While commentators have often dismissed the interventions of artists on the issue of oil sponsorship as “virtue signaling,” BP’s CEO effectively conceded in his speech that opposition to the company’s sponsorship deals has had a tangible impact. In his statement on the new policy, he addressed protesters directly as he discussed rebuilding the public’s trust. “Many question our motives in supporting the arts,” he said. “I get that.” – Artnet
Author: Douglas McLennan
A Backlash To Oversharing Our Lives?
Oversharing just doesn’t look like it did before. Like most things on the internet, it too has become commodified. Where we once divulged, without much thought or artifice, the hardships in our marriages or the frustration of a bad-hair day, now this seems a little cheap and amateurish. Professional influencers make a living from their oversharing. Ours doesn’t look as neat, as well thought-out, as supported. Even our connection to oversharing is controlled, manipulated, and artificial. – Wired
Another COVID Casualty: Art Dubai Postponed
Fair organisers say they will instead hold a programme of exhibitions, events and talks tailored to Dubai-based galleries, museums and artists from 25 to 28 March, when the fair was due to take place. Parts of the fair including the Global Art Forum, Residents section and Campus Art Dubai are still expected to go ahead. No alternative dates for Art Dubai to be held later in the year have so far been offered. – The Art Newspaper
Grammys Make It Official – Fire Deborah Dugan
The academy announced Ms. Dugan’s removal in a letter from its executive committee, sent to the organization’s members. “We placed our trust in her and believed she would effectively lead the organization,” the committee wrote in the letter. “Unfortunately, that is not what happened.” – The New York Times
Yes, Hitler Wrote An Opera (A Bad One)
Long speculated about, but never before seen in public, the manuscript was apparently written after Hitler had had only a few months of piano lessons. And it clearly demonstrated the future dictator’s “inflated sense of his own abilities. The single sheet is believed to be the only surviving page of an ambitious project based on Germanic mythology that closely apes an unfinished work of the same name by Wagner himself. – The Local AT
Inside The Actors Studio Host James Lipton, 93
The show featured an A-list roster of Hollywood and Broadway royalty, including Paul Newman, Barbra Streisand, Robin Williams, Spike Lee and Steven Spielberg. In exchange for their appearance, Mr. Lipton provided a relatively safe space for sometimes guarded celebrities to reveal themselves more personally before a live audience. – Washington Post
The New Disney Parade: A Hotbed For Dance?
The stars of Magic Happens are the dancers, significantly elevated from their traditional role revving up the crowd with upbeat moves between set pieces. The 90-or-so performers are graced with heavily theatrical choreography, which at times borders on interpretive dance. In turn, Magic Happens possesses a keen awareness of dance as a language. – Los Angeles Times
Has YouTube Become A Weapon For Radicalization?
“Look up one thing out of curiosity and YouTube is ever willing to offer far, far more, often getting far more extreme and pushing further out to the extremes, because that is how YouTube works. They have become an organ of radicalisation instead of taking responsibility, for that is the way their algorithms work.” The Guardian
NPR Is Turning 50 – Here’s How It Happened
In 1971, there were 88 member stations and a total staff of 65; now NPR’s total staff is 862, with 390 in news and 17 overseas bureaus, and the network has 1,008 member and affiliated stations. The total weekly audience for NPR stations is 37 million; 27 million for NPR programs. Ninety-nine million consume NPR content from some platform in a month. NPR is the leading publisher of podcasts and reaches 23.7 million listeners monthly with its offerings. – Current
Study: One In Five Students Are Financially Worse Off Because Of University
Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies found while 80% of former students gained financially from attending university, about 20% earned less than those with similar school results who did not attend, highlighting how some subjects, such as creative arts, offer negative financial returns. – The Guardian