“We do not hire people who are not Christian,” Thomas Burns, Belmont’s provost, clarified in a response to questions at a town hall on Wednesday. “So the ones who are not Christian will not be eligible to work at Belmont. That’s just part of who we are.” – Artnet
Tag: 01.31.20
America’s First Drag Queen, And First Gay Resistance Leader, Was A Freed Slave
“His name was William Dorsey Swann, but to his friends he was known as ‘the Queen.’ … Beginning in the 1880s, he not only became the first American activist to lead a queer resistance group; he also became, in the same decade, the first known person to dub himself a ‘queen of drag’ — or, more familiarly, a drag queen.” – The Nation
The Trump Impeachment Isn’t Over, And The Smithsonian Is Already Looking For Artifacts
“Years from now, when school groups visit the National Museum of American History, they might learn about the impeachment of a president through a fidget spinner. And they will have Jon Grinspan, the Smithsonian’s curator of political history, to thank.” – The Washington Post
How Lula And Erwin Washington Have Kept Their Dance Company Going For 40 Years
“Both are 69 now. As the wife and husband who founded the Los Angeles dance company in 1980, the two continue to strike the delicate balance between artist and administrator” — a job Erwin gave up his own career in journalism to do — “between ambitiously creative and cautiously pragmatic.” – Los Angeles Times
Proposed Missouri Law Could See Librarians Jailed Or Fined For Lending ‘Age-Inappropriate Sexual Material’
“Missouri House Rep. Ben Baker introduced the bill, dubbed the ‘Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act,’ in January that calls for the creation of a panel made up of non-library workers who will determine the removal of ‘age-inappropriate sexual material,’ from their local branch. Libraries that don’t comply will lose their funding. Library employees providing material deemed inappropriate would be hit with a misdemeanor charge and liable for a $500 fine or a maximum jail sentence of a year, according to the bill’s current language.” – ABC News
Should Jeanine Cummins’ “American Dirt” Be Disappeared?
Kathleen Parker: “Once Cummins’s genetic shortcomings caught the attention of social media’s literati, it was off to the bonfires. Not only was she condemned, prompting her to cancel her book tour in fear for her safety, but a petition was circulated asking Oprah Winfrey to remove Cummins’s novel from her book-club list.” – Washington Post
“I Can’t Think For A Moment Why People Would Hate On My Novel About A Middle-Aged White Lady”
“When I set out to write this novel, which takes place in Iowa and centers around 46-year-old Meradyth Spensir and her 8-year-old son Chab, my goal was to shed light on the struggles that white middle-aged women in America face — struggles that I, a 28-year-old Latino man, don’t know much about but I would imagine are pretty tough. And as far as I’m concerned, I freaking nailed it.” – McSweeney’s
Cal Arts Alums Launch Program To Reduce Cal Arts $50k Tuition
Launching this month, 50+50: A Creative Century from Chouinard to CalArts is a program for which 50 artist-alums are creating new works, typically in editions of 10 to 20, and produced by Lisa Ivorian-Jones. The pieces will be sold to raise scholarship funds for the school, in order to support a new generation of would-be artists who might not be able to afford CalArts’ tuition, currently at $50,850. – W Magazine
How Can Canadian Broadcasting Get Its Groove Back?
Easy: Require Canadian content from networks – including Netflix and other streamers. First Nations advocates say it’s also time for their equal inclusion in Canada’s Broadcasting Act. But can a minority government put the recommendations into place before it’s too late? – CBC
The Royal New Zealand Ballet Will Perform Only Works By Women Choreographers This Season
It’s the first classical troupe in the world to make that choice. “‘Why not? There’s been all-men years for the past 150 years where only men choreograph,’ says Patricia Barker, the company’s artistic director, who has scheduled works by the legendary American choreographer Twyla Tharp and established New Zealand names, along with shows by up-and-coming creators.” – The Guardian (UK)