“Book festival Wordplay, originally slated to take place in Minneapolis in May, will now happen virtually in April and May in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. All of the original 100+ participants, including Alison Roman, Michael Ian Black, Charles Yu and Scott Pelley, are still slated to take part in the festival.” Steph Opitz, Wordplay’s founding director, tells a reporter how it’s coming together. – Forbes
Blog
Major League Baseball Announces A Virtual Opening Day
The ball parks are closed, but baseball will move online. It will happen Thursday, on what would have been opening day across baseball. The virtual event will feature a classic game for all 30 teams, a game they win. The schedule includes classic postseason games, no-hitters and walk-offs. – Yahoo!
Cincinnati Ballet And Playhouse In The Park Were In The Middle Of Building New Homes When The Pandemic Hit
“First, you should know that neither group is on the brink of institutional disaster. The Playhouse has $10 million more to raise [out of almost $50 million] before the fall. The ballet’s project, according to the company’s web site, was 94.8 percent funded as of Feb. 25.” – Cincinnati Enquirer
The Arts Business Has Been Decimated. It Won’t Be Easy Getting It Back
Adrian Ellis: “The sector is economically significant—we have the data on all those jobs created; on the new investment the arts attract to urban areas; and on those high-end cultural tourists seduced into spending more, staying longer and coming back again. The sector is also socially significant and is, at its core, the custodian of the world’s material and intangible culture.” – Wall Street Journal
How Do You Run Choir Practice For 300 Kids Via Zoom? Like This
“Since March 16, the [Philadelphia Boys Choir and Chorale’s] four ensembles have been hosting nine Zoom rehearsals every week, while its sister organization, Philadelphia Girls Choir, is running roughly 14 among its four ensembles.” Reporter Cassie Owens watches a rehearsal and talks to director Jeffrey Smith about how he pulls it off. – The Philadelphia Inquirer
Buffering … — Why Video Teleconferencing Is Still A Pain In The Wherever
“[Online conference calls] come with problems — technical, cultural, and practical. And a lot of the challenges we have with [them] come down to the many small quirks of the internet. … Despite four decades of evolving technology, video conferencing is a sort of low-level magic that still konks out half the time. Here’s why.” – Tedium
Scottish Opera Lends Set-Hauling Trucks To Help Supermarket Supply Chains
“The opera company’s drivers have been using their cabs to help deliver food to Tesco stores in Scotland, as supermarkets face unprecedented demand from shoppers during the coronavirus crisis. … Alex Reedijk, Scottish Opera’s general director, said the company had been linked up with Tesco after the supermarket chain contacted a local general haulage company asking for help.” – The Stage
Germany Announces €50 Billion In Aid For Arts And Culture Sector
Yes, 50 billion-with-a-b. The package, which covers both small enterprises and the self-employed, “will come in the form grants designed to help with overhead costs like venue rentals and artist studios. Loans will also be available within the package to help businesses bridge financial bottlenecks.” – Artnet
L.A. Times Film Critic Kenneth Turan To Step Down After Three Decades
“Arguably the most widely read film critic in the town most associated with the making of movies, … Turan is known as a soft-spoken gentleman … in a [city] filled with brash and attention-seeking people.” – The Hollywood Reporter
If You’re Only Going To Teach Us Online, Say Yale MFA Art Students, Refund Our Tuition
“We are deeply troubled by the far-reaching repercussions of [the school’s closure],” wrote the students to the dean, “which has … severely curtailed the viability of the unrivaled visual arts education that SoA claims to provide. In light of these circumstances, we believe that financial reimbursement must play a part in the university’s forthcoming actions.” Graduate students at other art schools are making similar demands. – Artforum