Economic support already wasn’t great before the pandemic in Oregon, ranked 39th in the country for its support of the arts. “The subscription model, which has been the life-blood of so many arts organizations, was already faltering and on life support.” Some major foundations have changed their priorities, donors are suffering from “donor fatigue,” and, well, now there’s a pandemic. – Oregon Artswatch
Author: ArtsJournal2
Robert Northern, Classical And Jazz Horn Player Known As Brother Ah, Has Died At 86
In the late 1950s, Northern joined the Metropolitan Opera symphony, “where, he later recalled, as the only African-American member he was often subjected to racist abuse — reminiscent of what he had endured from white officers in the military.” He also played “on some of the most storied orchestral recordings in jazz history, including The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall, John Coltrane’s Africa/Brass and Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra.” – The New York Times
The Hashtag OpenYourLobby, And Theatres Bearing Witness
Many theatres have put out statements of support for Black Lives Matter protesters, and some have put up posters saying the same things on their boarded-up windows. Then New York Theatre Workshop opened its doors to provide water and food and bathrooms for protesters, and a hashtag, and a campaign, was born. “In just a week, what started as one theater opening their doors to 64 theaters around the country opening their doors goes to show how easy you can change an industry. Not by waiting for them to do the right thing, but by artists pressuring them to do so.” – Token Theatre Friends
Black Lives Matter Protesters In Bristol Topple Statue Of Slave Trader And Throw It In The River
Why did the protesters pull down Edward Colston’s statue? “The 18ft bronze statue, erected in 1895, has long been a focal point for anger at the city’s role in the slave trade and the continued commemoration of those who were involved in it.” – The Guardian (UK)
How The Black Death Changed Art And The Human Imagination
The Black Death “was the most devastating incident in human history. It altered not only human society but the imagination itself. Its traces can be perceived today, and perhaps more lucidly during these difficult days.” – The Guardian (UK)
How The French Made The Modern Restaurant A Key Part Of A Good Life
Restaurants are reopening in France and elsewhere, and thus social life may be (somewhat) reborn. But how did the modern restaurant become the heart of social life in Paris, London, New York, Rome, and elsewhere? Look to Auguste Escoffier. – Le Monde
The Quai Branly’s Exhibits Are Firmly Built On France’s Colonial Past
And the museum’s new director will have to decide what to return to the former colonies, as well as giving the museum a new direction. (One might wonder why these tasks are given to “the first director of indigenous descent to lead a major French museum,” if one were thinking about structural racism.) – The New York Times
Composer Shaina Taub Pulled Off Her Stoop And Arrested By NYPD
Taub, a composer who has written music for the Public’s Twelfth Night and As You Like It, was cheering on a peaceful protest on her street, from her own stoop, when she and her husband were arrested. – Vulture
BookExpo Online Was Surprisingly Good
No huge crush at the Javits Center and no real timeline for rescheduling a live event meant one of publishing’s biggest events had to move, at least partially, online – in this case, to Facebook Live. “The result was a shadow of the usual spectacle, but it reached a lot of people and offered lessons for the industry as future prospects for mass gatherings remain clouded.” – The New York Times
Be Gay, Do Film Reviews, And See What Changes Over Three Decades
What’s happened in the movie industry during the time David Rooney has been reviewing for THR? A little, and a lot. “The sheer multiplicity of themes and styles, of representations across the queer identity spectrum in the past 20 years, is staggering to a critic who still remembers the long drought of near-invisibility, when even a brief appearance by a gay neighbor in a lame comedy would make me sit up with a misplaced sense of gratitude. Things are far from perfect; gay-panic humor still gets a pass way too often, especially in studio bro-coms.” – The Hollywood Reporter