“The once-beloved institution that has been closed for four years has delayed the [planned Nov. 3] reopening of its new Pennsylvania Avenue space. … Some of the delay was caused by unforeseen problems in the federally owned building that had to be fixed, according to a museum official, and the additional work was slow to be approved by federal officials.” – The Washington Post
Blog
Thanks To Seven-Week Strike, Chicago Symphony’s Ticket Sales Fell By $5 Million And Deficit Grew By 22%
The musicians’ walkout in March and April of this year was the key factor in the increase in the CSO’s deficit from $900,000 in 2017-18 to $1.1 million in 2018-19. On the other hand, operating expenses fell by $3.5 million (also due largely to the strike), contributions went up by $1.3 million, and the endowment grew by 3.6% to $314 million. – Chicago Tribune
Cannes Plans To Spend Half A Billion Euros To Make Itself Into An ‘Audiovisual Silicon Valley’
The project, called “Cannes on Air,” includes adding another floor to the Palais des Festivals, building a new museum of cinema history and a state-of-the-art 12-screen multiplex, and establishing a new university for film, TV, video games and online media. – The Hollywood Reporter
Here’s One Major Ballet Company Whose Entire New Season Is By Female Choreographers
The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s artistic director, Patricia Barker, “says she realized that a season devoted to women’s works shouldn’t be seen as a huge undertaking, but something that could and should be commonplace. ‘It’s just as easy to hire a female choreographer as a male one.'” – Pointe Magazine
UK Musicians Union Says Harassment, Sexism Is Rampant In The Industry
In a survey conducted by the union – which represents more than 31,000 musicians, 90% of whom are freelancers – 48% of respondents said they had experienced workplace harassment. More than four in five (85%) did not report it. – The Guardian
US Publisher Cancels Naomi Wolf Book After Accuracy Issues
In June, days before the book was expected to go on sale in the United States, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt postponed the publication and recalled copies from retailers, an unusual and costly move. The publisher said at the time that “new questions have arisen that require more time to explore.” Now, it has pulled the book altogether. – The New York Times
How The Language Of Emojis Evolves
Emoji sink or swim on less democratic tides. They aren’t quite words, of course, though they’re certainly word-adjacent. (Three out of four Americans regularly deploy emoji in text messages, and at least six billion emoji are sent across the major social media platforms each day.) – The New Republic
Netflix Reveals What Its Audience Is Watching. Here’s What We Learned
Although we’re still starved of the bottom end of the list and, disappointingly yet tellingly, any box-office data for its theatrical releases, we can start to see what is and isn’t working for the platform. – Irish Times
2017 Tax Law Cost Artists Because They Lost Expense Deductions. Now They Want It Changed
In the past, many actors would list these expenses as miscellaneous itemized deductions on their taxes. But the 2017 tax reform law eliminated that provision, affecting thousands of performing artists who had used those deductions for work-related expenses. Now unions representing Hollywood performers are pushing Congress to fix the problem. – Los Angeles Times
The Novel Is Dying? Please, Get Over It!
“I do not agree that the novel is doomed to become a marginal cultural force – but I can see why writers whose first successes came in the pre-digital age may think so. Gone are the days of the great advances and the pages and pages of serious, in-depth analysis the print media once used to offer to the novel and to the book-by-book progression of a novelist’s body of work.” – New Statesman