Deaf actor Russell Harvard (Tribes, There Will Be Blood): “It might sound funny, but I’m afraid that in the future, the deaf community culture would be extinct because technology is taking over and there would be no more deaf people. In the future, genetic engineering, cochlear implants, the language will be forgotten – I was really terrified of that.”
Category: issues
At Least One US Visa Procedure For Artists Is Becoming Easier
“United States Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) has announced that, effective April 30, 2013, artists and performers (as well as everyone else) entering the U.S. will no longer receive physical I-94 forms. The process will now be electronically automated!”
Yo-Yo Ma, Washington Arts Advocate
The star cellist and musical entrepreneur, describing himself as a “venture culturalist”, gave a Kennedy Center lecture this week on the arts and public policy. “And, though he titled his speech ‘Art for Life’s Sake,’ it was, in fact, a point he made early on about diversity that seemed most potent. He called it ‘the edge effect’ and introduced it with a biology metaphor.”
Bare-Breasted Pussy Riot Supporters Swarm Vladimir Putin In Germany
“Topless activists from the Femen protest group tried to disrupt the visit of Russian President Putin and Chancellor Merkel to the Hannover Messe tech show. They had anti-Putin slogans on their semi-naked bodies and were shouting obscenities.” Putin appeared not to mind. (We bet Silvio Berlusconi is totally jealous.)
Are Britain’s Arts Venues Catering (Ahem) For Our Needs?
“Peyton & Byrne is taking over the Brighton Dome and Pavilion, while Michelin-starred chef Shaun Hill is training staff for the National Welsh Museums. Is the food in Britain’s galleries and museums improving – or do our visitor attractions still turn your stomach?”
‘Game of Thrones’ Is Massively Pirated, But HBO Doesn’t Seem To Care
“HBO has been surprisingly polite if not kind about the illegal downloads. You had HBO’s programming chief, Michael Lombardo, saying a couple weeks ago that his bigger concern wasn’t the people who were downloading, but that by downloading they’d get an inferior product.”
Germany’s Complicated (And Increasingly Strained) Love For The U.S.
“This continued love despite increased criticism – or, put differently, hate-the-sin-but-love-the-sinner theme – ‘is practically the subject of the exhibit.'”
Siena’s Cultural Organizations Threatened By Bank Collapse
“The banking scandal that threatens to sink the Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), the oldest continuously operating bank in the world (founded in 1472), and its eponymous foundation spells trouble for the region’s art and heritage. … Until recently, the foundation was a ubiquitous patron of the arts throughout the city and the region.”
At Berlin’s Jewish Museum, ‘Ask Me Anything” With A Jew In A Display Case
“For two hours every day except Saturdays, a Jewish person sits in the box and answers questions.” The show, titled “The Whole Truth”, is “intended to demystify Jewish life for a curious but largely uninformed German public.”
What It’s Like To Be The Jew In The Display Case
Reporter Jamie Kirchick: “It’s not often that someone compares you to the Hottentot Venus, Tilda Swinton, and Adolf Eichmann, all in the same hour. But yesterday, depending on your point of view, I was all three.”