Tag: 06.14.19

Why Short Stories Are More Creative

The short story is on a huge upwards trajectory, yet attitudes persist that collections can’t be as successful as novels. To be fair, most of those prehistoric views emanate from London rather than Ireland or the US. After all, it was we Irish who exported the short story to the US in the first place, and it’s our biggest cultural legacy – next to the Irish bar, of course. – Irish Times

Cuba’s Tiny Movie “Palaces”

During Cuba’s Special Period, a time of deprivation following the collapse of the Soviet Union, many cinemas closed due to lack of funding, so the state opened small “video rooms” to screen movies on VHS. For mere pennies, Cubans across the island can enjoy a day at the movies. It’s so cheap that some locals pay the admission simply to enjoy the air conditioning, which seems to be more modern than some of the cinemas’ technical equipment. – The Daily Beast

Funders Are Asking For More Data From Arts Organizations. This Is A Trap

“Constantly demanding data, while changing formats, metrics, methodology and requirements every few years, creates the illusion of order and control, while actually making meaningful insight more difficult. The situation is convenient for funders, as it reinforces their power while making it harder to hold their own performance to account. It also provides useful work for consultants and researchers. For arts organisations themselves, however, the advantages are less obvious.” – Arts Professional

Strand Bookstore Owner: Why Landmarking The Strand Will Kill It

Nancy Bass Wyden: “My dad’s proudest moment came in 1996, when he finally saved up enough money to buy the building that had housed the store since he was a young man. He’d watched rents climb and he’d seen enough competitors go under to know that making that purchase was key to ensuring the Strand’s survival. This week, that security vanished. By designating the store a landmark, the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission put the Strand in peril.” – New York Daily News

The 14-Year-Old Music Prodigy: Carnegie, Vienna State Opera, Etc…

“An accomplished pianist and violinist, she is also a composer, having written concertos for piano and violin and an opera. In December, she will make her debut at Carnegie Hall, where she will play the solo violin and piano in her two concertos, while the orchestra will play selections from her opera and her most recent work, a Viennese waltz. Next month, she will record a retrospective album with Sony of piano melodies she composed going back to when she was just 4 years old.” – The New York Times

Choreography As Conflict Resolution — A Retired Dancer Becomes A Professional Mediator

Dana Caspersen, William Forsythe’s wife and a former member of his company, Ballett Frankfurt, “develops choreographic methods that let groups address differences in nonverbal ways. Many of her projects center on participatory ‘action dialogues,’ which allow groups as large as 250 to tackle fraught issues like racism and polarization.” – Dance Magazine