Nominees pose for the class picture during the Academy Awards annual nominees luncheon for the 89th Oscars at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills on Monday. But this year, the bonding was reinforced by a forceful speech by Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who addressed last year's #OscarsSoWhite issue and the Trump administration's travel ban. But each and every one of us knows that there are some empty chairs in this room, which has made Academy artists activists. No, the power of art is that it transcends all of these things and strong societies don't censor art — they celebrate it. "And just as our work does not stop at borders, borders cannot be allowed to stop any of us."

Source: Los Angeles Times February 07, 2017 01:30 UTC