With high profiles, comparatively secure government funding and established philanthropic networks, major arts festivals are in a position to make a difference. At one point in Getting Their Acts Together, Adelaide festival’s annual bill is placed at $20m – around four times the amount of money the Australia Council has scraped together for its Covid-19 resilience fund. And after months of cancellations and pushbacks there will be no shortage of compelling shows by Australian artists and companies looking to make up for lost time – and income – in 2021. – The Guardian
Category: issues
An Online Education: Some Essentials Missing
I’ve heard administrators insist that online instruction is just a “change in delivery system,” not a diminution of content. But this bureaucratic bromide wilfully ignores the wisdom of Marshall McLuhan, whose work I often teach. The medium is always the message. You can reduce a seminar to a distortion-addled screen, sure, but that will never substitute for being there. – The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Canadian Government’s Efforts To Help Artists Shows Problems In Defining Artists’ Income
In mitigating the impact of the COVID19 crisis, the federal government swiftly responded with economy-wide measures as part of its immediate relief. It is in this roll out of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) that officials discovered the many gaps in addressing the labour force in the arts—the artist. More than the employment of the labour, it was what constituted their income that became the challenge and eluded the fit for an artist. – Georgia Strait
U.S. Copyright Office Says Digital Millennium Copyright Act Should Be ‘Fine-Tuned’
The issue discussed in a report just released by the Copyright Office is the DMCA’s Section 512, which lays out what social media companies and Online Service Providers (e.g., Spotify, YouTube) must do to remove pirated material and police copyright infringement. The Office says that the balance has shifted too far toward the OSPs, leaving creators whose material has been posted without permission to play “whack-a-mole.” – The Hollywood Reporter
Can The “Experience Economy” Survive The Pandemic?
The economy’s reliance on live events has been growing for years. When Disneyland opened in 1955, it sparked a boom in the theme park business. In recent decades, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Great Wolf Lodge water parks and more have emerged to compete for the attention — and money — of American families. – The New York Times
Los Angeles Redirects Developer Fees To Arts Aid
LA City Council unanimously approved two motions that repurpose arts fees paid by developers in support of now-canceled or planned cultural events as small-dollar grants to artists, arts organizations, and live performance spaces that have been negatively affected or threatened by the pandemic. – Hyperallergic
Dutch Cultural Institutions Start Reopening Process June 1
“With a list of conditions that will leave most venue operators scratching their heads, venues can reopen on the basis that a maximum of 30 people – including staff – are allowed in at any one time and they remain 1.5 meters apart. A reservation system must also be in place, with no walk-in customers admitted. Venue owners must discuss potential risks with visitors before they enter. The maximum number of visitors to cultural institutions will be increased to 100 in the following stage of the plan from 1 July, if the virus is kept ‘under control’.” – IQ Magazine
Italy Will Resume Live Performances And Cinema Screenings As Of June 15
There will be strict rules in place for the time being: audience limits of 200 indoors and 1,000 outdoors, one meter’s distance between individuals, masks and temperature checks required, mandatory procedures for sanitizing and ventilating venues and directing audience traffic. – The Strad
New Stimulus Bill Helps Non-Profits (But It’ll Never Pass)
It includes $100 billion for rental assistance, another round of $1,200 direct payments to taxpayers, and sets aside 25 percent of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for nonprofit organizations. However, the bill, known as the HEROES Act, has little chance of passing in the Republican-led senate and President Trump has promised to veto it. – Artnet
Cambridge University Moves All Classes Online Until 2021
A Cambridge spokesman told LBC News: “The University is constantly adapting to changing advice as it emerges during this pandemic. Given that it is likely that social distancing will continue to be required, the University has decided there will be no face-to-face lectures during the next academic year. – LBC News