Category: issues

“It is not about the intentions of art; it is about what art can do — which is to say quite a lot in a world saturated with pictures. It must be clear that both art and politics remain autonomous spheres that follow their own rules. Trying to intermingle the two at all costs has never been my idea of art.”

“What is the value of the arts, and criticism of it? Really, the question becomes: are you adding to the collective richness of the local tapestry, or are you letting it fade away by turning your back on it?”

Jian Ghomeshi hosts a Q Debate over philosopher Alain de Botton’s “controversial contention that the goal of art should be self-improvement.” Holding up the opposing side is Canadian artist and writer R.M. Vaughan. (audio)

“The fact that sequentially presented content pretty much always sees a declining participation rate is a grim truth that we’re in some contexts shielded from.”

The National Theatre, the Royal Opera House, Sadler’s Wells, English National Opera and the Southbank Centre have, over the past 18 years, have been given £315 million of Lottery arts funding. In that same period, the 10% of England’s local authorities with the lowest levels of community arts engagement received £288 million.

“Insulting stereotypes of Africans are at the heart of why celebrity famine relief gets the whole problem so badly wrong, not only in 1984 but still today.”

“Since 2011, there has been an increase in the percentage of people who visit museums and attend performances of classical music, jazz and musical theater—but there were decreases for plays, classical dance and opera. The individual rate of attendance has dropped since 2011, with about half of respondents continuing to attend cultural activities once or twice a month, but only 15% attending three times or more—down from a previous 22%.”

“[There’s] a national labor movement in which thousands of adjuncts are fighting for change within the higher-education system. In the short-term, adjuncts are demanding a living wage, but they are also proposing long-term solutions to structural problems ailing universities.”

“While blurring the line between journalism and marketing is an issue, I am personally more interested in whether or not ‘content marketing’ – defined as any “marketing format that involves the creation and sharing of media and publishing content in order to acquire customers…” is a viable strategy for arts organizations.”

“If this is the end of net neutrality as we know it, it is not the end of the line for fair and equitable Internet access. Indeed, the commission’s decision frees Americans to focus on a real long-term solution: supporting open municipal-level fiber networks.”