“When June O’Neill took over as executive director of the Philadelphia Cultural Fund 12 years ago, she barely had time to find her desk before Mayor John F. Street announced he was slashing the fund and eliminating the city’s Office of Arts and Culture. That was followed by the 2008 fiscal crisis, which saw the fund, an independent nonprofit that receives its budget entirely from the city, cut [by] 42.5 percent … [She’s] been through it all.”
Tag: 03.29.15
Why We’re Still Fascinated By Jane Austen
“What explains the continued popularity of Jane Austen and the handful of novels she wrote? It is, after all, rather remarkable that a woman who spent her life in quiet provincial circumstances in early 19th-century England should become, posthumously, a literary celebrity outshining every author since then, bar none.”
How To Develop An Instinct For Understanding Data
“One thing I try to argue is that it’s not just about bigger machines to crunch more data, and it’s not even about pattern recognition. It’s about frameworks of recognition; how you choose to look, rather than what you’re trying to see.”
Why American Education Needs To Focus On More Than The Basics
“America’s last bipartisan cause is this: A liberal education is irrelevant, and technical training is the new path forward. It is the only way, we are told, to ensure that Americans survive in an age defined by technology and shaped by global competition. The stakes could not be higher. This dismissal of broad-based learning, however, comes from a fundamental misreading of the facts.”
Tony Award-Winning Director Gene Saks Dead At 93
While his career in both theater and movies included such hits as Mame, Same Time Next Year and I Love My Wife, Saks was best known for a long series of collaborations (stage and screen) with Neil Simon, from Barefoot in the Park and The Odd Couple through to the “Brighton Beach Trilogy.”
How Public Should The Public Art Process Be?
“Ultimately, you build more support for the Percent for Art Program and more support for public art when you engage the community,” Mr. Van Bramer said. “People are asking, ‘Just include me in a meaningful way.'”
Trying To Keep Hollywood Secrets In The Age Of SnapChat, Instagram And Whisper – And Hacking
“‘Post-Sony, getting people to cooperate with me has been a completely different experience,’ Ms. Zezza said. ‘Everyone gets that life has to change.'”
The Coloring Book For Adults That’s Sweeping The World
“Fan mail poured in from busy professionals and parents who confided to Ms. Basford that they found coloring in her books relaxing. More accolades flowed on social media, as people posted images from their coloring books.”
How Country Came To Rule The Airwaves
“It wasn’t inevitable that country music would thrive in the globalized world of perpetual Facebook updates, a world whose frenetic pace can be felt in electronica, or whose nouveau riche aspirations are extolled in hip-hop.”
Britain’s First Cinema Is About To Reopen Its Doors As A Movie Theatre Once Again
“By 1896, the reputation of the institution was such that the Lumière brothers chose it as the UK venue on a world tour designed to showcase their film projector, the cinematograph.”