“Historically, book thieves have come in two varieties. First, there are the rogue custodians, those who exploit their privileged access to literary treasures. In June this year, Gregory Priore, an archivist at the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh, was convicted of stealing more than 300 rare books and other artefacts estimated to be worth around £6m over a 20-year period. Then there are the academics – or, at least, those who profess an academic interest in the texts they go on to steal.” – The Guardian
Author: Douglas McLennan
Struggling Museums Turn To Artists For Help
“As many donors pull back from giving or feel institutions’ needs dwarf what they can offer, museums have upped the ante with an irresistible draw: the opportunity to buy art that collectors might not otherwise have access to. As the need for funding grows greater and hits institutions of all sizes, artists are increasingly offering up their work—and their time—to help the cause.” – Artnet
Proposed Hirshhorn Garden Makeover Faces Skeptical Park Commission
Commissioners repeatedly expressed skepticism about core elements of the redesign proposed by the artist Hiroshi Sugimoto, with one warning the end result could make the Sculpture Garden look like an “Olive Garden.” – The Cultural Landscape Foundation
Gitxsan Got Talent: Indigenous Community Harnesses Internet To Champion Its Culture
By harnessing the very technology that once threatened to erase it, the group is renewing interest in the language. Gitxsan communities also have a mobile app, available on both the Google play store and the Apple App store, which they use as a resource for learning the language by listening to stories and spoken words. – Global Voices
Thirteen Ways Of Thinking About A Play
“Sometimes you have to set it in the sun a while, and water it, and weed around it. Tend to it. And as it becomes itself you’ll begin to understand the shape it was always meant to take. You don’t have to force it. Just keep writing, and keep thinking about it.” – Howlround
The Makings Of A New Theatre Podcast Empire?
“We launched in October, 2019 with 15 podcasts. And here we are, a little over a year later, with almost 100 podcasts. Since the beginning it was very much the plan to have podcasts and record plays, musicals, audio dramas, and soap operas. It was never to replace theater and we certainly never anticipated the pandemic. When you see a show, you want to know more. What is happening behind the curtain?” – Forbes
Arts Ed Group Calls For Resignations At Americans For The Arts
In a letter released December 11, members of the Arts Education Advisory Council, an elected advisory board representing arts educators from across the country, outlined a series of demands for Americans for the Arts, including the immediate removal of its most senior leaders. – Hyperallergic
How COVID Changed The Arts In 2020
Artists of all disciplines have readjusted their ways of working, and many are left wondering whether they will have the wherewithal or spirit to continue their craft even after the pandemic abates. Yet with the losses we’ve also seen resilience and creativity that have led to new ways of experiencing culture. – Los Angeles Times
Did American Cities Build Too Many Luxury Developments?
Across the U.S., the coronavirus pandemic has sapped Americans’ appetite for fancy projects like this, in no small part because the cross-section of upwardly mobile people who can afford such apartments—like well-off students, high-earning young professionals, or people with second homes—have fled urban city centers or scaled back on spending. – Slate
Poets On COVID – Is This All There Is?
“This lukewarm book, largely uncompromised by alert feelings, political insight, wit, striking intellect or lightning of any variety, is — to borrow a slab of Orwell’s Newspeak — doubleplus ungood.” – The New York Times