In many ways, fundraising for theatre faces the same patterns and pressures as other nonprofits. But in recent years, numbers have emerged indicating that theatre may be in considerably better shape than other kinds of organizations chasing the same dollars. Zannie Giraud Voss, director of the National Center for Arts Research(NCAR) at Southern Methodist University, gives a sanguine report.
Tag: 01.23.18
‘Sculpture That Goes ‘Vroom”
“For the past few years, [Eric van Hove] has been working in Morocco on a project called the Mahjouba Initiative, which involves building a series of motorbikes using only traditional craft materials. Eric calls this work ‘a socio-economic sculpture’, the idea being that the pieces can be exhibited as artworks but also used as the prototype for a new vehicle. Anna McNamee meets Eric and his team as he works on the latest model – the Mahjouba III.” (audio)
How Live Music Shaped Silent Movies
The soundtrack for any given showing depended, in large part, on the setting. At deluxe movie palaces, films were often accompanied by entire symphony orchestras. “A medium-sized neighborhood theater might carry between five and ten musicians,” writes Scott Eyman in The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution, 1926–1930. “Even the meanest fleapit in the sticks had a piano player.”
Increasingly, Artistic Directors Have To Fund Raise. Is This A Problem?
“Artistic directors are our stars. What has changed is that they also need to be civic leaders. This is a new profile for the next generation. We have moved away from the period where it was enough to do great work which would ensure funding. The artistic director is the personality who personifies the mission and makes it feel vibrant to the community.”
What If The Met Museum Did Less With More?
Serious attention to these areas alone would negate the need for a $25 admission charge, which incidentally is more than three times America’s minimum hourly wage. Given that the trustees didn’t put the brakes on the spending spree long ago, isn’t a penitential boost in their annual giving appropriate?
The Unknown, Gorgeous, Endangered Frescoes Of Rajasthan
“India’s Shekhawati province is in the northeastern Rajasthani desert and more than seven hours by car from Delhi. The region covers almost 5,000 square miles and hosts an estimated 2,000 frescoed buildings built from the 17th to the early 20th century. Many of them are abandoned and most are breathtakingly beautiful. Arguably the world’s largest collection of outdoor painting, Shekhawati is a treasure trove of startling architecture and adornment.”
Sex In The Middle Ages – There Was More Of It, And More Sophistication About It, Than You’d Think
Which is not to say that all the ideas they had about sex in medieval Europe were scientifically or medically sound, mind you. But they weren’t exactly prudes.
How Technology Is Creating Voices For Those Who No Longer Have Them
VocaliD’s technology works by capturing a few seconds of vowel sound (the source) from the recipient, and applying it to the filter provided by a donor. The combination allows the production of a voice that’s largely “of” the recipient.
How A 16th-Century Legal Document Ended Up In A Copy Of ‘Alice In Wonderland’ In Rural Australia
“Lorraine Smith’s detective story began at her second-hand bookshop in Warrnambool, Australia, when a customer came to her with what looked like a piece of paper. It had been hiding in an old copy of Alice in Wonderland, the customer said, that she had paged through while browsing in the back of the store. … Smith grew determined to discover what this manuscript was and where it had come from. What was that obscure writing? Who was the document’s original owner? And how did it end up in Australia?”
Opera About Tabasco Sauce (From 1894!) Revived In New Orleans
Tabasco: a Burlesque Opera, composed by George Whitefield Chadwick, was the most popular American opera of the late 19th century: it toured to almost 50 cities before Chadwick pulled it because he wasn’t getting royalties. Now New Orleans Opera is reviving this tale of the original Louisiana hot sauce for the city’s 300th anniversary and the company’s 75th.