Blog

Furloughed SFMOMA Staff Ask Management To Do More

The staff want to more info, and they want to see more sacrifices from the folks at the top. “Although the federal loan received by the museum may offer some relief, SFMOMA’s workers continue to ask the questions that have resounded across the cultural sector for weeks: why, with such wealth, are museums choosing to leave staff in the lurch, many of whom held tenuous positions to begin with? And why aren’t their wealthy benefactors, to whom a handful of millions represents a minimal fraction of their assets, help sustain them?” – Hyperallergic

How Do You Get A Book That Will Explain Covid-19 To Children Written, Published, And Translated Into 45 Languages?

Axel Sheffler is used to being alone at home as he works on illustrating books. But his publisher had heard from a teacher friend that kids weren’t doing as well. The result: A swiftly published, free book with facts and honesty about what we know and don’t know about social distancing and more. “Like all good children’s stories, the book ends on a positive note. There’s a picture of families, doctors and nurses celebrating together and the caption reads: ‘One day this strange time will be over.'” – BBC

Hula Dancers Missing The Dance Are Teaching It To The World Online

Even though it’s hard to teach hula online – first the hands, then the feet, then the body, on Zoom calls – one instructor says it’s “giving us an opportunity to see each other, ‘he alo he alo,’ face to face, at a time when we’re not supposed to be seeing each other.” And, bonus: Students from nowhere near Hawai’i are starting to learn. – Hawaii News Now

The Author Of A Book ABout Misogynistic Abuse Also Is Hit With A Mountain Of Online Abuse

The alt-right troll army has found, and targeted, the author of a book about abuse. She says, “I knew the book needed to be written – but I didn’t know it needed to be written this badly. The targeted attacks from men in the last week have been appalling. I will always centre women in my work and I will keep making misogynists uncomfortable.”  – The Guardian (UK)

The Detroit Symphony’s Very New Music Master Deals With The Global Disaster

What timing: “It was an exuberant, whirlwind stretch for Jader Bignamini in late January, when the young conductor was unveiled as new music director for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.” Now, he’s hosting watch parties from Toronto and says, “Music and concerts generally are so important but now even more. Because it can give people happiness, joy and good thoughts. We have to think good things, and it’s so difficult now. I think with music — with culture, with books, with art — we can imagine a better world than now.” – Detroit Free Press

The Refugee Artist Staying Home While His Art Travels

Serge Alain Nitegeka can’t travel even when there’s not a global pandemic: He lives in South Africa, but he was born in Rwanda, and his family fled during the massacres in 1994. So for an exhibition in New York, “he relied on the gallery team to gather New York dirt, which turned out darker and mulchier than the reddish soil Mr. Nitegeka had pictured. That was fine — adaptation was the point of the piece. But the more tactile and sensory these decisions, the more the distance frustrated him.” – The New York Times