Category: issues

How can satire be heard in a climate like this? By becoming louder and crasser. Subtle jabs are increasingly replaced by sledgehammer blows, clever insinuations by clumsy insults. Couple that with the fact that the practitioners of satire, or what passes for it these days, have proliferated greatly. – The New York Times

“Paramilitary groups, the most active of which is called C14, have existed as a form of ‘art critics’ since 2009, when they first burnt down the Gudimov Centre for its presentation of a book with a provocative name: 120 Pages of Sodome. Since then, they have intended to impact Ukraine’s cultural life, censoring the topics of gender, sexuality, and politics in art.” – Hyperallergic

A pair of British professors write about the AIR Network, a program they set up with colleagues to work with residents of Mukuru, a poor neighborhood in the Kenyan capital, using theatre, photography, drawing, and storytelling, to find ways to improve local air quality — and to push politicians to help. – The Conversation

Overall, the researchers found no significant differences in the amount of content the kids retained, regardless of which version of the lessons they received. But the arts-infused approach had a positive effect on “struggling readers.” Ten weeks later, those kids “remembered significantly more science content learned through the arts” than those who were taught using conventional methods.  – Pacific Standard

The closure comes after months of troubles that seeped into public view.In October, the Art Institute of Seattle laid off most of its full-time faculty as Dream Center announced 18 of the 31 Art Institutes campuses would close by the end of last year, including the Portland campus. WSAC notified Art Institute of Seattle campus director Lindsey Morgan Oliger of the school’s “at-risk” designation on Jan. 10 and prohibited it from enrolling new students. – Seattle Times

“Including drama and music, creative arts degrees are studied by approximately 37,000 young people in England each year. Taxpayers provide more to students who study these courses because they typically earn less than other degrees and therefore pay back less of their loans. The [Institute for Fiscal Studies’] report claims because of this, taxpayers spend about 30% more on arts degrees than on the equivalent engineering courses.” – The Stage

The recent phenomenon of so-called cancel culture — the notion of withholding moral, financial and other support for prominent figures deemed problematic — has grown to become the default reaction in circumstances of troubling allegations or unacceptable behaviour.  But is the King of Pop too big to cancel? – CBC

“It’s where free speech, community interests, censorship, harassment, spam, and overt criminality all butt up against each other. It has to account for a wide variety of always-evolving cultural norms and acceptable behaviors. As someone who has done the job, I can tell you that it can be a grim and disturbing task. And yet the big tech platforms seem to place little value on it: The pay is poor, workers are often contractors, and it’s frequently described as something that’s best left to the machines.” – BuzzFeed

Signs of an impending slowdown in charitable giving are emerging from multiple studies examining contributions last year, particularly those from donors of modest means.  For example, a new analysis of giving to more than 4,500 charities released by the Association of Fundraising Professionals this week found that overall donations in 2018 were up by only 1.6 percent, lower than the rate of inflation. – Inside Philanthropy