The 16th-century Book of Hours that belonged to King François I has been in the UK since 1720; the export ban placed on it last year has now expired, with no potential British buyer having come forward.
Blog
Sarasota Orchestra Music Director Anu Tali To Step Down
The 45-year-old Finnish conductor told the orchestra’s board that she would not renew her contract when it expires in 2019. She plans to concentrate on her international career.
Smucker’s Gives $1.1 Million To Akron Art Museum
“The J.M. Smucker Co.” – yes, the folks who make jam and peanut butter – “is giving $1.1 million to the Akron Art Museum to support the museum’s endowment and Free Thursdays program.”
At Cambridge, Dons Debate How To ‘Decolonise’ English Lit Syllabus
“A group of academics at the University of Cambridge is considering how to implement a call from undergraduates to ‘decolonise’ its English literature syllabus by taking in more black and minority ethnic writers, and bringing post-colonial thought to its existing curriculum. The debate is being followed closely by other universities.”
‘Producer’ Who Bilked Investors With Non-Existent Play Sentenced To Prison
“Roland Scahill, 42, confessed to a scheme that took place between October 2014 and August 2015, in which Mr. Scahill told associates that he had secured the rights to the life story of Kathleen Battle, the opera singer, and was going to produce a one-woman play called The Kathleen Battle Project with Lupita Nyong’o as its star.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 10.25.17
Excellence and Engagement: III
In my two previous posts I have been exploring the question of excellence as it applies to community engagement in the arts. Here, I want to address issues of equity and respect for communities in this context. … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2017-10-24
The Legacy of ’90s Indie Rock
If you live long enough and write for a living, there’s a pretty good chance you will end up “curating” — to use the current term – your own youth. … read more
AJBlog: CultureCrash Published 2017-10-25
Fats Domino, Rhythm-And-Blues Legend And One Of The Creators Of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Dead At 89
Throughout the 1950s and early ’60s, he sold up to 70 million records, including such well-remembered hits as “Blueberry Hill”, “I’m Walkin'”, and “Red Sails in the Sunset”. Even as late as the mid-’70s, he had been outsold by only The Beatles and Elvis Presley, who insisted that Domino was the better rock ‘n’ roll singer.
Peter Gelb Talks About The Heavy Lift To Keep The Metropolitan Opera Afloat
“Instituting change in a 400-year art form hasn’t been easy. Grand opera is the most complex and complicated of the performing arts since it involves a full-size symphony orchestra of 90 or more players, a full-sized chorus of 80 or more singers, and scores of principal singers dancers and supernumeraries,” Gelb said. “It’s no wonder that one of our board members is fond of quoting an aphorism he attributes to Winston Churchill, that ‘the only endeavor more complicated than grand opera is war.’
Leon Wieseltier Responds To Charges Of Harassment
“For my offenses against some of my colleagues in the past I offer a shaken apology and ask for their forgiveness,” Wieseltier said in a statement. “The women with whom I worked are smart and good people. I am ashamed to know that I made any of them feel demeaned and disrespected. I assure them that I will not waste this reckoning.”
Why Companies Should Invest In Artists: Self Interest
“Could I be the artist-in-residence to help your team ideate? Could I develop a way of communicating with people to make the workplace a better place?” The role of artists should go beyond just one-off projects, like designing a flier; creatives could have a real impact on the way business is approached and carried through if they are given a supported role within a company.