CAA News Today

Each week CAA News summarizes eight articles, published around the web, that CAA members may find interesting and useful in their professional and creative lives.

Live Drawing Videos on Instagram Are Giving Users a Peek into the Creative Process

With the capability to create and share livestreams, sixty-second videos, and Stories, creatives have a new world of opportunity to demystify artmaking, to facilitate virtual studio visits, and to grow their followings. Moreover, artists can set themselves up for commissions and projects—and drawing is proving to be a ripe medium through which to accomplish this. (Read more from Artsy.)

The Exhilarating Return

Having recently returned from my own sabbatical, I wonder whether there are some downsides to the sabbatical’s luster—in particular, the larger view that it obscures. In our efforts to reverence sabbatical, we may fail to give proper due to its mighty counterpart, the return. This is a mistake. (Read more from Inside Higher Ed.)

The Community-College Side Hustle

“Side hustle” is a term I had never heard until a few months ago, and now suddenly I’m seeing it everywhere, most recently in an advertisement for Uber drivers. It refers to having a second source of income in addition to one’s main job. That’s a concept professors have embraced, probably ever since there have been professors. (Read more from Vitae.) 

The Art of “No”

Early in my career, I struggled to say no. I was asked to serve on committee after committee, to evaluate fistfuls of manuscripts and grants, and to perform dozens of other tasks, large and small. I said yes, often because of genuine interest but other times out of a sense of guilt or obligation—and sometimes out of fear of reprisal if I refused. (Read more from the Chronicle of Higher Education.)

Penn Museum Shows Artifacts Curators Are Fighting to Save in Syria and Iraq

Many American museums have been closely monitoring the ongoing destruction of heritage sites in Syria and Iraq, but few have had boots on the ground. Curators and researchers at the Penn Museum have been on the frontlines of the battle to safeguard cultural heritage in conflict zones; they recently organized an exhibition illustrating how high the stakes are. (Read more from the Art Newspaper.)

A Hushed Departure at the Met Museum Reveals Entrenched Management Culture

The recent discovery of a looming $40 million deficit that forced the Metropolitan Museum of Art to cut staff, trim its exhibition schedule, and postpone a heralded $600 million expansion are signs that the system is showing cracks. Now, details about dysfunction in the digital-media department reveal additional consequences of the museum turning a blind eye to problems. (Read more from the New York Times.)

Paper Warping When Painting with Acrylics

When water is applied to paper, the fibers can soak up liquid and expand. This may create the infamous buckles and cockles that can be the bane—or joy—of those who paint with water media. (Read more from Just Paint.)

Was Banksy Caught on Camera at a Mall in Israel?

Several British tabloids ran stories last weekend showing footage captured with a mobile phone camera by an anonymous woman who claims to have caught the elusive Bristol-born artist in action, working on a show that’s slated to open to the public inside a mall in Herzlyia, Israel. (Read more from Artnet News.)