Her departure has unleashed a tempest in the art circles of Canada, where the Montreal museum is viewed as something of a national treasure; the debate over why Nathalie Bondil was let go has led to such confusion and rancor that the government has stepped in to investigate. – The New York Times
Blog
Some Of Hagia Sophia’s Mosaics Will Be Covered During Muslim Prayers
So far, at least, this isn’t as bad as many people had feared. A presidential spokesman, talking about plans to turn the historic Istanbul monument back into a mosque, said that Christian images that Muslim worshipers would face during prayers (i.e., toward Mecca) would be hidden at those times and uncovered when Hagia Sophia is open to visitors. He added that mosaics and paintings in other parts of the building would pose no problem. – Artnet
Kick The Cars Off 7th Avenue And Turn It Into An Outdoor Arts Center, Says Carnegie Hall Chief
Clive Gillinson: “What would it mean to close Seventh Avenue from 47th to 57th streets to vehicular traffic, creating a pedestrian mall for the arts, anchored by Carnegie Hall to the north and the TKTS Broadway ticket booth to the South. This space could be lined with restaurants, sidewalk cafes, jazz clubs, art galleries and the like, serving as a central area for people to gather — not only those headed to performances in the theater district and concert venues such as Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center, but city visitors staying in the many hotels close by.” – Gothamist
‘Serial’ Bought By New York Times, Which Signs Partnership Deal With ‘This American Life’
“As part of the Times, Serial Productions will independently commission and edit its own stories, which ‘will now be amplified by the Times,’ the company said.” (The price was reportedly $25 million.) “In addition, the Times said it had entered into an ‘ongoing creative and strategic alliance’ … that will let This American Life continue to collaborate on long-form audio stories with Serial Productions as well as partner with the Times on marketing and ad sales.” – Variety
Twelve Ways The Pandemic Will (Okay, Might) Change The Classical Music Business
“1. The old song ‘Rip it up and start again’ applies to sardine-seating business models not only for airlines but also theatres. …
5. International touring productions will be reimagined via boots-on-the-ground co-productions with locally sourced talent.
6. Audience sizes will be between 50-70% smaller, and multi-day performance runs will become the norm.” – Ludwig Van
A Third Of U.S. Museum Directors Fear That COVID Could Shut Down Their Institutions For Good
“In a survey released Wednesday of 760 museum directors, 33% of them said there was either a ‘significant risk’ of closing permanently by next fall or that they didn’t know if their institutions would survive. … The institutions surveyed ranged from aquariums to botanical gardens to science centers. More than 40% of them were history museums, historic houses and historical societies, while art museums represented less than 25%.” – NPR
There Are Plenty Of Black Plays Ready For Broadway When It Reopens. Will Broadway Take Them?
“Interviews with artists and producers suggest that there are more than a dozen plays and musicals with Black writers circling Broadway — meaning, in most cases, that the shows have been written, have had promising productions elsewhere, and have support from commercial producers or nonprofit presenters. But bringing these shows to Broadway would mean making room for producers and artists who often have less experience in commercial theater than the powerful industry regulars who most often get theaters.” – The New York Times
Notre-Dame Reconstruction: Where Things Stand Now
Now that the matter of a contemporary spire or roof for the medieval landmark has been settled, here’s an update on removing the (partially melted) scaffolding around the outside of the cathedral (a delicate and difficult process), clearing out the debris inside, restoring the vaults and gables and rebuilding the roof. – The Art Newspaper
SFMoMA’s Self-Examination After Resignation of Curator
Garry Garrels is perhaps the most prominent figure to tumble so far as art museums around the country, including the Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art grapple with cultural tumult amid nationwide unrest after the death of George Floyd. In addition to Mr. Garrels’s 19 years at SFMOMA, he had also been a curator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. – The New York Times
To Fix America, We Have To Start Over With Social Media
One force we must confront is the attention economy, an incentive structure designed to reward the most uncompromising, polarized, clickable minority. (Ironically, this minority is very often part of the white majority; see breathless, disproportionate coverage of white nationalists and supremacists following the 2016 election.) The resulting tyranny of the loudest presents an algorithmically-warped view of what’s happening in the rest of the United States. – Wired