“Two weeks ago, the Maryland-based National Philharmonic announced that it was planning to close because it had run out of money. Now, the group has an embarrassment of riches. On Tuesday, the orchestra administration said that it had raised the funds needed to stay open, while on Monday night, a local musician and businessman presented to the board a concrete proposal to save the year-round regional orchestra.” – The Washington Post
Author: Matthew Westphal
Exploding Rents, Exploited Workers, Exasperated Locals — The Edinburgh Fringe Can’t Go On Like This
“Perhaps not, but where does the responsibility for change lie? Lyn Gardner speaks to theatremakers and festival organisers.” – The Stage
The Island Whose Contemporary Dance Company Are Superstars
In Taiwan, Cloud Gate Dance Theater is so beloved that the company’s farewell performance for founding director Lin Hwai-min (who’s reitring after 46 years) drew 50,000 people to the plaza in front of the National Theatre. Roslyn Sulcas talks to Lin and his successor as artistic director, Cheng Tsung-lung. – The New York Times
The Art Institute of Chicago’s James Rondeau on Increasing Diversity in the Curatorial Field
“We’ve always been a teaching and training organization. And one of the things that we realized will help ensure our ongoing relevance is that we need museum professionals who more accurately reflect the cosmopolitan city we are in.” – Artnet
New Professional Company Will Tour Shakespeare Around Asia
Says producer Jamie Hendry, founder of the New English Shakespeare Company, “There’s an appetite for this. Audiences are being developed in a lot of cities around the world. We are focusing on the Middle East, Asia and South East Asia, and they are all beginning to become accustomed to NT Live and the big musicals. So to be able to provide some drama and something they would not receive otherwise is a fantastic challenge.” – The Stage
Oakland’s Beloved Green Monster, Once Faded, Is Now Better (And Greener) Than Ever
The Mid-Century Monster, a children’s play structure created in 1952 by artist Robert Winston for the shores of the city’s Lake Merritt, had by 2015 become “a washed-up husk. Its chartreuse color had faded to a drab white. Several of its knobbly concrete limbs had begun to crack. … But this year, after a long restoration project, the monster has finally been let out of its cage.” – Atlas Obscura
Taking Over From Ohad Naharin At Batsheva Dance Company Is A Huge Challenge. Here’s The Woman Who Took It On
Gili Navot, who has been leading the company since last September: “For the past 30 years, Ohad was artistic director and choreographer, and this is the first time there was a separation between the two. … Over the course of the season we were able to go through a process in which he learned to let go and I learned to take. There was something harmonious about it and it is still happening and taking shape, but somehow it is clear.” – Haaretz (Israel)
How Far Ahead Of Her Time Was Ida Lupino? This Far
“In between Not Wanted [about unwed mothers] and Outrage [about a rape victim], Lupino had directed Never Fear, a movie depicting people surviving polio, which Lupino had contracted herself in the 1930s. If I told you even one of those movies had been made in the late ’40s or early ’50s you would probably be doubtful. That one woman was instrumental in bringing all three into existence is an astounding achievement.” – 3 Quarks Daily
Kinetic Art Pioneer Carlos Cruz-Diez Dead At 95
“[His] multilayered, eye-popping works challenged conventional notions of perception, color, and light, helping to define what became known as Kinetic Art and Op Art … His work eventually leapt off the wall and into sculptures, installation, and immersive environments, [which] he called ‘Chromosaturations.'” – ARTnews
Emmett Till Memorial In Mississippi Keeps Getting Shot At, So It’s Being Replaced With A Bulletproof Version
“This will be the fourth sign that the [Emmett Till Memorial Commission] has placed at the site. The first was swiped in 2008, and no arrests were ever made in connection with the incident. The replacement marker was vandalized with bullets, more than 100 rounds over the course of several years. Just 35 days after it was erected in 2018, the third sign was shot at as well.” – Smithsonian Magazine