Author: Douglas McLennan

What The State Of London’s National Theatre Says About The UK

The questions facing the National Theatre reflect the broader themes of British politics right now: elitism, identity, diversity. In the half century since it was founded, the National has always commissioned plays that represent the “state of the nation,” tackling everything from the privatization of the railways to the Iraq War. “The National Theatre repertoire is a time capsule for the socioeconomic condition of Britain at any moment.” – The Atlantic

How Social Media Killed The Paparazzi

Celebrities didn’t vanquish the paparazzi so much as figure out how to undercut them — and the publications they fueled. In the end, the solution was so straightforward. Celebrities simply became their own paparazzi, posting all manner of details and footage of their daily lives on social media, and effectively put real paparazzi out of business. – Buzzfeed News

English Funding Directly To Artists Has Declined. Here Are The Consequences

In 2001, the newly-unified Arts Council England (ACE), with plentiful government and lottery arts funding, made the expansive claim of making artists central to arts policy. The individuals strand of the ‘brave and radical’ Grants for the Arts (GftA) programme promised artists ‘the chance to dream without having to produce’. It initially went a long way to doing that, as 40% of the value of grants went to 3,279 artists, who had a success rate of 52%. More than half were newcomers to Arts Council funding. From 2003-2008 almost 6,000 artists shared some £39m, with almost a quarter of grants for R&D. But austerity and scarceness of arts funding changed all that. – Arts Professional

What’s Happening To Airports? They’re Becoming Theme Park Fantasies

Changi in Singapore, which has long striven to enthral and entertain its users, outdid itself with its new “Jewel” extension to its existing terminals, essentially a shopping mall and nature-based theme park. From a great oculus in its glass roof descends the “rain vortex”, a funnel of falling water described as the “world’s tallest indoor waterfall”. It has a “butterfly garden”. It has the Shiseido Forest Valley, a 900-tree, 60,000-shrub indoor landscape named after the Japanese-based personal care company Shiseido. The forest concept is, in marketing terms, a good fit with its corporate mission: “Beauty innovations for a better world.” – The Guardian

The #ListenWider Challenge

Want to break out of your algorithmically-determined musical taste? How about being more intentional about what you listen to? Musicology Duck has set up a listening challenge for 2020 that prompts us to listen more outside our usual pathways. There are 30 challenges encouraging you to seek out music you wouldn’t normally encounter. – Musicology Duck

200 More Terracotta Warriors Found

The discovery, first announced by the country’s state-run news agency, came during a decade-long excavation of the first of four pits at the mausoleum, a 4,300-square-foot area where some 6,000 warriors were previously found. Archaeologists uncovered roughly 200 new warriors, 12 clay horses, and two chariots, as well as a number of bronze weapons, over the past 10 years. – Artnet