series Of Private Art Museums Shut Down?
Just last year in L.A., the Marciano and the Main Museum ended operations, and the year before that, the Pasadena Museum of Californian Art. In recent years there have been similar closings in Paris, London, Vienna, Moscow, Cape Town, Beijing, and Chengdu. Georgina Adams identifies three reasons for these failures — funding, disengagement, and generational change — that boil down to the same thing: the danger of relying on a single founder-donor. – The Art Newspaper
How Hard Is It To Be A Freelance Theatre Critic Under California’s New Gig Law? This Hard
Lily Janiak, the only theatre critic in the entire Bay Area to have a staff position, writes about her friend and colleague Sam Hurwitt, who was earning all too little money before the law AB5. Now, with the new cap of 35 submissions per year before an outlet is required to put a freelancer on staff (which outlets insist they cannot afford to do), Hurwitt thinks he may have to abandon criticism altogether. – San Francisco Chronicle
Coronavirus Is Devastating The Arts In China
“Movie releases have been canceled in China and symphony tours suspended because of quarantines and fears of contagion. A major art fair [and a performing arts festival] in Hong Kong [were] called off, and important spring art auctions half a world away in New York have been postponed because well-heeled Chinese buyers may find it difficult to travel to them.” – The New York Times
Denied Visas, Siberian State Symphony Cancels U.S. Tour
The 81-musician orchestra, based in the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk (a few hundred miles northeast of where the borders of Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan, and Russia meet), was to have made a two-week tour in February and March of regional cities in California, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. U.S. Customs and Immigration Services gave no reason for the denial of the visas. – Orange County Register (California)
Shock: Entire Board of French Movie Academy Resigns
The shock announcement by the 21-member board of the Association for the Promotion of Cinema – the organization overseeing the Cesar Academy – comes on the heels of industry-wide backlash following 12 Cesar nominations for Roman Polanski’s “An Officer and a Spy.” The Cesars were also heavily criticised for shutting out feminist personalities such as director Claire Denis and author Virginie Despentes from one of recent gala events preceding the ceremony. – Variety
When The Doctor Called The Star Ballerina With Terrible News
“He said, ‘You have to promise me you won’t go into work today. I just could tell by the tone. I said, ‘I’m going to be able to dance again, right?’ And he said to me, ‘Well, we’re just going to take it one day at a time.’ It was one of the worst days of my life.” – The New York Times
Peak TV? Yes – Here’s How Many Shows Were Available To Watch Last Year
Folks like to joke that there’s just too much TV to watch, but rarely do they back it up with facts. Now, they can. According to new data from Nielsen, there were 646,152 unique programs available in 2019 across network TV, cable, streaming services, and every other kind of outlet. – Wired
A Human Response To Amazon’s Algorithms: Custom-Designed Book Subscriptions
Two bookstores in England are offering book(s)-of-the-month services in which, after some discussion with the customer, a knowledgeable staffer selects and ships books the staffer thinks the individual recipient will like. – The Guardian
Why’s New Zealand Rescuing The Classical Radio Station And Not Ours? Ask Māoris
With a public outcry having convinced Radio New Zealand’s management not to eviscerate its classical service, advocates for the country’s Māori-language radio stations are arguing that they have been underfunded for decades and deserve a fair share of broadcasting resources. – The Spinoff (New Zealand)