“The group’s deceptively simple premise — that getting musicians from groups [Israel and the Arab world] that have been opposed for decades to play together would foster understanding — seems even more ambitious in this polarized age.” (Indeed, the orchestra’s current tour of the U.S. nearly collapsed when the Trump administration withheld visas for some of its members.) As the conductor told reporter Michael Cooper, “When I’m with [the musicians], it doesn’t feel quixotic at all. When I talk to you, I know it is quixotic.”
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When We Say That ‘Art Is A Right, Not A Privilege’, What Exactly Do We Mean?
The statement can mean one of two things: “access to art is a moral right” or “access to art ought to be a legal right; that free access to museums and other institutions housing cultural artifacts should be legally guaranteed to citizens.” NYU art professor Nickolas Calabrese argues that, while the first would seem to be true on its face, the second is far more problematic than most people who favor it seem to realize.
Do Swag Gifts To Donors Actually Help Raise More Money?
Some nonprofits insist that donors expect these “premiums”; some donors insist they want as much money and staff time as possible to be spent on the nonprofit’s actual mission. Jonathan Meer, an economist who studies altruism and philanthropy, looked at existing research and did an experiment of his own to find out of giving swag to donors is worth it. The answer? Well, …
Pennsylvania Backs Off Banning Book Donations For Prisoners
This past summer, the state Dept. of Corrections introduced a ban on giving books to individual inmates; the rule was part of a suite of measures taken to sten the flow of illegal drugs into prisons. After pushback from prisoners’ rights and book donation groups, the policy has been relaxed, though books will still have to be inspected at a separate location before being given to inmates.
‘Insufficient Information’: Finding Of Montreal Symphony Investigation Into Charles Dutoit Allegations
An independent investigation, ordered by the orchestra’s board last year, “did not yield sufficient information in relation to allegations of sexual harassment” by Dutoit, the ensemble’s music director from 1977 to 2002. The two complainants, for undisclosed reasons, did not speak with the investigators.
Selfie-Takers Accidentally Damage Goya And Dalí Works In Russia
In a slightly different twist on the usual heedless-selfiers-wreck-priceless-art tale, a group of four girls at an exhibition in Yekaterinburg gathered for a snap on one side of a temporary wall — and on the other side were hanging Goya’s Bravissimo! etching from Los Caprichos and Dalí’s riff on said etching. The girls knocked the wall over; it landed on top of the artworks and barely missed another museumgoer. (includes video)
Actor Geoffrey Rush’s Defamation Lawsuit Is Banner Issue In Australia’s #MeToo Movement
In two front-page articles last year, the Sydney tabloid The Daily Telegraph published leaked complaints by an actress that Rush made inappropriately suggestive banter to her and (as King Lear) stroked her breast onstage as he lamented over her (Cordelia’s) body. The Oscar-Emmy-Tony-winning Rush, who claims he has suffered physical illness from stress over the reports, insists that the allegations aren’t true and sued the Telegraph for defamation.
Cost Of Manchester’s New Arts Center Goes Up By Almost £20 Million
The Factory, designed by Rem Koolhaas’s OMA and going up on the site of the old Granada TV studios, is now budgeted to cost more than £130 million. The additional costs are caused by “construction inflation” and design changes required to improve the venue’s acoustics.
Qatar’s New National Museum, Designed By Jean Nouvel, Will Open Next March
“Innovative presentation techniques are planned throughout: entire walls will become cinema screens, individual cocoons will hold oral histories, and handheld mobile devices will guide visitors through the museum’s displays.” (Nouvel also designed the other enormous new museum in the Gulf: the Louvre Abu Dhabi.)
London Dance Hub The Place Names New Artistic Director
“[Eddie] Nixon is a former associate director and more recently director of theatre and artist development at the Place. … He takes over from Richard Alston, who leaves the role this month after 24 years at the helm of the contemporary dance venue.” (Alston’s eponymous dance company, which has been headquartered at The Place, will be shut down.)