Almost all cinemas in China — the world’s second-largest moviegoing market behind North America — went dark more than a month ago because of the virus, while all of Italy is now quarantined. Historically, firms in the U.S. have vowed to stay open during various outbreaks, even if business slows to a standstill. – The Hollywood Reporter
Tag: 03.10.20
When The Collective Good Impinges On Personal Freedom
The First Amendment doesn’t protect your right to eat steak; nothing in the Bill of Rights prohibits a quarantine. Whatever discomfort or vexation arises from these restrictions should hardly be classed as a violation of liberty. Yet that’s not quite right. Very few of us care so much about our rights of speech or conscience to test their constitutional boundaries. There’s a reason people got so angry when Mayor Michel Bloomberg tried to ban the sale of large-size soft drinks; they were defending a right they actually cared about. – The New York Times
A Library-On-Wheels For The Refugee Camps Of Greece
“The Echo library was founded in 2016, at the height of the refugee crisis, and relies on a 15-strong volunteer team alongside donations to stock its shelves and pay for the van’s fuel – costs that come to roughly £13,000 a year.” – The Guardian
Radical Artists Are Running Performance Space New York. Here’s How They Showed A Journalist What They’re Doing.
To mark its 40th anniversary, the East Village venue (formerly P.S. 122) turned itself over to 11 loosely connected artists of various stripes for the whole of 2020. Not even PSNY’s director knows everything they have planned. When Siobhan Burke went to talk to them (at PSNY’s invitation), they met her in matching black garments that obscured their faces, declined to identify themselves, and stuck strictly to a prepared script that included such phrases as “There is no consensus,” “Welcome is a warning,” and “Artist exceptionalism upholds empire.” – The New York Times
National Gallery In D.C. Postpones Show Because It Can’t Get The Art
“The National Gallery of Art has postponed its much-anticipated exhibition A Superb Baroque: Art in Genoa, 1600–1750 because of the global coronavirus crisis.” The nationwide lockdown in Italy means that the more than 100 works in the show can’t be shipped from museums in Genoa and Rome. – The Washington Post
L.A. Opera’s Investigation Finds Against Domingo But Clears L.A. Opera
“[The company] said its investigator interviewed 44 people, yielding 10 [credible] allegations of inappropriate conduct between 1986 … [and] 2019.” The law firm hired by the company also found “no evidence that L.A. Opera ever ignored, failed to address, or covered up sexual harassment complaints.” – Los Angeles Times
U.S. Theatres Are Staying Open (For Now)
“As COVID-19 … spreads inexorably across the U.S., theatres are finding themselves trying to stay both practical and realistic, even as public concerns grow. While many public gatherings are being cancelled, largely as a preemptive measure, theatres have not yet dropped the curtain.” – American Theatre
Iconic Sydney Opera House Closes For Two Years
As the building approaches its 50th birthday, in 2023, the interventions are necessary. While its architect, Jorn Utzon, is now widely recognized as a visionary and his creation is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the hall’s construction was troubled, and certain problems have never been solved. Years of testing have produced a new plan for the concert hall’s acoustics — as well as for more basic matters. – The New York Times
France’s Culture Minister Falls To Coronavirus
The culture minister was supposed to meet Tuesday with representatives from the cinema and performing arts industries to assess the impact of new measures taken to counter the Covid-19 epidemic, following Sunday’s decision to ban any public gathering of more than 1,000 people. In France, more than 300 concert halls and theaters, including the Opera House, the new Philharmonie de Paris or Le Zénith indoor arena, have 1,000-plus seats. The Salon du Livre, France’s annual showcase event for publishers, which was expecting 160,000 visitors from 20 to 23 March, had already been cancelled along with a rock and roll festival planned a week before on the French-Swiss border. – The Art Newspaper
Tate Museums Pledge To Cut Resource Use, Cut Carbon
Tate—a network of four museums including Tate Modern, which ranked as Britain’s top tourist attraction, with 5.9 million visitors in 2018—announced it would cut its carbon footprint by at least 10 percent by 2023. “Large public buildings, attracting millions of visitors from the U.K. and overseas, require energy,” reads a declaration issued in July, which saw the highest-ever temperature recorded in the U.K. and record-setting heat across Europe. “We see caring for and sharing a national art collection as a public good, but it also consumes resources. . . . That’s why we pledge to make our long-term commitment ambitious in scope. We will interrogate our systems, our values, and our programs, and look for ways to become more adaptive and responsible.” – ARTnews