No Lincoln Center Out of Doors, no Mostly Mozart Festival, no summer programming at all. – NPR
Blog
Craft Workers Side-Eye The Not So ‘Sanitary’ Conditions On Hollywood Sets
When should Hollywood start up again – and can it fix all of this? “Until now, lackadaisical hygiene has largely been accepted as part of the job. While production was shut down in an effort to slow the virus’ spread, the global pandemic has stirred debate on established cleanliness practices, raising broader questions and concerns about the definition of safe work spaces in Hollywood, particularly among production crews who are often the most exposed.” – Los Angeles Times
Theatre Has Moved Online. Maybe Not All Of It Should Have
Peter Marks: “The good news is, you can now access plays and musicals of every style online, from every part of the country and many other places around the globe, a lot of itfree. The bad news is, you can access plays and musicals of every style online.” – Washington Post
A New Online Job Market For Artists
HireArtists.org is designed to work similarly to TaskRabbit or Fiverr, websites that link gig workers to employers looking for people to do one-off jobs. It invites photographers, dancers, and website designers, among those in other disciplines, to sell their skills and knowledge to anyone looking for art lessons, or even to buy artworks. It’s free to sign up, and unlike other sites, HireArtists doesn’t collect a fee. – Artnet
In The Movies AI Is Helpful… Until It Turns On You
“Artificial intelligence, and the desire to smooth out the rough edges of human biology through it, has frequently made its way into the movies. But while the most intriguing of films that dabble in the subject tell entertaining stories, they warn of the complications of relying too much on technology to solve problems. Will a smart machine bring salvation or destruction?” – The New York Times
A Third Of French Art Galleries Could Go Out Of Business This Year
In 1995 46 percent of France’s galleries had to close after the art market crash. Estimates now are that one third of French galleries will go out of business due to the pandemic. – The Art Newspaper
How The Last Pandemic Crept Into Literature
Elizabeth Outka: “I have spent the last five years writing a book about how the sensory and affective climate of the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic infuses interwar literature, often in ways we have not recognized. My new awareness of the traces of that pandemic shifts my perception of this one, as if the sights and sounds from a century ago have re-emerged, becoming timely in ways I both feared and never wanted.” – The Paris Review
Manchester Arts Groups Team Up To Help Artists
GM Artist Hub includes 10 regional arts groups who have banded together to explore opportunities for the area’s mostly-freelance artists and workers. – The Stage
How An Awkward, Overprotected Valedictorian Grew Into Weird Al Yankovic — And Stayed Popular For 40 Years
“For many decades, he has been trying to delight Alfred Yankovic, the bright, painfully shy kid who grew up alone in his tiny bedroom. For the benefit of that lonely boy, he reshaped the whole world of pop culture. His ridiculous music sent out a pulse, a signal, and these were the people it drew: the odd, the left out. A crowd of friends for that lonely kid.” – The New York Times Magazine
Amazon Bumps Some Sellers To The Back Of The Line. Book Sellers Are Furious
Amazon was overwhelmed by orders once retail closed and Jeff Bezos announced that all third-party merchants who sell non-essential items could no longer use Amazon’s warehouses or shipping. That includes books. Now writers are struggling to get their books sold. – The Times (UK)