The mayor has instrumentalized culture as an economic driver of the capital’s fortunes ever since taking office in 2014 and embarking on the creation of her Cultural Plan one year later. Deference to what she has described as “the cultural economy” has earned Bowser few fans from the arts community, which has characterized the mayor’s proposals as siphoning funds away from the fine arts and into the pockets of small businesses. – Hyperallergic
Tag: 05.22.19
Virtue Versus Utility: Do We Need To Change The Framework For How We Address Issues?
While virtue theory – the construction of a moral framework around the ideal of “the good life” and related character traits – dates back to Ancient Greece, it has been commonly associated with religion. And this helps to explains why it has fallen out of fashion since the Enlightenment.But are there signs of that movement being reversed? – Irish Times
The Sarasota Symphony Wanted To Build A New Home In A Park. The Community Didn’t Like That Idea
Hundreds of citizens attended the City Commission meeting Monday, and more than 70 of them spoke during public comment, which extended the meeting four hours beyond its estimated end. By the end of the meeting, the majority of the commissioners did not feel comfortable approving further research on the orchestra’s vision, which they still had so many questions about. – The Herald-Tribune
Are Social Media Influencers Undermining Theatre?
Showmanship likes to reveal itself as such and often in some sort of great theatrical caper. In contrast, this marketing approach – for obvious reasons – prefers to stay in the shadows. This is a marketing tool that does not respect the theatre industry or its legacy. At worst, it insults the genuine fans and advocates of productions whose postings may become questioned. It is also wide open for abuse. – The Stage
How Walt Disney Concert Hall Changed Both Its Orchestra And Its Neighborhood
Justin Davidson: “In 2003, [Frank] Gehry gave the Los Angeles Philharmonic its new home and showed that, every once in a while, a work of architecture can transform all it touches — in this case, the orchestra, the audience, music itself, the neighborhood, and the city beyond.” – Los Angeles Times
Is Koons’ “Rabbit” Worth $91 Million? Value Isn’t Measured In Cash
Andrea Scott: “It became an icon of eighties excess (and, thus, of white, male privilege): fuck like bunnies, make more money, the one with the most toys wins. It was an instant classic worthy of the oxymoron, as weightless as Andy Warhol’s shiny silver clouds of inflated Mylar and as radical as Constantin Brancusi’s polished-bronze ‘Bird in Space’.” – The New Yorker
Reviving Twyla Tharp’s ‘Deuce Coupe’, The First Ballet-Modern Dance Fusion
Gia Kourlas got Tharp and Sara Rudner, who danced in the work’s 1979 premiere, together with Misty Copeland and Isabella Boylston, who are performing in ABT’s upcoming revival. “It was lively … but certain points became clear: How important is it to work with the artist who actually created a ballet? Very. And how scary is it to step into the roles of two of the finest dancers of their generation, classical or otherwise? Ditto.” – The New York Times
We Applaud The Philanthropist Who Says He’ll Pay Student Loans. But This Is A Policy Failure
Students are saddled with crippling debt. And generations will be encumbered by it. The generous philanthropist who says he’ll pay the Morehouse College graduating class’s student debt has done a great thing. But it points to a glaring failure of public policy. – The New York Times
On The Tour Van With Shakespeare And Company
That would be the New England theatre troupe, not the Paris bookstore. “Every year since 1982, Shakespeare & Company has sent young performers on the road from early winter through late spring, for four months of Dunkin’ Donuts breakfasts, motel showers, flubbed lines, forgotten props, missed turnoffs, standing ovations and the chance to live with Shakespeare’s words a lot like the traveling players of 400 years ago would have.” Reporter Alexis Soloski spent a few days with them. – The New York Times
We’ve Already Got Broadway Shows Performed Live On TV. Soon We’ll Have Musicals Produced Directly For TV
Netflix has already done small-screen versions of Springsteen on Broadway and American Son, and they’re now working on feature versions of Broadway’s (recent) The Boys in the Band and (current) The Prom. Fox is working on its own jukebox musicals. Where will the genre go from there? – Dance Magazine