Quo vadis ars?
The situation in the cultural sector has been
described and discussed in numerous interviews, corona diaries,
comments and reports in the past few weeks. Our annotated
collection
of currently 193 sources
gathers voices from different sectors and media.
This creates a picture of the cultural landscape in crisis,
whose temporal transformation can be explored interactively
via a dedicated
tag cloud.
Ein Weiter so wird es nach der Pandemie nicht geben . Literaturagentin Ruge zur Frankfurter Buchmesse
There won't be business as usual after the pandemic . Literary agent Ruge at the Frankfurt Book Fair
by Elisabeth Ruge, Christopher Ricke (13 Oct 2020)
Original source: Deutschlandfunk Kultur
This year, the Frankfurt Book Fair, the largest meeting place for the book trade, will be held primarily in digital form due to the pandemic. Instead of wandering through the corridors of the exhibition halls and meeting colleagues and contract partners, publisher and cultural agent Elisabeth Runge is sitting in front of the screen this year. Here she follows events and conducts negotiations for her authors. She only uses the online platform set up by the Book Fair for the allocation of film rights. All other meetings were organized independently. In an interview with De utschlandfunk Kultur, Runge reports on her impressions of this year's book fair. She criticizes the sterile atmosphere at the German Book Prize awards ceremony, where only the shortlisted nominees were present with two guests each. Otherwise, she praises those responsible for organizing the fair, which has largely shifted to the digital domain. At the same time, she warns that Messe Frankfurt must consider a new concept for the industry meeting in the coming years. For the large publishing houses and corporations in particular, the cancellation of the Book Fair also resulted in huge savings. They will show little interest in returning to the previous form of the fair after the end of the pandemic. There must therefore be an offer here that makes the Fair attractive again for all involved parties.
Read More
Read Less
tag Buchmesse Buchpreis Rechtehandel Digitalisierung Elisabeth Ruge Streaming virtuelle Präsenz Literature/ Text Interview
New York’s Arts Shutdown . The Economic Crisis in One Lost Weekend
by Michael Paulson, Elizabeth A. Harris, Graham Bowley (23 Sep 2020)
Original source: New York Times
This feature gives a feeling of the evaporation of the art industry in New York City illustrating the loss with abstracts of 22 (former) art workers and depressing photographs. The shutdown has touched New York in its heart: Before the pandemic, New York state’s arts and cultural sector contributed $120 billion to New York’s economy, or 7.5 percent of the state’s economic output, and employed nearly half a million people. Taxable revenue from performing arts companies fell 85 percent this spring compared to 2019. The perspectives are still dark: T he Broadway theatres remain closed at least until next spring. The Metropolitan Opera has scheduled its reopening for Fall 2021.
Read More
Read Less
tag New York Theater Tanz USA Schließungen Konzerthäuser Arbeitsplatzverlust Umsatzeinbruch Bankrott All sections Bericht
Deutsche Filmbranche sucht Auswege aus der Corona-Krise . Filmkunstmesse in Leipzig
German film industry seeks ways out of the Corona crisis . Film art fair in Leipzig
by Ole Steffen (17 Sep 2020)
Original source: mdr Kultur
The film art fair takes place in Leipzig. The event was the first industry meeting in Germany since the beginning of the Corona crisis and thus also served to reflect on the current situation.
As an introduction to a panel discussion at the Alte Handelsbörse in Leipzig, the Minister of State for Culture, Monika Grütters, had the opportunity to make a statement on cultural funding during the Corona crisis. This was followed by a panel discussion with, among others, Carlo Chatrian, festival director of Berlin, and Michael Kölmel, managing director of Weltkino distribution. The latter assessed the film industry's funding awards - for producers, distributors and cinemas - as fundamentally positive, but complained that film distributors only receive funding for German films. Since the film business is now international, this hardly helps at all. Monika Grütters pointed out that the extra billion for culture is financed by taxpayers' money, which is why it is necessary to look very closely at how the funding is distributed.
As an introduction to a panel discussion at the Alte Handelsbörse in Leipzig, the Minister of State for Culture, Monika Grütters, had the opportunity to make a statement on cultural funding during the Corona crisis. This was followed by a panel discussion with, among others, Carlo Chatrian, festival director of Berlin, and Michael Kölmel, managing director of Weltkino distribution. The latter assessed the film industry's funding awards - for producers, distributors and cinemas - as fundamentally positive, but complained that film distributors only receive funding for German films. Since the film business is now international, this hardly helps at all. Monika Grütters pointed out that the extra billion for culture is financed by taxpayers' money, which is why it is necessary to look very closely at how the funding is distributed.
International films played an important role in the discussion, because blockbusters from America usually attract visitors to the cinemas. At present, US films are being held back by German distributors, which is why many cinema owners complain that they are not only restricted by hygiene rules, but that the reduced number of films on offer also attracts hardly any visitors to the cinemas. Carlo Chatrian, festival director of the Berlinale, pointed out that defocusing American productions could also be an advantage. He also sees therein an opportunity to stimulate a new reflection on the quality of films and a European film culture.
Read More Read Lesstag Filmindustrie Filmverleiher Filmkunstmesse Blockbuster Leipzig Monika Grütters Carlo Chatrian Performing Arts/ Cinema Bericht
Kinos in Not . Betreiber fordern finanzielle Hilfen – und blicken neidisch nach Bayern
Cinemas in need . operators demand financial aid - and look enviously to Bavaria
by Tim Spark (05 Sep 2020)
Original source: Handelsblatt
The film industry is suffering from the Corona crisis. Above all, German cinema operators do not see how they can maintain their program offerings in the long term. Michael Pawlowski, co-partner of the Filmpalast Group, reports a 50 percent drop in visitors in North Rhine-Westphalia. In federal states with stricter visitor regulations - in NRW only one seat has to be vacated - the decline is even more serious. This means that cinema operations are currently being run from reserves, as the revenues are not sufficient to cover them.
This is the situation that 68 med ium-sized, family-run movie theaters have to address in an open letter to Monika Grütters. The cinema operators need financial support and a relaxation of the hygiene rules. Since the movie theaters are well ventilated and the visitors do not speak during the screening, the risk of infection is lower in the cinema than in the office, according to a study by the Hermann Rietschel Institute of the Technical University of Berlin.
But it is not only the rules of distance that make life difficult for cinema operators. Film distributors are currently holding back on film releases because the number of visitors is currently not very attractive.
Although the German Minister of State for Culture has already released funds to support cinemas, these funds are tied to conversion, modernization and equipment measures and are therefore not helping to save the cinemas in the current liquidity squeeze.
In Bavaria, there is currently an aid program in place that compensates cinema operators for every visitor they have less than last year. In the other federal states, this model is seen as an opportunity to at least cover the fixed costs of the cinemas and prevent a cinema from dying out. Read More Read Less
This is the situation that 68 med ium-sized, family-run movie theaters have to address in an open letter to Monika Grütters. The cinema operators need financial support and a relaxation of the hygiene rules. Since the movie theaters are well ventilated and the visitors do not speak during the screening, the risk of infection is lower in the cinema than in the office, according to a study by the Hermann Rietschel Institute of the Technical University of Berlin.
But it is not only the rules of distance that make life difficult for cinema operators. Film distributors are currently holding back on film releases because the number of visitors is currently not very attractive.
Although the German Minister of State for Culture has already released funds to support cinemas, these funds are tied to conversion, modernization and equipment measures and are therefore not helping to save the cinemas in the current liquidity squeeze.
In Bavaria, there is currently an aid program in place that compensates cinema operators for every visitor they have less than last year. In the other federal states, this model is seen as an opportunity to at least cover the fixed costs of the cinemas and prevent a cinema from dying out. Read More Read Less
tag Kinobetreiber Filmwirtschaft Neustart Kultur Filmproduktion Monika Grütters Hygieneregeln Performing Arts/ Cinema Bericht
Von Zombies, Würmern und Corona auf dem Land . Lola Randl über „Die Krone der Schöpfung“
About zombies, worms and Corona in the countryside . Lola Randl on the „The Pride of Creation“
by Lola Randl, Frank Meyer (28 Aug 2020)
Original source: Deutschlandfunk Kultur
Lola Randel wrote one of the first pandemic novels with her novel "The Pride of Creation". The novel is set in a village and deals with life with and in nature, as well as with how to deal with the pandemic, which breaks into the village idyll width townspeople fleeing in their vacation homes. Whether the first-person narrator is actually infected remains open. The novel consists of short, small chapters, which are listed again in a register at the end. The almost lexical chapters structure the fictional text and help the narrator to grasp the situation. The st ructure of the lexica also provides the narrator with support, however, as she gets lost in her research on the Internet. Randel thus finds a narrative picture of how many people at the beginning of the pandemic obtained information on the Internet in a patchwork of images.
The narrator is working on a zombie story, which is why the undead play an important role in the narrative. They have a metaphorical role, since they stand for the virus as the smallest zombie, the smallest undead. In the interview, the author herself is surprised that the zombie story has taken up such a large space in the novel at the end.
The motto of the novel is a poem from the baroque era. Mortality, which the baroque author Andreas Gryphius deals with, is a counter position to the repression of death in the present. In dealing with the transience of life, the author poses the question of how to explain society's reactions to the current threat in relation to the pandemic.
The interview gives the impression that Randel's narrative is controlled by emotions and experiences. Themes and motifs are imposed by the narrative and are given space in the novel. Whether the handling of the pandemic in the narrative is just as unreflected as the author would like to make us believe, the readers must probably find out for themselves. Read More Read Less
The narrator is working on a zombie story, which is why the undead play an important role in the narrative. They have a metaphorical role, since they stand for the virus as the smallest zombie, the smallest undead. In the interview, the author herself is surprised that the zombie story has taken up such a large space in the novel at the end.
The motto of the novel is a poem from the baroque era. Mortality, which the baroque author Andreas Gryphius deals with, is a counter position to the repression of death in the present. In dealing with the transience of life, the author poses the question of how to explain society's reactions to the current threat in relation to the pandemic.
The interview gives the impression that Randel's narrative is controlled by emotions and experiences. Themes and motifs are imposed by the narrative and are given space in the novel. Whether the handling of the pandemic in the narrative is just as unreflected as the author would like to make us believe, the readers must probably find out for themselves. Read More Read Less
tag Corona-Roman Zombies Gesellschaft Metapher Literature/ Text Interview
Wie Autorinnen und Autoren in der Corona-Krise geholfen wird . Rettungspaket »Neustart Kultur«
How authors are getting help in the Corona crisis . Rescue package »Neustart Kultur«
by Anne Sailer (24 Aug 2020)
Original source: mdr Kultur
Within the framework of "Neustart Kultur" [Restart Culture], authors are also to be supported in three subprograms. The aim of the programs is to generate public attention in order to boost sales. In addition to an internet platform on which 100 authors can present themselves and receive €500 each for their contribution, there is also the program "Thousand Literary Reencounters". Here the authors receive 1000€ each. In the third line of funding, interactive programs for children and young people are supported.
The German Literature Fu nd was commissioned by the German Federal Cultural Minister of State Monika Grütters, to distribute the money. This means that the association is faced with a very special task, since its task is more to promote aesthetically demanding literature that has few chances on the market.
One author whose film can already be viewed on the Literature Fund website is Daniela Danz. She applied for the first subprogram with a sketch of her ideas. Now she can be watched walking through the grass in rubber boots and reading the opening poem of her new poetry collection. Even though everything appears very relaxed in the video, it took her many attempts until the timing was right. Even if the offer seems very low-threshold, the technical realization is still a challenge. The German Literature Fund received far more project proposals than there is money for. But even for those authors who are allowed to present themselves in a video, the program is only a drop in the ocean. What would really help is a return to normality, with real readings in front of an attentive audience. Read More Read Less
The German Literature Fu nd was commissioned by the German Federal Cultural Minister of State Monika Grütters, to distribute the money. This means that the association is faced with a very special task, since its task is more to promote aesthetically demanding literature that has few chances on the market.
One author whose film can already be viewed on the Literature Fund website is Daniela Danz. She applied for the first subprogram with a sketch of her ideas. Now she can be watched walking through the grass in rubber boots and reading the opening poem of her new poetry collection. Even though everything appears very relaxed in the video, it took her many attempts until the timing was right. Even if the offer seems very low-threshold, the technical realization is still a challenge. The German Literature Fund received far more project proposals than there is money for. But even for those authors who are allowed to present themselves in a video, the program is only a drop in the ocean. What would really help is a return to normality, with real readings in front of an attentive audience. Read More Read Less
tag Autorenförderung Neustart Kultur Deutscher Literaturfonds Monika Grütters Daniela Danz Literature/ Text Bericht
Lost Art . Measuring COVID-19’s devastating impact on America’s creative economy
by Richard Florida, Michael Seman (11 Aug 2020)
Original source: Brookings Report
This Brookings Institution report, written by the economists Seman and Richard Florida, analyses the economic situation in the cultural industry of the USA in the period of April 1 to July 31, 2020. It estimates nationwide losses for the creative industries to be $150 billion, on everything from tickets and concert merchandise to paintings and music lessons. Of the 50 states, California will be hit hardest in terms of absolute losses for creative industries and occupations, New York City will be the hardest-hit metropolitan area. The fine and performing arts industries w ill be hit hardest loosing 50% of all jobs and more than a quarter of all lost sales nationwide. Nevertheless the authors of the detailed 30 pages report see an opportunity for communities to shift to locally sourced culture.
Read More
Read Less
tag USA New York Kalifornien Schließungen Arbeitsplatzverlust Federal Art Project lokales Publikum Umsatzeinbruch All sections Studie
Die Maske ist hinnehmbar . Dreharbeiten in der Pandemie
The mask is tolerable . Filming during the pandemic
by Jörg Seewald (16 Jul 2020)
Original source: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
The corona requirements confront the film industry with great challenges, but also lead to more concentrated work. The actors are grateful that they are allowed to work again - even if the rehearsals with masks are a challenge. A point of contention regarding payment is currently the quarantine days before shooting, which are rarely paid for the actors.
A lot has changed on the film set itself. The most important man is now the hygiene officer. He is familiar with the applicable rules, advises on the implementation of the script and decides who is to be tested and which measures are appropriate. As the assessments of the situation change weekly, this task requires flexibility and tact, as the hygiene requirements also result in high costs. In the case of cinema films, these can amount to up to 150,000 euros.
There is currently still a rescue fund available for the cancellation or abandonment of shooting, which is to be replaced by the Federal Government's »Neustart Kultur« [Restart Culture] programme. However, this only provides support for cinema film productions and high-quality series productions. Accordingly, broadcasters and production companies must bear the risks for TV productions themselves.
Read More Read Less
tag Film Dreharbeiten Hygieneregeln Quarantäne-Tage ARD Neustart Kultur Ausfallfonds Performing Arts/ Cinema Bericht
Pro: Kunst ist Kulturverständigung - und deshalb politisch . Pro und Contra Kulturreisen
Pro: Art is cultural understanding - and therefore political . The pros and cons of cultural travel
by Nicolas Freund (05 Jul 2020)
Original source: Süddeutsche Zeitung
Cultural trips are more than luxury? Historically, art has long been reserved only for the ruling classes. If one follows the thesis formulated by the writer John Berger in his essay "Ways of Seeing", the consideration of art is not only a democratic act, but also a place of confrontation with the past precisely because of the detachement of the ruling caste. The change of perspective in the present makes art at the same time an ideal place for the negotiation of social discourses. Therefore, one should not recklessly give up the privilege of participating in a rt events, just because it is a little more difficult to reach exhibition cities at the moment.
Read More
Read Less
tag Bildende Kunst Kulturtourismus Original Demokratie Austausch Visual Arts/Design Diskussion
Eight ways museums could make most of the coronavirus crisis . Failure to seize this opportunity to make changes would be a graver error than any breach of etiquette
by Adrian Ellis (11 Jun 2020)
Original source: The Art Newspaper
This article by Adrian Ellis draws from conversations in early May 2020 with museum directors in New York, Salem, Buffalo and Kansas City. They all agree to use the crisis to redefine the tasks of a museum by the following opportunities:
- Revaluating a new metrics of success
- Reviewing the strategies for exhibitions and education programmes
- Local social binding as «community anchors» by engaging the neighbourhood and deepening local partnerships
- Nurturing the virtual community
- Recalibrating the (conservative) organisati onal culture establishing mission and values
- Harnessing art to reimagine society Read More Read Less
- Revaluating a new metrics of success
- Reviewing the strategies for exhibitions and education programmes
- Local social binding as «community anchors» by engaging the neighbourhood and deepening local partnerships
- Nurturing the virtual community
- Recalibrating the (conservative) organisati onal culture establishing mission and values
- Harnessing art to reimagine society Read More Read Less
