“The reluctance to produce shows with casts that are all or largely non-white disproportionately affects shows written by Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) playwrights and composers. And the problem ripples outward beyond writers and actors. Predominantly white institutions (PWIs) all too often seemingly forget about directors, designers, stage managers, and dramaturgs of color entirely.” – Howlround
Blog
The World’s Nightlife On Hold. (And Yet…)
The problem is that urban nightlife — no matter how risky — isn’t something that just allows itself to be canceled. The need to socialize, relax, mingle, hear music and dance is a powerful force, especially among young people in cities. If regulated venues are shuttered, unregulated ones take their place. “In cities where there are no legal alternatives,” the VibeLab report concludes, “dangerous illegal alternatives are found.” – Bloomberg
What A Profound Design Revolution Curb Cuts Were
“The need for accessible streets and sidewalks has utterly reshaped the contemporary cityscape, and the most profound change is also the most modest: the curb cuts that you’ll find now at many street corners in cities all over the world. The revolution in street corners seems like an obvious civic good now, a common‐sense softening at the edges of the built environment, a simple solution to buffer the concrete shape of a world built with homogenous users in mind. But it would not have happened without disability activists’ long, hard fight.” – Bloomberg
How Instagram Is Changing The Job Of A Critic
Being unable to see real works of art in person for months has made me realize just how much I have come to depend on seeing works online—and how I get more from that experience than I’d been willing to admit. I have not felt much desire to delve into the online offerings of galleries and museums, but nonetheless I have been seeing lots of art onscreen—it’s just that I’ve been getting it straight from the artists, mainly via their Instagram accounts. I’ve liked that. – The Nation
Meet Canada’s New $2 Coin
The artwork appearing on the toonie honouring his legacy is known as Xhuwaji, Haida Grizzly Bear. Reid painted it in 1988 on a ceremonial drum belonging to the Sam family of Ahousat, B.C. – CBC
Lessons On Coping With COVID From A Bankrupt Opera House In 17th-Century France
The Lyon Académie de Musique officially went bust on New Year’s Day 1693, but it was back in business two years later. “How did Académie musicians transform hardship into productive creativity?” writes musicologist Natasha Roule. “How did they assert their relevance in the local community? What worked — and what didn’t? The answers to these questions could fill a book, but we can break them down into three key takeaways.” – Early Music America
Salort-Pons’ Response: Detroit Institute’s Director Tussles with Anonymous Detractors
Showing a courage and candor that’s been in short supply among museum officials navigating the choppy waters of racial tensions, political unrest and economic difficulty, Salvador Salort-Pons has publicly engaged with a Change.org petition calling for his removal. – Lee Rosenbaum
Frustrating: Quality Information Costs While Lies Are Free
A white supremacist on YouTube will tell you all about race and IQ but if you want to read a careful scholarly refutation, obtaining a legal PDF from the journal publisher would cost you $14.95, a price nobody in their right mind would pay for one article if they can’t get institutional access. Academic publishing is a nightmarish patchwork, with lots of articles advertised at exorbitant fees on one site, and then for free on another, or accessible only through certain databases, which your university or public library may or may not have access to. – Current Affairs
Reality Dating Shows And What They’ve Done To America
“To find out, we chose one reality dating show that debuted every year from 2000 through 2020 — shows that were particularly popular, controversial, influential or taught us something unexpected. … [And] we talked to dozens of people [involved with them]. … Sometimes, these series are surprisingly hopeful. But mostly, they are disturbing. Deeply disturbing. But no matter how many people decry that the shows are fake and/or feel like the downfall of society, the impact has been extremely real.” – The Washington Post
Leon Fleisher: More About The Struggle Than The Triumph
The truth of Fleisher is in his own questions, his dogged pursuit of answers (from spiritual healers to experimental treatments) is more interesting than the answer itself. You can’t help but listen to “Two Hands” (the title itself suggestive of juxtaposition; a distant cousin of “on the one hand…”) without hearing simply the music. It’s about the truth behind it. To quote Fleisher, “You will never get the answer until you listen to what you do, and ‘til you really hear the music and make a decision, make a choice for what you want to hear, for what you think the music is saying. It’s all so much more in your hands than you think.” – Van