“Detroit Harmony, as the project is called, represents a bid to dramatically expand music education throughout the city, one that hopefully will generate demand for an entirely new workforce of music teachers and craftsmen to repair and refurbish used instruments. … [The program] will be open to any K-12 student in public, private and charter schools throughout the city.” – The Detroit News
Blog
Attempt To Steal Rembrandt Paintings Stopped By Police
“One or more intruders broke in to Dulwich Picture Gallery in south London late on Wednesday and removed two paintings from the Rembrandt’s Light exhibition. Police were called and following a search of the area officers challenged a suspect running from the scene. … Neither painting left the gallery grounds and remain in the gallery’s care.” – The Guardian
Venice Floods: No Damage To Artworks, Say Museums
“Though Italy is gearing up to declare a state of emergency over the flooding that has engulfed Venice in the past two days, many of the city’s art institutions have somewhat miraculously reported that their artworks are unscathed, with minimal damage to building infrastructure. The Venice Biennale, in particular, fared remarkably well.” – artnet
Can Movies Help Preserve Indigenous Languages?
For decades, elders, activists, and linguists have sought to save North America’s indigenous languages, of which about a hundred and sixty-five remain. (There were around three hundred spoken on the continent when Europeans first arrived.) In recent years, film has proved especially fertile ground for this work. – The New Yorker
Next-Gen Critics?
“I think a big part of the role of a critic is being somebody who holds artists accountable as well. When you are an artist and you’re presenting a work of art to your community, you know that you’re held accountable to your audience, no matter what your intentions were with putting out that piece. Artists can go out there and make whatever they want and say whatever they want, but its meaning is going to be received, and that merits a response.” – Howlround
How Gentrification Squeezes Out Culture
Capitalism has its own rhythm, but also its own specific geography. Urban space is profoundly transformed by financial capitalism. Urban spaces are becoming expensive, and the closure of cultural spaces is, metaphorically and by extension, a reduction in the space for ideas and expression. – The Conversation
Should We Worry About Knowing The Social Class Of Our Audiences?
“As long as we continue to make vague generalisations about the social background of our audiences and users, we further the conditions in which a culturally entitled minority can continue to benefit from the majority of publicly supported arts and heritage.” – Arts Professional
Why People’s Choice Awards Mostly Get It Wrong
Why, as every failed political candidate has been prompted to ask their pillow, are the people always so darn disappointing? Well, in part it’s a sobering reminder that most people are not specialists in cultural fields and typically pick the best-known and best-marketed thing in any given cultural category. – Chicago Tribune
Root Of All Music: The Marginalized Fringe
Ted Gioia argues that that is music’s basic pattern throughout history – for symphonic music, church music, operas, chamber music, atonalism, you name it. No matter how disciplined, codified and venerated the music may be now, it always started on the fringe, rooted in sex, blood and altered states. – Art & Seek
She Gave Up On A Pro Basketball Career To Sing Opera. Now She’s One Of The Met’s Next Stars
In younger days, J’Nai Bridges, who’s been getting terrific reviews for her house debut as Nefertiti in Philip Glass’s Akhnaten, really was a championship-level basketball player back home in Washington state. (When a singing rehearsal conflicted with a finals game, she made her choice.) But Bridges still plays, often with fellow musicians, for exercise and stress relief. Says her best friend, pianist Sakura Myers, “J’Nai is a low-key sadist when it comes to exercise.” – T — The New York Times Style Magazine