Category: issues

“‘This festival teaches even the little children, artless and simple, to be greedy,’ as one critic put it. ‘The tender minds of the young begin to be impressed with that which is commercial and sordid.’ The year was 400, and the anxious writer was the Cappadocian Bishop Asterius of Amasea.”

“Our findings suggest that those who pursue creativity, and produce significant creative contributions, may benefit from existential security in the face of death,” the researchers conclude. Artists follow their muses for a myriad of reasons, of course. But this research suggests that, whatever their catalyst, doing creative work — and especially getting recognized for it — conveys an invaluable emotional benefit.

“Unlike Jerry Seinfeld and his jokes, college art instructors cannot just take their lesson plans to some local concert hall. In an environment set up to encourage experimentation and free expression, is parody or a critical stance allowable and, if so, which targets are O.K.?”

The NAC Foundation has spent the past eight years raising capital for the fund, which now stands at more than $23-million. NAC president and CEO Peter Herrndorf said the fund is not meant to be a self-sustaining endowment. “We’ll invest $3-million a year for six or seven years, and if at the end of that period it is seen to have had an impact, we can fundraise from there … If it’s not a success, we’ll say, ‘This was an interesting way to approach it, maybe we’ll look for a different way.’ ”The main idea, Herrndorf said, is to put enough cash into the hands of artists to make an exponential difference in artistic outcomes. “We want to get as much of that money into artists’ hands as possible, as quickly as possible.”

“The sober fact is that the map depicting the location and service-area of the vast majority of cultural organizations looks a lot like the map of Clinton supporters. Museums, theaters, orchestras, dance companies, performing arts centers and music schools are concentrated in urban areas and the densest concentrations are in the most liberal cities: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Minneapolis, Boston, Seattle.”

“If we want the arts to save our world, we’ll have to make it happen with much less government, which means much more private-sector time and money. Which brings us back to the issue of volunteerism in the arts. Whereas volunteers used to be a good way to reduce costs and improve engagement, volunteers are about to become the life-blood of the sector.”

“In the epic, 16-year battle over a priceless painting looted by the Nazis, there is one point on which all sides agree: When Lilly Cassirer and her husband fled Germany ahead of the Holocaust, they surrendered their Camille Pissarro masterpiece in exchange for their lives.”

Yeah, no, not really. “Everyone knows about the big cases: the conviction and exile of Roman Polanski, the (denied and unproven) accusation of Woody Allen. But there is also a vast unacknowledged history of normalised abuse – virtually every female star and many male stars have endured a casting-couch assault, although the MO has of course been offscreen.”

Putin met with non-jailed filmmakers and claimed he was a supporter of artistic freedom. But: “Meddling in the arts by government officials and the Russian Orthodox Church is raising worries over a return of censorship not only to political news, but also to plays, movies and art exhibitions.”

With nine confirmed dead and dozens missing, the fire on Dec. 2 has devastated a whole community. Vital members of Oakland’s arts and music scene – and many queer and trans artists of color – are likely gone. Some who survived say “these non-permitted residences that host underground shows are often the only safe place for marginalized people, those who find above-the-board and sanctioned venues unsafe or inhospitable.”