The group “We See You, White American Theater” released a 29-page letter of demands that “would amount to a sweeping restructuring of the theater ecosystem in America.” Indeed, they say, it’s time for everything from ending contracts with the stagehands’ union until that union diversifies to the idea that BIPOC be “the majority of writers, directors and designers onstage for the foreseeable future.” – The New York Times
Tag: 07.10.20
Why Is UC San Francisco About To Destroy Artwork Depicting An African American Midwife Hero?
Well, you know, new medical research buildings. “University spokespeople claim that UC San Francisco is unable to cover the costs of removing and preserving the murals, estimated at $8 million. If the price of saving 10 frescoes is prohibitive, one wonders where the university will find the funds for its proposed 1.5 million-square-foot expansion project. Perhaps the university could start by dipping into its nearly $4-billion endowment.” – Los Angeles Times
Nielsen Reverses Course About Measuring Who’s Watching TV
They weren’t going to include bars, airports, hotel lobbies, and other public places for a while – because, after all, what kinds of numbers are in those places now? Then the studio ad execs got involved. – Variety
The Hagia Sophia Is Now Formally Not A Museum, But A Mosque
Mere minutes after “a Turkish court announced that it had revoked Hagia Sophia’s status as a museum, which for the last 80 years had made it a monument of relative harmony and a symbol of the secularism that was part of the foundation of the modern Turkish state,” Turkey’s President Erdogan declared it a mosque again. – The New York Times
The National Book Award Ceremony Bows To The Virus
The 2020 version of the ceremony, scheduled for November 18, will now be online. The executive director: “As a country, and within the literary community, we have all experienced a shift in reality.” – Los Angeles Times
A Korean American Artist Is Physically Attacked In New York
Kate Bae was on her way to her temporary job at the Census Bureau, near Bryant Park in Manhattan, when a man walked up to her and punched her in the face. The artist says she’s almost used to harassment (though of course not physical attacks) at this point: “Bae, a Korean American, says that she has been routinely harassed in the streets of New York in the past few months.” – Hyperallergic
Phoebe Robinson’s Path From Podcaster To TV Show Host To Publishing Mogul
OK, “mogul” might be stretching it. But Robinson, author of You Can’t Touch my Hair and Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay, has a deal with Penguin Random House for her own imprint, Tiny Reparations Books. She says now is a good time. “I think the publishing industry is hearing — I think they are more receptive to the sort of critique that’s being presented to them, and they’re more willing to make those changes. … And I think it is up to people like me to make sure those changes keep happening.” – Los Angeles Times
Yes, Houston Ballet, We’re Feeling The ‘Dancing With Myself’ Video
We’re all tired of the Netflix queue and staring out the window at life not being lived on our streets. So the smart, well-edited, fun video set to the Billy Idol classic song Dancing with Myself is just the safe dance party that we needed, six months into this pandemic, and counting. – Dance Magazine
Philippine Lawmakers Refuse To License A Broadcaster That Criticizes The Government
This is, in case it’s not clear, a dictatorial move. “The results of the vote — slammed by critics as an assault on press freedom — could potentially keep the radio, TV and internet giant from broadcasting until the end of Duterte’s term in 2022.” – Yahoo News
Marga Richter, Composer With A Career Spanning Eight Decades, 93
Richter was “a prolific composer whose determination to be heard in a male-dominated field once led her to rent Merkin Concert Hall to stage a program of her own works” – and she wrote nearly 200 in a career spanning back to the 1940s. – The New York Times