The Arts Have A Unique Role In Fighting Climate Change: Nicholas Serota

Writes the chair of Arts Council England, who was for three decades director of the Tate Galleries, “In 2012 we became the first cultural body in the world to include environmental reporting and action in our long-term funding agreements with arts organisations. … Together we substantially increased understanding about the role of the sector in addressing environmental issues and associated social challenges. The findings of our Annual Report on Environmental Sustainability, published on Tuesday, prove the value of that intervention.”

Ford Foundation Uses Its Building To Help Reinvent The 21st Century Foundation

After half a century, the building remained a gem but needed an upgrade. City officials gave the foundation until 2019 to remove asbestos, fix the sprinklers and make the site wheelchair accessible. The foundation’s president, Darren Walker, saw the opportunity to nudge the headquarters, in other ways as well, into the 21st century. And so Ford has now downsized its footprint, making room for other foundations. There’s a new public art gallery, a touch-and-feel garden in the atrium for the blind; and Mr. Walker converted his own office into a pair of conference rooms that can be used by outside nonprofits. The building is rechristened the Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice.

Steve McQueen And Viola Davis On Hollywood, Race And Power

“MCQUEEN: What’s happening with #MeToo and Time’s Up is amazing — these are huge, giant steps. But I just feel sometimes, as a black filmmaker, that it’s still going around in circles.
DAVIS: It can’t just be ‘This is a time for female rage, so this is a time for female-centric movies and maybe some black artists.’ It should’ve been time years ago. This is what it always should be.”

How To Diversify Museum Art?

In a strategic effort to reshape the narrative of American art, the Souls Grown Deep Foundation will help five museums acquire paintings, sculptures and works on paper by self-taught African-American artists of the South. These acquisitions bring to 12 the number of museums that have received more than 300 works from the Atlanta-based nonprofit, through gifts and purchase.

A Paradox: Art Has Become More Political And Anti-Racist In As White Supremacy Flexes Its Power

You only need to look at Pittsburgh’s art, and the murders of Jewish worshippers at a synagogue there, to see the contradictions. “It is the best of times and it is the worst of times. A time in which the ‘whitelash’ to multiculturalism is becoming increasingly violent. But also a period in which art and culture present a more inclusive alternative to the executive orders emerging from the White House.”

Steppenwolf Launches New Resource: List Of New And Lesser-Known Plays That Require Diverse Casts

The list, called The Mix, “Steppenwolf compiled a list of over 150 potential nominators and ultimately received plays from nearly 100 theater professionals, including playwrights, directors and theater administrators. … The shows are inclusive of (but not limited to) race, ethnicity, gender, varied physical or cognitive ability, size, sexual orientation and generation. The company hopes that the peer-developed resource will fortify efforts of building equity in theater.”