Are Arts Orgs’ Diversity Initiatives Just A New Form Of Paternalism?

That’s the charge made by a few leading arts figures, among them Madani Younis, creative director of London’s Southbank Centre: “This paternalism on the one hand allows institutions to co-opt the concerns of diversity, of gender, of class and so on. On the one hand, you say: ‘That’s super good. These guys are on it, they hear the cry and they are looking to change something’. But on the flip side of that new paternalism, those very institutions then get to decide what the pace of change is. And for me that is perverse.” – Arts Professional

Oppress This, Jair! Brazilian Theatermakers Resist Bolsonaro By Getting Naked

At least that’s what they’ve been doing at the International Theater Exposition of São Paulo, which is “squaring up to an era of right-wing populism with a celebration of otherness, difference and resistance. More often than not, this resistance manifests itself in the naked body. In show after show, nudity takes on a political role.” – The Guardian

Study: Canadian Artists Make Less Than Average Workers – Way Less

The median individual income of Canada’s artists is $23,100, or 45 per cent less than all Canadian workers ($41,900). A typical artist has employment income of just $15,000, a figure that is 59 per cent lower than the median of all workers ($36,700). That’s from a workforce of almost 800,000 people in Canada who work in cultural industries, which would also include librarians and archivists, graphic designers, editors and architects. – Toronto Star

What Drives Actor Dev Patel

Patel, star of Slumdog Millionaire, Lion, and now Hotel Mumbai, says that when he finds a new project, “after that initial excitement, you’re just drenched with fear of, now I have to actually do this. That’s kind of what happens with everything. It’s eagerness, curiosity and excitement, followed by fear and how the hell am I going to get through this?” – The New York Times