On this midsummer morning, 40 thinkers and activists have come together to challenge the core economic orthodoxy of our time: that growth is the most critical measure of human flourishing, an axiom that seems increasingly untenable in the age of accelerating climate change. The Hotel Belvédère du Rayon Vert symbolizes the very empire these adherents of “degrowth,” as the movement is known, wish to overthrow: consumption, wealth, inequality, travel, and cement, the whole modern industrial condition. – The New Republic
Tag: 01.27.20
Arts Council England Says It Will Invest In Arts In Every Village And Town. Feasible?
The strategy lists four principles guiding whether ACE will invest public money: “ambition and quality”, “inclusivity and relevance”, “dynamism”, and “environmental responsibility”. The ACE chief executive, Darren Henley, said he wanted to move away from having centres of excellence in a small number of places and instead bring “world-class art and culture to people’s doorsteps”. – The Guardian
Using Fun And Games To Teach Professional Dancers
“Just because students are in an advanced technique level doesn’t mean they’ll feel confident moving without set steps.” To get students to explore outside their comfort zones, Alisia Pobega and Louis-Martin Charest use the lightness of open-ended games and exercises as a kind of permission for students to begin to create something independently, without the goal of technical perfection or aesthetics. – Fjord Review
Dancers Are Expected To Be More Flexible Than Ever — And That Can Be Dangerous
“While high extensions can be very exciting, it is thought that this trend has led to an increase in injuries in the lower back, hips and ankles. Adam Sklute, artistic director of Ballet West, has noticed that dancers who are incredibly supple often have a greater lack of control. … The fact is, the more flexible you are, the more you have to work on gaining the strength to manage it.” – Dance Magazine
England’s Business Tax To Be Cut 50% For Small Music Venues
“230 small and medium-sized venues in England and Wales will see a 50% reduction in business rates, a fee which is charged to most non-domestic properties. It should save each venue an average of £7,500 a year, according to the Independent Venues Trust – a charity which aims to protect and improve UK grassroots music venues – and make it more likely that acts still have small, sweaty spaces to hone their craft.” – BBC
Will AI-Powered Avatars Replace Many Of Our Public Interactions?
The idea is that these kinds of AI interactions scale in a way that actual humans do not, and while that may seem ominous for the future of real human connections, from the AI Foundation’s point of view it’s not all that different from the way we use social media today. In both cases, the interactions are asynchronous, and they allow us to reach people we otherwise might not talk to at all. – Fast Company
A ‘Slave Play’ Post-Mortem By The Cast And Creative Team
Producer Greg Nobile: “Just north of 30 percent of our audience were what we call ‘new to file,’ which means they were actually first-time ticket buyers, which is an incredible number. Usually that’s in the single digits, if anything, especially for plays.” – The New York Times
Smithsonian’s Hoped-For London Outpost Cut Back To A Two-Year V&A Show
The original plan, announced in 2015, was for a Smithsonian museum in the planned Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park; by the next year, it had been reduced to a partnership with London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, and in 2018 an agreement was signed for a permanent presence at the V&A East in the QEOP. Now the Smithsonian’s new chief, Lonnie Bunch, has decided downgraded that permanence to a two-year co-curated exhibition when the V&A East opens in 2023. – The Washington Post
For First Time, Graphic Novel Wins Newbery Medal; Caldecott Medal Goes To Picture Book About Great African-Americans
The Newbery, for best children’s book, went to Jerry Kraft’s New Kid, the story of a 12-year-old who’s one of the few nonwhite students at a fancy private school. Taking the Caldecott, for best picture book for children, was The Undefeated, with illustrations by Kadir Nelson and text by Kwame Alexander. – The New York Times
Joyce DiDonato, Nicola Benedetti, Jennifer Higdon, Caroline Shaw: Classical Grammy Awards 2020
The Dudamel/L.A. Phil recording of Andrew Norman’s Sustain took Best Orchestral Performance, with Caroline Shaw’s Orange by the Attacca Quartet winning Best Chamber/Small Ensemble Performance and the Houston Chamber Choir’s all-Duruflé disc receiving Best Choral Performance honors. Best Opera Recording was the Boston Modern Orchestra Project’s release of Tobias Picker’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, Joyce DiDonato’s Songplay took Best Classical Solo Vocal Album, Nicola Benedetti’s rendition of Wynton Marsalis’s Violin Concerto with the Philadelphia Orchestra won Best Classical Instrumental Solo, and the Best Contemporary Classical Composition was Jennifer Higdon’s Harp Concerto. – Classical Music (UK)