Australians took 12.3 million daytrips and 13.4 million overnight trips within Australia that included arts activities in 2018 – an increase of 14 percent and 20 percent respectively since 2014 – with increases found across visiting museums and art galleries, attending performing arts, visiting art or craft workshops or studios, attending festivals, and experiencing First Nations arts and craft. The report also flagged an increasing interest in First Nations arts tourism. – Limelight
Blog
Warning: Post-Brexit Border Policies Could Be “Disaster” For Creative Industries
“Although it is theoretically ‘points-based’, the reality is that it will be impossible to accrue enough points with a salary below £25,600 (without a PhD) unless the role is on the shortage occupation list; a list which excludes many highly-valued creative professions. In our sector, high skill levels do not always equate to high salaries. There must be recognition of sector-specific means of assessment including auditions, work experience and portfolios.” – The Stage
Does Banning Critics Accomplish Anything?
Yolanda Bonnell isn’t the first artist to say that white critics get away with not knowing the cultural reference points of work outside of their own interests – but doesn’t cutting reviewers from different backgrounds off limit opportunities for learning? “You’re just perpetuating prejudice if you are not going to let people experience other cultures. If she wants more critics of color to review her, fine, invite them. But you shouldn’t stop other people from coming.” – The Guardian
Yolanda Bonnell: Why I Don’t Want White Critics To Review My Work
“Indigenous performance has been grossly under-reviewed and while the tide is shifting, the lens with which predominantly white critics view the work has been problematic. The lack of IBPOC voices in the media—at a time when arts’ coverage is shrinking—means white critics are often the gatekeepers of success. There is often a tone along the lines of ‘I don’t understand this, therefore it’s not valid or good art.’ Aspects like style, movement, language, and music are at risk of being dismissed.” – Vice
Artist Bans Critics Who Are Not “Indigenous, Black Or People Of Color”
“This choice might immediately strike some as counterintuitive; it certainly runs against the dominant conventions of criticism, in which theatres offer free tickets to all critics actively reviewing in their market, in exchange for reviews of their shows. Those reviews serve a number of functions including critical evaluation, historical record and support for future funding applications and, more immediately, they help get word out that the shows are happening.” – Toronto Star
How Language Mutates In The Corporate World
“No matter where I’ve worked, it has always been obvious that if everyone agreed to use language in the way that it is normally used, which is to communicate, the workday would be two hours shorter.” – New York Magazine
How Pianist Igor Levit Hacked The Attention Economy And Made Himself Into A ‘Thought Leader’
“Levit’s career is a stark demonstration of the dissolving boundaries between art and commerce, journalism and public relations, particularly in Germany. … He is a friend to media personalities and politicians. Journalists ask his opinion on climate change, the rise of the far right, books, the ideal body weight. He works with artists and comedians, performs at the Bundestag in Berlin and for the Greens. In England, he’s enraged Brexiteers; in the U.S., he’s ‘The Pianist of the Resistance.'” His media presence has reached the critical mass at which coverage leads inexorably to more coverage.” – Van
Study: Freedom Of Expression… Except For Arts Workers
More than eight out of ten survey respondents agreed that “workers in the arts and cultural sector who share controversial opinions risk being professionally ostracised”. The overwhelming message that comes across from more than 1,000 free text comments – running to 60,000 words – is neatly summed up by one person, who said “I often feel pressured to self-censor for fear of being ‘cancelled’ or bullied for not conforming to the orthodoxy”. – Arts Professional
Can A Sitcom About Gentrification Actually Be Funny?
“At its core, gentrification is about what it means to belong. And few places in Los Angeles are more hotly contested in those terms than Boyle Heights,” the Los Angeles neighborhood where the bilingual Netflix series Gentefied is set. – The New York Times
Study: Arts Sector Digital Efforts Stall In Trying To Attract Audiences
Research from Arts Council England (ACE) and innovation foundation Nesta has revealed “a widening gulf” between large and small organisations’ capacity and capability to adopt – let alone maximise the potential of – digital technologies ranging from cameras and phones to distribution software and digital art. Some organisations may already feel “too far behind the adoption curve” to test new technologies, the authors say. – Arts Professional