The 78-year-old renowned conductor said the coronavirus had ‘’destroyed music,‘’ with shuttered venues depriving the world of ‘’spiritual food” as it faced a pandemic that still threatens uncalculated economic repercussions beyond the lives lost. Even during two world wars, Muti noted, theaters stayed open to provide cultural relief except during the worst of the bombings. – Chicago Tribune
Author: Douglas McLennan
Press Release Claims Seattle Art Museum Is Dissolving
The release, sent from an email address that appeared to be the same as that used by the organization’s public-relations department, looked like the real thing — but it was fake. – Seattle Times
Culture Is A Major NY Industry. What Happens When It Shuts Down?
According to the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, film, TV, theater, music, advertising, publishing, and digital content in New York provide 305,000 jobs, and an annual economic output of $104 billion. What happens when the very things that bring so many people to New York are forced to shut down? When we’re banned from congregating in sanctuaries of art, drama, dance, comedy, literature, and music, where does the culture go? – National Geographic
A Netflix For The Performing Arts?
“Doing digital isn’t a quick-fix Band-Aid for anyone,” says Kathleya Afanador, Marquee’s co-founder and head of content. “It’s a fundamental layer of their overall business that needs to be prioritized.” – Washington Post
Thousands Of Arts Educators In London Are Losing Their Jobs
Arts lecturers tend to be employed on casual contracts. With universities closing in-person classes, these lecturers are being laid off en masse. – The Art Newspaper
We Have To Rethink Arts Funding
Gone are the days of monolithic support. The philanthropic field is diverse, dispersed, and interconnected. As such, funders must collaborate in order to move forward. These alliances should also include partnerships between for-profit and not-for-profit businesses. They have the same stakeholders; why not bring them to the table? – Artsy
Does Toppling Statues Make Sense?
It is easy to destroy; it is hard to build. The American edifice that imperfect men and women have built over the past two centuries is a solid foundation for the just nation in which we live and seek to improve. We must not burn it down in the vain hope that a better future can emerge from its bonfire. – Washington Post
A Socially-Distanced Concert Outside. How Did It Work?
Much like those nervously gathered to listen, the program was a little all over the place; but the intimacy of the experience — and our collective hunger to hear just about anything — gave the feeling that audience and performers were conducting the same experiment: just being there. Even before the first notes were played, I found myself getting lost in the music of chitchat and laughter — our own birdsong. – Washington Post
Barcelona Opera House Reopens For An Audience Of Plants
The Gran Teatre del Liceu filled its 2,292 seats with plants for a performance by the UceLi Quartet, which it called a prelude to its 2020-2021 season. The string quartet serenaded its leafy audience with Giacomo Puccini’s “Crisantemi,” in a performance that was also made available to human listeners via livestream. – NPR
Time To Rethink The Arts
One problem is that our arts palaces lock in comparably palatial costs. In this grave new world, bigness, in fact, is actually a bug, not a feature. Producing in mega-venues like Portland5 or the Hult Center is so expensive that they discourage artistic risk as well as affordable tickets. The unviability of the centralized, large-scale approach will be exacerbated by the new virus-imposed restrictions coming down the pike if this crisis proves to be more than a one-time aberration. – Oregon Arts Watch