“As the baby boom was hitting its peak and Sputnik was prompting much hand-wringing about the state of American education, a vigorous debate over literacy was beginning to take shape, and [Theodor Seuss] Geisel found himself thrust to the forefront of the battle.” – The New Yorker
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A “Commercial” Case For Investing In The Arts
“Despite the constant avowal and assertion of the intrinsic value of arts and culture, funding for art and culture is still often treated as a discretionary spend which is somehow secondary to the needs of what are defined as being more essential services like the NHS. But art and culture do not only make a huge contribution in their own right to the taxation which funds those essential services. They are also the principal reason for the constantly acclaimed commercial success of the creative industries, which make an even larger contribution to the public purse, which funds those essential services we all value.” – Arts Professional
The Man Who Made The Ojai Music Festival Cool
Before Thomas W. Morris became artistic director in 2004, the Southern California contemporary music event was respected but somewhat, as Zachary Woolfe puts it, “insular and Eurocentric … If high modernism could be cozy, this was it.” Morris opened Ojai up to the ever-more-lively American new music scene and brought in as visiting music directors (a new one each year) a range of starry, even hip artists such as Mark Morris, Eighth Blackbird, Vijay Iyer, and (this year) Barbara Hannigan. – The New York Times
Busting Genre: Blurring The Ingredients In “Classical” Music
“We’re trying to create a balance between things we know are really good and things that we maybe aren’t sure about but don’t ‘fit in’ to the typical new music ideal. It’s tricky — there are just certain kinds of music that neither of us has any experience evaluating. We’ve had to draw some boundaries based on logistics and our own level of knowledge.” – San Francisco Classical Voice
Bringing ‘The Healing Power Of Dance’ To Women’s Prisons
Lucy Wallace, who has degrees in dance and psychology, brings her Dance to Be Free program of classes and workshops to 13 prisons in eight states — on a budget of $100,000 a year.- The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Warning: The Internet Is Splintering In Front Of Us
As the legendary Humpty Dumpty cracked, never to be repaired, Internet 1.0 is shattering, too. Now we are hammering the internet into a splinternet of different forms. Regional digital “nations” are forming, and it’s likely that this fracturing will continue as sovereign entities apply their own rules about content, commerce, privacy, and politics. – Quartz
Is This A Moment African-American Art Has Been Waiting For?
“Indications are everywhere that this is a turning point for black artists. Collectors and museums are taking note, and prices are up. Every week brings news of black scholars being appointed to curatorial and academic positions in art. … [And] the reasons are as varied as the art itself.” – San Francisco Chronicle
What Are The Best Wall Colors For Displaying Art? Nine Curators Weigh In
No, the answer isn’t merely “white” — for one thing, there are many whites to chose from (just go to Home Depot and check the paint chips) — and for some purposes, various shades of blue, green, or yellow work even better. – Hyperallergic
Terese Hayden, Who Aided The Careers Of Untold Thousands Of Actors, Dead At 98
In addition to a five-decade career an an actor, director, producer, and teacher (among her students at Circle in the Square were Kevin Bacon, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Lady Gaga), she created The Players’ Guide: A Pictorial Directory for the Legitimate Theater, the first-ever organized and bound listing for casting directors of Equity actors, complete with photos and résumés. – The New York Times
More, More, More At Edinburgh Fringe — More Shows, More Venues, More Countries Represented Than Ever Before
“The 2019 programme … includes 3,841 shows, up from 3,548 in 2018, and 59,600 performances, up from 56,796. The programme has a record 63 countries represented, and more than 700 free shows, with more than 400 ‘pay what you want’ shows, an increase from 260 last year.” – The Herald (Scotland)