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    The surreal life of Joyce McKinney

    Published August 8, 2011 by

    In Academy Award-wining director Errol Morris's latest documentary film, "Tabloid," which opens this Friday, Aug. 12 at the Coral Gables Art Cinema, he brings to life the fascinating true story of the wildly eccentric, deliciously bizarre and most likely delusional character of Joyce McKinney — the main character in the...
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    Reports from the field: MERCE FAIR

    Published August 5, 2011 by

    Dancer Silas Riener is currently on tour with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company’s Legacy Tour, a Knight Arts granteee. Today he checks in with his second (of several) reports from the field. By Silas Riener, Merce Cunningham Dance Company It's a last year of lasts for the Merce Cunningham Dance...
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    Creatures that are no comfort

    Published August 5, 2011 by

    In the middle of Primary Projects irregularly angled space, a giant mastodon-like creature arises from its pre-historic muck, so heavy that the platform underneath it is starting to buckle and collapse. The statue — structure, really — is menacing, but...
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    Philadelphia’s The Notebook gets the scoop on school cheating

    Published August 5, 2011 by

    Cross-posted from informationneeds.org The Notebook, a Knight Community Information Challenge winner that covers education in Philadelphia, is featured in The New York Times as an example of a small news organization that was able to produce a significant investigation through persistence and partnerships. A partnership with a local public radio station, WHYY, enabled The Notebook's editor, Paul Socolar, to hire a fourth reporter for the site in July. On the new reporter's third day on the job, he was asked to take a look at a large data file that had been sitting unexamined for a couple of months because no one had time to look at it. By day's end, the site broke the story that a "total of 89 schools — 28 in Philadelphia — had been flagged by the...
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    Transforming Hostel Detroit, one mural at a time

    Published August 5, 2011 by

    It’s amazing to think Hostel Detroit, the city’s first hostel in 15 years, has only been open since April. The busy home-away-from-home for adventurous international, national and regional travelers on a budget has already become a potent symbol of Detroit’s entrepreneurial, welcoming spirit and its strong sense of community. The...
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    FECUND: Planting the seeds of yes

    Published August 4, 2011 by

    The dictionary defines fecund as producing or capable of producing an abundance of offspring or new growth; fertile. For John W. Love, Jr., FECUND is an interdisciplinary art project. This new work is also the recent recipient of the prestigious McColl Award in the very first year individual artists were...
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    Bringing the war in Afghanistan home, by iPhone

    Published August 4, 2011 by

    Photos by Teru Kuwayama Foreign Policy magazine highlights Basetrack, a 2010 Knight News Challenge winner and social media reporting project that accompanied the First Battalion, Eighth Marines for the first five months of their deployment in Afghanistan.  The piece gives unique insight into life in war with a photo-essay of images taken with an iPhone. “It is by no means a comprehensive look at 10 years of war, but it is an evocative and profound slice of life -- at the beginning of the end of the longest conflict in U.S. history,” writes Foreign Policy. Basetrack builds on project director Teru Kuwayama’s nine years of experience working as a freelance journalist in Afghanistan.  Kuwayama wanted to counteract the problem many journalists had in presenting in-depth content because of their short embed periods by ...
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    Emerging student artists at Prelude

    Published August 4, 2011 by

    A new gallery downtown is filling a very important niche, and they have some great work on display right now. Prelude Gallery, near 20th and Pine, is a showcase for current students and recent graduates — many of whom were referred by their teachers. There are a wide array of...
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    Lazaro Godoy workshop & potluck at Inkub8

    Published August 4, 2011 by

    Sometimes the best things in life come late, and they usually happen at Inkub8. And sometimes they include a potluck dinner afterward. Get your dancing shoes on and head over to Inkub8 today (yes, today) at 1 p.m. for an invigorating workshop with Lazaro Godoy, the extraordinary multidisciplinary Tel Aviv-based...
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    Champion of Change at the White House

    Published August 3, 2011 by

    Arts education at the White House welcomes a new voice this month as Knight Foundation's national art advisory council member Aaron Dworkin is named a Champion of Change in Arts Education. Dworkin, the founder and president of the Detroit-based Sphinx Organization and President Obama's first nominee to the National Council...
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    Akron Civic Theatre 2010-2011: By the numbers

    Published August 3, 2011 by

    By Val Renner, Akron Civic Theatre This has been a busy season for the Akron Civic Theatre. With the support of Knight Foundation, the Theatre hosted 51 events between Sept 26, 2010 and May 28, 2011. Here's a snapshot of the season: 51 total events 48,410 attendees 35 rental events...