Artist Christoph Büchel managed to get possession of the actual fishing boat in which hundreds of migrants drowned while trying to get from Libya to Italy in 2015 — and he entered it as is, with no identifying text, in this year’s Biennale as an artwork titled Barca nostra (Our Boat). Reactions to the piece have been strong, ranging from somber admiration to appalled denunciation. – The Art Newspaper
Tag: 05.14.19
Boston Ballet Principal Retires To Direct Rhode Island’s Largest Ballet Company
“Kathleen Breen Combes, a star of Boston Ballet who has earned acclaim everywhere from Boston to New York and London, is retiring from the company after 16 years to become the new executive director of Festival Ballet Providence. [Her] final performance … is scheduled for June 9.” – The Boston Globe
It’s Illegal To Be Gay In Tunisia, But These Brave Souls Put On A Queer Film Festival There
“Mawjoudin Queer Film Festival, in its second year, differs significantly from other film festivals: some participants wear badges that read ‘No Photos’; attendees were invited through a private Facebook page and were told not to geo-tag locations on social media; venues were revealed only in the final days before the festival.” – The New York Times
Collective Is Translating 100 Classic Indian Novels Into English For The First Time
The Indian Novels Collective was founded two years ago by four Mumbai professionals who realized that their growing children were reading Indian books written only in English — and missing out on a huge, high-quality body of work written in India’s dozen-plus regional literary languages. The INC expects to start publishing in 2020 under the Speaking Tiger imprint, and publishers in the rest of the English-speaking world are showing some interest. – Book Riot
Royal Ballet Begins Major Education Project In Far-Off Yorkshire Town
Working under the umbrella of the Royal Opera House and in partnership with local government, over the next three years the company will be giving workshops at every school in the town of Doncaster, expanding its Chance to Dance program for disadvantaged children to every local dance school, and performing for the first time ever in Doncaster. – The Stage
How Doris Day Connected With America
Todd Purdum: “Doris Day, who died Monday at 97, was always underrated—the girl next door whose peaches-and-cream good looks, 1,000-watt smile, and sinuous, molten singing voice were so often taken for granted. Her huge commercial power—and the bad management of her third husband, Martin Melcher—meant that she seldom had material worthy of her talents, in records or on film. But when she did, watch out.” – The Atlantic
What Dance Criticism Really Needs Is Outsiders (Says A Veteran Dance Critic)
“Bring on the outsiders! The writers and journalists who can’t raise their legs to their ears but can ask a brand-new, real good question and keep asking until it gets answered with clarity.” Eva Yaa Asantewaa (who was something of an outsider, in more than one way, when she started) makes the case. – Dance Magazine
Mel Gibson Is Playing A Character Called ‘Rothchild’, And Folks On Social Media Aren’t Having It
In the movie in question, titled Rothchild and currently being pitched to buyers at the Cannes marketplace, Gibson is to play the patriarch of an extremely rich New York family. The similarity to Rothschild, the name of a wealthy European Jewish family that has been the target of anti-Semitic invective for centuries, has (one might say) not gone unnoticed or unremarked-upon online, given Gibson’s history of (one might say) unfortunate utterances. – The Guardian
33 Things You’d Benefit By Knowing As An Artistic Director
Sean Daniels passes on a Joe Haj list constituting a recipe for being a successful artistic director of a theatre. Some are common sense (don’t be an asshole). Others reflect a bit more psychology: “Everyone who works with you is firmly placed in the center of their own lives. You must collect their dreams and include them in a shared idea of the future, or pay the penalty of a disconnected and disaffected staff.” – The Awkward Stage
Comedic Sidekick Tim Conway Dies At 85 After Fight With Dementia
“Conway’s breakout role was on the 1960s sitcom McHale’s Navy, as a bumbling ensign in World War II. On The Carol Burnett Show he played Mr. Tudball, a heavily-accented boss perpetually annoyed by his slow-moving secretary. On the cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants he voiced a frustrated superhero sidekick called Barnacle Boy.” – NPR