Category: issues

“Nostalgia is a temptress who sometimes persuades us that our once-good world is racing for hell, but in terms of free speech, things are looking up.”

Staffers from NY museums snag cardboard signs and far more at Occupy Wall Street. “Most ephemeral events having to do with the city are worth saving. These items document a particular moment in time which may become significant in the future. If the events fizzle, the objects are still important documents of urban variety and culture.”

What happens at the meetings of Occupy Wall Street’s Arts and Culture Committee? Lots of talk, lots of hand signals — and a familiar discussion about arts funding as less important than “other pressing issues.”

“At a time when the lingering recession has rocked the larger arts community, individual artists have lost essential financial support from both the public and private sector. Duke hopes to fill some of that gap. The program will award 200 individual artists from the fields of contemporary dance, jazz and theatre multi-year cash awards of as much as $275,000. Individuals will be selected through an anonymous peer-review process, not through applications.”

“The Chronicle of Philanthropy released its ranking of the nation’s top 400 charities this week, and 14 museums and performing arts groups made the list, taking in $1.2 billion combined.”

“The game is up: we see through the pyramid schemes of the temples of cultural elitism controlled by the 1%. No longer will we, the artists of the 99%, allow ourselves to be tricked into accepting a corrupt hierarchical system based on false scarcity and propaganda concerning absurd elevation of one individual genius over another human being for the monetary gain of the elitest of elite.”

“What is the difference, for example, between the year-round programming of the Sydney Opera House and the myriad festivals that occupy it, such as the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, Vivid and the Sydney Festival?”

“Just as the Occupy movement has inspired protest songs, political cartoons and parody, the visual and performance art that has emerged from the movement has mirrored the protest itself: A wry but earnest grass-roots response of frustration and hope.”

“Students who attend St. John’s… know that their college experience will be like no other. There are no majors; every student takes the same 16 yearlong courses, which generally feature about 15 students discussing Sophocles or Homer, and the professor acting more as catalyst than connoisseur.”

“El Sawy Culturewheel had traditionally been an open venue where artists could exhibit splashes of color while musicians tested out their music on open-minded crowds. Until the revolution, it was a largely apolitical place. But the Culturewheel – which draws more than 20,000 people per month – has become a different kind of place since January.”