More than 50% of malls anchored by department stores could close permanently by the end of 2021. Of the roughly 1,000 malls still in operation throughout the U.S., 60% are anchored by department stores; of those, 19% are rented by J.C. Penney, 18% by Macy’s, and 20% by other stores including Lord & Taylor, Nordstrom, and Dillard’s. – Fast Company
Art Of The Silent Zoom Call
On paper, the practice of logging on to a video-conferencing site to sit with strangers for an hour without communicating may hold limited appeal. In practice, silent Zooms have become a lifeline in lockdown for users trying to focus on writing, reading, meditation and more. – The Guardian
Survey Quantifies Dire Situation For Artists
Conducted by the advocacy group Americans for the Arts and released Friday, the survey of more than 11,000 creative workers reveals that 95 percent have lost some income because of the pandemic, with almost two-thirds reporting that they are now fully unemployed. Almost half of the respondents have no savings to mitigate their lost income — which averages $27,100 — and 8 in 10 said they have no path to recovery. – Washington Post
Berlin Philharmonic, Shut For Weeks, Will Begin Performing Again Friday
Friday’s concert will strictly adhere to current social distancing guidelines in Germany, with players forming a chamber orchestra, spaced apart from one another on stage. The programme includes Arvo Pärt’s Fratres, music by Ligeti, Barber’s Adagio for Strings anda chamber version of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with soprano Christiane Karg. – ClassicFM
Does The Pandemic Signal The End Of American Exceptionalism?
“It’s a reckoning that has stirred intense debate about health policy, inequality and partisan politics, but also extends beyond it, touching on history, values and national identity. And for some, the severity of the crisis — and the slow, disjointed government reaction to a danger warned about for months — has also upended their conception of the country, shattering the already battered idea of American exceptionalism, if not turning it on its head.” – The New York Times
How Shakespeare Became A Modern Superstar
The modern idea of “Shakespeare,” both as artist and ideal genius, was essentially an eighteenth-century creation, though it is often credited to the Romantics. – Hudson Review
Netflix Is Soaring Right Now. But Is Its Subscription Model A Loser?
The fact it has to offer thousands of movies is quite expensive. And not necessarily efficient. Pay-per-view services might be more cost-effective and chew up Netflix’s model. – The Conversation
Watch Workers 1000 Feet Up Building The Chrysler Building
This footage from 1929 and 1930 of the building’s construction – including the placement of an iconic 61st-floor Art Deco eagle – showcases how these workers were less comfortable delivering canned lines for the cameras than they were sitting atop beams hundreds of feet high. – Aeon
Actors Quarantined At Home Are Making A New Form Of Theatre Using Virtual Reality
A virtual reality piece released last October seemed like a wild, enjoyable experiment at the time. But now, the piece (which, not incidentally, is keeping at least 18 actors employed) “shows one potential way forward, a future where the worlds of home technology and theater coalesce to build not just fresh experiences but carve out new business models.” – Los Angeles Times
In Case You Missed Christine Baranski, Meryl Streep, And Audra McDonald Singing For Sondheim
Please immediately click on this link. Just do. – The Hollywood Reporter
How Do You Get A Book That Will Explain Covid-19 To Children Written, Published, And Translated Into 45 Languages?
Axel Sheffler is used to being alone at home as he works on illustrating books. But his publisher had heard from a teacher friend that kids weren’t doing as well. The result: A swiftly published, free book with facts and honesty about what we know and don’t know about social distancing and more. “Like all good children’s stories, the book ends on a positive note. There’s a picture of families, doctors and nurses celebrating together and the caption reads: ‘One day this strange time will be over.'” – BBC
The Detroit Symphony’s Very New Music Master Deals With The Global Disaster
What timing: “It was an exuberant, whirlwind stretch for Jader Bignamini in late January, when the young conductor was unveiled as new music director for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.” Now, he’s hosting watch parties from Toronto and says, “Music and concerts generally are so important but now even more. Because it can give people happiness, joy and good thoughts. We have to think good things, and it’s so difficult now. I think with music — with culture, with books, with art — we can imagine a better world than now.” – Detroit Free Press
Artists Warn Government That The UK May Become ‘Cultural Wasteland’ After The Pandemic
Those who signed the appeal to the government include Rufus Wainwright, Anish Kapoor, and Simon Callow. The letter calls “for urgent funding for creative organisations and professionals who, it says, are ‘falling through the gaps of existing government support measures.'” – The Guardian (UK)
The Refugee Artist Staying Home While His Art Travels
Serge Alain Nitegeka can’t travel even when there’s not a global pandemic: He lives in South Africa, but he was born in Rwanda, and his family fled during the massacres in 1994. So for an exhibition in New York, “he relied on the gallery team to gather New York dirt, which turned out darker and mulchier than the reddish soil Mr. Nitegeka had pictured. That was fine — adaptation was the point of the piece. But the more tactile and sensory these decisions, the more the distance frustrated him.” – The New York Times
The Met At Home Gala Was Surprisingly Moving
“We have all sometimes taken opera, and opera houses, and opera singers, for granted. No longer.” – The New York Times