Luisa Roldán revolutionized the use of terra cotta for small devotional figurines and was a court sculptor for the final Hapsburg Spanish king – in the 1690s. Her work was sent to Mexico and England. So why don’t more of us know about her? – Hyperallergic
20 Top New Dance Works Of The Last 20 Years
“We polled contributors from around the country to put together a very subjective and not at all comprehensive list.” In addition to Best Dance Theater Work and Best Dance Film, there are such categories as Best Story Ballet Remake, Most Exciting Reinvention of Neoclassicism, Most Satisfying Confusion, and Most Creative Use of Tables. – Dance Magazine
TikTok Told Moderators To Suppress Content By Users Who Weren’t Hot Enough
“The makers of TikTok, the Chinese video-sharing app with hundreds of millions of users around the world, instructed moderators to suppress posts created by users deemed too ugly, poor, or disabled for the platform, according to internal documents.” – The Intercept
120,000 Production And Tech Jobs Have Already Been Lost Due To Coronavirus, Says Union
“IATSE reported Tuesday that the COVID-19-related production suspensions snd event cancellations have resulted in the loss of 120,000 jobs held by its 150,000 members. A large number of those affected work in Hollywood production but IATSE also covers live events, conventions and all people-facing businesses that have been hard hit by the coronavirus outbreak.” – Deadline
Skateboard Delivery? Recommendations? A Simple Chat? Book Shops Get Creative
“The authors I contacted all jumped at the chance to do something to benefit both the bookstore and those readers facing isolation, even though many of those authors themselves are entering a period of great uncertainty.” – The Guardian
Sobering Prospects For The Books Industry
The potential long-term effects for book retailers are sobering. Many in the industry are worried that independent bookstores will be devastated as local and state officials mandate social distancing and order some businesses to temporarily close. – The New York Times
The Big Stop On The Political Book Circuit? It’s Not In D.C., It’s In L.A.
Writers Bloc, a series of talks, readings and discussions, pulls in sold-out crowds for the likes of Rachel Maddow, Cory Booker, Joy Reid, Elizabeth Warren, and the Pod Save America guys. Yes, in La-La Land. – The New York Times
This French Nonprofit Is Training Refugees To Work In The Arts
The organization Sama for All, founded by Syrian refugee Souad Nanaa, prepares displaced persons in France to find jobs in museums and cultural organizations. The six-month program teaches topics such as museum security, making presentations to visitors, and the specialized vocabulary refugees won’t learn in their regular French classes. – Hyperallergic
My Pal Inigo Philbrick, The Bernie Madoff Of The Art World
“When I first met Inigo Philbrick in 2012, he was all of 25, looked an awful lot like Justin Timberlake, and … I was immediately smitten, professionally and personally; Philbrick was sharp, fun, and funny. … And for a long time, I thought that was one of the most fortunate days of my life.” Dealer-collector-curator-Artnet columnist Kenny Schachter, for whom Philbrick made and then lost a few million dollars, writes about watching his best bud run amok, run aground, and run away. – New York Magazine
How Dancers And Dance Organizations Can Prepare For The Financial Fallout Of COVID-19
Garnet Henderson’s guide includes more than just obvious advice such as “keep three to six months’ worth of income in savings” (which, she acknowledges, is impossible for many dancers). One key point: be sure to save documentation of every gig you’ve lost because of the epidemic, because you’ll need it when you apply for aid. – Dance Magazine
Is This The End Of The Movie Theatre Business?
After many weeks of self-quarantining and social distancing, will people be eager to rub shoulders again when restrictions are lifted? And what will happen to the release calendar, with so many delayed blockbusters likely to clog up the schedule when they’re finally ready for the viewing public? There are far more urgent public-health concerns to consider in the short term, of course, but after years of industry hand-wringing over the future of the cinematic experience, it will still be quite a shock to see Hollywood go into total hibernation for weeks or months on end. – The Atlantic
Denver Arts Funder Offers Money To Its Grantees To Help With COVID Effects
Bonfils-Stanton Foundation: “These Denver-based organizations offer ongoing public arts & culture programming and are at risk for earned revenue loss due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The funding amount is based on 10% of their most recent grant, with a $6,000 cap. The total grant commitment is approximately $125,000. These grants will not require any sort of application or final report. The funding has already been released. Much has been written about how funders are taking this opportunity to shift their existing funding towards unrestricted support.” – Bonfils-Stanton Foundation
The Vexed Relationship Between Theatre And Disease
Alexis Soloski, who wrote a dissertation on the subject, reminds us that playwrights from Sophocles through Shaw to Kushner and Kramer have grappled with the subject. “It’s only a matter of time before the first COVID-19 plays emerge, and we can … be nudged toward compassion for the afflicted, be constituted as a community of support. Because that’s what theater can do: It can ask us to think and feel beyond the confines of our own experience and find fellow-feeling, immediately and intimately, with those around us.” – The New York Times
At A Ballet Company’s Last Dance Before The COVID Shutdown
Moira Macdonald was at Pacific Northwest Ballet’s final (in too many senses) dress rehearsal for a program the public won’t get to attend. “There was no one in the seat in front of me, no one next to me, no one across the aisle — just performance, filling up the empty spaces. You don’t usually think of McCaw Hall as a room, but it is; this was like a large version of a living-room entertainment. Were those people onstage, dancing with the fierce passion that comes when you only get one shot at something, performing only for me? It was easy to think so.” – The Seattle Times
Closed By The Virus, The Art Business Is Moving Itself Online
“In 2017, having realized how much business the gallery did through online previews before art fairs, the dealer David Zwirner decided to develop virtual viewing rooms. Now, as art fairs are canceled, museums close and auction houses consider whether to call off their spring sales in response to the coronavirus, Mr. Zwirner seems prescient.” – The New York Times
Opera Australia May Have To Sell Real-Estate Assets To Remain Solvent
With the rest of the company’s summer season in Sydney cancelled, including the popular and lucrative outdoor Opera on the Harbour, CEO Rory Jeffes said, “suddenly we were in a position where we had to show [the board] that we could refund all our tickets sold for the future and have no income from ticket sales for the foreseeable future.” – The Sydney Morning Herald
India’s Film Industry, World’s Largest, Freezes All Production
“After an emergency meeting over the weekend, the India Motion Picture Producers’ Association said Monday that it would request the suspension of all film, TV, advertising and web series shoots in the country from March 19 to 31. The body also advised all Indian film crews currently at work on projects overseas to return to the country within the next three days.” – The Hollywood Reporter
All U.S. Movie Theatre Chains Close As COVID Restrictions Spread
AMC will keep its theatres dark for six to 12 weeks; Regal, Landmark, Alamo Drafthouse, Showcase, Harkins, and Bow Tie have closed indefinitely; ArcLight and Pacific Theaters will close this week. Only Cinemark has not announced plans as yet. (Update: Cinemark will shutter as well.) – The Hollywood Reporter
Doriot Anthony Dwyer, Longtime Boston Symphony Principal Flute And Pioneering Female Musician, Dead At 98
A grand-niece of Susan B. Anthony, Dwyer was only the second woman ever to win a principal chair in a major U.S. orchestra. She joined the BSO in 1952 (negotiating a higher-than-usual salary) and retired in 1990, premiering a new concerto by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich in her final season. – The Boston Musical Intelligencer
England’s Arts Funding Will ‘Refocus’ To Help Artists With Loss Of Income Due To COVID
“We will refocus some grant programmes to help compensate individual artists and freelancers for lost earnings,” said a statement from Arts Council England. “This will require further planning. It may take about ten days before we can announce the details.” Institutions will continue to receive grant money, with funding requirements suspended for three months, and advance payments can help those with cash flow problems. – The Art Newspaper
All Major UK Theatres Are Now Dark
“The Society of London Theatre (Solt) and UK Theatre, the industry body that represents nearly every British theatre, announced that, as of Monday night, all its members would close their doors [due to the COVID-19 epidemic]. The groups represent about 50 London theatres and almost 250 others throughout the UK.” – The Guardian
Naomi Klein: Crises Can Be Opportunities For Systemic Change
Crises like coronavirus are opportunities as well as threats. Naomi Klein writes that ideas that were heretofore beyond consideration can sometimes become possible – for example no-strings bailouts of big companies or medicare for all. Depends on how you treat them. – The Intercept
The Social Costs Of Shutting Down Getting Together
The economic fallout of event cancellations is making headlines. However, little attention has been paid to the social costs. Events play an important role in community life and research has repeatedly shown that attending festivals and community events has many benefits. – The Conversation
All Of The Dead Sea Scrolls At The Museum Of The Bible Are Fakes, Study Says
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Did you think the owner of Hobby Lobby paid too much for something that wasn’t authenticated so he could put it in his museum? You were correct. “Experts have confirmed what has long been suspected: the artifacts proudly displayed in the nation’s capital by the owners of the Hobby Lobby chain of stores are not part of one of the most significant archaeological finds of all time. They are worthless forgeries, probably made from old shoe leather.” – The Guardian (UK)
A Ballet School Thought This Embezzler Was Reformed, And Re-Hired Her
Mistake. “Not long after she started working again at the academy, she misappropriated $1.5 million from its coffers.” – The New York Times