On September 8, our founder rocked TEDxPiscataquaRiver with his talk “How the Arts Will Save America.” If you like what you see, consider supporting Arts in America on Patreon, a platform using a patronage model to provide backing for creative people.
Join a community of folks helping us tell stories of ordinary people using the arts to do extraordinary things.
Check out the Livestream here. He’s going on around 2:20pm EST. If you miss it, the video will be on YouTube in a week or two.
And if you like what you hear and want to support Arts in America in our start-up phase, hop on over to our shiny new Patreon page and toss us a couple of shekels.
Enjoy the latest episode of Two Minutes—unedited audio snapshots of our most intriguing conversations with artists.
Meet Joe Nathan Barrett, a music missionary we met in 2012, making his living busking on the streets of New Orleans. We’ll let him take it from here…
When we left him two years ago, Joe was content living off the grid (no phone and his email was shared with a friend) so we haven’t as of yet been able to catch up with his current whereabouts. But we’ll keep trying!
Special thanks to Juliet Rotenberg, who transcribed this interview.
VISUAL
In their efforts to combat graffiti’s role in the city’s urban blight, Detroit’s police officers are being forced to confront the question – what is art?
Christie’s and Sotheby’s disagree over whether to treat the sale of two paintings by Austrian Expressionist Egon Schiele as looted Nazi art (Christie’s does, Sotherby’s doesn’t)…
OPERA
Acclaimed mezzo-soprano (and Kansas City native) Joyce DiDonato has discovered the limits of social media. The singer has received the most votes in a social media poll asking who should sing the national anthem at each game of the World Series. To date, she has still not been chosen. In the meantime, fans have been content to voice their opinion of those who were chosen to sing:
POP MUSIC
Two things we didn’t know: (1) Kenny G is huge in China, (2) Kenny G stopped by the Hong Kong protests and ticked off the rulers of the country in which he is huge…
FUNDING
The turmoil at Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and recent closure of Georgia Shakespearespark an outcry from local advocates for renewed investment in a state that ranks last in per capita arts funding…
CROWD
From Kickstarter: A husband and wife team want to give Burlington, VT‘s burgeoning stand-up scene its first actual comedy club:
Enjoy the premiere of our new project—Two Minutes—unedited audio snapshots of our most intriguing conversations with artists.
To start us off, we bring you Andrew Ward: scholar, gentleman, musician, and former New Orleans ghost tour guide. After taking his tour in 2011 we met him at a pub in the French Quarter where he delved into his passion project—“Wahida”—an album bridging the divide between America and the Muslim world through gospel music.
Take a listen…
Andrew now lives in Denver and continues his barrier-breaking work with the Entusi Music Festival, beginning performances in Uganda later this month.