The Strongest Performance Art Of 2016 Comes From The Black Lives Matter Movement

And that’s because Black Lives Matter understands how performance art interacts with the public. One piece “included a public prayer, titled ‘A Litany,’ composed of bits speech from victims of police violence, and a procession that featured women carrying banners that bore the words ‘joy’ and ‘grief.’ The performance offered the memorable sight of clutches of black women, all dressed in red, parading around the streets of Lower Manhattan.”

Canada’s Essential National Culture Question

“How does a mid-sized power maintain any notion of cultural sovereignty in the face of the aptly acronymed FANG? (That’s Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google.) France, more aggressive than Canada in protecting and promoting its cultural industries, has always lent a sympathetic ear, and Paris is the home of UNESCO, the United Nations body charged with protecting culture internationally.”

Rising US Visa Fees, Longer Processing Times, Are Making Touring Difficult For Canadian Musicians

“At $325 (U.S.) a band, it’s not cheap – particularly for new musicians trying to get a foothold in a crucial music market that, on a map, looks otherwise easy to enter from here. And there are other troubles for artists: The processing time for these visas has ballooned over the past several years from 45 days to nearly 120, according to the Canadian Federation of Musicians (CFM), which helps artists file for permits.”

How A City Can Use Tax Policy To Kill Creative Activity

In Toronto’s hot real estate downtown property taxes are set to rocket. A small creative cluster at Trinity Square pays about $4,000 per month in rent for a 1,700-square-foot space. In 2016, the annual tax bill was $3,566. In 2017, it jumps to $6,808, and by 2020, it will be $11,900. The small arts groups that use the space will have to leave. They’ve protested, “but the message here is, ‘No, sorry — we don’t care.’ That really speaks to the issue: What do we want the downtown core to become?”