“Starting as a summer project in 1974, Dancemakers went on to curate award-winning Canadian and international performances and play host to a multiyear resident artist program, as well as many presentations and workshops. More than 4,000 audience members and artists passed through each year.” – The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Blog
Met Opera’s Custom-Made Marc Chagall Stage Curtain Is Up For Auction
The artist — whose two murals for the opera house’s lobby, famously visible to passersby from well beyond Lincoln Center’s central plaza, were put up as collateral for a loan in 2009 and again in 2014 — created the 65′-by-48′ curtain for a 1967 staging of Mozart’s Magic Flute, the only opera production he ever designed. – The New York Times
Chinese Gov’t Is Cracking Down On Hong Kong’s Public Broadcaster
“Amid the political turmoil since the pro-democracy movement erupted last year and the national security law was enacted in July, [RTHK] has been under fire from various quarters as the government appears to tighten its grip.” Producers have been taken for questioning, programs have been cancelled, staffers (who are considered civil servants) are being made to take a loyalty oath, and the national anthem of the People’s Republic of China is now played every day before the 8 am news. – Global Voices (Hong Kong Free Press)
Israeli Opera Moves To Lay Off Its Entire Chorus
At least 55 of the chorus’s 62 members have received notice of the mandatory hearing that precedes layoffs in Israel; the singers have been on furlough since the spring. Their union reports that the company abruptly ended negotiations on a new contract and evidently plans to hire freelance choristers at cheaper rates. – The Jerusalem Post
International Enrollment At US Universities Down 43 Percent
The survey provides a first look at how hard international enrollments have been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey found that one in five international students are studying online from outside the U.S. Ninety percent of responding institutions reported student deferrals, collectively reporting that nearly 40,000 international students have deferred their studies to a future term. – InsideHigherEd
A Theatre Student Researches How Theatre Has Coped With Lockdown. Here’s What She Found
It became evident to me that companies that had a strong relationship with their audience base before the pandemic had seen continued support. Theatres like Cape Fear Regional Theatre, which specializes in “edutainment” (a combination of performance and education), received an outpouring of verbal support from parents who were overjoyed that their child could go to a sanitized and physically distanced afterschool environment and have a sense of normalcy. – HowlRound
How Our World Has Changed In The Age Of Instant Information
The most radical change that instant information has made is the levelling of content. There is no longer a distinction between things that everyone knows, or could readily know, and things that only experts know. – The New Yorker
Why American TV Satire Is At A Low Point
TV satire’s lacklustre election reporting is, in part, due to Donald Trump’s immunity to ridicule. Over the last four years, he has embodied many of satire’s central characteristics including exaggeration, irony and stupidity. It has become increasingly difficult for satirists to skewer him. – The Conversation
Fashion Is Fashion. Art Is Art. But…
“I don’t think you necessarily have to own it to appreciate couture. It’s like art. I don’t really like when people talk about fashion as art. Fashion is fashion. Art is art. But yes, I don’t think that you have to own art in order to appreciate art. You can go to a museum and you can appreciate paintings and whatever you like. So why not for couture? – Washington Post
What Are Our National Arts Support Organizations Doing For Equity?
“We look to service organizations like Americans For The Arts to help support us as we support our communities. However, we can no longer wait for them or organizations like them. These requests are not made to hurt the organization, but to serve the people it exists to serve: the entire national arts community.” – Hyperallergic