Tag: Cultural

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Entertainment

With ‘Summer time of Soul,’ Questlove Desires to Fill a Cultural Void

With ‘Summer of Soul,’ Questlove Wants to Fill a Cultural Void

Twenty years later, I received a note asking me to meet with my two future producers, Robert Fyvolent and David Dinerstein, about a Harlem cultural festival that was like a “Black Woodstock.” Instantly, the music snob in me said, “I’ve never heard of that.” So I looked it up online. It’s not on the internet, so I was highly skeptical. But, when they finally showed me the footage, I instantly recognized the backdrop for Sly and thought, “Oh God, this really did happen.” For nearly 50 years, this just sat in a basement and no one cared. My stomach dropped.

How did you approach turning six weeks of concert footage into a two-hour documentary?

I transferred 40 hours of footage on my hard drive, and I kept it on a 24-hour loop in my house. I have a device so I could watch it any time, in my living room, in my bedroom, in my bathroom. I also put it on my phone when I traveled. For five months, that’s all I watched and just kept notes on anything that caught my eye. I was looking for, “What’s my first 10 minutes, what’s my last 10 minutes?” Once I saw Stevie Wonder do that drum solo, I knew that was my first 10 minutes. That’s a gobsmacker. Even though I know he played drums, that’s something you don’t see all the time.

Why was it so important to include the experiences of people who actually attended?

This wasn’t as easy as people think. The festival was 50-plus years ago, you’re really looking for people who are now in their late-50s all the way through their early-70s, and Harlem is a different kind of place. You have to hit the pavement because so much of the social fabric of the neighborhood is community-oriented. One of our producers, Ashley Bembry-Kaintuck, even went to a swing dancing class to meet one person [the former Black Panther Cyril “Bullwhip” Innis Jr.] we identified.

Musa Jackson winds up being our anchor. He was one of the first people to respond, but he disclosed to us that he was just 5 years old when he went to the festival. He told us, “Look, this is my first memory in life. So I’m just going to tell you everything I remember.”

Given that the festival mostly predated Woodstock, why do you think it was so easily forgotten?

History saw it fit that every last person that was on that stage now winds up defining a generation. Why isn’t this held in the same light? Why was it that easy to dispose of us? Instead, the cultural zeitgeist that actually ended up being our guide as Black people was “Soul Train.” And so, I’m always going to wonder, “How could this and ‘Soul Train’ have pushed potential creatives further?”

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Vira Sathidar, Cultural Determine Who Fought India’s Caste System, Dies at 62

Vira Sathidar, Cultural Figure Who Fought India’s Caste System, Dies at 62

This obituary is part of a series about people who died from the coronavirus pandemic. Read about others here.

NEW DELHI – Vira Sathidar played the role of a protest singer caught up in India’s frustrating legal system in Court, a 2014 film that won awards in India and around the world. Still, Mr. Sathidar, a lifelong injustice activist with little screen experience, was uncomfortable calling himself an actor.

Acting, he said, was just another tool in the protest toolbox – besides organizing, pamphleting, editing, writing poetry, and singing.

“Singing and dancing were a weapon of our struggle,” he once said. “It still is.”

Mr Sathidar died on April 13 in a hospital in Nagpur, Maharashtra state, as a result of Covid-19, said his son Ravan. He was 62 years old.

Mr. Sathidar agitated against the deeply rooted caste system in India, under which the lowest – its Dalits or Untouchables – are systematically abused. A high school dropout, he wrote books and articles, edited magazines, and organized street performances. For a short time he ran a bookcase. He was the head of the Maharashtra Chapter of the Confederation of Human Rights Organizations.

“It was a living library,” said his friend Nihal Singh Rathod, “about political science, about social science.”

Vira Sathidar was born on June 7, 1958 in the village of Parsodi near Nagpur, the son of Rauf and Gangubai Sathidar. His father, a farmer, was a staunch supporter of BR Ambedkar, one of India’s most influential thinkers and political figures. Mr. Ambedkar, himself a Dalit, was part of the Indian independence movement and played a central role in drafting the constitution for the future republic. He was also a tireless opponent of the caste system, and Mr. Sathidar often cited his influence to set him on the path to activism.

Mr. Sathidar said his father wanted him to be a scholar. But he was a distracted student and left school after 10th grade to work in a cotton thread mill.

Mr. Sathidar’s activism began when he was a union organizer at the mill. In the 1990s he worked with the radical Maoist movement called the Naxalites.

He went underground for a while but became disillusioned. His friend Pradeep Maitra, the Nagpur correspondent for the Hindustan Times, said in an interview: “He was disappointed with the Naxal movement because it emphasized the classless society and ignored the Ambedkar notion of casteless society.”

Together with his son, Mr. Sathidar, who lived in Nagpur, his wife Pushpa Viplav Sathidar and three brothers and a sister survive.

Mr. Sathidar became more widely perceived after the “court”, an investigation into the injustices that India’s labyrinthine legal system perpetuates against the marginalized. The director Chaitanya Tamhane was looking for a cast of largely unprofessional actors.

For months, his team made casting calls in several states, trying to recruit theater groups and street performers. He struggled to star, Narayan Kamble, a Dalit protest singer and poet accused of performing songs that caused a sewer worker in Mumbai to commit suicide.

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Then Mr. Tamhane discovered Mr. Sathidar through a group of activists. He threw it just before filming began.

“I thought they would include me in the film because they couldn’t find a good actor or didn’t have enough budget,” Sathidar said in a video interview. He said he was impressed with how much his character Narayan looked like him.

“He worked in a factory, I worked in a factory,” said Mr Sathidar. “He writes articles, I also write articles. He’s an editor, I’m an editor too. He works in a union, I also work in a union. He sings songs, I also sing songs. He’s going to jail; I’ve also been to jail many times. His house is being raided, my house is being raided too. “

“What he shows is my life,” said Mr. Sathidar. “What surprised me was that he wrote all of this without meeting me.”

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Cultural Venues’ Quest for Billions in Federal Assist Is Halted by Glitch

Cultural Venues’ Quest for Billions in Federal Aid Is Halted by Glitch

As the government prepared Thursday to apply for a $ 16 billion aid fund for music clubs, theaters, and other businesses for live events, thousands of desperate applicants waited eagerly to submit their papers right at 12:00 noon, than the system should be opened.

And then they waited. And waited. Almost four hours later, the system still didn’t work at all, causing the applicants to go into a state of anxiety.

“This is an absolute disaster,” tweeted Eric Sosa, the owner of C’mon Everybody, a Brooklyn club, at the agency.

Shortly after 4 p.m., the Small Business Administration, which runs the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program, abandoned its efforts to salvage the broken system and shut it down for the day. No applications were processed.

“Technical problems arose despite several successful tests of the application process,” said Andrea Roebker, spokeswoman for the agency, in a written statement.

After discussions with the providers who set up the system, the agency decided to “close the portal in order to ensure fair and equal access after the reopening, as this is first come, first served”, said Roebker. “This decision was not made lightly as we understand that this tough industry needs to be relieved quickly.”

Frustrated applicants vented and shared their anger on social media forums and Zoom calls.

“It’s hard to hear that help is on the way and then can’t apply,” said Tom Weyman, program director at Columbus Theater in Providence, RI. The process would be perfectly smooth, but this is life and death for our venues. ”

The meltdown reflected the problems the agency had over the past year applying for the paycheck protection program, which it is also overseeing. When that program opened, the agency’s overloaded systems were seized – and the same thing happened again weeks later when a new round of funding became available.

Applicants for the scholarship program were in disbelief that the agency wasn’t better prepared – especially as funds are supposed to be distributed based on the order in which people apply. Those who get their applications early have the best chance of getting help before they run out of money.

“Venues compete because we’re all crazy about them,” said Brooklyn club owner Mr. Sosa in an interview. “And that’s not how it should be. We are all a community. ”

For companies like Crowbar, a Tampa, Florida music club, getting a scholarship is a matter of survival. Tom DeGeorge, Crowbar’s principal owner, has raised more than $ 200,000 in personal loans to keep the business alive after it closed last year, including a loan that used the liquor license as collateral.

More than a year later, the club has reopened with some reduced capacity events, but the business is still in the red, DeGeorge said.

“We lost a year of gigs in the blink of an eye, which is close to $ 1 million in revenue,” said DeGeorge. “That’s why we need this scholarship so badly.”

The aid was approved by Congress late last year after months of lobbying by an ad hoc coalition of music venues and other groups warning of the loss of an entire sector of the arts industry.

For music venues in particular, the last year has been a problem with local club owners running crowdfunding campaigns, selling t-shirts, and worrying about creative ways to raise funds. For the holidays, for example, the Subterranean Club in Chicago agreed to put the names of patrons on its marquee for donations of $ 250 or more.

“It’s been the busiest year,” said Robert Gomez, the main owner of Subterranean, in an interview. “But it was all about, ‘Where do I get money from?'”

Even before the fiasco on Thursday, the opening of the closed program of events was characterized by complexity and confusion.

The Small Business Administration released a 58-page applicant guide late Wednesday night and then quickly took it offline. A revised version of the manual was published just minutes before the portal opened on Thursday. (An agency spokeswoman said the guide needs to be updated to reflect “some last-minute system changes.”)

And less than two hours before the agency was due to accept applications, its inspector general sent out a “serious concern” warning about the program’s waste and fraud controls. The Small Business Administration’s current audit schedule “exposes billions of dollars to possible misuse of funds,” the inspector general wrote in a report.

As of 2019, successful applicants will receive a grant equal to 45 percent of their gross sales of up to $ 10 million. Those who lost 90 percent of their sales (year-over-year) after the coronavirus pandemic outbreak have a 14-day priority window to receive the money, followed by another 14-day period for those who have 70 percent or have lost more. If there are still funds left over after that, they will go to applicants who had a revenue loss of 25 percent in at least one quarter of 2020. Large company venues such as Live Nation or AEG are not eligible.

The application process is extensive and contains detailed questions about the budget, staff and equipment of the venues.

“You want to make sure you don’t just put a piano in the corner of an Italian restaurant and label yourself a music venue,” said Blayne Tucker, an attorney for several music rooms in Texas.

Even with the scholarships, music venues can face many dry months before tours and live events return on a par with prepandemic levels.

The scholarship program also provides assistance to Broadway theaters, performing arts centers, and even zoos that face many of the same economic problems.

For example, the Pablo Center at Confluence in Eau Claire, Wisconsin raised about $ 1 million from donations and grants during the pandemic, but is still $ 1.2 million less than annual fixed operating costs, Jason Jon Anderson said . its managing director.

“If we reopen in October 2021 at the earliest, we will be closed longer than before,” he added. (The center opened in 2018 at a cost of $ 60 million.)

The thousands of small clubs that are on the national concert ticket have no access to large donors and, in many cases, have survived with smoke for months.

Stephen Chilton, owner of the 300-seat Rebel Lounge in Phoenix, said he took out “a few hundred thousand” loans to help keep the club afloat. In October it reopened with a pop-up cafe. The club hosts a few events, including quizzes and open mic shows.

“We’re losing a lot less than we lost when we were completely closed,” said Chilton, “but it doesn’t make up for the lost revenue from running events.”

The Rebel Lounge hopes a scholarship will help it survive until it can bring back a full range of concerts. What if the application is unsuccessful?

“There is no plan B,” said Chilton.

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Federal Assist for Closed Cultural Venues Will Be a Race for Money

Federal Aid for Closed Cultural Venues Will Be a Race for Cash

An adviser to Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas and a sponsor of the proposal, said Mr. Cornyn had told the Small Business Administration of his concerns that the last-minute expansion of Congress would overwhelm the program with applicants and not enough money for it the venues that he and others wanted to benefit from.

A spokeswoman for the agency declined to comment on how long the money is expected to last. She said officials would “build the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program from the ground floor and put in place front-end protections to ensure these important grants are given to those who the law is supposed to support.”

Once the program opens, applicants will fight for money.

Most recipients are eligible to raise 45 percent of their 2019 sales, up to $ 10 million. In the first 14 days, grants are only granted to people with a 90 percent or more loss in sales between April and December – for example, Ms. Tallent’s orange peel. After that, applicants with a loss of 70 percent or more have a priority window of 14 days. These two groups alone could run out of funding for the program before other applicants – those with losses of at least 25 percent – can take their turn.

As a result, most business owners face a tough decision: should they apply for a closed venue grant or apply for Paycheck Protection Program relief instead? This program reopened last month, so hard-hit companies can apply for a second unsuccessful loan.

Venues that received loan through the paycheck program last year can apply for the grant, but those applying for loan this year cannot. The Small Business Administration said in its advice to applicants that they must “make an informed business decision about which program will benefit them most and apply accordingly”.

Take Billy Bobs Texas, a Fort Worth honky tonk who received a $ 1.1 million loan from the Paycheck Protection Program in April. It closed in March and reopened in August, but its once lucrative corporate sales business has cratered. The famous bull arena is empty. Even so, smaller concerts are held here, where dinners are served and converted to accommodate a capacity of 2,500 people, versus the 6,000 that used to be.

“I feel like we’re changing our business model every week,” said Marty Travis, the general manager. He estimates sales in the final eight months of 2020 were down at least 50 percent year over year – enough to qualify for the venue grant, but not enough to put the club in either of the top two priority groups to divide. By the time you are allowed to apply, your money may be gone.

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Shirley Younger, Businesswoman and Cultural Diplomat to China, Dies at 85

Shirley Young, Businesswoman and Cultural Diplomat to China, Dies at 85

Ms. Young’s ideas weren’t the only revolutionary thing about her. At the time, most employers offered severance packages to pregnant women on the assumption that they would never return to work after giving birth. When she was expecting and insisting on her first child in 1963, Gray Advertising had to invent her first maternity policy.

The company clearly thought it was worth it. In 1983, when a global recession forced the advertising industry to cut research budgets, Gray went the other way and founded an entire research subsidiary, Gray Strategic Marketing, with Ms. Young as president. She garnered a long list of Fortune 500 customers, including General Motors whom she hired in 1988 as vice president of consumer market development.

Almost immediately, she urged her new employer to invest in China and later moved to Shanghai to oversee the development of a billion-dollar joint venture with SAIC Motor, a Chinese company, to build Buicks.

For Ms. Young, many American companies failed to see the size of the cultural differences between the two countries and the ability to bridge them. She encouraged GM to expand its executives’ contact with the Chinese language and society through education and cultural exchanges, which they would later highlight in their artistic work.

As she continued to lead GM’s expansion in Asia, she became increasingly involved in cultural and charitable causes. After the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, Ms. Young, along with other prominent Chinese-Americans, including Yo-Yo Ma and IM Pei, founded the 100-member Committee, a group dedicated to shaping the Trans-Pacific Dialogue. She was the first chairperson, a position she also held at a spin-off organization, the US-China Cultural Institute.

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Historical past of Tiki Bars and Cultural Appropriation

History of Tiki Bars and Cultural Appropriation

By Sammi Katz and Olivia McGiff

It is an undoubtedly difficult time for the hospitality industry. Every day a different restaurant closes the shutters, another bar pulls its steel gate down for good. Since its invention, a kind of watering hole has guided America through its most stressful times: the tiki bar.

Decorated with bamboo and beach lights, with bartenders in aloha shirts serving mai tais, tiki bars have been a booming part of the American hospitality industry. “Hang up the phone and hang up that lei,” say the tiki bars. “Here’s something delicious in a stupid cup.” They offer an exhilarating escape from the weight of the world.

But Tiki’s roots are a long way from the Pacific Islands. Tiki, a Maori word for the carved image of a god or ancestor, has become synonymous with tricky souvenirs and decorations in the US and elsewhere. Now a new generation of beverage industry professionals are shedding light on the history of the genre of racial inequality and cultural appropriation that has long been ignored because it clashes with carefree aesthetics. Let’s peel back the pineapple leaves to examine the choices that created a marketing mainstay.

Ernest Gantt, better known as Donn Beach, opened Don the Beachcomber in Southern California in 1933. He became known for his “Rhum Rhapsodies”, the first tiki drinks. They were elaborate and theatrical, with fresh juices and homemade syrups, and could contain up to 10 ingredients.

Donn had four Filipino bartenders whom he called “the four boys” who made all of these drinks behind the scenes.

Victor Bergeron, inspired by his visits to Don the Beachcomber, opened his own tiki restaurant in Northern California in 1937. It included a gift shop and incorporated nautical accents and shipwreck decor. He even offered guests free food and drink in exchange for decorations, earning his nickname and bar name, Trader Vic’s.

Both restaurants served Chinese food as it was considered “exotic” and yet was recognizable to the American palate. Both became chains too. In the 1960s there were 25 Trader Vic’s and 16 Don the Beachcombers worldwide.

After World War II, Tiki launched and joined the trend of theme restaurants that flourished in the late 1950s and early 60s. They created an idyllic setting reminiscent of “island life” by using images of palm trees, tribal masks, and topless local women in grass skirts.

Restaurants turned religious idols into kitschy artifacts and even drinking vessels called tiki mugs.

In the 1990s, Tiki was almost dead when the zombie and pain reliever gave way to appletini and cosmo. But all trends eventually become retro, and soon nostalgic amateurs began to uncover relics and recipes of this mid-century phenomenon.

The craft cocktail revolution of the 2000s paved the way for the modern tiki renaissance. Americans were once again familiarized with classic drinks (like gimlets and French 75s), upscale spirits, and high-quality ingredients. For the better half of the decade, cocktail bars and bartenders had no tolerance for paper umbrellas, and tiki drinks couldn’t lose their bad reputation as sickly sweet slushies.

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Dec. Dec. 23, 2020 at 8:59 p.m. ET

Around the 2008 recession, tiki bars sprang up across the country and cocktails were reverted to the caliber of their ancestors ‘Rhum Rhapsody’. Modern tiki bars, like their predecessors, aim to evoke a sense of escape.

But tiki bars can often reinforce the notion that Oceania is just a vacation spot, which the history of America denies with the region. When Mai-Kai, a tiki restaurant in Florida, sold 10,000 “mystery drinks” in 1960, presented by half-dressed “mystery girls,” the US military used the Pacific Islands to test atomic bombs. Fantasy was far from reality.

Tiki focuses on fun, creative drinks in a portable environment. A new wave of industry professionals are re-imagining these delicious contributions to cocktail culture in an attempt to eradicate the appropriation and racism that have accompanied Tiki since its inception. We spoke to some of them about how they are working to change the business for the better.

“I have to give it to Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic because their daring approach to mixology was over the top. I don’t know if we’d still have American cocktails without them, ”Mustipher says.

Describing a new wave of tiki bars, Mustipher notes, “It’s not about straw and bamboo or dancing girls. It’s about the level of craftsmanship and hospitality, the attention to detail. “Tiki, she adds, is a” deeply considered, well-executed, high-production value cocktail experience. “

The region has “higher poverty rates, lack of access to essential services and more exposure to climate change,” added Kunkel.

A recent move aims to switch from the word “tiki” to “tropical” and Kunkel is on board. “I just don’t think it’s necessary to use stereotypes or appropriate cultural elements to transport people.” However, she says Tiki can encourage people to learn about the culture of the Pacific islanders.

“We started working with bartenders from different backgrounds who share their culture in a way that creates appreciation and exchange, which is a different power dynamic than appropriation. It’s about consent and equality. “

Tom is also reinvesting in groups whose cultures have historically been appropriated. “There’s a great opportunity to use what drawn people to aesthetics to help some of these communities,” says Tom. “Honestly, when you have benefited from her paintings, it is really time to give something back.”

“Going to a bar and seeing mostly white men in Hawaiian shirts showcasing this fetishization of a culture when the people of this country can’t even escape what is happening to them. It’s dark, ”he said. But he added, “I just had a Mai Tai last night, that’s a good drink!”

Education is at the heart of Uffre’s work. “I think the next education consumers yearn for is the sociopolitical and cultural aspects of spirits.”

It’s not a “last call” for Tiki. But the work for industry is just beginning to make these tropical oases inclusive for all, which will benefit businesses and consumers alike.

“If we continue to educate ourselves, it will encourage more discussions and more discourse. I also think it will bring better drinks, ”says Uffre. “When you learn about these things and understand the complexities, you want to make better drinks because you want to honor what you do.”

Sammi Katz is a writer, bartender, and founder of A Girl’s Guide to Drinking Alone website. Olivia McGiff is an interdisciplinary illustrator and designer based in Brooklyn.

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A ‘Nice Cultural Melancholy’ Looms for Legions of Unemployed Performers

A ‘Great Cultural Depression’ Looms for Legions of Unemployed Performers

Many artists rely on charity. The Actors Fund, an arts service organization, has raised and distributed $ 18 million since the pandemic began to help provide basic living for 14,500 people.

“I’ve been with the Actors Fund for 36 years,” said Barbara S. Davis, the chief operating officer. “By September 11th, Hurricane Katrina, the 2008 recession, shut the industry down. There is clearly nothing like it. “

Higher paid television and film actors are more likely to have a cushion, but they too have endured disappointments and missed opportunities. Jack Cutmore-Scott and Meaghan Rath, now his wife, had just been cast in a new CBS pilot, “Jury Duty,” when the pandemic halted filming.

“I had my costume fit and we were due to read the table the following week, but we never made it,” said Cutmore-Scott Mr. After several postponements, they learned in September that CBS would be pulling out altogether.

Many live performers have been looking for new ways to pursue their art, turning to video, streaming, and other platforms. Carla Govers’ tour to dance and play traditional Appalachian music as well as a folk opera she composed “Corn bread and tortillas” have been canceled. “I’ve had a few long, dark nights of the soul trying to imagine what I could do,” said Ms. Gover, who lives in Lexington, Kentucky and has three children.

She began sending weekly emails to all of her contacts, sharing videos, and offering online courses on flatfoot dancing and constipation. The response was enthusiastic. “I figured out how to use hashtags and now I have a new kind of business,” said Ms. Gover.

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New York Metropolis Cultural Teams Awarded Extra Than $47 Million in Grants

New York City Cultural Groups Awarded More Than $47 Million in Grants

In a year of layoffs and budget cuts, New York’s cultural institutions got some good news on Tuesday: The Department of Culture announced that it will award $ 47.1 million in its latest round of scholarships, which will go to more than 1,000 this year of the city’s non-profit organizations.

The grants include $ 12.6 million in new investments, of which nearly $ 10 million will go towards coronavirus pandemic and arts education initiatives. Funding for fellows will increase year over year, including larger funding for smaller organizations, the department said.

The award includes a $ 3 million increase for 621 organizations in low-income and pandemic-hit neighborhoods, and $ 2 million for five local arts councils that distribute the funds to individual artists and smaller nonprofits. Twenty-five organizations that offer arts education programs will receive a $ 750,000 portion that will be allocated for this purpose.

The Apollo Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and the Museum of Chinese in America will be among the 93 organizations to receive some of the largest grants, each over $ 100,000. Both the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic, which recently hit the headlines for negotiations with their unions, are receiving grants of over $ 100,000. A total of 1,032 non-profit organizations are funded.

The department also made changes to its process that make it easier for organizations to receive multi-year grants that were previously only available to groups with an annual budget greater than $ 250,000. Almost all groups that received funding for the fiscal year ending in June 2021 will receive support at a comparable level for the year ending in 2022 until the city budget is approved, the ministry said.

A Covid-19 impact survey the department commissioned this spring found that smaller organizations were among those hardest hit by the pandemic, and that a total of 11 percent of arts organizations did not believe they would survive the pandemic in early May . Smaller organizations generally lack the foundations and wealthy donors that provide some safety net for larger institutions.

“We cannot tackle the huge challenges that lie ahead of us on our own, but we have focused on providing long-term stability to the smaller organizations most vulnerable to the effects of Covid-19,” said Gonzalo Casals, Commissioner for cultural matters. said in a statement.