Michael Kimmelman: “With one in four American adults living with disabilities, designing for accessibility and diversity should hardly be considered a chore or just a compliance issue. It’s an opportunity, both economic and creative, but one that requires a shift in mind-set.” – The New York Times
Tag: 07.20.20
Hollywood Unions Say Federal Assistance Is Crucial For Its Workers
The Authors Guild said its members had lost on average 43% of their regular income since the start of the crisis. The Freelancers union said over 80% of its members were reporting loss of income and work opportunities because of the crisis, and are depending on government relief in record numbers. – Los Angeles Times
Backstage Workers In Britain Are Being Asked To Pay Theatres Back For What They Got While Furloughed
“The repayment clauses could stipulate that the amount employers have paid towards furlough contributions is subtracted from workers’ wages when shows resume, and if workers do not return to the show they could be required to pay back the furlough contributions in full.” – The Stage
Bill Charlap Was Scared That Playing A Live Gig Last Weekend Was Dangerous. Here’s Why He Played It Anyway.
As COVID-19 rages on, the star jazz pianist was more than a little nervous about performing indoors in a small venue, even one as out of the way as the Deer Head Inn in Delaware Water Gap, Pa. He went ahead and did it because his first-ever performance at this unlikely jazz spot, more than 25 years ago, is arguably what made his career. Journalist John Marchese reports on how Charlap’s return went. – The New York Times
Alvin Ailey Company Fires Director Of Ailey II For Sexual Harassment
“Troy Powell, the 51-year-old artistic director of Ailey’s junior touring company and a teacher at The Ailey School in New York City, was dismissed following an investigation commissioned by the school … [which] concluded that Powell had ‘engaged in inappropriate communications with adults enrolled in the School.'” A TikTok video posted on social media last month said “When you wanna be in Ailey 2 … But guys gotta sleep with Troy Powell.” – CNN
Frick Collection Will Open In Former Met Breuer/Whitney Museum Building In 2021
“Dubbed Frick Madison, the space will serve as a temporary home for the historic collection while the grounds of the Henry Clay Frick House on Manhattan’s Upper East Side undergo an extensive renovation and expansion.” As for displaying the art from the grand old mansion in Marcel Breuer’s 20th-century hulk, Frick director Ian Wardropper said, “We’ve learned that you can’t fight Brutalism.” – Artnet
Richard Tucker Music Foundation Ousts Tucker’s Son From Board Over, Um, Intemperate Comments
It all played out over the weekend on Julia Bullock’s Facebook page, where David Tucker began a spat with a couple of hostile comments about the protesters detained by Federal agents in Portland. When tenor Russell Thomas observed that the Tucker Foundation has given its top award to only one Black singer in more than 40 years, David Tucker replied that “pulling the race card is another convenient excuse to modify excellent standards of vocal artistry.” Among the many people calling for Tucker’s removal from the Foundation’s board by Monday were former Tucker Award winners Stephanie Blythe, Lisette Oropesa, and Joyce DiDonato, who said she’d quit the board herself if Tucker remained. – The New York Times
China’s Movie Theatres Are Reopening, But The Audience Isn’t Flocking Back
“By midnight [of the first day, July 20], cumulative nationwide gross takings totalled $502,000. … Earlier in the day, state media had reported that the total included more than $150,000 of prior bookings, which indicates that only modest numbers of cinema-goers made decisions on the day.” – Variety
Threatened Frank Lloyd Wright Cottage To Be Moved To New Location
The one-story, three-bedroom cottage was built in 1913 as a temporary home for Wright’s lawyer, Sherman Booth. Booth developed a cluster of Wright houses, including one for himself, in the Ravine Bluffs section of Glencoe. – Chicago Tribune
Why People Can Feel Nostalgic For Things They Didn’t Experience
The politics of nostalgia doesn’t capitalise on people’s memories of particular past events they might have experienced. Instead, it makes use of propaganda about the way things were, in order to provide people with the right episodic materials to conjure up imaginations of possible scenarios that most likely never happened. – Aeon