Category: issues

How have things changed since the pandemic? A recent Brookings Institution report shows America’s arts and creative industries lost $150 billion in sales and 2.7 million jobs through July. The “fine and performing arts” alone (commercial and nonprofit) incurred losses of $42.5 billion and a whopping 50% of its workforce (-1.4 million jobs). – Americans for the Arts

Peter Marks: “Now, more than ever, we need a secretary of arts and culture. As President-elect Joe Biden rolls out his circle of close advisers, the notion is gaining momentum among leaders and advocates of nonprofit groups and for-profit companies: that someone should be named to coordinate arts funding, unite assorted agencies and underline the value of arts and entertainment to the nation’s financial, social and psychological well-being.” – The Washington Post

“It’s bringing up the inequities that exist for folks who don’t have access to a laptop or all these technical tools or even technical literacy. For others in this time, it’s actually kind of equalized the stage. You just turn on your phone and there’s your stage.” – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Philip Kennicott: “Freed from the obligation of keeping up with a regular calendar of exhibition openings, or a concert schedule or a weekly march of theatrical premieres, critics have written more about the personal experience of art rather than the specific content of art in particular. … This more reflective, more personal [approach] may widen the audience for arts writing. Because critics deal with art on a daily basis, they sometimes fail to communicate something more fundamental: the daily, lived experience of having art in one’s life, the ‘why it matters’ that keeps you coming back, again and again, year after year.” – The Washington Post

It’s the federal government’s largest-ever package for supporting the arts, €155 million more than for this year, at a time of unprecedented need as the resurgent pandemic wipes out earned income. Among the notable line items is €85 million for renovating Wagner’s opera house at Bayreuth. – Artnet

“In the swift and chaotic pivot to virtual test-taking, companies like Respondus — along with competitors including Honorlock, ProctorU and Proctorio — have stepped in to help schools keep watch on students. Because the new digital tools are required in certain courses, students are being forced to subject themselves to surveillance inside their own homes and open themselves up to disputes over “suspicious activities,” as defined by an algorithm.” – Voice of San Diego

It’s unprecedented in modern times, as Cuba has been quick to quash artistic dissent – but many of the protestors, who were demonstrating following a Thursday night raid of another protest, were actors, musicians, and others who long held governmental approval. – Seattle Times (AP)

“The big idea was to create a White House office on arts, culture and the creative industries,” says Megan Beyer, the co-chair of the campaign’s Arts Policy Committee and a former executive director of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities under Obama. She compares this to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, which was established by Congress in 1976 with a broad mandate to advise the president on domestic and international policy that could be applied across federal agencies. – The Art Newspaper

“Starting on Nov. 28, small shops and religious sites will be allowed to reopen. On Dec. 15, theaters, cinemas and museums will reopen but a 9 p.m.-7 a.m. curfew will be restored. A 9 p.m. curfew was previously put in place in mid-October, before the country went into lockdown.” – Variety

The newly announced government budget for the state of Victoria includes Aus$1.4 billion (US $1.03 billion) for the expansion and revamp of the Southbank arts district in Australia’s fast-growing second city. Phase One of the project will be the construction of the National Gallery of Victoria Contemporary (situated adjacent to the original NGV), planned to be the country’s largest contemporary art museum. Later phases will include improvements and additions to Arts Centre Melbourne, the main venue for all of the city’s major dance, classical music and opera organizations. – ArtsHub (Australia)