The Arts World Still Isn’t Good At Making Accessible Spaces For Art

“In 2019, inclusive spaces that are comprised of voices from the neurodiverse and disabled community are still extremely rare. Despite the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 29 years ago, neurodiverse and disabled communities continue to face collective discrimination from failures to accommodate in access, transportation, employment, education, and many other arenas. Unfortunately, the art world is no exception.” – Hyperallergic

Despite Government Pressure, Hong Kong Arts And Culture Workers Support Protests And Strikes

With many of Hong Kong’s main cultural institutions being government-operated or -funded, a large number of workers in the arts-and-culture field are considered civil servants, which means they take big risks if they participate in the demonstrations currently rocking the territory. Nevertheless, they persist. – The Art Newspaper

Netflix And Amazon India Are Taking On Material Bollywood Has Never Dared Touch

New features and series from the streaming giants deal frankly with such subjects as corruption, government dysfunction, the drug trade, religious and communal violence, and female sexuality. Says the director of one such series about why online studios can treat topics Bollywood can’t, “It’s a given that movie-watching in India is a family experience, a community experience. Families didn’t sit together to see Sacred Games.” – The Guardian

Walter Benjamin Believed WWI Changed Human Nature, But Culture Gave A Little Hope

It seemed like a good time to republish this, LitHub decided. “In their buildings, paintings, and stories, humanity is preparing to survive culture, if it comes to that. And the main thing is, they laugh as they do it. Their laughter may sound barbaric now and again. Let it. It may be that the individual will surrender a bit of humanity to the masses who will return it to him one day with compound interest.” – LitHub

NYCharities Just Disappeared, Taking Thousand Of Small Dance Companies’ Dollars With It

This is not a pleasant story. “In theory, NYCharities was a small dance company’s dream. Free to use, the nonprofit acted as a clearinghouse for companies to accept credit and debit card donations online. It also allowed companies to sell tickets to galas and events, set up recurring donations and even give donors the option to pay processing fees themselves—an important feature for dance companies with small budgets.” And then? Well, it stopped transferring money, returned no phone calls, and disappeared. (Now the NY Attorney General is investigating.) – Dance Magazine

More Than A Year After 40 Artists Withdrew From A London Museum, They’re Still Demanding Answers

The timeline: Last August, “more than 40 artists removed their work from the exhibition Hope to Nope at the Design Museum in London after the museum housed an event hosted by the arms manufacturer Leonardo. At the time, the museum assured the protesting artists, who organized in a group named Nope to Arms, that it will review its due diligence policy related to commercial and fundraising activities.” Or … not, apparently. – Hyperallergic