Arts news

• Andras Schiff Embraces Historical Instruments

  04-06-2021 23:32 via feedproxy.google.com
  Admirers and critics alike may say, “At last!” This is a strong about-face. “He proudly played Bach on modern pianos; referred to fortepianists with an interest in Schubert as mere ‘specialists’; and told a New York Times interviewer in 1983, ‘I’ve heard some ghastly things done in the name of authenticity.’ Time and experience, though, have brought about a wholesale change in his attitude, and Schiff has transformed into an eager e
  
  Read more

• What Are Companies Planning To Do With All Those Music Catalogs?

  04-06-2021 23:03 via feedproxy.google.com
  Universal, Hipgnosis, Primary Wave, and others have paid multiple hundreds of millions for music catalogs ranging from Bob Dylan’s to that of Stevie Nicks. But “music publishing and related intellectual-property management and exploitation is not a business one enters lightly. Famously called ‘a business of pennies,’ it requires attentive nurturing and development in order to maximize the value. … [Song catalogs] are demanding, ephemeral assets that require a lot
  
  Read more

• Just Chill, And Enjoy Being An Amateur

  04-06-2021 22:31 via feedproxy.google.com
  If you want to be healthier and happier, that is. “Can’t we stop succeeding for just one moment? Cease trying to be exceptional at something? The answer is yes, but to do so you must embrace your inner amateur.” – Psyche
  
  Read more

• Greece Will Improve Access To The Acropolis

  04-06-2021 22:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  There’s an argument raging in some circles about a new concrete walkway at the monument – but the culture ministry is not backing down. “In collaboration with Greek associations for people with disabilities, the ministry said signs in Braille and bold would be installed for visitors with visual impairments, in addition to scaled models of the monuments. Handrails and slope warning signs will also be introduced.” – France24 (AFP)
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Puppies Are Now Born Ready To Communicate With Humans

  04-06-2021 21:32 via feedproxy.google.com
  Humans have probably changed dog genes in this arena. A new study shows that “even 8-week-old puppies with little exposure to humans can understand pointing and show sophisticated levels of social cognition in other tests. On top of that, the study found that each fluffball’s genetic makeup was a strong predictor of its ability to follow a pointed finger to a hidden treat as well as the pup’s tendency to pay attention to human faces.” – Smithsonian
  
  Read more

• Saudi Arabia Aims Its Cultural Diplomacy Blitz At Greece

  04-06-2021 21:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  “The major partnership,” announced in May, “will include funding for archaeological preservation of the historic Al Fao region in the southern part of Saudi Arabia, and an exchange of expertise on heritage and museums, archaeology, antiquities, cultural festivals, and modern culture. … Previous partnerships with France, Germany, and the U.K, took place before the murder of [Jamal] Khashoggi. Yet Greece seems to be moving ahead despite calls to boycott the kingdom.&rdquo
  
  Read more

• Scholars In Belgium Are Ready For Restitution Guidelines

  04-06-2021 20:31 via feedproxy.google.com
  The Belgian government has dragged its feet – so “a group of Belgian experts have drafted a set of restitution guidelines for dealing with the nation’s colonial collections.” – Artnet
  
  Read more

• The Nexus Of Dance And Drag Is Growing

  04-06-2021 20:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  And it’s not — not just — the Trocks and RuPaul’s Drag Race. The latter, however, by its popularity and creativity, does seem to have created space for dancers and choreographers, even high-profile ones, to shake off the rigid gender expectations that have held sway in dance and to experiment with costuming, make-up, and gender-neutral movement and roles. – Dance Magazine
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Why Is Philly’s Post-Pandemic Arts Budget So Anemic?

  04-06-2021 19:33 via feedproxy.google.com
  Other cities are thinking big: Chicago’s Arts 77 has $60 million for individual artists and arts organizations. “City departments from parks and rec to libraries, community development, streets, and schools would all participate. … New York City has set aside $25 million for a municipal jobs program that aims to put 1,500 artists to work in communities across the city. San Francisco has started a pilot program with a similar focus. Los Angeles has established a $36 million ar
  
  Read more

• How Alamo Drafthouse Pulled Itself Out Of Chapter 11 In 12 Weeks

  04-06-2021 19:05 via feedproxy.google.com
  “After furloughing around 80 percent of the chain’s workers at once, and having survived the financial crucible of bankruptcy by selling itself to deep-pocketed backers, the company is poised to make good on its grandest ambitions to date. Such expansion, though, comes with a subtle but undeniable shift in corporate culture.” – Vulture
  
  Read more

• So Many Acting Students, So Few Living Wage Jobs

  04-06-2021 18:31 via feedproxy.google.com
  Is the theatre industry training too many students? The pandemic sure made it seem so. “There is a vital need for creative practice and an equally critical need to earn a living. It’s not a binary consideration, but one that increasingly feels antithetical.” – The Stage (UK)
  
  Read more

• Kneehigh, Acclaimed Theatre Company, Abruptly Shuts Down

  04-06-2021 18:02 via feedproxy.google.com
  The Cornwall-based company, a frequent visitor to the US whose production of Brief Encounter was nominated for Tony and Olivier Awards, said in a statement that it was financially stable, but that “recent changes in artistic leadership raised questions as to whether Kneehigh could sustain their vision going forward.” Founding artistic director Mike Shepherd had resigned in March after 41 years; deputy artistic director Carl Grose left in January.- The Guardian
  
  Read more

• Tear down every statue? Here’s what to do instead | Letters

  04-06-2021 17:45
  
  Gerrard Raven on statues that will never be inappropriate, Toby King on democratic symbols, Ron Fraser on traffic cones, Tim Gossling on adding context, Mike Morrogh on historical evidence, Anthony Isaacs on deliberate disintegration, Michael Cunningham on four plinths for letter writers, and Austen Lynch on ordure’s usefulnessGary Younge argues that no statues should be erected because perspectives of people’s achievements change over time, and so those celebrated in one age may be
  
  Read more

• Drainage Workers In Malta Uncover A 2300-Year-Old Tomb

  04-06-2021 17:31 via feedproxy.google.com
  An archaeologist noticed small cuts in an ancient wall – and the reward was a tomb that was used from the 4th to the 1st century B.C.E. The tomb “contained two urns filled with cremated remains as well as the bones of an adult and the articulated skeleton of a young child laid on its back. Artifacts such as a complete amphora, an oil lamp, a glass perfume bottle, and pottery typical of the period were also found.” – ARTnews
  
  Read more

• Conservative Publishers Are Finding ‘Ice Cold’ Market For Books Trashing Joe Biden

  04-06-2021 17:04 via feedproxy.google.com
  “Authors have little interest in writing them, editors have little interest in publishing them, and — though the hypothesis has yet to be tested — it’s widely assumed that readers would have little interest in buying them. In many ways, the dynamic represents a microcosm of the current political moment: Facing a new president whose relative dullness is his superpower, the American right has gone hunting for richer targets to elevate.” – The Atlantic
  
  Read more

• Pompidou Center To Open First U.S. Branch In — Wait, Where?

  04-06-2021 16:30 via feedproxy.google.com
  Jersey City, NJ — which would, if not for the state boundary, be like Brooklyn, since it is directly across the Hudson River from lower Manhattan, to which Jersey City is connected by subway trains. (In fact, this new museum will be right smack next to a station for those trains, so there’s no excuse that it will be too hard to get to.) Assuming approval by the City Council, the Centre Pompidou x Jersey City is expected to open in 2024. – The New York Times
  
  Read more

• Modi’s bulldozing of parliament shows him as the architect of a Hindu Taliban | Anish Kapoor

  04-06-2021 16:27
  
  Flattening the majestic Murghal-inspired buildings is the latest stage in a hateful, vanity-fuelled campaign to de-Islamify IndiaAt the heart of New Delhi, the capital of India, sits a Mughal-inspired monument that houses the seat of the Indian parliament. Built by the British architect Edwin Lutyens between 1911 and 1931, the parliament buildings and their grand roadways and water channels follow the form established by the Islamic rulers of Iran and elaborated by the Islamic sultanate of Samar
  
  Read more

• Hobby Lobby Sues Professor Who Allegedly Sold Them Papyri Stolen From Oxford

  04-06-2021 16:03 via feedproxy.google.com
  “The $7 million lawsuit … alleges that Dirk Obbink stole 32 items from the Egyptian Exploration Society at the University of Oxford’s Sackler Library and sold them to Hobby Lobby, the nationwide arts and crafts chain owned by an evangelical Christian family,” which was trying to rapidly assemble a collection for the Museum of the Bible, which it opened in DC in 2017. – Artnet
  
  Read more

• Mellon Foundation Is Giving $125 Million In Recovery Funding To Artists And Small Orgs Across New York

  04-06-2021 15:35 via feedproxy.google.com
  “[The project called Creatives Rebuild New York,] which has also received contributions from the Ford Foundation and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, will provide up to 2,400 artists with a no-strings-attached monthly income and will endow 300 full-time salaried positions at small- and mid-size arts organizations across the state.” – ARTnews
  
  Read more

• If US Orchestras Want More Diverse Conductors, They Have A Source Of Them Very Near At Hand

  04-06-2021 15:02 via feedproxy.google.com
  Zachary Woolfe: “There are more of them than ever, and they go by a variety of titles: assistant, associate, fellow, resident. Almost every major orchestra has at least one, … [and they’re] a far more diverse group in which women and musicians of color have found success in recent years. … The question now is how soon they will enter the topmost ranks — and whether, as major orchestras search for music directors in the coming years, they will look toward the crow
  
  Read more

• Hong Kong’s State Broadcaster Forbidden To Report Political News

  04-06-2021 14:34 via feedproxy.google.com
  “‘We were informed that no political story is allowed,’ says Emily*, an RTHK employee who, along with others interviewed for this article, asked for anonymity to speak freely. ‘We think it’s kind of funny because what isn’t a political story now?'” – The Guardian
  
  Read more

• Confusion And Upheaval At New Zealand Opera As One-Third Of Board Resigns

  04-06-2021 14:06 via feedproxy.google.com
  Three members of the national company’s governing body (reportedly the three with the most experience with and connections within the industry) stepped down in May. One of them has since spoken up to refute speculation about specific reasons for their departure, but his explanation is less than entirely clear: “What I saw was a huge upswelling of discontent and confusion about the artistic direction of the company. … This is not about editing opera … this is what we sa
  
  Read more

• Shonibare takes on Picasso and female sculptors break the mould – the week in art

  04-06-2021 14:00
  
  Curtiss turns to flesh, Oxford gets a history lesson and Colston emerges from the river – all in your weekly dispatchYinka Shonibare CBE
  A provocative encounter in which Shonibare takes on Picasso, exploring the Spanish master’s collection of masks and modern art’s debt to Africa.• Stephen Friedman Gallery, London, until 31 July. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Hand-painted hearts or Captain Tom in bronze? Memorialising the fallen of Covid-19

  04-06-2021 10:08
  
  As heroic statues fall out of vogue, communities have turned to experimental structures – from flourishing gardens to abstract sculptures – as monuments to loss on a vast scaleMaya Lin was a 21-year-old architecture student at Yale University when, in 1981, lacking professional experience, she submitted a class project to a design competition for a memorial for Vietnam war veterans on the National Mall in Washington DC. Her winning design, influenced by the minimalist sculpture and e
  
  Read more

• Hand-painted hearts or Captain Sir Tom Moore in bronze? Memorialising the fallen of Covid-19

  04-06-2021 10:08
  
  As heroic statues fall out of vogue, communities have turned to experimental structures – from flourishing gardens to abstract sculptures – as monuments to loss on a vast scaleMaya Lin was a 21-year-old architecture student at Yale University when, in 1981, lacking professional experience, she submitted a class project to a design competition for a memorial for Vietnam war veterans on the National Mall in Washington DC. Her winning design, influenced by the minimalist sculpture and e
  
  Read more

• I long for a late-night visit to an art gallery, the perfect sober evening option | Hannah Jane Parkinson

  04-06-2021 08:00
  
  Pre-pandemic, a visit to Tate Modern near to closing time was one of my most calming and pleasurable pursuitsPre-pandemic, one of my most calming and pleasurable pursuits was visiting Tate Modern near to closing time, which on Fridays and Saturdays was 10pm. In Stockholm, where some galleries are open 24 hours, I have enjoyed visits in the tiny hours of the morning. I am sure some people think such opening hours are excessive, but to a culture-loving insomniac they are a blessing. Now, as evenin
  
  Read more

• Carolyn North, Still Dancing At 83

  04-06-2021 00:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  In her life, North, “the Bay Area-based dance therapist, writer, and flutist, has talked her way into a summer dance intensive camp, having had little formal dance training; sung in a gospel choir; played flute professionally; worked as a midwife; learned to play bass bamboo flute while living in India; written and published 11 books; birthed three children; founded Daily Bread, a food recovery program; taught dance healing techniques to professional and novice dancers; and produced&
  
  Read more

Follow @ArtsUK1 on Twitter!