When the parent company for 18 different Art Institutes closed without warning earlier in 2019, students were supposed to get their loans discharged under the Closed School Discharge program. But wait: “Students at the Art Institute of Phoenix have received denial letters from their loan companies, which state that they cannot discharge the loans because the Art Institute of Las Vegas is still open.” – Hyperallergic
Author: ArtsJournal2
Near-Future Shock
Given virtual reality, Snapchat filters, and so much more, is it any surprise to think that we might all walk around looking like heart-eyed puppies soon? All but those being placed in concentration camps, of course. (This is about a TV show. Just a show. Right?) – The Atlantic
Box Office Is Dead This Summer; Long Live Netflix?
Star power – even stars like Thor and Valkyrie, er, Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thomson; even Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling, for heck’s sake – is crashing and burning on the big screen this summer. But movie stars on Netflix are doing just fine (or so Netflix says). Can Netflix save the movie star? – The Guardian (UK)
Reviving Northern Ireland’s Poetry Scene [VIDEO]
As in other countries, poetry sales rose by double-digit amounts last year in Northern Ireland, with the bulk of that purchasing coming from people under 34. Why? Let a poet explain. – BBC
Did Singing Evolve As A Way To Bond Human Groups Together?
Possibly! Studies certainly show that singing in groups forms cohesion quickly and increases warm feelings toward strangers both quickly and strongly. Even group singing across hundreds or thousands of people can increase in-group bonding. – Aeon Magazine
Book Banning Is Becoming A Prison Epidemic
It’s for security, officials say, as they ban books about coding and cybersecurity off of lists of books prisoners can receive. But some on the lists date back to the 1990s – and no one’s hacking into AOL anymore. – Vice
The Director Of ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Says The Young Don’t Have Self-Hatred Baggage
Jon Chu, on Asian and Asian American actors in Hollywood: “What’s great about this whole movement is that instead of getting one shot at this next time, maybe we get five. I just hope we get the opportunity to fail and keep going. It makes me so hopeful when I talk to actors and directors and audience members who don’t have the same baggage I was taught coming up in the business, that heavy weight of feeling so out of place that you develop self-hatred. I think they see beyond that now.” – The New York Times
Making Sculpture A Force For Change In Yorkshire
In 1977, artists fought for a sculpture park in Yorkshire – but it was a very, very uphill climb. “More than 40 years later the stubbornness appears to have paid off. The YSP is at the heart of Yorkshire Sculpture International (YSI), a new festival” that is changing the area. But it started with an idea that politicians, residents, and local businesses didn’t want. – The Guardian (UK)
What’s The Future For Arthouse Films In China?
Wang Jingchun, who won the Best Actor award at Cannes, says, “The rising box office is a really good thing. At its worst, we hardly had a box office to speak of. There also used to be a problem with content: The subjects and perspectives were too old. Now we need new concepts, and young people coming up now are bringing all sorts of new ones to the table, new kinds of cinematic thinking. Also, foreign and Hollywood films have come in, and everyone’s seen everything. . … Audiences have these needs, and theaters have at least started to provide a platform for them to see this stuff.” – Variety
Will Omaha Become A Center For Children’s Theatre Development?
That’s the hope as Rose Theater gets a large new building and plans to open one of the country’s biggest theatre academies – a “game-changer” for Omaha, but perhaps for the wider theatre world of the Midwest as well. – Omaha World-Herald