SAG-AFTRA Approves Deals For Non-Primetime TV Plus Telemundo
One of the key pieces of info: "The non-primetime deal with the networks includes language limiting auditions in hotel rooms and private residences. Those limits are part of the initiative announced earlier this year by SAG-AFTRA leaders in response to the industry’s sexual harassment scandals that came to light in October with the revelations about disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein. It’s the first time the union has included those specific provisions in a master contract." … Read More
Museum Babygate Over Trump Balloon
Who gets the balloon - the British Museum, the Museum of London, the Bishopsgate Institute, or others? "The Trump babysitters started a crowdfunding campaign to fund a 'Trump Baby world tour': They have so far raised over 34,000 British pounds, or about $44,500. But Mr. Smith said the creators need time to work out what to do next, and assess the offers from museums and others. Other options could include releasing the balloon’s design under a Creative Commons license so that activists worldwide can use it." … Read More
Published in The New York Times on 07.20.18
Here’s One Path Forward For Facebook: Look At Reddit
Reddit's AskHistorians subreddit - one of the largest history forums on the internet - doesn't bother debating Holocaust deniers. Instead, it bans them, and one moderator says Facebook should, too, because "deniers need a public forum to spread their lies and to sow doubt among readers not well-informed about history. By convincing people that they might have a point or two, they open the door for further radicalization in pursuit of their ultimate goal." … Read More
Talking Blockchain And What It Can – And Can’t – Do To The Art World
Is it time for new art funds? When people can trade portions of the value of an art work with blockchain tokens, what happens to the artwork's value? And - er - what about the art itself? "Funds, tokenization and even digital art are all investments that don’t give investors anything to hang on their walls." … Read More
Published in The New York Times on 07.20.18
New Yorkers Booked Almost 10,000 Free Museum Tickets In Four Days
As soon as the Culture Pass NYC site went live, it crashed for several hours under heavy traffic. Culture Pass is "an initiative that allows New York Public Library, Queens Library, and Brooklyn Library cardholders to book free passes at 33 of the city’s museums." Some museums' passes went quickly - the Whitney, MoMA - but they'll drop more in August. … Read More
Published in Hyperallergic on 07.20.18
Black Women Filmmakers In South Africa Face A Long, Obstacle-Filled Road To Success
Filmmaker Zamo Makhwanazi: "We’re all stuck in the same writer’s rooms, where we’re worked to death. ... How is it that we’re carrying the industry on our backs, we are the creators, we are the hardest-working people in the industry, but we have the least power?" … Read More
People Are ‘Hacking’ Museum Tours To Make It All More Fun
More fun, or more efficient, or more in line with what specific visitors want to see, that is. "Third-party tour companies, especially those working in fine art museums, bring more external filters, from the comedic to the academic. Their tours range from special themes, like feminism or gay culture, to museum highlights designed for time-pressed or attention-deficit travelers." … Read More
Published in The New York Times on 07.20.18
History – And A Lot Of Music – Gets Lost When Writers Think Women ‘Play Like Girls’
The problem starts with access to audiences and continues with the way women who produce, conduct, and play music get described in the media - which ends up leaving women, including an integrated all-women's swing group that was a direct precursor to the Freedom Riders in Mississippi, out of the histories of their eras. … Read More
Published in New Music Box on 07.19.18
Stage Workers Picket Toronto Exhibition Space After They’re Locked Out By Management
The site's board of governors locked out the union, IATSE Local 158, and then asked the stagehands and technical workers not to picket until after the Canadian National Exhibition. The union responded, "That’s not going to happen. ... We are not going to surrender our rights under the law and jeopardize the safety of Torontonians and other visitors to Exhibition Place as a favour to Tory’s friends. Nor will we put visitors at risk." … Read More
Published in Toronto Star on 07.21.18
It’s Really Weird, Evolutionarily Speaking, That Humans Make Mental Representations Of The World
Instead of responding by reflex, we often respond to our mental representation of a thing. That's an extra step. But it might, in the end, be more efficient. "The organism can just think: there is a large object ahead that is moving relatively fast, and the best thing to do when faced with oncoming fast-moving large objects is to get out of their way. In this way, the organism does not have to store a large number of behavioural dispositions (‘red bicycle ahead → move to the side’; ‘blue motorcycle ahead → move to the side’ etc), but it can just reason about what the right answer is." … Read More
The Los Angeles Times Has Moved Out Of Its Building, But The Building Could – And Should – Become A Historic Monument
Actually, it's a building complex, one that includes a building voted second-ugliest in LA. Should that one be preserved? Even architecture critics have worries about dismissing the buildings out of hand. "Within the context of Southern California history, however, there is no question that this is a site that carries Los Angeles history in its bones." … Read More
Published in Los Angeles Times on 07.17.18
Why Are There So Few Movies About Middle School?
Films and filmmakers mythologize coming-of-age stories in all kinds of ways, ways that focus on the magic of whatever change or reference point young adults make their way into the adult world. But middle school isn't like that. "It’s incredibly difficult to mythologize, or at least to do so with any kind of light. It’s far too awkward and irredeemable a time." … Read More
Why Should The Theatre World Worry About The End Of Theatre Criticism?
"Now, you might think good riddance – critics sometimes don’t do themselves any favours. But theatre should worry about criticism’s survival." Why? Because criticism does a lot more than sell tickets (if it does that at all). It's important for the history and future of the theatre itself. … Read More
Published in The Stage (UK) on 07.19.18
The Essay That Helped Bring Down The Soviet Union
It had a mild title, the essay that The New York Times published in 1968, but its intent was broad and strong. "'Freedom of thought is the only guarantee against an infection of mankind by mass myths, which, in the hands of treacherous hypocrites and demagogues, can be transformed into bloody dictatorships,' [Andrei Sakharov] wrote. Suddenly the Soviet Union’s most decorated physicist became its most prominent dissident." … Read More
Published in The New York Times on 07.20.18
Six Years After A Strike, The Spokane Symphony Musicians And Management Sign A Three-Year Contract
Impressive change from 2012: "The contract includes a cost of living increase, Family Medical Leave Act language, processes that address air quality at outdoor concerts and scheduling language that will 'help our musicians balance their multiple jobs so that it is more possible for them to be able to make a decent, living income.'" … Read More
Published in The Spokesman-Review (Spokane) on 07.20.18
Previously On AJ
Premium Classifieds
Chief Development Officer, Miami City Ballet
The prestigious and internationally acclaimed Miami City Ballet seeks a Chief Development Officer to establish a best-in-class fundraising operation, advance the development strategies of the company, … [Read More]
Director of Operations – Opera Omaha
The Director of Operations leads and oversees all aspects of the company’s producing activities encompassing mainstage performances as well as the development and execution of designated community … [Read More]
Executive Director of the Office of Arts and Culture
The City of Phoenix seeks an experienced, innovative and collaborative leader to fill the position of Executive Director of the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture. This executive-level position … [Read More]
VP for Arts Impact
With the help of tens of thousands of donors, ArtsWave supports more than 100 arts and community organizations that make the Greater Cincinnati region an amazing place to live. We believe that the … [Read More]
Publicity Manager, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center seeks a creative, high energy Public Relations Manager, with proven success achieving consistent high visibility for a classical arts or other … [Read More]
Classifieds
Managing Director, National Arts Centre Orchestra
Canada is our stage: Those four words inform everything we do as a catalyst for performance, creation and learning across this great land. We are proud to be a home for many of Canada’s most exciting … [Read More...]
Assistant Director of Collections and Exhibitions, Chazen Museum of Art
The Assistant Director is a key member of the Museum’s senior management team, working in close collaboration with the Director in manifesting the organization’s mission. This position provides … [Read More...]
Associate Producer – The Public theater, New York City, NY
Major new position within this important theater. Recommendations, as well as applications are welcomed by the consulting firm retained to guide this search. Visit Management Consultants for the Arts, … [Read More...]
Major Gifts Officer – Brevard Music Center Festival and Summer Institute
Brevard Music Center, Festival and Summer Institute seeks applicants for the position of Major Gifts Officer. Situated on a lovely wooded 180-acre campus in western North Carolina, Brevard Music … [Read More...]
Assistant Director of Collections and Exhibitions
The Assistant Director is a key member of the Museum’s senior management team, working in close collaboration with the Director in manifesting the organization’s mission. This position provides … [Read More...]
28th International Sculpture Conference: Defining Moments in the Face of Change
Register Now! Registration is open and available to ISC members, non-members, students, and all those with an interest in sculpture. Join us in Philadelphia where we will discuss exciting topics in … [Read More...]
Community Engagement and Development Manager, Department of Performing Arts – Georgetown College
The Community Engagement and Development Manager supports the overlapping missions of Theater and Performance Studies (TPST) and Davis Performing Arts Center (DPAC) as they steward artistic, … [Read More...]
Computers Have Analyzed The ‘Most Danceable’ Number One Singles, But Not To Tell Us The Answer
Ah HAH: "It was to identify song features that could be predictive of mega-hits. Researchers found that top-ranked songs tended to have more difference from past hits than lower-ranked songs, defying the trope that popular songs are just copies of other popular songs." … [Read More]
What Does The Almost Rapturous Critical Embrace Of Mamma Mia 2 Say About How We’ve All Changed Since The First, Deeply Vilified, Movie In 2008?
Things have really, deeply changed: "Warming towards Abba reflects a critical embrace of pop culture over the last decade. 'Poptimism' has meant that art that was once dismissed for being lightweight, feminine and glittery is now subject to critical close-readings that combine academia with fannish enthusiasm." … [Read More]
Published in The Guardian (UK) on
The Daughter Of Indicted Republican Political Operative Paul Manafort Releases A Film, But Not Under Her Own Name
It's her mother's maiden name, you guys, it doesn't mean anything: "Manafort, the movie’s writer and director, used a pseudonym in connection with the project: Jess Bond." … [Read More]
Published in Los Angeles Times on 07.20.18
Is A Podcast A Hot New Way To Help Solve The Thefts At The Gardner Museum?
Whoa: "The podcast includes a raft of interviews, including one with the night watchman who let in the thieves and the first public interview with a second museum guard who was on duty that night." … [Read More]
Published in The New York Times on 07.19.18
Jonathan Gold, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Food Writer And Lover Of All Things Los Angeles, Has Died At 57
Jonathan Gold changed the dining scene in Los Angeles, and changed food criticism all over the world. He died soon after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. "'I can’t imagine the city without him. It just feels wrong. I feel like we won’t have our guide, we won’t have the soul,' said filmmaker Laura Gabbert, who directed City of Gold, a 2015 documentary that followed the legendary critic as he ate his way through and reflected on Los Angeles. 'It’s such a loss. I can’t wrap my head around it.'" … [Read More]
Published in Los Angeles Times on 07.21.18
Remembering The Now-Gone Music Stores On NYC’s 48th Street
Forty-eighth Street was once famous for stores that sold musical instruments. Those stores catered to musicians of every stripe, but the vibe was very rock and roll. The names that stand out for me are Manny’s and Sam Ash, but there were several others, packed together, one next to the other, each a world unto itself. In my own private atlas of the city, that street was also notable for the degree its character changed in the course of one block, from Seventh Avenue to Sixth Avenue. The music stores, like the support of a seesaw, were the point at which that character made its pivot. … [Read More]
Published in The New Yorker on 07.20.18
Plagiarism? Are There Really Any New Ideas?
Writing consists of basically two things: idea and execution. You come up with an idea, and you figure out how to execute it in terms of style, setting, and genre. Writers are understandably protective of our ideas, but for better or worse the law only really protects execution. Unless someone is directly stealing your exact words, it is nearly impossible to prove that they took the idea. And it probably wouldn’t be a good thing if it did. … [Read More]
Does The Future Of Stagecraft Lie In Virtual Or Augmented Reality?
Howard Sherman: "While I don’t look forward to watching plays while holding up my mobile phone (ringer off, of course) for two hours, technology is beginning to offer ways for companies to create more immersive worlds without the construction of physical scenery. As work increasingly bursts out beyond prosceniums, augmented reality may offer possibilities to performances anywhere people can congregate, but without the need for lugging scenery into parks and playgrounds." … [Read More]
Opera Australia Bets The Future On A (TK) Digital Revolution
Lyndon Terracini is staking much of the future and reputation of the national opera company on a digital revolution designed to immerse audiences and create an experience more akin to watching a movie than traditional opera. The glittering reptiles on the Joan Sutherland Theatre stage are part of the wholly digital production design for OA's upcoming Aida. It's the first step along a road Terracini says will revolutionise the way opera is staged and experienced. … [Read More]
Published in Sydney Morning Herald on 07.13.18
Amazon Has Made Self-Publishing Lucrative For Authors
For decades, self-publishing was derided as an embarrassing sign that an author couldn’t cut it in the “real” publishing industry—“the literary world’s version of masturbation,” as Salon once put it. And Amazon, the world’s biggest e-commerce site, with its bookstore-beating prices, was painted as an enemy to authors. But now its self-publishing service, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), has made it easy for people to upload their books, send them out into the universe, and make money doing so. Its store has created a place for readers to go and easily find inexpensive self-published books. The site that got its start by radically changing where books are sold is now reshaping how books are published and read. … [Read More]
Published in The Atlantic on 07.20.18