“The then co-chairs of the board of … sent potential donors a letter in December, just in time for tax-deductible gifts in 2017 that said: ‘We often say that the Getty can do anything, but it cannot do everything.’ The letter invited supporters to ‘join with us in special initiatives that can raise the Getty to new heights’, especially education programmes and exhibitions.” The Getty’s endowment as of last year was $6.9 billion.
Author: Matthew Westphal
The ‘Netflix Of Reading’ Is Finally Taking Off
“Amazon stepped into e-book rentals in 2014 with its $10-per-month Kindle Unlimited service … But a small competitor named Scribd started even earlier and offers larger quantities of popular content – for a buck less. In the past year, it’s grown subscribers by over 40% to 700,000 (still well behind Kindle Unlimited’s estimated 2.5 million-plus) and has started making a steady monthly profit. After introducing unlimited reading and then moving away from it, the company is bringing it back, with some limitations designed to make it economically viable.”
Australia’s Only Classical Music And Arts Magazine Abruptly Closes
Limelight, launched in 1976 as the magazine of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Classic FM radio and spun off in 2006, cancelled printing of its March issue on Tuesday and laid off its staff. Said publisher Andrew Batt-Rawden, “The magazine has improved a lot financially, we are reaching a big audience across Australia and a few internationally, but my personal situation was that I simply couldn’t continue the monthly profit and loss.” (He is talking to potential buyers.)
Montreal Mayor Wants To Strip Charles Dutoit Of City’s Highest Honor
The Order of Montreal was founded in 2016 in honor of the city’s 375th anniversary, and Dutoit – music director of the Montreal Symphony from 1977-2002, and the conductor who brought the orchestra to international prominence – was one of its first recipients. Now, with serious allegations of sexual misconduct being revealed, Montreal mayor Valérie Plante has asked the committee administering the Order to consider whether Dutoit’s award should be revoked.
WNYC Reels, Staff And Listeners Seethe Over Handling Of Harassment And Bullying Complaints
Two months after two longtime hosts were fired from the New York public radio giant – which was shortly after news broke of John Hockenberry’s egregious misconduct as host of The Takeaway – stories of a dysfunctional workplace culture are spreading, the station’s number-two has been demoted but not dismissed, and WNYC’s president tries to correct longstanding problems and fend off complaints about her management and high salary.
Alvin Ailey Dancers Boycott Their Own Gala
After a well-received performance at the Kennedy Center, the performers stayed away from the annual gala after-party. “On Instagram, the dancers are directing followers to a new account called Artists of Ailey, which references their union. They have been in contract negotiations since December. … AGMA, the dancers’ union, said in a statement … that the artists boycotted the gala ‘based on management’s failure to adequately address the group’s substandard wages and benefits.'”
DC’s Newseum, In Ever Deeper Financial Trouble, In Talks About Selling Its Building
“The museum’s financial woes, including lackluster fundraising and the weight of its primary benefactor’s $300 million debt burden, have long prompted speculation that it would be forced to leave its grand location on Pennsylvania Avenue, just blocks from the Capitol, or close altogether.”
New Picasso Museum, World’s Largest, To Open In France In 2021
Catherine Hutin-Blay – the daughter of Jacqueline Roque, Picasso’s second wife – is donating her collection of 2,000 Picasso works to form the basis of a museum in a former convent school in Aix-en-Provence.
BAM Has Found Its New Artistic Director
The Brooklyn Academy of Music, the hippest of New York’s major performing arts venues, has chosen David Binder, a theater and arts festival producer best known for shepherding Hedwig and the Angry Inch from its nightclub origins all the way through its Tony-winning Broadway run. Binder replaces Joseph Melillo, who worked at BAM for 35 years and helped make it into the major institution it has become.
4,400-Year-Old Tomb Of Egyptian Priestess Found Near Cairo
“The [burial chamber] was uncovered in a cemetery to the west of the Great Pyramid in October of 2017. It appears to have been built for a Priestess of Hathor identified as Hetpet. The paintings inside the tomb imagine the high-ranking priestess in various scenarios – receiving offerings from her children, hunting and fishing. There are scenes of people smelting metal and building papyrus boats on display as well as images of domesticated monkeys picking fruit and dancing in front of an orchestra.”