“People trust books. When they read books by experts, they often assume that they’re as serious, and as carefully verified, as scientific papers — or at least that there’s some vetting in place. But often, that faith is misplaced. There are no good mechanisms to make sure books are accurate, and that’s a problem.” – Vox
Why Is Public Funding For The Arts So Problematic?
After 70 years, most people still don’t live within easy reach – in any sense – of the artistic riches enabled by Arts Council funding. After 70 years, most artists still earn very little for their creative work. Changing both situations involves redistribution, and that necessarily has losers as well as winners. One criticism that can be fairly made of Arts Council England is that it has not used the increases it gained in the past 25 years to change the underlying principles or pattern of its support. – Parliament of Dreams
Steppenwolf Theatre Brings Back The *Real* First Queer Candidate For President (Sorry, Mayor Pete!)
Back in 1992, the drag queen Joan Jett Blakk ran a campaign (“Putting in the camp, taking out the pain”) for president on the Queer Nation Party line. Now Tina Landau and playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney (who also stars) have created a play titled Ms. Blakk for President — “part campaign rally, part nightclub performance, part confessional — and all party!” – American Theatre
Jesse Rosen To Step Down As Head Of League Of American Orchestras
“By September 2020, I will have been at the League for twenty-two years and CEO for twelve,” Rosen said in his remarks to delegates during the League’s 74th National Conference in Nashville. “I’ve had an enormously fulfilling experience, but it’s time to begin thinking about the next chapter. ” – Broadway World
Why Are Book Subtitles Getting So Long?
“I don’t feel respected as a reader when I feel like the subtitle was created not to give me a feeling of what kind of reading experience I may get, but for search engines.” – Washington Post
Busting Genre: Blurring The Ingredients In “Classical” Music
“We’re trying to create a balance between things we know are really good and things that we maybe aren’t sure about but don’t ‘fit in’ to the typical new music ideal. It’s tricky — there are just certain kinds of music that neither of us has any experience evaluating. We’ve had to draw some boundaries based on logistics and our own level of knowledge.” – San Francisco Classical Voice
Bringing ‘The Healing Power Of Dance’ To Women’s Prisons
Lucy Wallace, who has degrees in dance and psychology, brings her Dance to Be Free program of classes and workshops to 13 prisons in eight states — on a budget of $100,000 a year.- The Chronicle of Philanthropy
How Russia’s ‘Documentary Theatre’ Company Exposes Injustice
Founded in 2002, Teatr.doc assembles scripts from documents and participant testimony from important incidents in contemporary Russia. Writer Verity Healey reports on the company’s latest project, Torture, “about the physical and psychological methods officers from the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) used on a group of left-wing young men prior to the 2018 World Cup.” – HowlRound
EO Wilson At 90: Still A Provocateur
Contentious or not, Wilson’s books have mostly addressed one theme: that we must know natural history and evolutionary theory to fully understand humanity’s future on the planet. In his 1986 manifesto Biophilia, for example, he suggested that humans have an innate biological need to be in nature and to “affiliate with other forms of life.” – Wired
Christopher House Steps Down As Artistic Director Of Toronto Dance Theatre After 25 Years
The news, rumoured for months, was confirmed by the company Tuesday as it announced details of what will be House’s final season at the head of one of Canada’s oldest and most respected contemporary dance troupes.
– Toronto Star
Big Festivals, Concerts Avoiding Toronto. Why?
Festivals are expensive. Toronto’s an expensive city. Lots of entertainment choices. And what if people don’t buy what you’re offering? – Toronto Star
Man Convicted Of Trying To Sell Fake Francis Bacon On EBay
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said he had “deliberately aimed to mislead the public into believing he was selling a famed 1952 original” – which was stolen in 1988. – BBC
Jay Z Is The First Rapper Billionaire
Forbes says the husband of singer Beyonce has succeeded because he built brands rather than just endorsed them. In its rankings, Forbes rejected claims that rapper and producer Dr Dre had reached billionaire status. – BBC
Charter Schools Were Supposed To Help Save Education. But Things Have Turned Sour
This is no small shift. For the past quarter-century, the charter school movement has been a juggernaut. Charters were originally devised by technocrats hoping to inject “free market dogmas into the public sector,” as Rachel Cohen wrote in the journal Democracy. The idea was expertly packaged and sold for a broad audience — as a low-cost way to advance the twin aims of excellence and equity. – Washington Post
Why Are Hong Kong’s Publishers Endangered? Fear
“Hong Kong once churned out a broad range of books focused on China’s modern history and Communist Party politics, from thinly sourced potboilers churned out under pen names to respected works of analysis by top authors. … But the industry has declined thanks to tighter border checks, the consolidation of Hong Kong distributors and retail outlets under mainland control, and the disappearance and imprisonment of independent booksellers.” – The New York Times
Ocean Vuong Travels Back To The Hometown That Looms Large In His Novel
NPR reporter Kat Chow grew up near Vuong, and the two attended the same high school (though they never met each other there). She joins the poet-novelist on a road trip to Glastonbury, CT. – The Atlantic
Stanley Tigerman, One Of Chicago’s Most Influential Architects, Dead At 88
“Along with other postmodern architects of international repute, among them the late Philip Johnson and Michael Graves, Tigerman in the 1970s and 1980s broke the mold of modernist, steel-and-glass abstraction, enlivening architecture with whimsy, irony, symbolism and overt references to a building’s physical context or purpose.” – Chicago Tribune
French Authorities Drop Rape Investigation Into Gerard Depardieu
“Paris prosecutors … said Tuesday that there was not evidence to back up the allegations made by a young actress who accused Depardieu of assaulting her last August.” – Variety
Bully Or Not, Daniel Barenboim Gets Contract Extension In Berlin
The Berlin State Opera, where the 76-year-old conductor is general music director, has extended his contract for five additional years to 2027. Some doubts about Barenboim’s future there arose in February when reports surfaced of his ill-treatment of some musicians, though musicians’ representatives now say they have always been in favor of Barenboim staying on. – Deutsche Welle
Another London Newspaper Axes Its Theatre Critics
Henry Hitchings and Fiona Mountford had been contract freelancers at the London Evening Standard, he for 10 years and she for 17. Their redundancy is part of what Standard ownership calls “necessary cost-cutting.” – PressGazette (UK)
London Philharmonic Creates Frequent-Flyer-Style Loyalty Program For Single-Ticket Buyers
“With LPO Plus, points can be earned each time an order is placed for eligible items including tickets, … gift vouchers, CDs, merchandise and programme book vouchers. Points can then be redeemed against future purchases.” – Classical Music (UK)
One Of Jiří Kylián’s Greatest Works Was Inspired By Australian Aboriginal Dancers. After Nearly 40 Years, An Aboriginal Dance Company Is Performing It.
In 1980, Kylián traveled to the Northern Territory to see the largest-ever gathering of Australian Aboriginal tribes; they all spoke different languages, so they communicated with dance. The experience led Kylián to choreograph The Stamping Ground in 1983, and it’s been performed in many countries since. But never in Australia until now, as Bangarra Dance Theatre, the country’s leading Aboriginal company, takes the piece on. – The Sydney Morning Herald
Michael Tilson Thomas Cancels All Summer Concerts, Will Have Cardiac Surgery
The 74-year-old conductor, who withdrew from one weekend of concerts last month due to illness, said in a statement, “‘On the advice of my doctors, I need to undergo this procedure at this time in continuation of treatment for a heart condition I have managed for many years.” – San Francisco Classical Voice
The World Has Become Too Popular – Crowds Are Ruining Everything From The Louvre To Everest
“This phenomenon is known as overtourism, and like breakfast margaritas on an all-inclusive cruise, it is suddenly everywhere. A confluence of macroeconomic factors and changing business trends have led more tourists crowding to popular destinations. That has led to environmental degradation, dangerous conditions, and the immiseration and pricing-out of locals in many places. And it has cities around the world asking one question: Is there anything to be done about being too popular?” – The Atlantic
Can Algorithms Show Us Who To Trust?
Companies like Trust Science have put algorithms on the market that can help compile trustworthiness profiles of individuals and organizations. But does AI really possess such a “social” skill? This is an important question to ask because trust requires socially sensitive skills that are perceived to be uniquely human. So can algorithms providing advice in this area of human interaction be accepted by human decision-makers? – Harvard Business Review