“The term [‘community engagement’], and more importantly the idea, is something that funders and other decision makers are looking for — and we know it. … With the increased use of this term, there has been some confusion as to what community engagement actually is. One of the most common points of confusion has come around differentiating the terms ‘community engagement’ and ‘audience engagement.’ Let’s start by defining what each of these terms is individually.” – Americans for the Arts
Category: issues
London’s Mayor Says The City Needs A “Game-Changing” Approach To Cultural Infrastructure
London has one of the most vibrant cultural scenes in the world. So why does it need a new plan for cultural infrastructure? For the same reason cities need to plan for any other services or physical amenities. And this isn’t just about preserving or building buildings or creating cultural zones. – Arts Professional
The Higher Education Scandal: Exploitation Of Adjuncts
Tuitions have soared. Student debt is unsustainable. Meanwhile, more and more of the actual teaching is delivered by adjunct faculty who are woefully underpaid, have little or no job security and whose employment can end on a whim. Here’s a collection of first-hand stories. – Chronicle of Higher Education
Are Arts Orgs’ Diversity Initiatives Just A New Form Of Paternalism?
That’s the charge made by a few leading arts figures, among them Madani Younis, creative director of London’s Southbank Centre: “This paternalism on the one hand allows institutions to co-opt the concerns of diversity, of gender, of class and so on. On the one hand, you say: ‘That’s super good. These guys are on it, they hear the cry and they are looking to change something’. But on the flip side of that new paternalism, those very institutions then get to decide what the pace of change is. And for me that is perverse.” – Arts Professional
Arts And Culture Add More Than $800 Billion A Year To U.S. Economy: Report
That adds up to more than 4% of the entire nation’s GDP. “That figure is based on detailed data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (part of the Department of Commerce) and the National Endowment for the Arts, summarized in a report released earlier this month. The report tracks the aggregate performance of 35 key arts-and-culture fields, including broadcasting, movies, streaming, publishing, the performing arts, arts-related retail, and more.” – CityLab
LA Times Restaurant Critic’s Fabulous April 1 Takedown Of NY Restaurants
In Los Angeles, we’re spoiled by the breadth and quality of our dining options. In addition to outstanding year-round produce, I can get great huaraches, refreshing mul naengmyeon and impeccable chả giò within 15 minutes of where I live. But what about New York, a largely culturally bereft island that sits curiously between the Hudson and East Rivers at the foot of the Catskill Mountains? Sure, we’ve all heard of hotdogs, a staple of every New Yorker’s diet, famously gnawed on by rodent and human alike in that “toddling town.” – Los Angeles Times
Study: Canadian Artists Make Less Than Average Workers – Way Less
The median individual income of Canada’s artists is $23,100, or 45 per cent less than all Canadian workers ($41,900). A typical artist has employment income of just $15,000, a figure that is 59 per cent lower than the median of all workers ($36,700). That’s from a workforce of almost 800,000 people in Canada who work in cultural industries, which would also include librarians and archivists, graphic designers, editors and architects. – Toronto Star
Jeff Bezos’ Security Chief Claims That Saudi Arabia Hacked Bezos’ Phone
There’s a lot going on here. And then there’s the layer wherein The National Enquirer‘s parent company tried to make sure Bezos and his security chief signed a contract saying they wouldn’t publish the findings. – The Daily Beast
The Major Cinema Chains Are Badly Exploiting Their Cleaning Staffs
This is bad: “The major chains — AMC, Regal Entertainment and Cinemark — no longer rely on teenage ushers to keep the floors from getting sticky. Instead, they have turned to a vast immigrant workforce, often hired through layers of subcontractors. That arrangement makes it almost impossible for janitors to make a living wage.” – Variety
Now That Sackler Money Has Become Radioactive, Campaigners Are Looking At Cultural Donations By Big Tobacco
One of the biggest corporate donors to the arts in the US is the tobacco conglomerate Altria (formerly Philip Morris): among the major recipients of Altria support in 2018 alone were Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Smithsonian museums, the Newseum, and the Kennedy Center. – The Guardian