The economic fallout of the virus has made the disparity between employed workers and independent contractors clearer than ever. New York has a paid-sick-leave law, but it does not cover contract workers. Many freelance workers in the arts have high self-employment taxes and health-insurance costs; they do not have 401(k) matching programs or employer-backed disability insurance, or severance when work is called off. If artists have health insurance through a guild or a union, coverage is usually dependent on working for a certain number of weeks every year. – The New Yorker
Tag: 03.23.20
What’s The Purpose Of Daydreaming?
Daydreaming is taken very seriously within scientific circles, where it is more accurately referred to as mind wandering. The level of interest in this area runs more or less parallel to that of the default network, and that is no coincidence either. The neural activity that can be observed when a person is daydreaming is very similar to that found in the default network. The control situation when taking neural measurements is also one in which the brain is not performing any tasks, and so we start daydreaming. We let our thoughts run free and start associating different memories with each other. – LitHub
Gallerist Paul Kasmin, Who Helped Turn Chelsea Into An Art Hotbed, Dead At 60
“In the 30 years since founding the gallery in Soho in 1989, Kasmin developed a program that managed to toe the line between brainy and lighthearted by placing historic postwar artists like Lee Krasner, Robert Motherwell, and Stuart Davis in dialogue with established and emerging contemporary figures.” – Artnet
Report: San Francisco Arts Orgs Could Lose $73 Million By This Summer
Every performing arts group in the Bay Area contacted by The Chronicle has canceled its spring season, even as most had barely begun. Now a study reports that arts organizations stand to lose more than $73 million in revenue and donations if the shutdown continues through summer. – San Francisco Chronicle
Hong Kong Museums, Having Reopened, Close Again
“After the city sought to reintroduce normal activity, a wave of new coronavirus cases hit, largely due to returning travelers. The reversal offers a cautionary tale to countries around the world that are eager to ease restrictions on social distancing practices and get business moving back on pace.” – Artnet
Upright Citizens Brigade, Already Teetering, Dumps Entire Staff By Mass Email
“Last week’s layoffs were just the latest addition to a list of controversial upheavals for the company in recent years, including climbing ticket prices in early 2017, the move from Chelsea to the bigger, less convenient Hell’s Kitchen theater in late 2017, mass layoffs in 2018, shuttering the East Village theater in 2019, and constant debate surrounding its choice to not pay performers. … There’s growing sentiment among many people in the UCB community that even if the theaters return post-coronavirus, they may not.” – Vulture
U.S. Supreme Court Throws Out Filmmaker’s Copyright Lawsuit Against North Carolina
“The justices unanimously upheld a lower court’s 2018 ruling that the state was protected by a legal doctrine called sovereign immunity and could not be sued for copyright infringement for using filmmaker Frederick Allen’s images [of the salvaging of the pirate Blackbeard’s ship] online.” – Reuters
One Of Britain’s Major Classical Artist Management Agencies Is Liquidating
Yes, it’s because of the coronavirus. “‘Our artists, staff, directors and shareholders are devastated by this sad but inevitable turn of events,’ says Hazard Chase managing director, James Brown. ‘Our world has been torn apart in less than a month.'” – Classical Music (UK)
Cirque Du Soleil Furloughs 95% Of Its Employees
“The Montreal-based circus giant said temporarily cutting 4,679 jobs was necessary after 44 shows worldwide were shuttered amid the virus outbreak.” – The Hollywood Reporter
London’s Royal Ballet Cuts Ties With Choreographer Liam Scarlett
The move comes after an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct by Scarlett, who had been artist-in-residence, with students at the Royal Ballet School. The company also said, in what seems a carefully worded statement, that “there were no matters to pursue in relation to alleged contact with students.” – The Guardian