Funding nonwhite creators to make work using stories from their own underrepresented communities may seem a self-evidently good thing, but there are potential dangers — to the artists themselves and to the communities involved — in telling those stories publicly, and the artists may not have the support to deal with the fallout. Dr. Ranjit Khutan, an expert in arts and public health, suggests four basic ethical principles for both funders and creators to keep in mind. – Arts Professional
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15 Black Creatives In South Carolina Talk About Art And Protest
“[We] reached out to more than a dozen black artists” — painters, actors, musicians, poets, quilters, hip-hop artists — “across the state to discuss what they think is at the center of today’s protests and how their art has been part of the movement and catalyst for change.” – The Post and Courier (Charleston)
Kimmel Center In Philadelphia Furloughs 80% Of Staff, Cuts Pay For Rest
“By December, the city’s largest performing arts presenter will have missed out on revenue from about 800 shows, events, and rentals since mid-March, when it closed the doors to its halls because of the coronavirus pandemic. These events would have been attended by about 700,000 visitors.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
YouTube Establishes $100 Million Fund To Support Black Creatives
The video platform is launching the multi-year initiative to fund content hosted on the site “to center and amplify Black voices and perspectives,” as YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki put it in a statement on the company’s official blog. The first work supported by the new program will be a multi-hour benefit, featuring roundtables and performances, streaming on Saturday (June 13) under the title Bear Witness, Take Action. – Variety
Archaeologist Sentenced To Two Years In Prison For Fabricating Find
“The discoveries were little short of miraculous: pieces of third-century pottery engraved with one of the first depictions of the crucified Christ, along with Egyptian hieroglyphics, and with Basque words that predated the earliest known written examples of the language by 600 years.” No miracles here, though: there were serious anachronisms in the engravings as well as traces of modern glue. Archaeologist Eliseo Gil and two collaborators were convicted of fraud in a Spanish court. – The Guardian
Pandemic Has Hurt Theatre In UK Worse Than In US Or Canada: Study
The research by TRG Arts and Purple Seven found that, compared to the same period in 2019, ticket revenue fell by 71% in North America and by 92% in the United Kingdom over two weeks in March. The key difference seems to be deeper audience loyalty in North America. – American Theatre
How Pop Physics Snuck Into Our Belief Systems
The modern genre of pop cosmology began with the big bang of Stephen Hawking’s 1988 megabestseller, A Brief History of Time. Since then, world-class physicists like Michio Kaku, Steven Weinberg, and Freeman Dyson, who died earlier this year at the age of 96, have earned wider fame by writing popular accounts of fundamental physical concepts: time and space, matter and energy, the origin and destiny of the universe. – Tablet
Five Foundations Step Up With $1.7 Billion To Help Non-Profit Arts, Humanities
Mellon’s commitment comes as part of a broader partnership between major U.S. foundations — Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation — designed to activate over $1.7 billion in enhanced grantmaking to support struggling nonprofits. – Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Here They Are: The Studies That Show The Arts Promote Mental Health
The arts offer an evidence-based solution for promoting mental health. While practising the arts is not the panacea for all mental health challenges, there’s enough evidence to support prioritizing arts in our own lives at home as well as in our education systems. – The Conversation
Neighborhood Minneapolis Dance Spaces Lost During George Floyd Protests
George Floyd’s murder may ultimately be a catalyst for positive change in Minnesota and beyond, but in the short-term, the local dance community has lost vital spaces and resources, including El Nuevo Rodeo, the cantina and dance club where both Floyd and his accused killer worked as security officers. By day, the cantina served as a rehearsal space for Latin American children’s dance groups, and by night it was the place to salsa. – Dance Magazine