“The Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation” – co-founded by rap mogul Russell Simmons – “has helped pay for art and dance classes for thousands of children and opened galleries giving young artists of color, such as Kehinde Wiley, who would later paint the official portrait of Barack Obama, a place to showcase their work. … [And] the Kevin Spacey Foundation mentored and trained young performers.” The latter has closed up shop, and the former may have to pull out of New York. In the past year, “organizations have rapidly distanced and denounced their now-unsavory benefactors, in an effort to keep the rest of their donors from fleeing.”
Blog
Smithsonian Chief Supports Women’s History Programming, But Not A New Women’s History Museum
“We are half of America. Don’t we deserve a museum?”, said Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), who has written legislation to establish a women’s history museum at the Smithsonian. (She claims to have 250 co-sponsors.) But Smithsonian Secretary David J. Skorton, who has just announced the launch of an institution-wide Women’s History Initiative, says, “We’re not in a position to initiate any new museums in the near future.”
America’s Favorite Dictionary Began As A Nationalist Project
“Merriam-Webster‘s … original goal [was] to create and preserve a monolithic American culture. Noah Webster Jr., the dictionary’s founding author, was one of the first American nationalists, and he wrote his reference books with the express purpose of creating a single definition of American English – one that often existed at the expense of regional and cultural variation of any kind.”
The World’s Most Visited Museums And Exhibitions, 2017 Edition
The Louvre, as usual, had the highest attendance, although the National Museum of China is a very close second, with the Met a distant third. The two most popular shows – which comes first depends on which way you count – were of Impressionist and Modern paintings in Paris and of late 12th-century Buddhist sculptures in Tokyo.
Michael Tree, Founding Violist Of Guarneri Quartet, Dead At 84
“‘Michael set a new standard for the viola,’ [violinist Arnold] Steinhardt, [Tree’s Guarneri colleague,] said. ‘Now orchestras are not filled with failed violinists playing the viola, but with sensational violists,’ performers whom Mr. Tree encouraged to treat the viola as an integral part of an ensemble, rather than a backing voice supporting a violin’s melody or cello’s ostinato.”
Discoverers Of Prehistoric Chauvet Cave Art Finally Win Some Intellectual Property Rights To Their Discovery
“The cave, which houses wall paintings dating back around 30,000 years, was discovered in 1994 by Jean-Marie Chauvet, Eliette Brunel-Deschamps and Christian Hillaire. … [The three] argued that they had been stripped of their own discovery and they claimed the rights to hundreds of photographs and videos taken at the time as well as to the Chauvet name. They also sought a role in the management of the replica site.” (The original, for its own protection, is closed to visitors.)
One North London Theatre School For Kids Taught Many Of Britain’s Best Working-Class Actors
For half a century, Anna Scher has been teaching young students and adults in Islington, once quite a rough neighborhood. “In that time, she has created numerous stars, given hope and purpose to kids who had none, started her own theatre, seen it taken away from her, had a traumatic breakdown and fought her way back to good health and standing. At 73, she is once again thriving.”
How A South American Capital Remade One Of Its Most Congested Streets Into A Pedestrian-Only Artwork
“It was all done in record time. In just 30 days, more than 120 people – led by 32-year-old Chilean visual artist Dasic Fernández – transformed one of the most congested and iconic streets in the center of [Santiago,] the Chilean capital. Today, Bandera Street, next to the government palace and the city’s main square, is a colorful promenade, thanks to an urban intervention that’s unprecedented in Latin America.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 04.02.18
Who is Kirill Petrenko? The incoming Berlin Phil chief conductor – at least for the moment – can do no wrong
Though not a stranger to New York, Kirill Petrenko showed every sign of being discovered by some highly engaged Carnegie Hall audiences in a two-day visit by the Bavarian State Opera, … read more
AJBlog: Condemned to Music Published 2018-04-02
Propwatch: the book in The Inheritance
A companionable slump of young men sits on the floor and frown over notebooks and laptops. They squirm to tell their story, but they’re struggling. One clutches a cherished volume – Howard’s End by E.M. Forster, … read more
AJBlog: Performance Monkey Published 2018-04-02
Shostakovich and Film — Take Two
I spent the last two days repeatedly viewing – and (as the orchestra’s pianist) participating in – screenings of the 1929 Soviet silent film The New Babylon, … [and] I have no doubt that Shostakovich’s score, however little known (there is no suite by the composer), is one of the most formidable ever composed for film. … read more
AJBlog: Unanswered Question Published 2018-04-02
Recent Listening In Brief
Edward Simon, Sorrows & Triumphs (Sunnyside)
Rich DeRosa, Perseverence (North Texas Jazz)
Azar Lawrence, Elementals (High Note)
Willie Nelson, American Classic (Blue Note) … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2018-04-02
The Game Sensation “Fortnite” Is Also Becoming A Dance Sensation
The free-to-play Fortnite: Battle Royale has become a cultural sensation with a wide-ranging playerbase. How do we know? Because professional sports players won’t stop mimicking the game’s weird dances in real life. Maybe one day they’ll be doing one of your dances — because Epic Games just launched a contest for players to submit video of their smooth moves, with the best one making it into Fortnite.