“The Metropolitan Museum of Art plans to open its doors on Aug. 29, after more than five months of pandemic shutdown … If everything goes smoothly with New York’s phased reopening, museums would be allowed to open on July 20 — in the fourth and final phase of the plan. The Met has set its date for about a month after that, with some staff members returning to work a few weeks earlier to prepare.” – The New York Times
Blog
MoCA Cleveland Director Resigns After Controversy
In the statement announcing her resignation, Jill Snyder did not refer to the apology, saying, “I came to this decision with the understanding that the world at large, and our museum in particular, are in a powerful moment of disruption and possibility.” She added, “I embrace this as an opportunity to advance the movement for change that is now sweeping through our culture.” – The New York Times
Muti Opens Live Summer Festival In Italy
The 78-year-old renowned conductor said the coronavirus had ‘’destroyed music,‘’ with shuttered venues depriving the world of ‘’spiritual food” as it faced a pandemic that still threatens uncalculated economic repercussions beyond the lives lost. Even during two world wars, Muti noted, theaters stayed open to provide cultural relief except during the worst of the bombings. – Chicago Tribune
Press Release Claims Seattle Art Museum Is Dissolving
The release, sent from an email address that appeared to be the same as that used by the organization’s public-relations department, looked like the real thing — but it was fake. – Seattle Times
Culture Is A Major NY Industry. What Happens When It Shuts Down?
According to the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, film, TV, theater, music, advertising, publishing, and digital content in New York provide 305,000 jobs, and an annual economic output of $104 billion. What happens when the very things that bring so many people to New York are forced to shut down? When we’re banned from congregating in sanctuaries of art, drama, dance, comedy, literature, and music, where does the culture go? – National Geographic
A Netflix For The Performing Arts?
“Doing digital isn’t a quick-fix Band-Aid for anyone,” says Kathleya Afanador, Marquee’s co-founder and head of content. “It’s a fundamental layer of their overall business that needs to be prioritized.” – Washington Post
Thousands Of Arts Educators In London Are Losing Their Jobs
Arts lecturers tend to be employed on casual contracts. With universities closing in-person classes, these lecturers are being laid off en masse. – The Art Newspaper
As America’s Orchestras Remain Closed, In Other Countries They’re Getting Back To Work
From Taiwan to Germany to Spain to Quebec, lockdowns are lifting and orchestras are figuring out ways to make music again. David Patrick Stearns looks into what they’re trying, from Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s Beethoven symphony cycle with the (carefully spaced) Orchestre Métropolitain in a largely empty Montreal hall to Prague’s Collegium 1704 performing Baroque music with masks on (even the woodwinds and singers) to an opera in Salzburg where the characters all hate each other so much that they stay socially distanced anyway. – The Philadelphia Inquirer
We Have To Rethink Arts Funding
Gone are the days of monolithic support. The philanthropic field is diverse, dispersed, and interconnected. As such, funders must collaborate in order to move forward. These alliances should also include partnerships between for-profit and not-for-profit businesses. They have the same stakeholders; why not bring them to the table? – Artsy
John Bolton’s Tell-Not-Quite-All Officially Hits Stores, And Booksellers Are …
One might say that they’re conflicted. Barnes & Noble says that The Room Where It Happened is already at the top of its bestsellers list. “In contrast, a survey of participants in PW‘s Bxsellers Facebook group indicated that a slight majority of the approximately 30 respondents intend to stock the book, although many of them expressed caveats. Almost half of the indie booksellers responding to PW‘s query are opting to fulfill special orders only, while three booksellers disclosed that they flatly refuse to sell the book at all.” – Publishers Weekly