Newsstands are even registering a small bump in sales. That was clear in Milan. In a busier newsstand, near a major shopping street here, I had to wait to pay for the newspaper. And when my turn came, I had to ask my questions quickly. The newsagent was impatient, answering with short sentences, and insistently looking over my shoulder. A line was forming. – Quartz
What We Can Learn (And Should Unlearn) From Albert Camus’s ‘The Plague’
“If you read The Plague long ago, perhaps for a college class, … perhaps you paid more attention to the buboes and the lime pits than to the narrator’s depiction of the ‘hectic exaltation’ of the ordinary people trapped in the epidemic’s bubble, … caught up in ‘the frantic desire for life that thrives in the heart of every great calamity’: the comfort of community. The townspeople of Oran did not have the recourse that today’s global citizens have, in whatever town: to seek community in virtual reality.” – Literary Hub
‘It Felt Like A Parallel Universe’: Watching The Philadelphia Orchestra Stream Beethoven From An Empty Hall
“The few people present in the hall … were asked not to applaud because such meager clapping would sound pallid to listeners tuning in from elsewhere. But for those who were there, it was confounding to have the orchestra standing to receive phantom applause that wasn’t there,” reports David Patrick Stearns. “The atmosphere, though, was hardly grave.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
The BioPhysicist Who Crunched The Virus Numbers And Made Some Accurate Predictions
Nobel laureate Michael Levitt, an American-British-Israeli biophysicist who teaches structural biology at Stanford University and spends much of his time in Tel Aviv, unexpectedly became a household name in China, offering the public reassurance during the peak of the country’s coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. Levitt did not discover a treatment or a cure, just did what he does best: crunched the numbers. The statistics led him to the conclusion that, contrary to the grim forecasts being branded about, the spread of the virus will come to a halt. – CTech
Are You An Artist And Need Help?
New York Foundation for the Arts has created a page of resources for artists who have found themselves in difficulty during the virus crisis. – New York Foundation for the Arts
London’s Proposed Centre For Music Would Be “Tate Modern Of Music”
“We believe the Centre for Music’s potential transformative power for music is equal to that of Tate Modern’s impact on the London visual arts scene.” The centre will occupy the current Museum of London site after the museum reopens at Smithfield Market in 2024. Construction will take about four years. – Arts Professional
We Need To Rethink Audience Development
The reality for most organisations is that their value and survival increasingly demand competence – and coherence – across all audience development. Many next-generation cultural organisations are developing as ingenious social enterprises, learning to manage this cultural triple bottom line. Of necessity, they have to do well to do good. What matters is that an organisation is clear about its public purpose and priorities, and that it knows how to achieve them. – Arts Professional
Canada’s Stratford Festival Has Canceled All Performances Through April
It’s not a surprise, considering that everything else is canceling, but it’s a massive blow. “Gaffney said the decision will have a ‘multi-million-dollar impact on our organization and the surrounding tourism economy.'” (The Oregon Shakespeare Festival and its area are facing a very similar economic disaster.) – CBC
Disney Says It’s Committed To Showing LGBT Stores Onscreen
Does anyone who identifies as queer or LGBTQIA actually believe Disney at this point? Probably not, but should production on movies and TV shows ever resume in the world, “There will be a transgender character in a future Marvel film, and upcoming superhero movie The Eternals will introduce Marvel’s first openly gay lead character to cinema screens.” – BBC
All Nine Members Of British Equity’s Minority Committee Resign
First came the comments from actor Lawrence Fox; then came the tweets labeling him “a disgrace” after his appearance on the show Question Time; then came Equity’s official apology for the tweets and removal of the tweets; and then came the mass resignations. Former chair Daniel York Loh: “It’s always felt more like a box-ticking exercise than anything else and our committee is there to look good in photos without really raising any serious or difficult issues (though of course we have, time and time again). Now Equity does not have a minority ethnic members or race equality committee.” – The Stage (UK)
A Principal Dancer Talks About Being Removed From Firebird Because Size Two Is Apparently Just Too Big For Some Directors
Kathryn Morgan, who spoke on the Today Show about mental health and the ballet world, went viral for that – but had much more to say. On her own YouTube channel, she gave a lot more details. – Dance Magazine
Students, Out Of School, Are Making Content From The Coronavirus
What a shock; it’s mostly TikTok. (But funny, funnier than that rhyme.) – The Boston Globe
Andreas Brown, Longtime Owner Of Gotham Book Mart, Has Died At 86
Though he never reconciled his love for books with the need to make money – the landlords seized his inventory in 2006 – Brown ran a place that was devoted to writers, readers, and lovers of idiosyncrasy, after he was recruited by original owner Frances Steloff in 1967. – The New York Times
One Critic Asks The West End To Close Now
Lyn Gardner: “I think theatre is wonderful, but I don’t think it is worth dying for.” – The Stage (UK)
Why Broadband Companies Must Ditch Their Data Caps For The Duration
As local and state governments try harder and harder to urge social distancing and isolation, internet usage will naturally increase from private residences. And “while it’ll be difficult for everyone to access all the resources they need in this time of shutdowns and isolation, it’ll likely impact low-income populations the hardest. Advocates worry that the homework gap, which refers to the difficulty students have completing course work without a stable home internet connection, will widen as schools close their classrooms and provide lessons and materials virtually.” – Slate
Life Feels Tenuous, So Here’s A List Of Fun Books To Read For Distraction And Joy
Also, to keep you away from the world of crowded bars or restaurants. Seriously, don’t do it. Instead, why not start a series like the many, many-volumed Discworld of Terry Pratchett? (Yes, your library is probably closed or closing, so you’ll have to get these books by e-reader or delivery, but still.) – The Guardian (UK)
The Met May Have Shuttered, But It’s Offering Several Operas Free In HD
In an act of generosity to millions stuck at home with no entertainment options during the rest of the month (or longer), the Met “will stream a title from its Live in HD series each night through the duration of the closure. The performances, originally captured as live broadcasts in movie theatres worldwide, will begin at 7:30 PM from the company’s homepage.” (And then, if you like what you get for free, you can of course subscribe to the opera’s full streaming service. Clever!) – Playbill
The Met Closes, Posing A Massive Economic Threat
This isn’t a small issue: “The Met is the largest performing arts organization in the nation: It is a $308 million-a-year operation, but a fragile one. The high costs of mounting opera, coupled with weakness at the box office and a relatively small endowment, make it highly dependent on donations. Now, it will lose millions in ticket revenues.” – The New York Times
A Short List Of Major Culture Closures Due To COVID-19
A lot of movies are delayed, awards ceremonies postponed, movies (including the new Bond movie and the live-action Mulan) put off until later … and a lot of places are now closed “indefinitely” or until a date that may change later. – The Guardian (UK)
How Inigo Philbrick Became The Talented Mr. Ripley Of Art Dealers
“Inigo Philbrick probably didn’t set out to become one of the art world’s great enigmas when, at the age of 24, he opened a gallery and consultancy in London” and went on to become a conspicuously big spender. “Not if what he really wanted was to be seen nowhere but talked about everywhere. Yet that is what happened in the fall of 2019: a vanishing act.” He hasn’t been charged with a crime (yet), but he is definitely a fugitive. – The New York Times
A Fundraiser For The Academy Of Music Is Philadelphia’s Biggest High-Society Event. Here’s How It Should Change For The 21st Century.
Eyebrows shot up last month when the Philadelphia Orchestra (which owns the building) and the Kimmel Center (which operates it) announced that the Academy Ball, held every year but one since 1957, was called off for next year and would be reconsidered entirely. Peter Dobrin makes the case that the Ball is a unique Philadelphia tradition that shouldn’t be ended but can definitely be made more relevant. – The Philadelphia Inquirer