“”This is my second plague,” he said he told his company recently. ‘I know it’s kind of a coarse thing to say. They’re different, but they have things in common.’ Yes, the circumstances of the coronavirus are different, but there’s a sense that the dance world, which suffered tremendous losses during the AIDS crisis, has been through this all before. … [And Jones] is looking exactly like an artist with the experience and wisdom to help others navigate the present moment.” – The New York Times
Author: Matthew Westphal
70% Of Audience Would Rather See New Movies At Home Than At A Theater: Study
“The results — from a survey of roughly 1,000 people in mid-May by sports and events analytics firm Performance Research, in partnership with Full Circle Research Co. — point to just how steep a climb the entertainment industry has in front of it to win back public perception that it’s safe to attend, and spend money on, public events again.” – Variety
Orchestra Musicians Face No Increased Risk Of Transmitting Coronavirus While Playing, Finds Study
If, that is, the players remain one meter apart, per current regulations. The research, commissioned by the Vienna Philharmonic and carried out earlier this month, “involved members of the orchestra each being fitted with an aerosol device inside their noses, which spayed a fine mist into their lungs. They were then placed in front of a black canvas and very brightly lit from the front, then photographed while playing. This made it possible to view the mist and the extent to which it travelled in the air.” – The Strad
Can Cirque Du Soleil Survive The Pandemic?
“Even before the pandemic, the sprawling company was struggling with bloat and creative fatigue after a consortium led by an American private equity firm acquired it in 2015, and accelerated a debt-fueled global expansion spree.” Meanwhile, the performers face ever more uncertainty; as one put it, “There aren’t a lot of LinkedIn listings for unemployed contortionists.” – The New York Times
Dutch Cultural Institutions Start Reopening Process June 1
“With a list of conditions that will leave most venue operators scratching their heads, venues can reopen on the basis that a maximum of 30 people – including staff – are allowed in at any one time and they remain 1.5 meters apart. A reservation system must also be in place, with no walk-in customers admitted. Venue owners must discuss potential risks with visitors before they enter. The maximum number of visitors to cultural institutions will be increased to 100 in the following stage of the plan from 1 July, if the virus is kept ‘under control’.” – IQ Magazine
Italian Museums And Historic Sites Begin To Reopen
Among the venues receiving the public this week are the Galleria Borghese in Rome, the Castello di Rivoli in Turin, and the Duomo in Florence — each with its own limits on visitor traffic, based on the building’s size and layout. Among the best bits of news is that the major Raphael exhibition at Rome’s Quirinale, which shut down only three days after opening in March, will resume from June 2 to August 30. – Artnet
Italy Will Resume Live Performances And Cinema Screenings As Of June 15
There will be strict rules in place for the time being: audience limits of 200 indoors and 1,000 outdoors, one meter’s distance between individuals, masks and temperature checks required, mandatory procedures for sanitizing and ventilating venues and directing audience traffic. – The Strad
Chinese Government Bans Knockoffs Of Foreign Buildings
In recent years Chinese developers have been putting up, and opening to buyers and renters, reproductions of such attractions as an English village, a lakeside Austrian town, and a Paris neighborhood complete with Eiffel Tower. The government has now had enough: it has prohibited “plagiarising, imitating, and copycatting” foreign landmarks or historical styles, calling for “a new era [of architecture to] strengthen cultural confidence, show the city’s features, exhibit the contemporary spirit, and display the Chinese characteristics.” – BBC
What Comes Next? IV
“It behooves us to spend some time considering how we might prepare not just for a new financial reality but for a new social one. It will be important to be and be seen as partners in making a better and more livable world – not just by being presenters of arts events but by being valuable community citizens.” – Doug Borwick
Tarot Card Reader Who Claimed To Be Dalí’s Daughter Loses Appeal, Must Pay For Digging Up His (Exquisite) Corpse
“A Spanish court has dismissed an appeal from a psychic who claimed to be Salvador Dalí’s long-lost daughter after DNA results debunked the outlandish theory. Pilar Abel has been ordered to pay for exhuming the surrealist artist’s body three years ago in her quest to prove he was her father.” (Exquisite? Why, yes — Dalí’s mustache remains intact.) – Artnet