The new festival this fall will feature six world premieres from choreographers including 2013 MacArthur fellow Kyle Abraham, Jacob Jonas and Janie Taylor — plus collaborations with noted artists on sets and costumes. – Los Angeles Times
Author: Douglas McLennan
Do Writing Programs Actually Make Good Writers Worse?
“Can good writing truly be taught? Is the traditional workshop structure—a writer stays silent while her peers lay bare her pages—good pedagogy or licensed cruelty? What people, and what size bank accounts, are allowed safe passage through exclusive academic programs? And, more importantly, what effect do all these factors have on the writer herself?” – The Walrus
Libraries Have Become Community Centers. But It’s Still Important To Be About Books
Of course, libraries have never been only about books! But reading and books are more important than ever for contemporary society, and public libraries occupy a unique position as a public reading institution. – The Conversation
Science Is Having Difficulty Replicating Some Big Studies. The Question Is What To Do About It
A consensus is finally beginning to emerge: Something is wrong with science that’s causing established results to fail. One proposed and long overdue remedy has been an overhaul of the use of statistics. – Nautilus
Study: Prices For Female Artists Rising Faster Than For Male Artists
“Sotheby’s Mei Moses found that between 2012 and 2018, sales results rose just eight percent for men, while women saw the price for their work go up an astonishing 73 percent. By comparison, the study found that resale markets for men and women had been about the same over the 50 previous years.” – Artnet
Lessons From The Whitney Biennial Debacle
Andrea Scott: “Of course, the major power dynamic at play in this story is the one between art and money. For too long, patronage of the arts has come with patronizing attitudes toward artists—that they should be grateful for funding, no matter its source. The obscenely inflated contemporary art market—whose metrics are based on auction results, from which artists don’t see a penny—has created the impression of art as a playground for the wealthy. But the delusion that art is an oasis in which beauty is truth and politics are irrelevant is more risible than it ever has been. Art isn’t made in a vacuum, and neither is money.” – The New Yorker
The Indie Publisher That Soared Too High And Fell To Earth
Chicago’s Curbside Splendor was named “Best Indie Book Publisher” by Chicago magazine in 2014, featured on Bustle’s “13 Indie Presses You Should Know” list in 2017, and even profiled in Lit Hub’s 2016 story on retail stores opened by indie presses. But behind the scenes authors and staff weren’t being paid… – LitHub
Orlando Ballet Plays Hardball In Their Negotiations With New Performing Arts Center
The Ballet leadership is definitely playing offense here. Rather than direct their side of the story to favored reporters or even just the media, these emails are going out to everyone on their mailing lists. – Orlando Weekly
Should Theatre Critics Also Be Artists? Does It Make Them Better?
“Why should we take seriously the words of someone who doesn’t understand the great amount of work involved in creating a performance? A critic’s opinion is unreliable if it’s based only on a writer’s personal preference. Personal preference tells the reader what the writer enjoys, it doesn’t tell the reader why the writer enjoyed it.” – Howlround
A Picasso Show In Beijing Provokes Debates About Censorship
“Beijing brags about its humming art scene. Galleries thrive. The art schools possess a certain frisson. Art is widely taught in elementary schools. But shrouding all this creative fervor is the meddling hand of the government. Censorship is rife in literature, and film. Although few art shows have been closed in the last few years, exhibitions are self-censored, and many artists choose to work abroad to escape the official tastemakers.” – The New York Times