One force we must confront is the attention economy, an incentive structure designed to reward the most uncompromising, polarized, clickable minority. (Ironically, this minority is very often part of the white majority; see breathless, disproportionate coverage of white nationalists and supremacists following the 2016 election.) The resulting tyranny of the loudest presents an algorithmically-warped view of what’s happening in the rest of the United States. – Wired
Needed: A New Deal For The Arts
This debilitating, isolating historical moment should make us rethink our attitudes, priorities and national policies with regard to our criminal justice system, health and education infrastructure and physical environment. Similarly, the American arts sphere shouldn’t merely hope to restore the “old normal” when it could instead be re-envisioned and rejuvenated. – Crosscut
There Are Four Kinds Of Streaming Video Viewers, Says Hulu Report
A new study, titled “Unpacking the Streaming Experience” and released by Hulu to launch its “Generation Stream” audience research platform, found that consumers watch in four different ways, which Hulu calls therapeutic streaming, classic streaming, indulgent streaming, and curated streaming. – The Hollywood Reporter
Black Theatermakers In Europe Talk About The Change They’re Working Toward
Excerpts from a recent Zoom conversation among three artistic directors — Kwame Kwei-Armah of London’s Young Vic, Julia Wissert of Schauspiel Dortmund in the Ruhr Valley, and Eva Doumbia of Compagnie La Part du Pauvre near Rouen — about their challenges as well as “white universality, decolonizing theater institutions and their issues with the word ‘diversity.'” – The New York Times
Two National Ballet Of Canada Dancers Retire With 114 Years Service Between Them
Laszlo Surmeyan danced lead male roles before becoming, in 1986, one of the company’s first principal character artists. This season has marked his farewell to the company after a remarkable 54 years, a record almost as remarkable as that of his wife, Lorna Geddes, who is also leaving this season, after 60 years. – Toronto Star
What Netflix’s List Of Ten Most-Watched Shows Tells Us
Netflix’s once heavily guarded vault of secret statistics has slowly opened up over the last couple of years, a gradual juicy reveal of viewer habits with some major caveats. – Irish Times
How Arts Schools Are Adapting
“It’s not an uninteresting moment to be part of CalArts,” said dance dean Dimitri Chamblas. “The school is ready to re-question, reinvent … innovating in this particular moment of time — it’s not a bad moment for study.” – Los Angeles Times
The Berkshires Cultural Crawl Without Crowds
“They parked all too easily; slung their fold-up camp chairs over their shoulders; and waited obediently in a socially distanced line to enter the grounds, cracking jokes behind their masks. The lawn — a special mix of Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass and a variety called fine fescue, designed to withstand the footsteps of up to 18,000 music fans a night — was as supernaturally green as ever. The vista, still magnificent. The sound? No tuning. Mostly birds chirping. Save for a robin dashing from the shadow of one red maple to another, it was very still.” – The New York Times
Seven Ideas For The Chicago Symphony To Perform Again
Howard Reich: “Should the organization succeed in presenting live events, it will deliver us from the current deluge of online performances by every musician who happens to own a smart phone. These musical snippets are better than nothing, of course, but bear scant relation to what happens when listeners hear music in a concert hall in real time.” – Chicago Tribune
The End Of Tourism?
It took a pandemic to stop the gluttonous consumption of other places, trips that relied centrally on the have-nots—armies of hotel workers, cleaners, food preparers, bartenders, pool attendants—to provide the lavish experience sought. The argument in favor of this juxtaposition was that tourists, however noxious, were propping up the GDP of places like Macau (51 percent), Maldives (32.5 percent), Spain (14.6 percent), and Italy (13.2 percent). It was, as neoliberal economics go, a top-down model, mere cents going to the worst-off at the bottom. – The Baffler
Designing For Accessibility, 30 Years After The Americans With Disabilities Act
Michael Kimmelman: “With one in four American adults living with disabilities, designing for accessibility and diversity should hardly be considered a chore or just a compliance issue. It’s an opportunity, both economic and creative, but one that requires a shift in mind-set.” – The New York Times
Hollywood Unions Say Federal Assistance Is Crucial For Its Workers
The Authors Guild said its members had lost on average 43% of their regular income since the start of the crisis. The Freelancers union said over 80% of its members were reporting loss of income and work opportunities because of the crisis, and are depending on government relief in record numbers. – Los Angeles Times
Backstage Workers In Britain Are Being Asked To Pay Theatres Back For What They Got While Furloughed
“The repayment clauses could stipulate that the amount employers have paid towards furlough contributions is subtracted from workers’ wages when shows resume, and if workers do not return to the show they could be required to pay back the furlough contributions in full.” – The Stage
Bill Charlap Was Scared That Playing A Live Gig Last Weekend Was Dangerous. Here’s Why He Played It Anyway.
As COVID-19 rages on, the star jazz pianist was more than a little nervous about performing indoors in a small venue, even one as out of the way as the Deer Head Inn in Delaware Water Gap, Pa. He went ahead and did it because his first-ever performance at this unlikely jazz spot, more than 25 years ago, is arguably what made his career. Journalist John Marchese reports on how Charlap’s return went. – The New York Times
Alvin Ailey Company Fires Director Of Ailey II For Sexual Harassment
“Troy Powell, the 51-year-old artistic director of Ailey’s junior touring company and a teacher at The Ailey School in New York City, was dismissed following an investigation commissioned by the school … [which] concluded that Powell had ‘engaged in inappropriate communications with adults enrolled in the School.'” A TikTok video posted on social media last month said “When you wanna be in Ailey 2 … But guys gotta sleep with Troy Powell.” – CNN
Frick Collection Will Open In Former Met Breuer/Whitney Museum Building In 2021
“Dubbed Frick Madison, the space will serve as a temporary home for the historic collection while the grounds of the Henry Clay Frick House on Manhattan’s Upper East Side undergo an extensive renovation and expansion.” As for displaying the art from the grand old mansion in Marcel Breuer’s 20th-century hulk, Frick director Ian Wardropper said, “We’ve learned that you can’t fight Brutalism.” – Artnet
Richard Tucker Music Foundation Ousts Tucker’s Son From Board Over, Um, Intemperate Comments
It all played out over the weekend on Julia Bullock’s Facebook page, where David Tucker began a spat with a couple of hostile comments about the protesters detained by Federal agents in Portland. When tenor Russell Thomas observed that the Tucker Foundation has given its top award to only one Black singer in more than 40 years, David Tucker replied that “pulling the race card is another convenient excuse to modify excellent standards of vocal artistry.” Among the many people calling for Tucker’s removal from the Foundation’s board by Monday were former Tucker Award winners Stephanie Blythe, Lisette Oropesa, and Joyce DiDonato, who said she’d quit the board herself if Tucker remained. – The New York Times
China’s Movie Theatres Are Reopening, But The Audience Isn’t Flocking Back
“By midnight [of the first day, July 20], cumulative nationwide gross takings totalled $502,000. … Earlier in the day, state media had reported that the total included more than $150,000 of prior bookings, which indicates that only modest numbers of cinema-goers made decisions on the day.” – Variety
Threatened Frank Lloyd Wright Cottage To Be Moved To New Location
The one-story, three-bedroom cottage was built in 1913 as a temporary home for Wright’s lawyer, Sherman Booth. Booth developed a cluster of Wright houses, including one for himself, in the Ravine Bluffs section of Glencoe. – Chicago Tribune
Why People Can Feel Nostalgic For Things They Didn’t Experience
The politics of nostalgia doesn’t capitalise on people’s memories of particular past events they might have experienced. Instead, it makes use of propaganda about the way things were, in order to provide people with the right episodic materials to conjure up imaginations of possible scenarios that most likely never happened. – Aeon
Love movies, jazz, and thinking about them? A treat
Movies, jazz and reading remain my favorite solitary diversions, and Fresh Air critic Kevin Whitehead enables immersion in all three with Play The Way You Feel: The Essential Guide to Jazz Stories on Film. – Howard Mandel
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar On LA’s Historical Center of Jazz
Although I spent college and most of my NBA career in Los Angeles, it wasn’t until I retired from basketball and began my second career as a writer specializing in African American history and the nuances of popular culture that I learned how one area — Central Avenue — played a vital role in shaping both African American history and American popular culture. It was a revelation — and an inspiration. – Los Angeles Times