“This developing movement, supported by nonprofit groups, entrepreneurs, libraries and community fund-raising, is redefining the borders of traditional neighborhood public libraries by creating literary spaces in places where children find themselves with time on their hands. It is bringing the book to the child, instead of the child to the book.” – The New York Times
Category: AUDIENCE
A Fringe Festival Of A Fringe Festival Is Popping Up In Philly
“At the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, the vast majority of shows require paid admission … with tickets for the curated shows (those are the shows that the festival invites to participate) regularly closing in on the $50 mark. But at Free Fringe Philly, all shows will be free.” Says Sarah Knittel, one of the Free Fringe Philly’s creators, “We’ve been getting really bummed out over how ‘fringe’ in this town has started to feel really exclusive and unaffordable. So we’re going to take fringe back to the people and Robin Hood it a bit.” – Philadelphia Magazine
The Rise Of Conspiracy Theory Culture
Shane Dawson is a capricious conspiracist. In the middle of his paranoid rant about the moon, he places his hands sincerely over his chest and says: “Once again, it’s a theory. I don’t want to get sued, or put in jail.” Then he narrows his eyes, as if to size up the whole field of space science, and scoffs, “But I mean, the evidence is not looking good.” – The New York Times
Climate Change Anxiety Is Finding Its Way Into More Pop Culture
“Although movies and television have long toyed with doomsday scenarios, we’re now seeing deeper, more poignant treatments of the issue, with scenes of children and young adults trying to grapple with their fears about a fast-changing world.” – Washington Post
The Digital Age Has Been Unkind To Classical Music (It’s About The Meta-Data)
Browsing and accessing classical music online has been a chore. The data structures were set up for pop music, not classical. Finally, companies are working on some solutions. – The New York Times
A Thorough Consideration Of Access To The Arts In The Internet Age
The challenges vary between access to the consumption of art and access to making and platforming it. In this multimedia age, these have to an extent blurred. However, a hierarchy remains. – Ken Taylor
If This Art Was In Defiantly Bad Taste In 1852, What Is It Now?
Well … it’s an important piece of cultural history. “This provocative show about domestic tastes was a landmark in changing national attitudes – and especially the section of it the newspapers dubbed the ‘chamber of horrors.’” – The Observer (UK)
Theatre On The Go: Made For Your Car
This is a theatre column, after all. But I really picked up three actors who directed me around streets previously unknown to me in downtown Markham and its environs, and who each made me believe in ten short minutes that their situations were really happening. – Toronto Star
YouTube Stars’ New Big Thing? Excessive Over-The-Top Consumerism
After over 200 studies, we know that the more people endorse materialism, the worse their wellbeing. They’re less empathic, less prosocial, more competitive. They’re less likely to support environmental sustainability. They’re more likely to endorse prejudicial and discriminatory beliefs.” And you know, that sounds like what’s wrong with YouTube. –Wired
It Doesn’t Have To Be Netflix OR Movie Theatres
Netflix is a business like any other, one locked in a seemingly unresolvable war with the movie-theater industry, which it views as a rival. Twelve percent of Americans see at least one movie a month in theaters; Netflix has about 60 million U.S. subscribers, or a fifth of the country. Both are huge money-making endeavors, and the idea that one has to die for the other to prosper is hard to grasp. – The Atlantic