The museum, one of Southern California’s leading venues for photo exhibitions, had been closed for three months because of the coronavirus lockdown and was unsure when, and under what rules, it could reopen. “Its parent organization, the Annenberg Foundation, … ‘will be focusing its philanthropy especially on public health, food insecurity, economic recovery, helping get people back to work and social justice nonprofits.'” – Los Angeles Times
Tag: 06.09.20
AMC Says It Will Reopen Its Cinemas Worldwide In July. Here’s Why It Needs To.
Affirming warnings it gave last week, the world’s largest movie theater chain reported that it lost $2.2 billion in the first quarter of 2020, a period that saw the beginning of the coronavirus shutdown. Though last week’s report warned of “doubt” that AMC could remain a “going concern,” the company’s CEO said Tuesday that, “in the end, AMC will both succeed and prosper.” – Variety
Pandemic Could Wipe Out More Than Half Of UK Performance Venues
“Half of all music venues and 70% of theatres across the UK face permanent closure as a result of the coronavirus crisis, industry leaders have told a committee of MPs.” Testified one exec, “Our latest survey told us 70% of theatres or production companies will run out of cash, go out of business, by the end of this year.” – The Guardian
Italians Revel In Tourist-Free Museums
With only a trickle of EU tourists arriving, Italians have a historic opportunity: the chance to see their own masterpieces free from throngs of tourists and by booking just days in advance, rather than weeks or months. – CBC
A Spreadsheet That’s “Freaking Out” The Theatre World
Producer Marie Cisco created a public Google spreadsheet and titled it “Theaters Not Speaking Out.” It was open for anyone to edit, and it had a simple directive: “Add names to this document who have not made a statement against injustices toward black people.” At 5:50 p.m. PDT on that Saturday, May 30, she shared the document on her personal Facebook page as well as with the Theater Folks of Color Facebook group to which she belongs. – Los Angeles Times
Viewer Numbers Show Black American Movie, TV Shows Do Well Internationally
Netflix has begun sharing viewership results with its creators, resulting in what DuVernay called “astounding numbers” that are in dismaying contrast to how her major studio films, “A Wrinkle in Time” and “Selma,” fared with limited international releases. – Baltimore Sun
When Will It Be Safe For Us To Sing Together Again?
To many scientists and doctors, the risk of singing is clear. “It’s not safe for people to simply return to the choir room and pick things up,” Lucinda Halstead, the president-elect of the Performing Arts Medical Association, said in a telephone interview. William Ristenpart, a chemical engineer at the University of California, Davis, who has studied how disease-carrying particles spread during speech, said in a Zoom interview that he “would strongly agree with the assessment that singing, especially indoors in enclosed spaces, is a terrible idea right now.” – The New York Times
MOCA Cleveland Cancels A Show About Black Victims Of Police, Then Apologizes
The museum withdrew the show when it got uncomfortable with the content. Shaun Leonardo, the artist, says he wasn’t consulted. Now the museum has apologized for the cancellation. – The New York Times
Classical Music In The UK Is In Mortal Danger. Why Aren’t People With Clout There Publicly Fighting For It?
As the novel coronavirus spread, the machinery of live classical performance ground to a halt months ago, putting thousands out of work; the industry will be one of the last to return to full activity, and no one can yet agree on how or when that can happen; unlike continental Europe, Britain doesn’t provide nearly enough public funding to see classical music through the crisis. Many famous theatre folk are sounding the alarm for their art form, writes Charlotte Higgins; why aren’t well-known classical lovers doing the same? – The Guardian
El Sistema Alum Will Be Next Chief Conductor Of Royal Liverpool Phil
Domingo Hindoyan will succeed Vasily Petrenko on the podium of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in September 2021. A former assistant to Daniel Barenboim at the Staatsoper in Berlin, Hindoyan began studying music in El Sistema in his native Caracas and went on to study violin and conducting in Geneva, where he now lives with his two children and his wife, soprano Sonya Yoncheva. – Gramophone