An Arts Administrator Questions The Adoption Of Activist Language In The Arts

“These were folks doing really impressive work to address racism in the arts and outside of the arts. But a discomfort crept up for me in that discussion that has been a bit of gadfly in my life for some time now. In talking about my own work as an arts administrator, I was borrowing the language of activism. I also have noticed others in the field — artists, curators, administrators, philanthropic organizations — do the same thing. How might the use of activist rhetoric be a bit…complicated?”

Broadway Box Office Take Sets Another Record (Thanks To Insane Ticket Prices)

“Box-office grosses, which have been climbing since 2013, rose 5.5 percent, to $1.449 billion, a new high, according to figures released on Tuesday by the Broadway League … There are bargains available for all but the buzziest shows, but still: The average price paid for a Broadway ticket during the 2016-17 season was a record $109, up from $103 the previous season.”

Top Posts From AJBlogs 05.23.17

Doomsday Scenario: President Trump’s Bludgeoned Budgets for NEA, NEH, IMLS
William “Bro” Adams, chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities and an Obama appointee, clearly knew what was coming when he precipitously resigned his position yesterday, effective today. Short notice, Bro! … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2017-05-23

The hole story
Georg Büchner died in 1837 with his masterpiece unfinished – a masterpiece because it’s unfinished, perhaps. The text of Woyzeck is incomplete, the scenes disordered. … read more
AJBlog: Performance Monkey Published 2017-05-23

Helping Them Get Started
A friend of mine in grad school, a cellist, was close to graduation when his teacher suddenly died.  “What am I going to do?” he asked me. “There is nobody to help me get started in my career!” … read more
AJBlog: Infinite Curves Published 2017-05-22

Never such innocence again
We huddled from the rain under a small platform shelter at Hackney Wick the other night. Which was great, because it meant eavesdropping without strain on the couple arguing about This Beautiful Future, the play we had just seen at the Yard Theatre. … read more
AJBlog: Performance Monkey Published 2017-05-22

 

How The Royal Academy Came This Close To Selling Off Its Prized Michelangelo

In December 1978 the academy’s secretary, Sidney Hutchison, wrote to Drummonds Bank (with which it had a £675,000 overdraft): “Very confidentially, if this official attempt for subsidy from the Government through the Arts Council should fail, my view is that the Academy would then have no alternative but to sell the Michelangelo Tondo for its worldwide market price, ie in the region of £6,000,000.”