Editorials

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Those seats are going to be empty for a while longer. How will arts organizations be around to fill them back up when audiences are ready to return? (Photo by Jeff Fusco.)

#LightsOn tells Philly leaders that our arts scene won’t survive without economic relief

Budgets ask how; the arts ask why
Another COVID lockdown grips Philadelphia through the end of the year. Many arts organizations were already on a precipice. BSR seconds a campaign from the Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and Philly Culture United for crucial economic relief.
Alaina Johns

Alaina Johns

Editorials 4 minute read
Say it, but make it beautiful: Philadelphians rallied to protect their election. (Photo by Alaina Johns.)

The post-election country loves Philly for its fight—but what about our cultural scene?

The arts, the vote, and Philadelphia (you’re welcome, America)
Commentators across the country all have the same long list of examples proving that Philly takes no prisoners, but these viral round-ups are missing our artistic soul. Alaina Johns considers.
Alaina Johns

Alaina Johns

Editorials 5 minute read
A new collective experience: when strangers check your (and your friends’) voting plans. (Image courtesy of Alaina Johns.)

In the 2020 general election, do we know why we’re voting?

This vote is personal
Who are politics for? Why should we care? Kyle V. Hiller asks what makes voting important on a personal level, and remembers what got him started.
Kyle V. Hiller

Kyle V. Hiller

Editorials 5 minute read
Jurnee Smollet, Jonathan Majors, and Courtney B. Vance stand front and center in HBO’s new series. (Photo courtesy of HBO.)

I didn’t find reverie in ‘Lovecraft Country,’ but that’s not what I’m looking for

Escapism is not for us
The adaptation of the 2016 novel ‘Lovecraft Country’ tackles racism during the Jim Crow era with science fiction, but it also brings to light problems Black storytellers face today. Kyle V. Hiller considers.
Kyle V. Hiller

Kyle V. Hiller

Editorials 6 minute read
“I want the Spanish-speaking immigrants in Philly to feel acknowledged,” says ‘To the Polls’ muralist Candy Alexandra González. (Photo by Alaina Johns.)

Here’s why you aren’t seeing articles about Trump in BSR this election season

Just in case it needs to be said
If we don’t comment on the current White House, what can we comment on? Plenty, as it turns out—and focusing our energy away from the president is the perfect comment in itself. Alaina Johns explains.
Alaina Johns

Alaina Johns

Editorials 6 minute read
Writer Alaina Johns on a 2019 visit to ‘Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’ at the National Museum of American Jewish History in Center City. (Photo courtesy of Alaina Johns.)

In mourning RBG, don’t skip contacting your senators

The dreaded phone call
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday, Sept. 18. On Monday, the 21st, Alaina Johns contacted her senators (again). Does it even matter? Yes. Here’s why.
Alaina Johns

Alaina Johns

Editorials 5 minute read
Yoga is a source of rest for Kyle V. Hiller. So is sitting in the sun with his shades. (Photo by Holly Yokley.)

After a two-week hiatus, what have we learned about rest at BSR?

Waking up to the power of rest
Rest is trickier than it seems. How do we get enough? Why do we get enough—or not? What expectations come along with rest? Kyle V. Hiller wants you to take a nap.
Kyle V. Hiller

Kyle V. Hiller

Editorials 6 minute read
Associate editor Kyle V. Hiller meditating by the beach in Puerto Rico in 2017, one of few recent reprieves from the grind (Photo by Holly Yokley.)

Here’s why BSR is taking time off for the first time ever

The great protest rest
BSR is taking its first-ever break, and will post no new articles from August 2 through 16. Editors Kyle V. Hiller and Alaina Johns explain why.
Kyle V. Hiller Alaina Johns

Kyle V. Hillerand Alaina Johns

Editorials 5 minute read
Simpson, perhaps in a nod to Hamlet's mother Gertrude, looks regal in a red cloak. (Photo by Lauren Woodard.)

Arts organizations are reopening, but for now, we’re keeping our digital focus

It’s still about accessibility
Four months into the pandemic, here’s an update from editor Alaina Johns about BSR’s approach to a reopening Philadelphia.
Alaina Johns

Alaina Johns

Editorials 4 minute read
Quieter times: the 52nd Street Market-Frankford Line station on a July morning in 2013. (Photo by Kyle V. Hiller.)

With protests continuing and school on the horizon, whom can we trust?

Can we fight alone?
In the midst of civil unrest, spiking COVID cases, and preemptive reopenings, are we being primed to fend for ourselves? Kyle V. Hiller considers.
Kyle V. Hiller

Kyle V. Hiller

Editorials 5 minute read