Category: issues

“This proves to be a particularly timely question because exactly 10 years ago last month, two of the biggest arts venue headaches of recent times finally opened to the public.” Ike Ijeh looks at those venues and others, including a few that became successes after rather inauspicious beginnings. — Building (UK)

According to the study from the Pew Research Center, television is still the leading source, with just under half of respondents saying they get most of their news from it; hard-copy print came in last of five. — Smithsonian Magazine

The good news is that there’s been very little ideologically-based destruction of the kind ISIS perpetrated in Syria and Iraq; the damage is almost entirely “collateral,” the by-product of the warring sides shooting at each other. The bad news is that the worst of the damage has been caused by Saudi Arabia with American and European weapons. — Hyperallergic

“Figures drawn from Arts Professional‘s 2018 online survey of pay and earnings reveal that on average, women in full-time employment in the cultural sector earn 10.6% less than men, … with women being only half as likely as men to reach senior roles by their mid-30s, and on average earning less than men as their careers progress.” — Arts Professional

The current level of global urbanization is high: It estimates the world to be 84 percent urban already. The EC research team, led by Lewis Dijkstra, used satellite images to assess the share of the world’s population that is urban. While traditional estimates from the United Nations and elsewhere find Asia to be 50 percent urban, the EC team’s analysis of satellite images finds it to be 90 percent; while the UN estimates Africa’s urban population at 40 percent, the EC research team finds it to be 80 percent. – CityLab

The Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Elysées was graffitied by rioters; TV footage showed its interior ransacked and a smashed statue of Marianne, symbol of the French republic. French President Emmanuel Macron visited the Arc de Triomphe on Sunday, after returning from a trip to Argentina the day before, in order to inspect the damage. – The Art Newspaper

Hungary’s right-wing nationalist prime minister and the president of the Philippines, who compared himself to Hitler and meant it as a compliment to both Hitler and himself, and other right-wing autocratic leaders have visited Yad Vashem in the past six months. Some staff members are highly distressed, but none of them is allowed to speak publicly about the issue.  – The New York Times

Internationally acclaimed photographer Lu Guang has been missing for five weeks. “According to local sources, the security services detained Lu Guang, along with his local host, on or about Nov. 3. He was supposed to travel a day or two later to Sichuan Province, where he regularly does charity work. He never made it.’ – The New York Times