Although Tom Ajamie’s amfAR investigation never received the same level of attention as Weinstein’s sexual predation, it remains the key event that led to his downfall. After all, it was during the eight-month inquiry, which Ajamie’s firm did pro bono, that he learned of Weinstein’s open secret. – The Hollywood Reporter
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‘We Are All Edward Hopper Paintings Now’
Jonathan Jones: “If [the widely-shared tweet is true], a crisis of loneliness is impending that may be one of the most fraught social consequences of COVID-19. The loss of direct human contact we’re agreeing to may be catastrophic. This, at least, is what Hopper shows us.” – The Guardian
No, We Are Not All Edward Hopper Paintings Now
Alex Greenberger: “[There’s] a difference between Hopper’s forlorn subjects and so many of us right now. They choose to live in modernity and find themselves alienated because of it. We choose to simply try to stay alive in the world today and a pandemic that has so far killed more than 36,000 worldwide is keeping us captive.” – ARTnews
Arts Council England Acts Quickly On Funding, But The Price Will Come Later
ACE was faced with an impossible choice. Unlike the German government, which has announced a €50 billion package of support for artists and the cultural sector, recognising that it is characterised by a high proportion of self-employed people whose livelihoods have disappeared overnight, the UK government has been slow even to recognise the problems faced by the self-employed in any sector, let alone the arts. – The Stage
Michael Sorkin, Who Fought For Social Justice Concerns In Architecture, Dead Of Coronavirus At 71
“A fiery champion of social justice and sustainability in architecture and urban planning, [he] emerged as one of his profession’s most incisive public intellectuals over a multifaceted career as a critic, author, teacher and designer.” – The Washington Post
Public Service Or Piracy? Authors Battle Internet Archive Over ‘National Emergency Library’
With libraries and bookstores closed across the U.S., and with teachers searching for materials to use for remote teaching, the Internet Archive decided to lift all restrictions on access to the 1.4 million books — many still under copyright — that it has digitized. Teachers and academics are very pleased; authors and publishers, on the other hand, call the move a “copyright grab” that robs them of royalties and breaks the law. – The New York Times
China Orders Reopened Cinemas To Close Again
“Hours after municipal authorities in Shanghai gave more than 200 cinemas the greenlight to re-open Saturday, national-level Chinese authorities on Friday ordered all theaters throughout the country shut again …, without saying exactly why or when they might hope to re-open.” (The general presumption is that the government fears another coronavirus outbreak.) – Variety
Center Theatre Group In L.A. Furloughs Half Its Workers And Suspends All Shows
The city’s largest theatre nonprofit, which operates the Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theatre, and Kirk Douglas Theatre, will maintain health insurance for its workers but send half of them home until at least August 9; the rest will face pay cuts. – Los Angeles Times
Judy Drucker, For Decades South Florida’s Leading Classical Music Impresario, Dead At 91
She brought to Miami (and, later, Fort Lauderdale) such artists as Vladimir Horowitz, Mstislav Rostropovich, Itzhak Perlman, Luciano Pavarotti, Marilyn Horne, Beverly Sills, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Kiri Te Kanawa, and almost every major symphony orchestra in the U.S. and Europe. (Not to mention dance companies like ABT and Alvin Ailey.) And, for her, they kept coming back. – South Florida Classical Review
Met Museum Will Provide Another Month’s Pay To Laid-Off Staff
With its building closed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic, the museum’s administration let go most of its employees with a promise to pay them only through April 4; that promise has now been extended to May 4. – The New York Times