Thomas Wolf: “To the extent it was described to us in the younger generation, their travails were recounted as humorous stories with the suffering left out. It was only much later as I began my research about the family that I learned just how treacherous their journey had been.” – Nightingale Sonata
Month: September 2020
Smithsonian And V&A Call Off Their Joint Museum Plan
“The Smithsonian Institution and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London are abandoning plans to jointly curate a gallery in the planned V&A East museum, slated to open in East London in 2023. The proposed gallery was expected to draw from both institutions’ permanent collections to explore the impact of human life on the natural world.” – Artnet
Jan Reid, One Of Texas’s Leading Writers, Dead At 75
“While best known for his observant, insightful and often hilarious magazine stories about the real Texas — its people and places — [in GQ, The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, and especially Texas Monthly], Reid authored such works as Let the People In: The Life and Times of Ann Richards and The Bullet Meant for Me, his moving account of being shot and almost killed by a robber in Mexico City in 1998.” – The Dallas Morning News
Playing The Lead In America’s First Musical Staged Since COVID (Nah, No Pressure)
Nicholas Edwards, who took the role of Jesus in the Berkshire Theater Group’s socially distanced staging of Godspell this past summer: “Every day you feel like the whole world is watching you. … Usually the stage is a safe place where we feel most at home and normal, but it became a place where I was anxious all the time.” – The New York Times
RBG’s Death Could Change Intellectual Property Law
“On Oct. 7, the U.S. Supreme Court holds an oral argument in Google LLC v. Oracle America Inc., the most important copyright case in decades. It’ll now happen without the high court’s most fervently pro-copyright voice.” – The Hollywood Reporter
Studios And Unions Reach Agreement On COVID Safety Rules To Restart Shooting
The pact between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (the studios) and the unions IATSE, SAG-AFTRA, DGA, Basic Crafts, and the Teamsters includes mandatory testing protocols and other safety measures as well as arrangements for paid sick leave and quarantine pay. – Variety
Fired Director Sues Montreal Museum Of Fine Arts
“The ongoing controversy at the Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal has erupted into a legal battle as ousted director Nathalie Bondil sues her former employer for C$2 million ($1.5 million). Bondil’s complaint alleges that the museum board ‘orchestrated, led, and continues to lead an intentional campaign of defamation and destruction of her reputation.’ Bondil is seeking moral and punitive damages on the grounds of unfair dismissal and libel.” – Artnet
Explainer: All About Sacking Of Montreal Museum Of Fine Arts Director
Alex Greenberger lays out the background and history: why Nathalie Bondil had been so acclaimed before she was fired; the new curator and accusations of nepotism; counter-accusations of bullying; what the museum’s board is saying (publicly) about the matter; what the employees are saying (which is rather different). – ARTnews
One-Third Of Musicians May Quit Profession Because Of COVID, Says UK Union
“A survey of 2,000 members of the Musicians’ Union found that 34% ‘are considering abandoning the industry completely’, because of the financial difficulties they face during the pandemic, as performance opportunities are severely curtailed. Almost half have already found work outside their industry, and 70% are unable to do more than a quarter of their usual work.” – The Guardian
Audience Shuts Down Madrid Opera Performance Protesting Lack Of Social Distancing
A performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera” at the Teatro Real was canceled after spectators spent more than an hour shouting and clapping to protest against what they said were insufficient social distancing measures in the opera house’s mezzanine levels. Photos and videos shared on social media showed filled rows in the upper sections of the house, in contrast to the orchestra level of the auditorium, where spectators were separated by vacant seats. – The New York Times