Category: issues

“To understand how people are feeling about the situation, we spoke to six cultural figures, including an Italian opera star, a renowned Parisian bookseller and the head of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. Here are edited excerpts from those conversations.” – The New York Times

Nearly two-thirds of the voters in New Jersey’s second largest city, just across the Hudson from Lower Manhattan, supported the property levy, which would amount to roughly $25 annually for a house worth $500,000. The ballot question was non-binding but gives the City Council a political green light to approve the measure. – The New York Times

Grayson Perry: “I think every part of life has probably got a bit of fat that needs trimming, a bit of dead wood. It’s awful that the culture sector has been decimated, but I think some things needed to go. … Too often, the audience for culture is just the people making it — theatres with whole audiences of actors, or exhibitions only put on to impress other curators.” Yes, many arts figures have criticized Perry for this, but some have defended him as well. – BBC

What role can artists play in the healing of a nation wounded by a viral pandemic and the chronic diseases of racism, inequality and rabid partisanship? Even for the proponents of art for art’s sake, politics is inescapable. – Los Angeles Times

There was huge relief and even some jubilation lat month when, for the first time, Venice’s long-delayed, wildly over-budget contraption for keeping flood tides out of the Venice Lagoon was successfully deployed and the city stayed dry. But new rules say the barrier should be used only when the water level is 103 cm, at which point two-thirds of the old city will be wet. (St. Mark’s gets flooded at 80-85 cm.) Why did the authorities decide this? Read on … – The Art Newspaper

“The arts, writ large, rarely represent more than a footnote in election discourse (if we’re lucky). … But for those wondering what the election will mean for creative industries specifically, we’ve laid out the candidates’ respective histories with art — their policies, voting records, donations, and more — in a digestible breakdown below.” – Artnet

As Culture Minister Oliver Dowden clarified on Twitter, “Arts venues are places of work, so people can come into them for work, if it cannot be undertaken from home. This includes rehearsals and performance. Audiences are not permitted.” – Yahoo! (Press Association UK)

The unions argue that the companies can’t cut off workers now and expect them to return when they’re ready to reopen. They also say that if concessions are made during the shutdown, salary, benefits, staffing minimums and guaranteed hours should be restored to pre-pandemic levels once things return to normal. – Washington Post

Under the current Milwaukee pandemic order, bars and restaurants with approved safety plans are able to bring in any amount of customers as long as they can remain socially distanced inside the business. Bar and restaurant owners told WISN 12 News that usually amounts to about 50% capacity. However, the order only allows 10 people inside art and theater venues, not including staff. WISN (Milwaukee)