“[The series is] the latest and most acute iteration of a Netflix trend toward extreme storytelling; the more unfathomable and ethically dubious, the better. The point is virality — content so outlandish that people can’t help but talk about it. … America right now, in the midst of a pandemic, is reliant on collective behavior, adhering to rules, and taking sensible precautions to avoid danger. Tiger King is the TV equivalent of licking the subway pole.” – The Atlantic
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Amsterdam Embraces A New Model For Its Post-COVID Life
“When suddenly we have to care about climate, health, and jobs and housing and care and communities, is there a framework around that can help us with all of that? Yes there is, and it is ready to go.” The central premise is simple: the goal of economic activity should be about meeting the core needs of all but within the means of the planet. The “doughnut” is a device to show what this means in practice. – The Guardian
Australia’s Arts Funder Slashes Grants, Leaving Companies In Shock
The Australia Council for the Arts’ four-year funding program for 2021-24 has reduced the number of organizations included by a quarter, from 128 to 95, and has cut the planned grants for the first of those years by 30%. Because of the current COVID-related shutdowns, the Council is extending for one year funding for current grantees dropped for 2021-24, but even that extension will be cut by 30%. – Limelight (Australia)
Williamstown Theatre Festival Finds Alternative To Canceling This Summer’s Season
“In a bold attempt to salvage its shows, the festival … has decided to develop, rehearse, and record all seven of its planned productions and release them in audio form on Audible … [with] the same performers that would have appeared onstage.” – The New York Times
Pulitzer Prizes Postponed, Will Be Livestreamed In May
The announcement of this year’s awards had been scheduled for April 20, but, as administrator Dana Canedy said in a statement, “The Pulitzer board includes many high-level journalists who are on the frontlines of informing the public on the quickly evolving Coronavirus pandemic.” – Poynter Institute
Kennedy Center Rescinds Furlough Of National Symphony Musicians
“The deal [with the musicians’ union] includes immediate pay cuts until early September, a wage freeze and a delayed pay increase and extends the current contract for a year, to 2024, according to the arts center. It avoids the open-ended furlough that was supposed to have started Monday.” – The Washington Post
New York Philharmonic Players Fired For Sexual Misconduct Reinstated
“The Philharmonic dismissed the players — its principal oboist, Liang Wang, and associate principal trumpet, Matthew Muckey — in September 2018. Both men denied wrongdoing, and the players’ union filed a grievance challenging their dismissals. The case was heard by an independent arbitrator, who found that the players had been terminated without just cause and should be reinstated.” – The New York Times
London’s West End Theatres To Remain Closed At Least Through May 31
“London’s theatres first shuttered their doors on March 16 in the wake of the escalating coronavirus pandemic. The mass closures, in an effort to curb the spread of the virus, mirrored those on Broadway on March 12. … While theatres in New York were initially scheduled to re-open April 13, an update from the Broadway League is expected to arrive in the coming days.” – Playbill
Singer-Songwriter John Prine Dead Of COVID At 73
“A onetime Army mechanic and mail carrier who wrote songs rooted in the experiences of lower-middle-class life, Mr. Prine rose to prominence almost by accident. He was at a Chicago folk club called the Fifth Peg one night in 1969, complaining about the performers, when someone challenged him to get onstage, saying, ‘You get up and try.’ … Within a year, he released his first album and was hailed as one of the foremost lyricists of his time, even as a musical heir to Bob Dylan. He went on to record more than 20 albums, win three competitive Grammy Awards and help define a genre of music that came to be called Americana.” – The Washington Post
Mega Art And The Mega Market That Drives It
“The huge growth of the art market at its top end is surely, as Michael Shnayerson suggests, a function of the spiralling number of billionaires and increasing disparities of wealth. He also points out that successful artists are a very select few: the huge majority make at best only a few thousand dollars a year from their art. The question remains: how good is all this extremely expensive stuff?” – Times Literary Supplement