It Is Often Said Art Promotes Empathy. Is This Really A Good Thing?

This idea is particularly prevalent when it comes to those works of art described as “narrative”: stories, novels, TV shows, movies, comics. We assume that works that depict characters in action over time must make us empathize with them, or as the saying goes, “walk a mile in their shoes.” And we assume that this is a good thing. Why? – New York Review of Books

Artist-Endowed Foundations Are A Growing Force In The Arts World

“Although representing only a small portion of all private foundations in the U.S., by virtue of their strong focus in the arts and direct charitable activities involving their art assets, artist-endowed foundations are an increasingly influential force shaping cultural philanthropy and stewarding the country’s artistic heritage.” – Inside Philanthropy

Stories Illustrate. Stories Mutate. Stories Grow And Change The World

In many ways, stories are uncannily similar to living organisms. They seem to have their own interests. They compel us to share them and, once told, they begin to grow and change, often becoming longer and more elaborate. They compete with one another for our attention—for the opportunity to reach as many minds as possible. They find each other, intermingle, and multiply. – Harper’s

Why Do We Need A Festival Of Music By Women?

“The statistics offer an eloquent answer. In the 2014-2015 season, only 1.8 percent of the music performed by the top 22 American orchestras was by women, according to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. For the coming season of 2019-2020, the Institute for Composer Diversity at the State University of New York has surveyed 40 American orchestras and seen a slightly better number of 6.5 percent — perhaps reflecting a degree of consciousness-raising in the past few years, as well as a larger pool of orchestras. Orchestras, obviously, are only one part of the classical music world, but these statistics reflect an ongoing underrepresentation of women in the field that increasingly, but slowly, some are trying to correct.” – Washington Post

Sure, Rami Malek’s Historic Oscar Win Is Great For Arab Representation In The Movie World

But a lot more needs to happen – and not just for filmmakers like Nadine Labaki, whose Capernaum (Lebanon) was up for Best Foreign Film, or Talal Derki, whose Of Fathers and Sons, filmed in Syria, was up for Best Documentary. “What is really needed is better support for Arabs working in cinema in the Middle East who are trying to make quality films.” – The New York Times

Chiwetel Ejiofor’s New Netflix Film Avoids Sensationalizing A Disaster Through Telling A Specific Tale

Ejiofor, known in the U.S. best for his starring role in 12 Years a Slave, has now directed (and is starring in) a new film for Netflix, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. He wanted to be careful to ground it, and set it, in a very specific place and time. “The way that we relate to those kind of rural African communities is very rarely within the epic storytelling tradition of cinema. … So it was important to me to look at that and to think, Okay, how do I render this truthfully, but in an epic way?” – The Atlantic

The Conveyor Belts (And Minds) That Bring Books To The New York Public Library

When you have infinite possibilities but not infinite storage, you have to figure out which books to take on, and which to weed. This is the story of the New York Public Library and its acquisitions team of 16 highly trainde readers, who, “from inside a squat, brick building in Long Island City, Queens, are ‘fighting for good books,’ said Michael Santangelo, the deputy director of collection management.” – The New York Times