“If journals, sketchbooks, letters, and scribbled-on napkins are venerated and kept for insights into great minds, there seems to be a case that tweets should be held onto, too. Then again, publicly accessible 140-character bursts can be so frivolous – and based so much on maintaining appearances – that they might seem like they don’t offer anything worth preserving.”
Category: issues
America’s “Gatekeeper” Problem In Spreading Big Ideas
“There’s a very narrow doorway through which big ideas get to audiences,” said Chris Jackson, the editor-in-chief of Random House’s One World imprint. But as mainstream culture looks increasingly unlike America, there’s reason to hope cultural gatekeepers will soon be forced to expand their horizons.
Seven Ways To Find Meaning At Work (Actual Good Ideas From David Brooks)
Two professional conservatives, the New York Times Op-Ed columnist and Arthur Brooks (no relation), president of the American Enterprise Institute, offer some ideas convincing enough that the leftish Atlantic is willing to post them.
What’s The Problem With J.K. Rowling’s New North American Wizarding School?
“All I could think is that it was written with a colonial lens. This was the story of an outsider in America ‘fixing’ what was already there. Rather than integrating Native Americans into her world, they are reduced to background set pieces.”
More Administration Shuffling And Reshuffling At New York Live Arts
“New York Live Arts, which has seen quite a bit of administrative turnover since it was born five and a half years ago with the merger of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and Dance Theater Workshop, has announced more changes to its programming staff.”
Oscars, Or At Least The Academy, Not #SoWhite Anymore
So what’s next? “In these socially conscious times, Hollywood awards have become a tool for change despite, or perhaps as a reaction to, their red-carpet frivolity.”
London’s National Gallery Hopes Nothing Will Change With Brexit
“The gallery has been here for nearly 200 years and it has survived many seismic changes including world wars and other skirmishes – so we are going to continue business as usual, shining as a beacon of excellence and a place of contemplation.”
Black Chicago, The MacArthur Foundation, And the Ethics Of Cultural Philanthropy
Stating “The children of Chicago are demanding that $100 million of the $7 billion MacArthur Foundation has in assets be used to invest in Black communities and help Black children in Chicago survive violence in their communities,” the city’s Black Star Project staged a march last week on the foundation’s headquarters. Zoe Mendelson writes, “Of course foundations can have their own funding priorities, but at what point does an emergency in their hometown merit special intervention? … MacArthur’s basic stance is that it’s already doing its part. The impossible question becomes: When are you helping enough?”
Diversity And Inclusion In British Arts – How Much Progress In 25 Years?
Arts Council England’s National Council member David Bryan considers what has happened in the quarter-century since he first wrote a major article on the subject and offers five possible actions for the future.
Seeking Equity In The Arts (As Opposed To Equality)
“It falls to those seeking fair equity to propose a new way to allocate resources, with all the pros and cons on the table, for there to be a basis of discussion. Put another way, those who call for redressing inequity — and here I’ll expand this discussion to include diversity and inclusion, which suffer from the same definitional complexities — must propose ways to achieve the equity they seek.”