“The Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation” – co-founded by rap mogul Russell Simmons – “has helped pay for art and dance classes for thousands of children and opened galleries giving young artists of color, such as Kehinde Wiley, who would later paint the official portrait of Barack Obama, a place to showcase their work. … [And] the Kevin Spacey Foundation mentored and trained young performers.” The latter has closed up shop, and the former may have to pull out of New York. In the past year, “organizations have rapidly distanced and denounced their now-unsavory benefactors, in an effort to keep the rest of their donors from fleeing.”
Tag: 04.02.18
Discoverers Of Prehistoric Chauvet Cave Art Finally Win Some Intellectual Property Rights To Their Discovery
“The cave, which houses wall paintings dating back around 30,000 years, was discovered in 1994 by Jean-Marie Chauvet, Eliette Brunel-Deschamps and Christian Hillaire. … [The three] argued that they had been stripped of their own discovery and they claimed the rights to hundreds of photographs and videos taken at the time as well as to the Chauvet name. They also sought a role in the management of the replica site.” (The original, for its own protection, is closed to visitors.)
One North London Theatre School For Kids Taught Many Of Britain’s Best Working-Class Actors
For half a century, Anna Scher has been teaching young students and adults in Islington, once quite a rough neighborhood. “In that time, she has created numerous stars, given hope and purpose to kids who had none, started her own theatre, seen it taken away from her, had a traumatic breakdown and fought her way back to good health and standing. At 73, she is once again thriving.”
How A South American Capital Remade One Of Its Most Congested Streets Into A Pedestrian-Only Artwork
“It was all done in record time. In just 30 days, more than 120 people – led by 32-year-old Chilean visual artist Dasic Fernández – transformed one of the most congested and iconic streets in the center of [Santiago,] the Chilean capital. Today, Bandera Street, next to the government palace and the city’s main square, is a colorful promenade, thanks to an urban intervention that’s unprecedented in Latin America.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 04.02.18
Who is Kirill Petrenko? The incoming Berlin Phil chief conductor – at least for the moment – can do no wrong
Though not a stranger to New York, Kirill Petrenko showed every sign of being discovered by some highly engaged Carnegie Hall audiences in a two-day visit by the Bavarian State Opera, … read more
AJBlog: Condemned to Music Published 2018-04-02
Propwatch: the book in The Inheritance
A companionable slump of young men sits on the floor and frown over notebooks and laptops. They squirm to tell their story, but they’re struggling. One clutches a cherished volume – Howard’s End by E.M. Forster, … read more
AJBlog: Performance Monkey Published 2018-04-02
Shostakovich and Film — Take Two
I spent the last two days repeatedly viewing – and (as the orchestra’s pianist) participating in – screenings of the 1929 Soviet silent film The New Babylon, … [and] I have no doubt that Shostakovich’s score, however little known (there is no suite by the composer), is one of the most formidable ever composed for film. … read more
AJBlog: Unanswered Question Published 2018-04-02
Recent Listening In Brief
Edward Simon, Sorrows & Triumphs (Sunnyside)
Rich DeRosa, Perseverence (North Texas Jazz)
Azar Lawrence, Elementals (High Note)
Willie Nelson, American Classic (Blue Note) … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2018-04-02
When Archaeologists Put The FBI On The Case
Egyptian mummies pose a unique challenge because the desert’s scorching climate rapidly degrades DNA. Earlier attempts at obtaining their ancient DNA either failed or produced results contaminated by modern DNA. To crack the case, the museum turned to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
A “Post-Truth” World? Here’s What It Means
“Whenever a fact contradicts one of our beliefs, we are prompted to restore consistency by revising some of the beliefs in our web. But in choosing what to revise, we are no longer guided by facts alone. Starting from the anomalous evidence, we look at the contested belief and its supporting justification(s), and assess how consistency can be most parsimoniously restored in light of the full web of our beliefs. We can end up revising anything, from doubting that we actually observed the anomalous evidence in the first place, to the principles of logic and mathematics that lie at the centre of our web.”