“Perhaps it was only possible in the neighborhoods of East L.A. that two gay, Mexican immigrants could partner with a religious sister to found one of L.A.’s oldest and most important alternative art spaces in 1973. … For 46 years, Self Help Graphics & Art has been one of Los Angeles’s great artistic centers. From the neighborhood of Boyle Heights, the Latinx art space has supported the careers of hundreds of artists and offered art classes and exhibitions, while also facilitating public art projects at no cost for its Latinx neighbors.” – Artsy
The Grimms’ Fairy Tales Weren’t Published For Children, And The Originals Would Shock Many Parents Today
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm assembled their book of stories as folklorists, not children’s authors, and they intended their book for adult students of German culture, not for parents to read to the kiddies at bedtime. And the stories themselves could be violent: for example, “Cinderella” ends with white birds pecking out the stepsisters’ eyes. – National Geographic History
How Libraries Are Bridging the Digital Divide
“There are about 5 million households in rural areas without broadband internet … [and] there are 15 million households outside of rural America where people don’t have broadband internet. When people don’t have the internet at home or are unsure how to use digital tools, they turn to their local library — no matter where they are in the country. Librarians are at the forefront of understanding our digital divide, and they know it’s far more complicated than having, or not having, internet.” – The Takeaway
Searching Through The Myths (Some Of Them Her Own) For Zora Neale Hurston
“On February 4, 1960, the Associated Press ran her obituary. It read, ‘Zora Neale Hurston, author, died in obscurity and poverty.’ And with those words, syndicated in The New York Times and in papers from Jamaica to California, a new set of myths formed. Some listed her age at 57, others 58. After all, depending on what suited her, she told people she was born in 1901, 1902, or 1903 — in Eatonville, Florida. But as it turned out, none of this was true.” – The Bitter Southerner
How Columbus, Georgia, Got An Indie Theatre Scene
Sure, there’s more craft beer and more restaurants than there were 10 or 15 years ago – and there are also a lot of Millennials who left Columbus for the city, and then returned because Columbus is a lot more affordable. But they missed theatre, and so they made theatre. – American Theatre
There Are 633 Languages Spoken In New York City
Some have few speakers, 12 speakers of Wakhi, for example. “For all the justifiable concern about language loss — thousands may go dormant globally — there have been success stories, like Irish, Maori and Hawaiian. These are languages that overcame considerable stigma.” – WNYC
California’s New Gig Economy Law Could Impact Arts Workers
In the cultural sphere, architects, graphic designers, grant writers, and fine artists are identified as exempt, as are photojournalists and journalists who contribute fewer than 35 times a year to a particular company or publication. But prolific freelance photographers and writers, and other art professionals not named in the law such as independent curators, catalogue researchers and art handlers, could be affected. – The Art Newspaper
This City Is Turning An Old Train Shed Into A Major New Cultural Center
“A new arts district opens next weekend in the Swiss city of Lausanne, on the site of the city’s former train sheds. After a decade of planning and development, Plateforme 10 includes the relocation of three of the Lausanne’s top museums to form a new cultural hub.” – The Guardian
The Man Who Built Cloud Gate Dance Theatre Into An International Dynamo Prepares To Turn Over The Keys
Choreographer Lin Hwai-min, who founded the company in Taiwan in 1973 and led it to acclaim abroad and superstar status at home, is stepping down as artistic director at the end of this year. Judith Mackrell meets Lin and his successor, Cheng Tsung-lung. – The Guardian
Orange County Museum Of Art Breaks Ground On New Home
OCMA’s new three-story, nearly 52,000-square-foot building will rise from a dirt lot next to the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. The project is slated for completion in 2021. – Los Angeles Times
Shakespeare’s Globe Begins Writers-In-Residence Program To Create New Plays For Its Old-Style Stages
“The 12-month residency will mentor three writers each year, during which time they will create new work for the outdoor Globe Theatre and the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, as well work together to create a production for the main stage. This will take place in summer 2020.” – The Stage
New Queens Library As “Third Place”
“With this project, Steven Holl ran with the idea that architecture could sculpt the experience of bringing together a community in a free-of-charge, 22,000-square-foot “third place,”—reflecting the belief popularized by urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg that people need a place to socialize that is neither home nor the ubiquitous privatized realm.” – Architectural Record
Ex-New York City Ballet Star Joaquín De Luz Takes The Reins At Spain’s Compañía Nacional De Danza
De Luz, who retired from NYCB last spring, has just begun a five-year term as artistic director at Spain’s national company, which came to international renown under the leadership of choreographer Nacho Duato (1990-2010). De Luz tells Wendy Perron that (among other goals) he’d like to bring some of Duato’s works back to the CND’s repertoire. – Dance Magazine
Europe’s First Orchestra For Young People With Disabilities Is Making Its Debut
The Open Youth Orchestra of Ireland “is preparing for its inaugural performance, which will showcase adaptive instruments, virtual reality music and revolutionary ‘conductology’. (includes video) – Irish Independent
How Gianandrea Noseda Is Remaking Washington’s National Symphony
For players, the NSO has become more appealing than ever. It has long been one of the best-paid orchestras in the country. Now, it’s also seen as among the more dynamic ones. The orchestra is touring Asia this year, and a European tour is said to be in the works. It appeared at Carnegie Hall in the spring and will go to Lincoln Center in November. Selected performances are being streamed and distributed online on Medici.tv; others will be recorded, including the Beethoven cycle at the end of this season. – Washington Post
Doyenne Of Black Dance Writers (And Maybe All Dance Writers) Takes On New Role: Curation
Eva Yaa Asantewaa “wasn’t looking for a curatorial position when she got a call from Gina Gibney, the artistic director and founder of Gibney, a performing arts and social justice organization that includes Ms. Gibney’s dance company and features classes and studio rentals. … ‘She had a whole plan mapped out,’ Ms. Yaa Asantewaa said. ‘It took me about two minutes to just say yes.'” – The New York Times
A Seattle Jazz Institution Closes
A modest room with fewer than 100 seats, Tula’s is a movie-set-ready jazz joint: cocktail tables bathed in golden light, wood-and-mirror-paneled bar, intimate stage, flat black ceiling, slowly turning fan. On the back wall hangs the huge wooden sign that once advertised Bud’s Jazz Records, in Pioneer Square. (The ashes of the owner of that shop, Bud Young, are also stashed in the club. Talk about keeping the spirit of jazz alive.) – Seattle Times
For First Time, Complete Text Of ‘Darkness At Noon’ Is Available In English
“Arthur Koestler’s classic story of Stalinist purges has hitherto been known through an incomplete translation by his girlfriend – until a student found the original in an archive.” – The Guardian
How Fenway Park’s Baseball Organist Gets His Playlist From Twitter
“This morning I got a request for a song called “Medicine for Melancholy,” by Rivers Cuomo,” Kantor said, sitting at the organ as a recent game got underway. “During batting practice, I got a request for ‘Detroit Rock City,’ by Kiss, and a request for anything Springsteen.” – WGBH
Al Alvarez, Poet And Author, Dead At 90
“[He] championed the work of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, wrote a provocative study of suicide and explored his own risky pastimes in [bestselling] books about rock climbing and professional poker.” – The Washington Post
Vox Media Buys New York Magazine
“On Tuesday, Vox Media agreed to acquire New York Media, the company behind the biweekly print magazine and five popular online offshoots, in an all-stock transaction. … While consolidations in the media industry typically mean cutting costs at the expense of quality journalism, Vox and New York said their combination was something different.” Said New York Media’s CEO, “It’s not out of need. It’s out of ambition.” – The New York Times
Icon In Little Old Lady’s Kitchen Turns Out To Be Medieval Painting Worth Millions
A nonagenarian in the French town of Compiègne had had the painting hanging on the wall above her hot plate for decades, thinking it was a common Greek icon. The 8-by-10-inch image turns out to be Christ Mocked, part of a multi-panel work from about 1280 by the Italian painter Cimabue, and it’s expected to sell for more than €6 million at auction next month. – CNN
Another Handsy Tenor: London’s Royal Opera Suspends Tenor Vittorio Grigolo
The move comes as the company investigates an allegation “that the 42-year-old tenor allegedly groped a female chorus singer during a curtain call — in front of fellow performers and the audience — at the end of a performance of Gounod’s Faust in Tokyo last Wednesday.” – BBC
At Last Minute, Met Opera Cuts Plácido Domingo Loose
One day before he was due to take the stage in the title role of Verdi’s Macbeth, both the tenor-turned-baritone and the opera house announced his withdrawal from the production. (Domingo said he would not return to the Met.) The move comes after an apparent rebellion at the company, where many objected to continuing to work with the singer as accusations of sexual misconduct keep mounting. – The New York Times
Research: How You Watch TV Shapes How You Think
The harm seems to come not so much from the content itself but from the fact that it replaces more enlightening ways of spending time. – The New York Times