Category: issues

By being thrust forward in time at warp speed over the last few decades — fueled by seriously cranked-up air-conditioning and the bountiful oil production from beneath their deserts that began ramping up in the 1950s — these traffic- and heat-fueled metropolises have the space, desire and revenue to help create the new frontier for arts and culture. – The New York Times

As reporter Jeffrey Brown visited the headquarters of the Agency of Artists in Exile, “an Ethiopian man belted out a traditional song with accompaniment from this phone. Across the hall, a Yemeni woman used her vast trail of official asylum-seeking papers, accumulated over two years of navigating France’s legal process, to create an art installation. … And a Kurdish actor who fled Turkey practiced a monologue about his first days in Paris.” (video) – PBS NewsHour

Under Assembly Bill 5, “Uber and Lyft drivers, musicians, dancers, singers, artists of all kinds, freelance journalists, etc., under contract now will have to be employed, rather than paid as independent contractors under [what’s called] the ‘ABC test’.” AB5 has been in effect for a week, and already opera and theatre productions are being put on hold or called off — “just the beginning of a flood of potential problems, complaints, job losses, and project cancellations.” – San Francisco Classical Voice

Defense secretary Mark Esper acknowledged that striking cultural sites with no military value would be a war crime, putting him at odds with the president, who insisted such places would be legitimate targets. Mr. Trump’s threats generated condemnation at home and abroad while deeply discomfiting American military leaders who have made a career of upholding the laws of war. – The New York Times

“Native Americans whose ancestors suffered at the hands of 17th-century European settlers and adventurers are hoping commemorative events marking the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s journey will reveal their story to the whole world – and even lead to the recovery of one their long-lost treasures.” – The Guardian

“On one side is Underbelly, the London events company which claims to have taken Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations to another level. It is backed by a city council which has gleefully watched the numbers rise in those indexes that confer tourism superstardom: unique-users, profits and exposure. Facing them is a rebel alliance … [called] Citizen, launched last April to bring together local groups seeking to restore Edinburgh as ‘a place for people rather than profit’.” – The Observer (UK)

The European Parliament, which shares legislative and budgetary authority with the European Council, last year agreed a €400m increase already proposed by the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, and a doubling of Creative Europe funding to €2.8bn. – Arts Professional

Legal observers warn that the tweets themselves could be considered threats of war crimes; “the 1954 Hague Convention, of which the US is a party, bars any military from ‘direct hostilities against cultural property.'” – EuroNews (AP/AFP)

As they say, he could just have said nothing, and no one would have had to figure out that complicated dance of dealing with sexist whining from a(nother) beloved filmmaker. Instead, he”has invited renewed backlash after repeating his claim that he is a ‘black lesbian in transition,’ assailing the #MeToo movement as a ‘witch-hunt’ and asserting that some of Harvey Weinstein’s alleged victims are ‘adults who made choices.'” – The Guardian (UK)

George Elliott Clarke’s talk at the University of Regina was supposed to be about the murdered and missing Indigenous women of Canada, and poets who wrote about them. But his original refusal to say he wouldn’t read a poem by Stephen Brown, a convicted murderer of an Indigenous woman, and Clarke’s friend, caused enough controversy that he eventually canceled entirely. – Globe and Mail (Canada)