Is it that other Hollywood guys simply don’t give a damn what kind of damage the former head of Pixar did with years of harassment? Uh, basically. “With Lasseter’s return, Hollywood can finally get back to the business of celebrating all those geniuses who just happen to be male because so many of the women have left the room to avoid being groped and/or ejaculated in front of.” – Los Angeles Times
Category: issues
Estonia Is Worried About Russian Influence, So It’s Turning – Naturally – To The Arts For Resistance
Yes, it’s about soft power in the European Union’s farthest border to the east – a stone’s throw from Russia. “From a defense perspective, building a happy, prosperous community in our border area is crucial. … But from a human perspective, it’s the decent thing to do anyway.” – The New York Times
Arms Manufacturer Shamed Out Of Sponsoring Museum Shows Changes Its Name To Leonardo
Jeez, talk about artwashing. A string of PR disasters, including demonstrations against Britain’s National Gallery of Art for accepting sponsorships, led the Italian defense company Finmeccanica to rename itself after the Renaissance genius (who did, after all, design weapons and war machines). But the tactic hasn’t entirely worked: just last summer, the Design Museum in London came under fire (ahem) for hosting a reception for the company, despite the new name. — Artnet
Royal Shakespeare Co., Punchdrunk, Philharmonia Orchestra At Work On New Immersive Virtual Reality Project
“The RSC-led performance project is a collaboration of 15 organisations, including Epic Games, the creator of online video game Fortnite. Other collaborators include theatre company Punchdrunk, the Philharmonia Orchestra and Manchester International Festival. … Public body Innovate UK is awarding the funding as part of its Audiences of the Future programme.” — The Stage
Billion-Dollar Foundation Dedicates Itself To Racial Equity. Founder’s Heirs Protest
Some of the 340 heirs of John Andrus, whose estate created Minnesota’s Surdna Foundation, back in the 1930s, are protesting the foundation’s funding of progressive causes and its decision to devote itself to racial equity. What would Andrus have wanted? – Chronicle of Philanthropy
Why Did All The Bells On Philly’s Avenue Of The Arts Stop Ringing?
In 1996, when a multimillion-dollar renovation of South Broad Street was completed, sound artist Robert Coburn attached 39 small bronze bells to lampposts along the newly-christened “Avenue of the Arts.” For a year or so, they played melodies fed from an electronic terminal, but they’ve been silent for two decades now. A reporter found out why. — The Philadelphia Inquirer
US Is Now Out Of UNESCO For Second Time
As of New Year’s Day, the United States, along with Israel, officially left the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. The trigger for this withdrawal, which was announced 15 months ago, was UNESCO giving World Heritage Site status to the ancient West Bank city of Hebron — as a Palestinian city. (The Reagan administration withdrew the US from the organization in 1984; George W. Bush brought the country back in in 2002.) — The Architect’s Newspaper
Bolsonaro Eliminates Brazil’s Culture Ministry
“Just days into his tenure …, [new president Jair Bolsonaro] has folded it into the newly created ministry of citizenship, a portfolio that now includes social policy, sports, and culture.” And the chief of this new ministry has several controversies following him from the outgoing administration of Michel Temer. — Artnet
Think Cultural Criticism Doesn’t Matter At A Time Like This? Think Again
Todd VanDerWerff: “We need cultural criticism not just to tell us which movies to go see and which ones to avoid, but to tell us things we already knew but didn’t know how to express. If reporting can explain the world to us, cultural criticism can explain us to us.” — Vox
Cornelia Street Café, A Hub Of Greenwich Village’s Artistic Ferment, Shuts Down
For almost 42 years, the café’s basement performance space had offered a stage and support for jazz, theatre, and other offbeat and experimental artists, from the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra to Suzanne Vega to Eve Ensler’s Vagina Monologues. But the rent is now literally 77 times what it was in 1977, and proprietor Robin Hirsch says he just can’t afford that much. — The New York Times