“Minczuk was appointed music director of the Theatro Municipal Orchestra of São Paulo earlier this year. He is also the music director laureate of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra in Canada and conductor emeritus of the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira in Rio de Janeiro. He recently completed a 10-year term in Calgary, becoming the longest-running music director in its history.”
Blog
Jan Fontein, 89, Former Director Of Museum Of Fine Arts, Boston
“Dr. Fontein, a renowned Asian art curator and historian who restored the MFA to solid financial footing when he took over after a period of internal strife at the museum, … ushered the institution into the modern era of museums as cultural marketplaces, overseeing the fund-raising and creation of the I.M. Pei-designed west wing that included expansive shops, restaurants, auditoriums, and galleries.”
It’s Time For ‘A Move Away From Culture By And For An Elite To Culture By And For All’
Stella Duffy of the Fun Palaces movement: “Our commitment to ‘excellence and quality’ as defined by mainstream, metropolitan-based thinking many decades ago, might need to shift to a new version of ‘excellence and quality’, one defined by a new generation of makers and creators – and this time from every part of society. If we want cultural democracy, genuine culture for all, elitism must make way for creativity and community-led culture. We need to offer everyone not only access to the products of creativity, but access to the means and processes of creativity.” (By, say, funding Duffy’s project.)
All That Arts Funding Going To London Benefits The Entire Country, Says London Mayor
Sadiq Khan, responding to Arts Council England’s decision to shift some funding from the capital to the regions: “I’m not saying we deserve a bigger slice of the cake for the sake of it. I’m saying that actually, if the arts in London does well, the whole country benefits.” (Well …)
Paris Opera Ballet Star Nicolas Le Riche To Head Royal Swedish Ballet
“He has signed a five-year contract with the Royal Swedish Opera and will arrive in Stockholm mid-August. … Like his predecessor, Le Riche sees no difference between classical ballet and contemporary dance: ‘both are facets of the same Art,’ he says.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 07.04.17
The purpose of panning
My Wall Street Journal review of the Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly! stirred up a good-sized dust storm of controversy, as pans are wont to do. … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2017-07-03
Kusama Exhibit Is A Wow – And More
Yayoi Kusama is one of those artists whose work is easy to love. Although she made it (or much of it) as therapy for herself … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2017-07-04
Rethinking “Classical Radio”
When commercial radio was new, the airwaves were saturated with classical music – not just recordings and live concerts, but highly produced pedagogical programs. You could tune into Abram Chasins for tips on playing Chopin … read more
AJBlog: Unanswered Question Published 2017-07-03
China Cracks Down On Social Media – And Artists Find Their Work-Arounds
Digital restrictions are the backdrop to the work of all Chinese artists, and for some, the so-called Great Firewall—the online surveillance structure that blocks data from foreign countries—provides both subject and medium. “The Chinese internet is such a unique and rich material, I am often inspired by it,” says the New York- and Shanghai-based artist Miao Ying. “For anyone who resides in China, you will be shaped by it, not just because of the firewall. China has its own internet environment and it is developing more rapidly than anywhere else.”
Scientific Publishing Is A HUGE Business (But Does It Harm Science?)
The core of Elsevier’s operation is in scientific journals, the weekly or monthly publications in which scientists share their results. Despite the narrow audience, scientific publishing is a remarkably big business. With total global revenues of more than £19bn, it weighs in somewhere between the recording and the film industries in size, but it is far more profitable.
A Convicted Murderer Making His Debut As Published Author
Curtis Dawkins began as writer, earning a Master of Fine Arts degree before he committed his crime. And while his book, “The Graybar Hotel,” has received early praise from writers like Roddy Doyle and Atticus Lish, its release has also raised uncomfortable questions for the publisher as it tries to win over booksellers and critics to rally behind a work by an unknown debut writer — who is also a convicted murderer.
When A Critic Reviews Dance Outside Of Her Own Culture (What Could Go Wrong?)
What deserves interrogation is not the question of whether or not to move beyond “tradition.” It is the rhetorical use of the term “tradition” and the presumption of an uninformed critic to police black choreographers’ prerogatives. When will we be done with these tired tropes of authenticity and “tradition” that continue to plague contemporary black performance?