“The potential market for intelligent discussion is greater than ever. Over a third of the adult U.S. population holds four-year degrees – an all-time high. And because the number of graduates who are women or African-American or Hispanic has increased dramatically, … it’s no accident that some of our fastest-rising intellectual powerhouses are people of color, such as Ta-Nehisi Coates and Roxane Gay.” (includes public intellectual “starmap”)
Author: Matthew Westphal
Oscar Voting Pool Becomes (A Bit) More Diverse As Academy Adds Largest New Class Ever
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced “that it would increase the Oscar voting pool to 8,427 people – a record high – by extending membership invitations to 774 entertainment industry professionals … If all the invitations are accepted, female membership would rise to 28 percent, from 27 percent. The percentage of minority members would climb to 13 percent, from 11 percent.”
What If You Took The Things Non-Classical Fans Think They Hate About Classical Concerts Away? This Festival Is Trying It
Cheltenham Music Festival artistic director Meurig Bowen writes about Classical Mixtape, an event he’s designed “to face head-on all those perceived barriers” – six of them, in particular – “that people come up against with classical concerts.”
Public Will Finally Get To See Cornelius Gurlitt’s Hoard Of Nazi-Looted Art
“Nearly four years after news of the discovery of the trove stunned the art world and stirred outrage over the fact that German authorities had kept its existence under wraps for months, the public will finally be allowed to view about 250 works” – among them pieces by Monet, Rodin, and Maillol – “selected from more than 1,200 as part of a show to open on Nov. 3 at the Bundeskunsthalle [in Bonn].”
New York Congresswoman Proposes Student Loan Relief For Arts Workers
“Under the American Arts Revival Act,” introduced by Nydia Velázquez, “arts workers would qualify for $10,000 of student loan forgiveness. The program would be open to ‘cultural workers, museum professionals, artistic professionals and certain arts and humanities professors’ who work full time to provide services to seniors, children, or adolescents.”
Why Would Somebody Steal A Ballet Company’s Touring Dance Floor?
The trailer containing the St. Paul Ballet’s portable stage floor, used for more than two dozen community outreach performances annually, was stolen from outside its headquarters over the weekend.
Rare Codex Illustrating Colonial Life In Peru Is Being Returned From Spain (Sort Of)
“The Spanish Ministry of Culture had declared that the work” – the 18th-century Codex Trujillo, also called the Codex Martínez Compañón – “is an important piece of Spanish heritage, preventing its export to Peru following its sale at auction to the Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI). The move provoked an uproar in the Latin American museum world. Now, as a solution, Spain will loan the work to Peru indefinitely without giving up ownership.”
Having No Home Stage Liberated The National Theatre Of Scotland
“For little more than a decade, [the company] has been a theatre ‘without walls’. If you want to see an NTS show, you have to find it first. The idea takes a little getting used to, but the absence of a building is fundamental to how the organisation operates. Far from being a limitation, it can be artistically liberating. This company is shape-shifting. It can be what it wants.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 06.28.17
Four functions/dysfunctions of managers
A former professor of mine used to say that there are two kinds of people in the world: those who divide the world into kinds of people, and those who don’t. Now, as a professor myself, I would add a third kind: … read more
AJBlog: The Artful Manager Published 2017-06-28
What A Way To Go! Fantasy Coffins from Africa
It may be summer, but it’s school days at Jack Shainman Gallery in Kinderhook, and the revelation this year is – fantasy coffins. These fascinating works, three made by a Ghanaian artist named Paa Joe, are unlike … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2017-06-28
Music Theater Where Truth Can Appear
The last time we looked it was a work in progress. That was a year ago. William Osborne and Abbie Conant had been working on it for so long, Osborne said at the time, that … read more
AJBlog: Straight|Up Published 2017-06-28
Remembering The Forgotten Brontë (Poor Old Branwell!)
“Branwell’s legacy has been shaped by sensation, such as the story that he once set his own bed on fire, or the suggestion that he died standing up. His erratic, out-of-control behaviour has contributed to his legacy as the family’s black sheep. … Despite being a passionate poet, writer and artist, he failed to hold down conventional jobs, and repeatedly succumbed to vice. Finally, his world fell apart after the end of an affair with a married woman, Lydia Gisborne, which accelerated his dependence on opiates and alcohol. He died at the young age of 31 from the long-term effects of substance abuse.”