“From the basement of his house in Hackney, an artsy borough in London’s East End, [Jon] Underwood perpetuated a movement that spread to more than a dozen countries with more than 1,000 gatherings. … These were not grief support groups or end-of-life planning sessions, but rather casual forums for people who wanted to bat around” – over tea and cake, a key element of the project – “philosophical thoughts. What is death like? Why do we fear it? How do our views of death inform the way we live?
Blog
Checking Out The Youth Theater Where Tina Fey Got Her Start
“Fey is an alum of Upper Darby Summer Stage, a recreation program at the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center that has exposed countless kids to musical theater since 1976. Founded by musician, director, and educator Harry Dietzler and administered by Upper Darby Township” – just across the city line from West Philadelphia – “Summer Stage gives practical experience to would-be actors and singers, directors, lighting designers, and set builders, who mount six children’s shows and a main-stage musical each season. They are guided by teachers, voice coaches, and directors, many of whom grew up in the program.”
What’s Going On With Fusion? It’s Being Splintered (Ahem) By Univision
Last year Univision bought up what was left of Gawker‘s network of sites and renamed it Gizmodo Media Group, into which it merged the Fusion.net site. But Univision also owns the Fusion television network (the Hispanic media giant’s first push into English-language broadcasting), so that channel is going to the Fusion.net address, while Fusion’s online journalism is moving to a new site called Splinter. Editor-in-chief Dodai Stewart says about the name, “Our aim is to do the kind of news coverage and commentary that gets under your skin.”
When A Famous Dance Venue Offers To Showcase A Young Choreographer’s Work, How Does She Scare Up The Money To Make It Happen?
“When invited by the Joyce Theater to return to its Ballet Festival, a biennial event spotlighting independent and emerging ballet choreographers, [Emery LeCrone] thought back to the 2015 festival when her troupe made its Joyce debut, performing for two nights. Despite selling out both shows, she came out of that experience in a state of what she calls ‘burnout, completely.'” Happily, “financially, this time is different.”
SFMOMA Will Text You Art On Request
As the museum’s website describes the project, called “Send Me,” “Text 572-51 with the words ‘send me’ followed by a keyword, a color, or even an emoji and you’ll receive a related artwork image and caption via text message.” The Twitterverse is loving it.
I Tried SFMOMA’s ‘Send Me’, And Here’s What They Sent
Matthew Olson started with “send me a landscape” and was chagrined to receive Robert Gober’s Prison Window. (“What does it say about me that my landscape riffs on a prison cell?”) So he kept trying – and moved on to requests like “send me an idea” and “send me joy.” (The response to his final request, the notorious eggplant emoji, suggests that SFMOMA may need to tweak its algorithm a little.)
The Slow Fade Of Classical Music Journalism – And The (Early) Signs Of Its Revival
A longread by Joseph Carman surveys the damage of the past few years, especially at regional newspapers, and the newer fora in which coverage of classical music is surviving and growing. As ArtsJournal’s own Doug McLennan tells Carman, “We’re in that period where it’s not obvious yet what’s going to win out as the best way of doing all this. But I have no fears at all that it’s simply going to vanish. It’s not a zero-sum game. It’s an evolution. And evolution is painful sometimes.”
Pair Of Raphaels Discovered Hiding In Plain Sight At Vatican
The frescoes in the Hall of Constantine were painted by Raphael’s students after the master died in 1520. But contemporary sources recorded that Raphael did complete two figures in the room – and the recent restoration of the frescoes helped scholars identify which ones they were.
Dallas Will Get To Keep One Of Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Rooms Permanently
The Dallas Museum of Art has acquired All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins, completed last year and Kusama’s first pumpkin-themed installation since 1991. The work goes on display Oct. 1.
Construction Begins On Manchester’s New Arts Hub
“The cube-shaped building, scheduled to open in 2020, will be the first major UK commission for Rem Koolhaas’s OMA architectural practice. The centre for art, theatre, dance and music events” – known as The Factory – “will form part of the new St John’s neighbourhood, to be built on the site of the former Granada TV studios in the city centre.”