Perhaps, as one museum director claims, we’re “at a moment for complete reimagination of museums,” but it’s a painful one with the pandemic shutdowns mixing with a long overdue racial reckoning. “Museums are caught in a disheartening dilemma: They’re facing growing calls for diversity, equity, and inclusion, but without the funding they need they’re more likely to close than to be able to meet those demands.” – The Atlantic
Blog
Paradoxically, You Can See More ‘Nutcracker’ Than Ever This Year
That is, if you’re willing to watch on-screen. Collected here are well over 30 options for watching The Nutcracker, or some version of it, this holiday season, from ballet companies across the United States. – Playbill
The True Value Of An Arts Degree
A recent graduate says of her art history, cultural analysis, and other classes, “Being able to take these topics seriously and giving them the same attention and weight as things such as 18th-century philosophy taught me so much more about our communities, what we value, what we enjoy and whom we pay attention to.” – Maclean’s (Canada)
Not Even A Pedophilia Scandal Can Crack France’s Legendarily Clubby Literary World
On the prize committees, those who should feel disgraced give a shrug. Why should they care? “François Busnel, the host of La Grande Librairie, France’s most important television literary program, compared prize juries to the southern Italian mafia. ‘It’s a camorra, particularly the Renaudot,’ he said in a recent interview.” – The New York Times
Slightly Correcting The Scales By Adding A Portrait Of One Woman To Britain’s Royal Society
Jocelyn Bell Burnell discovered a new type of star – the pulsar – when she was in grad school. A Nobel Prize for its discovery went to her male PhD supervisor. Now her portrait is going into the Royal Society at its headquarters in London. “‘I’m sure that will upset a few fellows,’ she said, chuckling, when told by the Guardian of her position at the top of the grand staircase. ‘It is really prominent I must say, I’m surprised at that.'” – The Guardian (UK)
The Era Of The Blockbuster May Be Over, For Now Or Forever
Or perhaps that’s just in the U.S. and other countries that can’t seem to get the coronavirus under control. “Up until now, Hollywood has refused to show its biggest movies first to audiences in Asia, Australia and New Zealand – where many cinemas are open again – partly due to piracy fears … [but] Wonder Woman 1984 will have a full theatrical release in China a week before the film is released in the U.S.” – BBC
Hugh Grant Says He Never Wanted To Be A Romantic Hero
Not that he hated it. “I’m not ungrateful. I loved the money, of course, and I’m proud of a lot of those films. But if someone said to me, ‘Do you have any talent as an actor?’ I’d say, ‘Well, only in regard to character acting.'” – Los Angeles Times
Sarah Bryan Miller, Longtime Classical Music Critic In St. Louis, Has Died At 68
Miller was the first woman to be the Post-Dispatch‘s classical music critic, but as that role shrank (as at so many papers), she filled many other spots as well. Originally, “she got into journalism because she wanted to make a difference. In 2001, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra found itself in a financial crisis that threatened its existence. Ms. Miller covered the situation and explained to readers the options for keeping the SLSO alive, from maintaining it as an international-class ensemble to downgrading it to a regional orchestra.” Her articles inspired donors. – St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Is That Mysterious Monolith In Utah Actually By Artist John McCracken?
McCracken’s son says maybe. “He was inspired by the idea of alien visitors leaving objects that resembled his work, or that his work resembled. This discovery of a monolith piece — that’s very much in line with his artistic vision.” – The New York Times
Why We Need To Rethink The Idea Of Public Statues
Ideas about statues change as society changes. As this happens, different groups contest the meanings behind the sculptures, leading to disagreement about whether they should be kept or taken down. But while ideologies can change, causing this iconoclash, communities retain their collective memories about something, whether they are good or bad. – The Conversation