“The myth that underemployed, poorly housed young people are joyfully engaged in a project of creative destruction misrepresents our economic reality. But only if we can finally be said to have liberated ourselves from napkins, houses, and sex, will we have given the Boomers something to be proud of.”
Category: issues
Cultural Equity You Say? So What Does That Mean?
“Over the course of the past half-century, conversations about diversity have tended to focus first on audiences, then on programming, and finally on leadership. Diversity’s core concern is about who is ultimately benefiting from the work; if diverse audiences are taking advantage, then that is the surest sign of success.”
New York Times Axes Arts And Culture Coverage In Suburbs: Report
“The New York Times this week quietly ended its coverage of restaurants, art galleries, theaters and other commercial and nonprofit businesses in the tri-state region, laying off dozens of longtime contributors and prompting protests from many of the institutions that will be affected. They foresee an impact not only on patronage but, in the case of the nonprofits, on their ability to raise funds to survive.”
London’s Finally Got Night Tube Service, And Now It Will Have A ‘Night Tsar’
“London mayor Sadiq Khan has begun the process of appointing a ‘night tsar’ for the capital, who will develop a vision for night-time culture and entertainment in a ’24-hour city’. … [He or she] will be an ambassador for London’s night-time economy, working with sectors including culture and the arts as well as with pubs and clubs.”
Debating The University Of Chicago’s “Intellectual Freedom” Letter
“To those who regularly campaign against what they see as political correctness, and to plenty of others, the letter was the message they have been waiting for—and that they think students need. But to many others, the letter distorted programs on which many students rely, ignored the hostility many students feel on campus, and belittled the sincerity of faculty members who work to make higher education more inclusive.”
Edinburgh Festivals Boast Another Record Year For Ticket Sales
“The fringe issued 2,475,143 tickets for participating shows across Scotland’s capital, a 7.7% increase on 2015 despite the number of registered events and performances falling marginally on 2015 levels. The Edinburgh International Festival issued a record 169,300 tickets for paying events, posting £4.2 million in sales, marking the first time it has topped £4 million. The number of tickets issued is up from 163,500 in 2015, when the festival posted ticket sales of £3.9 million.”
Israeli Ministry Of Culture Sued By Artists Over Politicized Funding Decisions
“Artists and cultural institutions are feeling increasingly intimidated under the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, especially since Miri Regev, an Israeli army brigadier-general, became the country’s minister of culture in 2015. … Threats to funding based on policies that limit freedom of expression could be a ‘death blow to culture institutions that rely heavily on public funding’, says one of the petitioners in the lawsuit.”
Why Holograms Of Dead Performers Weird Us Out (But We Keep Watching Them)
“Simultaneously here and gone, holograms are stand-ins for all things virtual, harbingers of a ‘mixed reality’ in which the real and the simulated have been integrated seamlessly. … In reality, however, holograms have mostly been gaudy stunts … still abut the uncanny valley, displaying a body that is there and not there, alive and dead. Something about it doesn’t quite compute.”
Are Non-Profits Limiting Themselves By Overworking Their Employees?
“There’s no doubt that nonprofits today face serious financial difficulties and constraints, but do they have no choice but to demand long, unpaid hours of their employees? Putting questions of fairness aside, is their treatment of their workers limiting their effectiveness?”
Ai Weiwei Removed From Major Chinese Bienniale
“Ai tweeted that he received a ‘vague letter’ from Yinchuan MoCA’s artistic director Hsieh Suchen that ‘the decision is made by higher officials’ due to the show’s status as part of China’s One Belt, One Road initiative to build a new Silk Road of overland economic and cultural exchange with countries to China’s west.”