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What’s The Word Of The Year For 2020? In The U.S. Art World, It’s ‘Deaccession’

As the pandemic forced American museums to close their doors and give up all earned income, the Association of Art Museum Directors agreed to temporarily relax its strict rule that museums may sell their art only to fund the purchase of other art. A number of deaccessions (as the practice is euphemized) promptly ensued, followed swiftly by arguments over them and the cancellation of a few (notably in Baltimore). Matt Stromberg looks back at the year’s battles. – Los Angeles Times

Could The Arts Help Unify Our Fractures?

“In European nations, “save our cultural institutions” is widely regarded as a necessary cause. In the United States, the same cry is not heard. What is going on? Were the arts always a negligible component of the New World experience, insufficiently cultivated? Or did they become negligible? Are we as a nation simply too young to dig deep expressive roots? Too diverse? Too much crippled by our original sins of slavery and the Indian Wars?” – American Purpose

Lamenting A Brave Little Theater And Its Big Shakespeare Cycle, Both Killed By COVID

Over the course of this year and next, Brave Spirits Theater in Alexandria, Va. was going to be “first professional American theater company to mount full productions of Shakespeare’s two history play tetralogies” — that’s Richard II, Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 and Henry V, then Henry VI Parts 1, 2, and 3 and Richard III — “and perform them in repertory.” Maya Phillips was going to report on it all; as she begins her account, “I’ve written several versions of this story. …” – The New York Times

Big Entertainment Versus Big Tech – The COVID Relief Bill And Its Copyright Bomb

“Passage of the measure is one of the clearest public signs yet of longstanding tensions between the tech and entertainment industries and who’s winning the battle for control. Big Entertainment (Disney et al) has benefited enormously from technology in producing content and getting it to consumers in new ways, but Big Tech (Google et al) has also given consumers (and upstart content producers) the means of accessing that content on their own terms, which Big E sees as a threat.” – Post Alley

Evan Hopkins Turner, Former Director Of Philadelphia And Cleveland Museums Of Art, Dead At 93

Following a Ph.D. in art history at Harvard and five years at the helm of Montreal’s Museum of Fine Arts, he came to the Philadelphia Museum (1964-78), where he created new departments for American and 20th-century art and for photography and hired several important curators (notably Anne d’Harnoncourt, who eventually became director herself). In Cleveland (1983-93), he transformed the museum from a respected but staid institution into a regional powerhouse that helped fuel cultural tourism in the then-struggling city. – The Philadelphia Inquirer

10 Hairy Legs, All-Male Contemporary Dance Company, Goes Out Of Business

The New Jersey-based troupe, which presented seasons around the state and in New York City and toured abroad as well, commissioned and performed 17 new works over its eight-year history. The pandemic forced the group to go on hiatus as of April 1; with no performance fees or ticket income, its board decided to dissolve the company as of Dec. 31. – NJArts.net

U.S. Book Publishers End This Godawful Year In Good Shape

“With so many people stuck at home and activities from concerts to movies off limits, people have been reading a lot — or at least buying a lot of books. Print sales by units are up almost 8 percent so far this year, according to NPD BookScan. E-books and audiobooks, which make up a smaller portion of the market, are up as well.” Says the CEO of Penguin Random House, “I expect that … when you look at the final numbers, it will have been the best year in a very long time.” – The New York Times