Tag: 06.03.20

Bruce Jay Friedman, Satiric Author, Playwright, And Screenwriter, Dead At 90

“Mr. Friedman, who also wrote the screenplays for the hit film comedies Stir Crazy and Splash, was an unusual case in American letters: an essentially comic writer whose work skipped back and forth between literature and pop culture. … [His] early novels, short stories and plays were pioneering examples of modern American black humor, making dark but giggle-inducing sport of the deep, if not pathological, insecurities of his white, male, middle-class and often Jewish protagonists.” – The New York Times

Religious Art Belongs In Churches, Not Museums, Says Director Of Italy’s Most Famous Museum

“Eike Schmidt, the director of the Uffizi gallery in Florence, told the press [last week] that he thought many religious works of art currently in Italy’s museums and stores should be returned to the churches from which they came. … This idea is part of the Uffizi’s reaction to the coronavirus crisis, in which it is thinking about diversification and the distribution of its works of art in order to create a ‘wider’ [diffuso] museum beyond the immediate premises of the gallery.” – The Art Newspaper

Why Buy The Cow When The Milk Is Free? Performing Arts Companies, Don’t Do What Newspapers Did

“There’s a long-running adage about working for free in the performing arts. ‘The problem with working for exposure,’ it goes, ‘is you can die from exposure’.” With arts companies all over the world pouring free content onto the web as their venues are closed during the pandemic, creative industries scholar Caitlin Vincent issues a warning. – The Conversation

Minneapolis’s Walker Art Center Becomes First Major U.S. Museum To Stop Contracting Police For Events

“In an Instagram statement that explicitly mentioned the Black Lives Matter movement and Floyd’s death, the museum wrote, ‘The Walker will no longer contract the services of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) for special events until the MPD implements meaningful change by demilitarizing training programs, holding officers accountable for the use of excessive force, and treating communities of color with dignity and respect. Enough is enough.'” – ARTnews

Cannes Festival Announces The 2020 Roster Of Films It’s Sending To Other Festivals

“Artistic director Thierry Frémaux picked a total of 56 films for the Cannes 2020 selection, many of which had planned to premiere on the Croisette. Instead, they will now screen at different partner festivals around the world. The titles will be gathered together in a single list, not split up into the traditional festival categories of competition, Un Certain Regard, out of competition, Midnight Screenings, and special screenings. There is no competition, no jury and no prizes will be awarded.” – The Hollywood Reporter

London’s Royal Opera And Royal Ballet Return To Live Performance

It’ll be to an empty house, though; social distancing isn’t over yet. The Live from Covent Garden series, streamed over the Royal Opera House’s YouTube and Facebook pages, begins on June 13 with a program including a brand-new dance by Royal Ballet resident choreographer Wayne McGregor and music by Handel, Britten, Butterworth and Turnage sung by Royal Opera soloists Louise Alder, Toby Spence, and Gerald Finley. – London Evening Standard