what we're reading

What We're Reading

Stories of interest from other publications about arts and culture in Marin and beyond, curated by the MarinArts staff. 6.9.2020: SF ChronicleTaking daily walks? Make it immersive audio theaterBy Lily JaniakIn “You Are Not Alone,”…

Stories of interest from other publications about arts and culture in Marin and beyond, curated by the MarinArts staff.

6.9.2020: SF Chronicle
Taking daily walks? Make it immersive audio theater
By Lily Janiak
In “You Are Not Alone,” getting ready for the show is part of the show. The 20-minute piece, part storytelling podcast, part immersive theater, part audio tour, is meant to be listened to on your own, while you’re on a walk that starts at your front door, or just inside it. Read more >


June 8, 2020

6.4.2020: MarinIJ
Rocked by COVID-19: Marin musicians release albums during the pandemic
By Paul Liberatore
The three Marin musicians with new albums I talked to recently would all agree that their disappointment pales in comparison with all the suffering in these challenging times. But still, it’s a drag … Read more >

6.4.2020: NY Times
Art That Confronts and Challenges Racism: Start Here
By Staff Writers
Our writers suggest works that illuminate and tackle issues of police brutality, social injustice and racial inequity. Read more >

5.30.2020: Marin IJ
Mill Valley teen creates pen-pal project with assisted-living residents
By Colleen Bidwell
The Tamalpais High School sophomore’s month-long, letter-writing endeavor was inspired in part by her past two years volunteering for LITA’s Bridging Thru Music, a program where musicians play for residents in long-term care facilities. Read more >


May 25, 2020

5.22.2020: NY Times
Art Is How We Justify Our Existence
By David Zwirner
When I agreed to write this essay, little did I know that when I finally sat down to tackle it all my favorite museums would be closed to the public …it dawned on me that there could hardly be a better moment to reflect upon the importance of art — or, better still, culture itself — than in the face of its almost complete physical absence. Read more >

5.20.2020: NY Times
This is No Time to Read Alone
By Gal Beckerman
My silent reading party begins the same way every week, promptly at 6 p.m., with the now very familiar initiation of a Zoom call. A piano player’s hands appear in close-up among the gallery of boxes on my screen. Read more >

5.16.2020: Hyperallergic
The Work of Art in the Age of the Internet
By David Carrier
How will the internet transform the way that contemporary visual art is created? A generation ago, Walter Benjamin’s essay “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” (1936) was much discussed.
Read more >


May 18, 2020

5.16.2020: SF Chronicle
Artist Power Center throws a lifeline to Bay Area artists struggling in the coronavirus era
By Brandon Yu
In response to the stark realities that most within the arts community are now facing, San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts has launched the Artist Power Center, a new website and hotline focused on helping artists in the age of the coronavirus. Read more >

5.15.2020: Marin IJ
Marin’s documentary filmmakers struggle to deal with pandemic impact
By Vicki Larsen
When Robin Hauser got the idea for her latest documentary, on how gender norms around money leave women particularly vulnerable, she was reeling from a divorce. Fast forward a few years and now we are reeling from a global coronavirus pandemic … The timing really couldn’t be better for her film, “$avvy.” Except, everything has come to a full stop. Read more >

5.13.2020: Pacific Sun
Novato Theater Company celebrates centennial online
By Charlie Swanson
Novato Theater Company was just days away from opening their ambitious staging of the Who’s “Tommy” when Marin County’s shelter-in-place orders shuttered the production in mid-March. “It was a very dark weekend in my life,” says director Marilyn Izdebski. Read more >

5.12.2020: NY Times
Can Physical Comedy Work on Zoom? Bill Irwin Wants to Find Out
By Laura Collins-Hughes
Bill Irwin’s 10-minute, two-character play will test the possibilities of a new form that puts faces, more than bodies, at the center of the action … “Oh, I hope it holds together,” he fretted the other morning, between rewrites and rehearsals of “In-Zoom,” his new 10-minute play. Read more >


May 11, 2020

5.8.2020: NY Times
Upstate Will Be First to Test New York’s Arts Appetite
By Julia Jacobs
Under the governor’s reopening plan, theaters, museums and community art centers upstate will open well before city venues. Will visitors come? Read more >

5.8.2020: Marin IJ
How Marin’s art organizations are surviving the coronavirus crisis
By Paul Liberatore
Ready for some good news? Despite the financial and emotional damage of the coronavirus pandemic, Marin’s major art organizations … are confident they can survive the crisis. Read more >

5.8.2020: Hyperallergic
During Pandemic, Artist-Parents Reflect and Get Creative With Their Kids
By Rachel Heidenry
The mystique of the artist locked away in their studio for hours or even days is centuries old. But for artists who are also parents, that ideal is largely laughable. Read more >

5.7.2020: SF Chronicle
Artistic impact: Bay Area arts leaders on how the virus has hurt local institutions
By Sam Whiting
As the coronavirus shutdown approaches the eight-week mark, it finally seems possible that more of it is behind us than in front of us. Gov. Gavin Newsom has introduced a staged reopening process, so we reached out to 20 Bay Area leaders in arts and letters. Read more >


May 4, 2020

5.1.2020: NY Times
Art biennials were testing grounds. Now they are being tested.
By Siddhartha Mitter
As the pandemic clears the calendar, curators around the world reimagine how — and if — we will gather for art. Read more >

4.29.2020: SF Chronicle
Composer marshals a commissioning project for beleaguered performer
By Joshua Kosman
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, performing opportunities dried up for musicians … But composer Gabriela Lena Frank realized that she had a resource she could deploy to help out: a Rolodex full of eager and gifted composers ready to pitch in. Read more >

4.30.2020: Pacific Sun
Galleries grapple with stay-at-home reality
By Charlie Swanson
As the North Bay shelter-in-place passes the 40-day mark, many galleries and organizations that depend on social gatherings to share and sell art struggle to answer the question of how to keep the art alive when they are forced to keep the doors shut. Read more >

4.29.2020: The California Report
California Teens Teach Music While Donating to Coronavirus Relief Efforts
By Chloe Veltman
It’s tough being cooped up at home right now, especially if you’re a teenager. But some California high schoolers and undergrads, like Yarah Meijer, are using their weeks in quarantine to teach music to kids — and donating the proceeds to support coronavirus relief efforts. Read more >


April 24, 2020

4.24.2020: Marin IJ
Marin’s live music venues struggle during coronavirus lockdown
By Paul Liberatore
Live music venues, concerts and festivals were among the first to shut down during the pandemic, canceling or postponing performances … “As a businessperson, it’s the strangest road I’ve ever been on,” says Biersch [Hopmonk Tavern], who’s had to furlough 165 of his employees. Read More >

4.20.2020: SF Chronicle
Review: Queer Cat makes theater for Zoom; you won’t want to leave the party
By Lily Janiak
Queer Cat Productions’ “Felix B. Love Is Not Alone!” is one of the first scripted, narrative-driven works of local theater to be written specifically for Zoom in the coronavirus era. The first of three interactive episodes premiered Thursday, April 16; successive episodes will air weekly though April 30. Read More >

4.13.2020: Hyperallergic
Artists Across the Internet Make Tributes to Dr. Anthony Fauci
By Hakim Bishara
On social media, Fauci is being celebrated with admiring portraits, from cartoons to sock puppets bearing his image. Read More >

4.7.2020: SF Chronicle
Bay Area museum directors discuss challenges of coronavirus shutdown
By Charles Desmarais
Caught up in the region’s efforts to control the spread of the coronavirus, the Bay Area’s most prominent museums are gasping for air. Read More >

4.7.2020: Marin IJ
Marin’s art house theaters stream films during pandemic
By Adrian Rodriguez
The Lark and Smith Rafael are among a growing list of theaters making available newly released films to stream online. The trend is allowing movie theaters to continue making ticket sales while offering a safe alternative for viewers. Read More >

3.20.2020: Lit Hub
Bookselling at the end of the world
By Stephen Sparks
The owner of Point Reyes Bookstore reflects on his empty store and these perilous times. Read More >