On Wednesday Robert Sain, the director of the di Rosa center, responded with a letter that repeated claims that the center did not have sufficient funds to maintain the collection. “It would … have been wonderful if additional donors beyond our board, membership, and strong base of supporters had responded to our fundraising efforts,” he wrote. The letter cites what it calls an “unfortunate” circumstance, “that we finally had to face the reckoning … or close our doors forever.” – San Francisco Chronicle
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Near-Total Sweep For Women At The Hugo Awards
Okay, they didn’t win every single prize there was at the annual honors for science fiction (men won for the best film and television scripts, for instance), but female creators took home the awards for best novel, novella, novelette, short story, graphic story, fan fiction, fanzine, fancast, and fan art. Not bad for a genre that was considered more or less closed to most women not so long ago. – The Verge
In A Parallel Universe, The Onion Imagines Football Programs Jealous Of Funding For Theatre
“I understand that this is a live-theater town. Parents move to this school district just to get their kids in front of a director to potentially get cast as Meg. The JV boys haven’t had new uniforms in 10 years and yet the school spends $250,000 on dance training for Newsies. Football has value—it’s an outlet for so many misunderstood kids, and to see it constantly pushed to the side like this is disheartening.” – The Onion
Why Is Joe Rogan One Of The Most Popular Podcasters In America? Guys, And What He Gets About Them
“Few men in America are as popular among American men as Joe Rogan. It’s a massive group congregating in plain sight, and it’s made up of people you know from high school, guys who work three cubicles down, who are still paying off student loans, who forward jealous-girlfriend memes, who spot you at the gym. … So many people in the content business right now are trying, and failing, to get the attention of these men, and yet somehow Joe Rogan has managed to recruit a following the size of Florida.” Devin Gordon does a deep dive into Rogan’s gut appeal, what’s powerful about it, and what’s unsettling. – The Atlantic
All AM Talk Radio Wanted Was To Entertain Masses Of People. It Ended Up Taking Control Of The Republican Party.
“No one set out to turn the airwaves into a political weapon — much less deputize talk-radio hosts as the ideological enforcers of a major American political party. Instead the story of how the GOP establishment lost its power over the Republican message — and eventually the party itself — begins with frantic AM radio executives and a former Top 40 disc jockey.” (That would be Rush Limbaugh.) – The Atlantic
The Artist-Architects Who Thought Their Buildings Could Help Their Inhabitants Live Forever (By Driving Them Nuts)
“Madeline Gins and her husband, Shusaku Arakawa (who went only by his last name), 1960s New York conceptual artists and amateur architects who are regarded as a bridge between the Dada and Fluxus movements, … posited that buildings could be designed to increase mental and physical stimulation, which would, in turn, prolong life indefinitely. An aversion to right angles, an absence of symmetry and a constant shifting of elevations would stimulate the immune system, sharpen the mind and lead to immortality.” – T — The New York Times Style Magazine
Can Arts Organizations Become Engines For Economic Justice In Their Communities?
The “anchor institution approach” for nonprofits — using their purchasing decisions, hiring, and other business practices to actively affect their communities’ economic well-being, especially that of historically marginalized groups — is usually thought of as applying to large universities and health-care institutions. But, argues a new report, arts and culture organizations can also serve as such “anchor institutions” — and many do, from Miami’s Adrienne Arsht Center and the Cleveland Museum of Art down to smaller groups such as Houston’s Project Row Houses and the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center in San Antonio. – Nonprofit Quarterly
Next Month, Baltimore Symphony Lockout Could Morph Into A Strike
The lockout began in May because there has been no musicians’ contract since January and management, which wants to end the orchestra’s year-round status and shut down during the summers, decided to cancel all this summer’s programming; the musicians wanted to play on and keep negotiating. But management’s stated intention has been to resume the orchestra’s activities with the start of the fall season — and now the musicians are saying they won’t play without a contract. – The Baltimore Sun
New York City May Keep Limits On Vendors Selling Art In Manhattan Parks, Rules Appeals Court
“In a 5-0 decision, the appeals court rejected artists’ contentions that the limits covering Central Park south of 86th Street, Battery Park, High Line Park and Union Square Park violated their free speech and equal protection rights under the state constitution, and amounted to illegal discrimination.” – Reuters
Battle Over Aretha Franklin’s Estate Is About To Get Even Messier (And She Is Probably To Blame For That)
“When Franklin died, at age 76, her family believed she had no will. Under Michigan law, that meant her estate would be divided equally among her sons. … But Franklin’s case is especially complex because determining how she wanted her assets distributed involves deciphering whether any of the three hand-scrawled documents found in her home three months ago — one of them under the couch cushions — should be embraced as her will.” – The New York Times