News From Around the Art World: March 23, 2020
In Chicago, muralist Hebru Brantley’s outdoor art moves inside
For decades, brick walls and concrete viaducts have served as canvases for splashy murals and street art in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, about three miles southwest of the Loop. A walk around here is like strolling through an urban, open-air gallery, made even better by the area’s abundance of taco shops. Now, for a limited time, there’s a new indoor attraction to explore, called Nevermore Park, inside the studio of artist Hebru Brantley.
By Kate Silver, Washington Post
Museums Nationwide Bracing For Economic Devastation Due To Coronavirus Closures
The total economic contribution of American museums amounted to more than $50 billion in gross domestic product, 726,200 jobs and $12 billion in taxes to local, state and federal governments. That was in 2016 according to the American Alliance of Museums, a museum advocacy group.
The vast majority of those museums have now closed and will stay that way until at least the end of March to limit the spread of coronavirus.
By Chadd Scott, Forbes
For Chicago-area arts students in a coronavirus world remote learning is necessary, but there are many challenges
When it became clear that DePaul’s Theatre School would no longer be able to hold classes in person after the novel coronavirus, Chair of Theatre Studies Coya Paz held a meeting with students. In part, she and other faculty members were looking for suggestions on how to accomplish the unprecedented: moving an inherently communal, visceral medium online. Since then, the ideas have flowed fast and loose: radio plays, an increase in playwriting courses, even a class that incorporates Dungeons & Dragons. If you asked Paz last week, she would have said that theater was a fundamentally live art. But because that answer has changed by necessity, the questions change, too.
By Nicole Blackwood, Chicago Tribune
America's virtual museums take on new significance as Covid-19 lockdown deepens
Art Institute of Chicago and Smithsonian are among institutions that have embraced technology, and more are set to ramp up their efforts. Without knowing it, or certainly asking for it, we have all become part of a giant social science experiment: can digital platforms offer a satisfactory alternative to experiencing art in the real world?
By Daniel Grant, The Art Newspaper