“This tiny coronavirus has showed us in a painful way that humanity is a single organism and human existence is possible only in relation to other living beings. The notion of “relationship” should be understood as a maxim, as the ability to love. Although this is truly a high standard, maybe even too high for a human being. Our current situation is paradoxical: on the one hand, it means isolation, on the other, it brings us closer. While isolating ourselves, we should be able to – we are even forced to – appreciate our relationships in a small circle and to tend to them.” – Estonian World
Are Non-Profits Too Averse To Political Advocacy?
Vu Le: “This is the problem. Our sector is afraid of advocacy, much less politics. And we have an absolute disgust for politics. We believe it is beneath us. We don’t want to get our hands dirty. Politics and anything associated with it is an ugly, terrible thing; we should focus on more noble, feel-good pursuits while virtue signaling by rabble-rousing about how we need to change systems yet simultaneously avoiding doing the one thing that would significantly change systems.” – NonprofitAF
The Sacred, 370-Year-Old Kabuki In This Japanese Village May Fade Away For Lack Of Villagers To Perform It
Every year since the mid-17th century, when a freak snowstorm stopped the shogun’s enforcer and saved them from a death sentence, the people of the mountain hamlet of Damine have performed a kabuki play to honor the goddess of mercy. They’ve never missed a year, not even during World War II. But, as with so much of rural Japan, all but the oldest people are gradually abandoning Damine for cities with better jobs. – The New York Times
What Does It Actually Cost To Produce A Dance Performance?
“To get one example of all that goes into self-producing a show, we asked dancemaker DeAnna Pellecchia of KAIROS Dance Theater to break down the finances of her company’s most recent full-length work, OBJECT, which was performed at Boston Center for the Arts three times in November.” – Dance Magazine
In Lockdown, Pollution Plummets, The Sky Returns And Indians Contemplate A Different India
The circulation of a billion Indians has not settled into the neat grid of social distance. On my phone, I see looming disaster. And yet, looking up, I see something else—a glimpse, behind the jungle crow facing off with two brahminy kites, of an alternative to how we live. In northern India, the change has been as basic as breathing. Of the thirty cities with the worst air pollution in the world, twenty-one are in northern India. – The New Yorker
Where You Want To Be During The Virus Crisis: Berlin
Germany has a low infection rate, but additionally the city has efficiently tried to help its residents: “Fortunately, last week more than $1.4 billion was already doled out in Berlin to more than 150,000 of the city’s self-employed and small businesses. Colin filled out a short online application for the $5,400 which is being offered, no strings attached, available to freelancers. To his shock—as Germany’s bureaucracy is notoriously ponderous and time-sapping—the sum popped up in his bank account two days later.” – Boston Review
Court Rules That Video Game ‘Call Of Duty’ Is A Work Of Art
The manufacturer of Humvees, AM General, sued the game developer, alleging that the appearance of the trucks in Call of Duty “deceived [players] into believing that AM General licenses the games.” A New York State District Judge rejected the suit, writing that “if realism is an artistic goal, then the presence in modern warfare games of vehicles employed by actual militaries undoubtedly furthers that goal” and that the developer is thus protected under the First Amendment. – The Art Newspaper
What Hope Is There For Rebuilding Notre-Dame Amid The COVID Economic Disaster? Another Cathedral May Provide An Answer
However difficult things may be once the coronavirus is under control, they likely won’t be as bad as in Germany just after World War II. Cologne Cathedral had been hit 14 times by Allied bombs. Yet it was rebuilt and reopened. Here’s a look at how. – National Geographic
Condé Nast Starts Its Pay Cuts At The Top
“The salaries of those earning $100,000 or more — just under half the company — will be reduced by 10 to 20 percent for five months, starting in May, [a] memo said. The pay of executives in the senior management team, including Anna Wintour, the artistic director and Condé Nast’s best-known figurehead, will be cut 20 percent,” with CEO Roger Lynch giving up half his pay. – The New York Times
Professional Wrestling Has Been Declared An Essential Business By Florida’s Governor And Will Resume
The decision, outlined in an April 9 memo from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office, could open the door for other sports to resume in the state. – ESPN
The Metropolitan Museum Turned 150 Monday – Its Doors Closed And Debts Mounting
So is Boston’s MFA 150. Both institutions are hemorrhaging money: a projected $100 million at the Met; $12 million to $14 million at the MFA by the end of June. Thousands of events, including long-planned 150th-anniversary celebrations and fundraising galas, have been canceled. – Washington Post
Italian Cultural Leaders Petition For A National “Save Culture” Fund
The museum chiefs have signed a petition launched by the culture advocacy group Federculture which states that “we have to make Italian culture live, to give it oxygen… the repercussions of the coronavirus crisis on the vast world of cultural enterprise are extreme and could be fatal”. – The Art Newspaper
How Andrea Bocelli’s Easter Concert In The Empty Milan Cathedral Became A Worldwide Megahit
“Roughly 5 million people around the world logged on to YouTube to view the half-hour sacred music concert as it was happening. By Monday night the archived performance had 32 million views. Clearly, it transcended religion, nationality, age demographic and even music preference on its way to becoming perhaps the signature cultural event of the pandemic.” – Variety
The Arts Helped Build The Berkshires’ New Economy. Now It’s Gone
For a region whose economy was rebuilt on the most hopeful of things — a social economy, based on the gathering of people — the level of cruelty feels almost farcical. Mass MoCA sees around 300,000 annual visitors, which it says generates about $52 million every year to the local economy. – Boston Globe
How To Reopen Museums – Quickly And Safely
Andras Szanto: “Museums could offer people who have experienced weeks of isolation a safe place to go, or a reprieve from cramped quarters. Their opening would signal the beginnings of a return to normalcy. What’s more, once the public is back, museums can serve as hubs of education, information-sharing, and collective reflection as we work together to surmount this crisis.” – Artnet
How Small Non-Profit Arts Organizations Are Slipping Through Cracks
“In this country we don’t have national infrastructure that supports individual artists the way that would be effective in a crisis.” said Laura Zabel. “That said, every disaster is local,” noted Cerf+ Executive Director Cornelia Carey. – Hyperallergic
Teaching Choreography Lessons Over Zoom (It Can Be Done)
Marina Harss writes about Jessica Lang teaching principles of dance composition to participants — all socially isolating at home — in David Hallberg’s ABT Incubator program. – Dance Magazine
How Fear Has Shaped (And Built) New York
Justin Davidson: “New York has been a scary place for most of the past 400 years. Fire, flood, attack, crime, rebellion, drugs, and disease have shaped it. I find that an oddly reassuring thought, because all through its litany of misfortunes and bouts of exodus, the city’s magnetic force field has strengthened. Fear and pain are crucial human responses — without them, we die. At every desperate juncture, New York has grown and transformed as it healed.” – New York Magazine
Rio Lights Up Christ The Redeemer Statue To Honor Healthcare Workers Treating Coronavirus
“The striking scene included messages of thanks in many languages, along with images of nurses and doctors smiling in protective gear. The word ‘hope’ was also projected onto the statue, along with the Portuguese phrase Fique Em Casa or ‘Stay at Home’.” – NPR
Disney-On-Broadway Coronavirus Benefit On Again After Musicians’ Union Relents
A benefit concert from last November, in which 79 stage performers did songs from Disney musicals, was going to be streamed online to benefit the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund — until, less than a day ahead of time, the international president of the American Federation of Musicians demanded that the pit band be paid extra for streaming rights. (Equity and SAG-AFTRA had waived such payments.) On Sunday, the musicians involved, backed by the union’s New York local, said publicly that they didn’t want the additional money; in less than 24 hours, the AFM president changed his position. – The New York Times
Quibi Sees 1.7 Million Downloads In Its First Week
“The 1.7 million figure that [CEO Meg] Whitman cited does not indicate how many people signed up for the app, which is offering an extended 90-day free trial. Once the trial ends, Quibi … which offers shortform episodic programming … designed to be viewed on the go … will cost $5 with advertising and $8 without advertising.” – The Hollywood Reporter
Indie Bookstores In Crisis Turn To GoFundMe, But Site Won’t Turn Over Contributed Money
“High-profile booksellers seeking recourse have flocked to the platform. … Yet a number of the stores that were among the first to launch successful campaigns in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic are complaining that, to date, GoFundMe has not released the funds promised them. While some of the bookstores PW contacted declined to go on the record, others are going public.” – Publishers Weekly
Metropolitan Opera Plans A Gala For The Quarantine Age
“The ‘At Home Gala’ the company is planning for Saturday, April 25, … will feature more than 40 artists, including stars like Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann and Renée Fleming, performing from their homes and streamed on the company’s website, metopera.org.” – The New York Times
Pandemic Could Be An Opportunity To Rethink How Cities Work
We’re using cities differently while we’re under lockdown, but urbanists see this as an opportunity to maybe challenge the ways we have constructed and use urban areas. Cars, for example – do they have to be so dominant? – Wired
Peter Sellars On Art And Creativity After COVID
“My feeling is truly we are in the midst of a new era trying to be reborn,” he said, reached by phone in Culver City. “And, yes, the labor pains are fierce.” – Los Angeles Times