Alexander Adams: “British arts venues are now ripe for the taking. They are staffed by individuals schooled in cultural relativism and primed by feminism, anti-colonialism and identity politics. They are eager to turn their bastions of so-called privilege and oppression into beacons of inclusivity and empowerment. Their overwhelmingly left-leaning political beliefs welcome the chance to throw off the shackles of connoisseurship, historical rigour and professional integrity in order to become champions of social justice.” – Standpoint
Blog
Lots Of Misinformation About Notre Dame. So What’s Next?
Now come the trickier questions. Should the cathedral be restored to look as it did before? Or should some modern changes acknowledge the fire? Hardly had the fire died down when French prime minister Édouard Philippe announced an international architectural competition to design a replacement spire “suited to the techniques and challenges of our time.” – Dallas News
Change the dance, change the world
Bob Fosse and Jerome Robbins: two artists whose choreography is tightly locked into the DNA of the silver-plated shows they helped create. New choreography for those shows? It’s about ever mother-lovin’ time. – David Jays
Coachella Is Inventive Musically. So Why Isn’t The Visual Art Better?
The lack of almost any original ideas, a true understanding of the history of festival structures – other than at Do Lab — and experimentation with new images, forms, or structures seems to preclude anything but a giant trash heap, where the remains of these designs will join the millions of plastic water bottles and other detritus left behind by the event in just burdening our planet even further. – Dezeen
Damning Report On Perceptions Of Arts Council England’s Workplace Culture
An independent assessment of ACE’s reputation as an employer concludes that applicants from diverse demographic groups perceive the funder as inaccessible and feel that ACE looks for a particular ‘type’ to join its workforce. – Arts Professional
Frank Gehry’s Design For The New Warner Brothers Studios HQ
The Canadian-American architect hopes the project will “recapture that feeling of old Hollywood splendour” that existed during its early years. “Once upon a time, Hollywood Studios had an important architectural presence in the city – they were like monuments to the movie-making process,” said Gehry. – Dezeen
Arts Funder Tells Its Winning Artists To Pay Themselves Better
The call to artists to apply for this self-defined professional development support encouraged applicants to include a fee for their own time. However, of the 263 applications received, 62% didn’t include one and many of those that did asked for fees lower than the rates recommended by sector bodies. – Arts Professional
CEO Jack Dorsey On What He Would Do Differently If He Was Starting Twitter Now
“If I had to start the service again, I would not emphasize the follower count as much. I would not emphasize the ‘like’ count as much. I don’t think I would even create ‘like’ in the first place, because it doesn’t actually push what we believe now to be the most important thing, which is healthy contribution back to the network and conversation to the network, participation within conversation, learning something from the conversation.” – The New Yorker
Netflix’s “Woke” Tweets Versus Its Corporate Decisions
Netflix’s Twitter feed talks like it’s a person, making comments and observations, and trying to be your best friend. It’s a tough act to pull off… – Washington Post
We Need A Better Definition Of Troll
Asking a troll to define trolling is a bit like asking a terrorist to define terrorism. The question backfires; it invites prevarication and propaganda. But in the past few years, an answer has become increasingly necessary—and elusive. Without one, can we clearly distinguish teasing from hate speech? – Wired