“In June things were looking bleak for Perseverance Theatre, a 40-year-old institution and the largest theatre in Alaska. The company had been forced to cancel its spring show, a new musical called Snow Child, had furloughed several employees, and was more than $200,000 in debt. Local press wondered if the theatre was on its deathbed. Then something miraculous happened.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
U.S. Cities Are Putting Life-Sized Games In Parks
“Whether it’s supersized chess and checkers in Buffalo or giant Scrabble at The Wharf in Washington, D.C., the games appeal to children and the young adults who have flooded into cities in recent years, and whom developers and businesses are eager to court. They’re part of a larger push for ‘playable’ cities, and for urban public spaces to be active rather than contemplative.
Contemporary Austin And Blanton Museum Give 500 Artworks To 17 Other Texas Institutions
“Last year the Contemporary Austin and the Blanton Museum of Art announced that 700 works of art from Contemporary’s permanent collection would be transferred to the Blanton, a move that solidified the Contemporary’s focus on collecting outdoor sculpture for its Marcus Sculpture Park. … Today, the Blanton and the Contemporary announced that some 500 of the 700 artworks have now been transferred to 17 Texas art museums. The Blanton has formally acquired 200 pieces of the Contemporary’s legacy collection.”
Smithsonian’s Freer And Sackler Galleries Name New Director
“A Middle East historian and author who is president of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York will be the next director of the Smithsonian’s Asian art museums. Chase F. Robinson will begin his tenure on Dec. 10 as the director of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art … He succeeds Julian Raby, who retired in December after 15 years.”
New Contemporary Ballet Company Debuts In Orlando
United Ballet Theatre gives its first performance on Sunday at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Reporter Matthew J. Palm talks to the company’s founder, 33-year-old former Orlando Ballet member Joseph Gatti, and others involved with UBT’s birth.
Trouble For Hong Kong’s Planned M+ Museum As Lead Contractor Goes Bankrupt
The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority has terminated the $750 million (US) contract of Hsin Chong Construction Company on grounds of insolvency. The Authority, which has kept construction going for the past 18 months by paying subcontractors and workers directly, has halted work at the site for six to eight weeks – but it insists that there will be no further delay in opening the museum.
Meet The Founder Of The Ballet School In Nairobi’s Largest Slum
“Mike Wamaya’s life was turned upside down when his father died and he had to drop out of school to earn money for the family. A chance audition for a visiting performing arts company led to an international career as a performer, but Wamaya wanted to use his skills to help children growing up in the most challenging circumstances in Nairobi. Today, children who complete the programme in Kibera often go on to artistic careers.” (podcast)
Hanna Mina, Dean Of Syrian Novelists, Dead At 94
“[He] chronicled the lives of the poor and oppressed in dozens of books as one of the first Arab novelists to employ social realism … Mr. Mina’s career spanned half a century, and several of his works were adapted for film and television. But only two were translated into English.”
What Does It Mean To Be Human? The Question Itself Is A Problem
Martha Nussbaum: “We humans are very self-focused. We tend to think that being human is somehow very special and important, so we ask about that, instead of asking what it means to be an elephant, or a pig, or a bird. … The question, ‘What is it to be human?’ is not just narcissistic, it involves a culpable obtuseness. It is rather like asking, ‘What is it to be white?’ It connotes unearned privileges that have been used to dominate and exploit. But we usually don’t recognize this because our narcissism is so complete.”
Giving Hedda Sterne Another Chance
Hedda Sterne is not a name you hear very often, so I was pleased last spring when I learned that the Amon Carter Museum of American Art was giving her a solo exhibition.