ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

Today's Stories

Inside London’s New Dance Hot Spot, Sadler’s Wells East

"'You are welcome,' beams a neon sign above the biscuity brick entrance. Theatres, like vampires, gravitate to dark spaces, but inside the impression is of light: high ceilings, generous windows, terraces overlooking the Olympic Park. … There’s even a window behind the auditorium, so technicians don’t beaver in the shadows." - The Standard (London)

Trump And The Corruption Of What Words Mean

Trump has already hit language very strongly, and not just because of his own idiosyncratic manner of speech. As the Times has noted, his administration has developed a confounding but effective bizarro-world stylebook, in which phrases like “free speech” are deployed to quash exactly that. - New York Magazine (MSN)

Making Theatre For Liberation — And For After Liberation: South African Actor-Playwright John Kani

During apartheid, in addition to being Athol Fugard's leading actor, he co-wrote and co-starred in the seminal plays Sizwe Bandi Is Dead and The Island. Since majority rule began in 1994, Kani has written what's now a trilogy looking at the triumphs and troubles of post-apartheid South Africa. - The Washington Post (MSN)

Minnesota Theatre Says It Will Decline NEA Funding, Double Down On DEI

A Minneapolis theater organization says it will decline federal funding in order to preserve its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. - Bring Me the News

Artists Sign Letter Protesting Changes In NEA Criteria

Hundreds of artists signed a letter sent to the National Endowment for the Arts asking it to reverse policy changes made as a result of recent executive orders issued by President Donald Trump. - NPR

Dancers Perform Protest Outside Kennedy Center

Thirty-four dancers performed The Nelken Line, a piece by choreographer Pina Bausch that pays homage to the seasons. It's been performed widely since Bausch created it in 1982. There's even a tutorial. In the piece, dancers walk in a single-file line and make synchronized movements. - NPR

How The Synthesizer Went From Oversized, Clumsy, Expensive Novelty To Tool For Genuine Creativity

"(Starting in) the late twentieth century, a family of technologies moved from the fringes of novelty attraction and the avant-­garde to the heart of mainstream culture. … The main character in this story is a device named for its ability to fabricate music artificially, producing sounds that are, by definition, synthetic." - Literary Hub

We Need To Define What Smart Is

If we could stop bickering about which creatures do or don’t deserve to be called smart, an emerging movement of scientists and philosophers argue that we might discover fundamental elements of intelligence that are common to all life. - Noema

How Research Publishing Has Devolved Into A Citation Game

Gone are the days when academics simply conducted research and published their findings. Now their papers are less valued for their content than for providing measures of academic performance. Citation is chief of these. - London School of Economics

An Arts Advocacy Summit: Will It Have Any Impact?

The call to action was to develop a blueprint for the TCC to take to Capitol Hill to advocate for arts funding, with the $207 million earmarked for the National Endowment for the Arts on the line. - The Hollywood Reporter

Early On, Robert Frost Wrote Some Really Wretched Verse

"Frost, who turned 20 in 1894, uncertain of his gift, … had written a poem called 'My Butterfly.' … It is what it is, a bad poem. A random-feeling extrusion of lyrical matter, like something that might come out of the tube when you pull the lever marked POETRY." - The Atlantic (MSN)

Kharkiv’s Puppetry Tradition Thrives During War

But Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 dealt Kharkiv’s puppetry a heavy blow, as much of the city’s population of 1.4 million evacuated in the face of the Russian onslaught. The puppet theater closed its doors. Yet, as it turned out, not for long. - Christian Science Monitor

Trump’s Kennedy Center Cancels Performance By Gay Chorus

This is the latest event to be canceled by the Kennedy Center since the Trump takeover. The show “Finn,” which could be read as a metaphor for the LGBTQ+ experience, was also canceled. - OperaWire

When Messiaen Zigged And Other Composers Zagged

As Messiaen saw it, the real revolution in 20th-century music had been launched not by an Austrian Jew but by a Frenchman, Claude Debussy, who ‘introduced the idea of haziness, not only in harmony and melody, but above all in rhythm and in the succession of timbres’. - London Review of Books

High Society Art Adviser, Convicted Of Felony Embezzlement, Explains Herself

"'You become the lie,' (Lisa) Schiff said. … By the time it all came crashing down in 2023, she had stolen some $6.4 million. ... But out of all her transgressions, she seemed most ashamed of the glamour that gilded her crimes. 'I was miserable in that helicopter.'" - The New York Times

England’s Arts Funder Shelves Change Which Organizations Called “Worst Idea In The World”

The change proposed by Arts Council England was that any organization which had a grant from National Lottery proceeds had to wait until that funded project was complete before applying for another Lottery grant. It seems the Arts Council forgot just how long lead times in the arts are. - The Guardian

For The First Time In A Century, An Egyptian Pharaoh’s Tomb Has Been Discovered

"Egyptian officials announced Tuesday the discovery of the tomb of King Thutmose II. … It's the first royal Egyptian tomb to be discovered since King Tutankhamun's final resting place was found in 1922." - CBS News

Many Looted Statues Are Being Returned To Cambodia, Which Is Running Out Of Places To Put Them

"The four cavernous wings of Cambodia’s national museum are so packed with objects that visitors need to watch their elbows while strolling among the roughly 1,400 on display. … An expansion and a renovation are planned, but it’s unclear who would pay." - The New York Times

Now That Trump Has Taken Over The Kennedy Center, What Might He Do With It?

"The question now is what a thin-skinned showman will do with an institution of music, theater and dance ... central to Washington’s cultural life for more than 50 years." Many observers in DC expect more country music. (Steve Bannon suggests that the J6 Prison Choir sing for opening night.) - The New York Times

Harvey Weinstein (From Prison) Sues His Brother/Former Business Partner

The producer/convicted rapist filed suit against Bob Weinstein and two other formers executives of the Weinstein Company his brother last week in New York state court for fraud and misappropriation of funds. The action adds those men as third parties to a suit filed against Harvey in 2017. - TheWrap

By Topic

We Need To Define What Smart Is

If we could stop bickering about which creatures do or don’t deserve to be called smart, an emerging movement of scientists and philosophers argue that we might discover fundamental elements of intelligence that are common to all life. - Noema

Contemplating The Mortality Of All Things

Only recently has the human collective begun accepting the fact it is itself mortal. We now appreciate that events unfolded for aeons before us and that our species can disappear, never to return. One day, the cosmos will persist without human witness, nor any inherent tendency to manifest things we cherish. - Aeon

Turns Out There Isn’t Actually A More Neighborly Recent Past

“The first half of the 20th century … was ‘extraordinarily social.’ Shared spaces—libraries, theaters, and playgrounds—were rapidly built across the U.S. People were gathering regularly in public, and participating in clubs and organizations with their peers.” Then things changed, drastically, and not because of cell phones. - The Atlantic (Yahoo)

Gilda Radner Was SNL’s First Cast Member, And One Of Its All-Time Best

“Radner’s particular charisma came from this blend of bigheartedness and fearlessness. She always went for it.” - The Atlantic

How Severance Shows Off The Linguistics Behind The Special Language Of Work

“This unifying means of speaking is as likely to create division between insiders and outsiders as it is to foster workplace cohesion.”  - Salon

Lorne Michaels Thinks He Knows A Thing Or Two About Managing Creative People

Fifty years of Saturday Night Live will do that to a person. "Writers don’t just conceive and pen sketches—they also produce and direct them, getting a huge say in everything from set decoration to costumes.” - Fast Company

Artists Sign Letter Protesting Changes In NEA Criteria

Hundreds of artists signed a letter sent to the National Endowment for the Arts asking it to reverse policy changes made as a result of recent executive orders issued by President Donald Trump. - NPR

An Arts Advocacy Summit: Will It Have Any Impact?

The call to action was to develop a blueprint for the TCC to take to Capitol Hill to advocate for arts funding, with the $207 million earmarked for the National Endowment for the Arts on the line. - The Hollywood Reporter

England’s Arts Funder Shelves Change Which Organizations Called “Worst Idea In The World”

The change proposed by Arts Council England was that any organization which had a grant from National Lottery proceeds had to wait until that funded project was complete before applying for another Lottery grant. It seems the Arts Council forgot just how long lead times in the arts are. - The Guardian

Now That Trump Has Taken Over The Kennedy Center, What Might He Do With It?

"The question now is what a thin-skinned showman will do with an institution of music, theater and dance ... central to Washington’s cultural life for more than 50 years." Many observers in DC expect more country music. (Steve Bannon suggests that the J6 Prison Choir sing for opening night.) - The New York Times

What Eventbrite User Data Say About Audience Behavior Trends

Eight in 10 event-goers are planning to attend either the same number of events, or more, compared to last year. Gen Zs, in particular, are looking to add more live experiences to their calendars. - ArtsHub

Why Does It Matter That Trump Fired The Kennedy Center’s Board And Made Himself Chairman?

An explainer covering why the Federal government is involved with the Kennedy Center in the first place, how its board differs from other nonprofit boards, what exactly the Kennedy Center board chair does, and the potential consequences of the Trump administration's action. - The Conversation

How The Synthesizer Went From Oversized, Clumsy, Expensive Novelty To Tool For Genuine Creativity

"(Starting in) the late twentieth century, a family of technologies moved from the fringes of novelty attraction and the avant-­garde to the heart of mainstream culture. … The main character in this story is a device named for its ability to fabricate music artificially, producing sounds that are, by definition, synthetic." - Literary Hub

Trump’s Kennedy Center Cancels Performance By Gay Chorus

This is the latest event to be canceled by the Kennedy Center since the Trump takeover. The show “Finn,” which could be read as a metaphor for the LGBTQ+ experience, was also canceled. - OperaWire

When Messiaen Zigged And Other Composers Zagged

As Messiaen saw it, the real revolution in 20th-century music had been launched not by an Austrian Jew but by a Frenchman, Claude Debussy, who ‘introduced the idea of haziness, not only in harmony and melody, but above all in rhythm and in the succession of timbres’. - London Review of Books

Multi-Generation Musicians. What Accounts For Them?

If genes and grit are not entirely responsible for the persistence of professional musical families across generations, what else matters? There are several possibilities. - Nightingale Sonata

Report: America’s Choruses Are Doing Well

Organizations across disciplines operated at a small deficit for the first time in five years in 2023. Choruses, by contrast, were still operating at a surplus on average. In 2019, about two thirds of the choruses reported surpluses, while in 2023 roughly half still reported surpluses. - SMU Cultural Data

Opera America’s State Of Opera Report

The key findings of the Annual Field Report are drawn from the fiscal year 2023 data submitted by OPERA America’s Professional Company Members (PCMs) in the annual Professional Opera Survey administered by SMU Data Arts. - Opera America

For The First Time In A Century, An Egyptian Pharaoh’s Tomb Has Been Discovered

"Egyptian officials announced Tuesday the discovery of the tomb of King Thutmose II. … It's the first royal Egyptian tomb to be discovered since King Tutankhamun's final resting place was found in 1922." - CBS News

Many Looted Statues Are Being Returned To Cambodia, Which Is Running Out Of Places To Put Them

"The four cavernous wings of Cambodia’s national museum are so packed with objects that visitors need to watch their elbows while strolling among the roughly 1,400 on display. … An expansion and a renovation are planned, but it’s unclear who would pay." - The New York Times

Albania’s Capital Has Become A Hotbed Of Offbeat New Architecture

"The boom is being spearheaded by Tirana's mayor, Erion Veliaj ... and Albanian prime minister and fellow Socialist Edi Rama. They have made architecture and urban design a key part of the strategy to boost Tirana's international reputation as Albania seeks to attract more tourists and sustain economic growth." - Dezeen

The Meaning Of Red

Red is the color we wear when we want to be noticed, the one that appears in the most national flags, the one that casinos and advertisers use to loosen wallets. The science is in on that: red quickens the pulse and sticks in the memory as no other color does... - The New Yorker

The Pollock And Picasso That Usually Live In A Vault In Tehran Came Out For A Brief Exhibition

“The Eye to Eye exhibition at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, which opened in October 2024, was extended twice due to overwhelming public demand,” and contained 15 works never shown before alongside works like Jackson Pollock’s Mural on Indian Red Ground. - BBC

The Cleveland Museum Will Finally Send A Statue Back To Turkey

After years of lawsuits that included information about just how the statue was trafficked into the United States from a site in Turkey that had been buried in volcanic rubble for two millennia. - Artnet

Trump And The Corruption Of What Words Mean

Trump has already hit language very strongly, and not just because of his own idiosyncratic manner of speech. As the Times has noted, his administration has developed a confounding but effective bizarro-world stylebook, in which phrases like “free speech” are deployed to quash exactly that. - New York Magazine (MSN)

How Research Publishing Has Devolved Into A Citation Game

Gone are the days when academics simply conducted research and published their findings. Now their papers are less valued for their content than for providing measures of academic performance. Citation is chief of these. - London School of Economics

Early On, Robert Frost Wrote Some Really Wretched Verse

"Frost, who turned 20 in 1894, uncertain of his gift, … had written a poem called 'My Butterfly.' … It is what it is, a bad poem. A random-feeling extrusion of lyrical matter, like something that might come out of the tube when you pull the lever marked POETRY." - The Atlantic (MSN)

US Indie Publishers Form Co-Operative

"A group of independent publishers has formally incorporated as the Publishers Cooperative, a new organization aimed at leveraging collective buying power and sharing resources. The cooperative … is currently seeking seven additional mid-sized publishers to join its eight founding members." - Publishers Weekly

When Obsession With The Great Book Makes Writing One Impossible

The bibliophobia of the title, Chihaya assures us, only “occasionally manifests as an acute, literal fear of books.” More often, it “develops as a generalized anxiety about reading in patients who have previously experienced profound — perhaps too profound — attachments to books and literature.” - Washington Post

One Of Britain’s Top Indie Publishers Expands Into U.S.

"Faber, the storied U.K. independent publisher, has launched a new division, Faber US, in the United States. The move comes a decade after Faber first nodded to plans to enter the American market and months after fellow British publishing fixture Bloomsbury rolled out a new U.S.-based sales team." - Publishers Weekly

Harvey Weinstein (From Prison) Sues His Brother/Former Business Partner

The producer/convicted rapist filed suit against Bob Weinstein and two other formers executives of the Weinstein Company his brother last week in New York state court for fraud and misappropriation of funds. The action adds those men as third parties to a suit filed against Harvey in 2017. - TheWrap

The Lengths Claude Lanzmann Had To Go To In Order To Make “Shoah”

The 9½-hour length of the finished documentary is daunting enough, but Lanzmann culled it from 220 hours of footage. His grant from one government was withdrawn because he worked so slowly, he had perpetual difficulty getting other funding, and he had to go undercover to get Nazis on camera. - The Guardian

How To Save Movie Theatres: Be A Non-Profit?

Certainly not all nonprofit theaters are doing well, but the model has worked, at least so far, in places like the Berkshires, where a devoted and well-heeled clientele is willing and able to support the arts. - The New York Times

How The Great French Actor Aurore Clement Survived A Violent Crowd At A Movie Premiere

Only the quick action of a journalist with a trench coat, she says, saved her the day that Meetings with Anna premiered in Paris. - The Guardian (UK)

Bridget Jones 4 Breaks Box Office Records In Britain, Where It’s Not Streaming

Who knew the fourth entry in what seemed a played-out story would prove both so well reviewed and so well attended? The film “accounted for 45% of the UK box office take over the weekend.” - The Guardian (UK)

Taking Conclave From Page To Screen

“It’s almost like mosaic work. … You have all these pieces; sometimes they’re going to be laid out in a very similar order to the book, sometimes a completely different order. Sometimes you’re going to deconstruct and rebuild completely.” - The New York Times

Inside London’s New Dance Hot Spot, Sadler’s Wells East

"'You are welcome,' beams a neon sign above the biscuity brick entrance. Theatres, like vampires, gravitate to dark spaces, but inside the impression is of light: high ceilings, generous windows, terraces overlooking the Olympic Park. … There’s even a window behind the auditorium, so technicians don’t beaver in the shadows." - The Standard (London)

Dancers Perform Protest Outside Kennedy Center

Thirty-four dancers performed The Nelken Line, a piece by choreographer Pina Bausch that pays homage to the seasons. It's been performed widely since Bausch created it in 1982. There's even a tutorial. In the piece, dancers walk in a single-file line and make synchronized movements. - NPR

Parents Jailed For Starving 17-Year-Old Child For Ballet Lessons

She weighed just 60 pounds (27.3 kilograms) – about the same size as a 9-year-old. Last month her parents, an Australian couple in their mid-40s, were sentenced to prison in Perth’s District Court of Western Australia for neglecting their only child, even as they ferried her to and from piano and ballet lessons. -...

Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Indigenous Advisors Quit En Masse

The advisory circle, formed in 2018, was intended to make Canada's oldest ballet company "a more equitable, diverse and inclusive organization," the ballet's website says. But that goal was at odds with the advisory circle's experience with the ballet's management and board of directors, said Morrison, the advisory circle's co-founder. - CBC

La Scala Ballet Has A New Director. It’s His Third Time In The Job.

Frédéric Olivieri will begin his latest term as Director of La Scala’s ballet company on March 1. He first led the company 2002-2007, after having been chief ballet master. He then spent 10 years at the helm of the company's school before serving as the company's director 2017-2020. - Gramilano (Milan)

The Martha Graham Dance Company Is Moving To Times Square And Getting A Lot More Space

"The company announced on Friday that it would leave its offices in the West Village of Manhattan and relocate to a 30,000-square-foot space in Times Square, more than doubling its footprint.” - The New York Times

Making Theatre For Liberation — And For After Liberation: South African Actor-Playwright John Kani

During apartheid, in addition to being Athol Fugard's leading actor, he co-wrote and co-starred in the seminal plays Sizwe Bandi Is Dead and The Island. Since majority rule began in 1994, Kani has written what's now a trilogy looking at the triumphs and troubles of post-apartheid South Africa. - The Washington Post (MSN)

Minnesota Theatre Says It Will Decline NEA Funding, Double Down On DEI

A Minneapolis theater organization says it will decline federal funding in order to preserve its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. - Bring Me the News

Kharkiv’s Puppetry Tradition Thrives During War

But Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 dealt Kharkiv’s puppetry a heavy blow, as much of the city’s population of 1.4 million evacuated in the face of the Russian onslaught. The puppet theater closed its doors. Yet, as it turned out, not for long. - Christian Science Monitor

School Censors Play, Students Write Anti-Censorship Play And Win State Award

School play gets canceled for "inappropriate content". In response students write , their own anti-censorship play skewering the school district, sells out performances, and ultimately takes gold at the Lenaea High School Theatre Festival. - KQED

After Six Weeks In London’s West End, “The Years” Is Still Seeing Audience Members Pass Out

"While fainting theatergoers are nothing new — several passed out over the onstage torture in Sarah Kane’s Cleansed at the National Theater almost a decade ago — the sheer number keeling over at The Years stands out." - The New York Times

Abortion Play “The Years” May Be An Example Of Trigger Warnings Making Things Worse

The Anne Ernaux adaptation currently running in London's West End has been making headlines for the fact that audience members keep fainting during a particularly bloody abortion scene. That didn't happen when productions of the play had no trigger warnings. And the more warnings, the more faintings. - The Guardian

High Society Art Adviser, Convicted Of Felony Embezzlement, Explains Herself

"'You become the lie,' (Lisa) Schiff said. … By the time it all came crashing down in 2023, she had stolen some $6.4 million. ... But out of all her transgressions, she seemed most ashamed of the glamour that gilded her crimes. 'I was miserable in that helicopter.'" - The New York Times

Mel Bochner, Conceptual Artist Who Played With Language And Imagery, Is Dead At 84

"Bochner was one of the key artists associated with the Conceptualist movement during the 1960s and ’70s. In legendary pieces that hardly looked much like art at all, he offered measurements, numbers, words, and others’ photocopied drawings within galleries. There was often little to admire, and that was intentional." - ARTnews

Boston Conducting Legend Benjamin Zander, Still Going Strong At 85

Zander has been educating musicians and audiences about classical music for five decades. During his master class, Zander interacts with both the audience and aspiring cellists who have signed up to seek guidance from Zander. - WBUR

Maria Teresa Horta, The Last Of Portugal’s ‘Three Marias,’ Has Died At 87

Along with two other writers, Horta helped bring global attention to the dictatorship in Portugal - and to show how all of Portuguese society made women suffer. - The New York Times

How Chiwetel Eijiofor Went, Happily, From Shakespeare To Bridget Jones

Eijiofor: "You can’t hold onto your 30-something self, obviously, but if you still maintain a bit of that quality, it assists you in navigating these waters.” - The New York Times

Theatre Critic Misha Berson Of Seattle, And Much Farther Afield, Has Died

Berson was a theatre critic for the San Francisco Bay Guardian for a while, and then she spent 25 years at the Seattle Times, along with writing books and creating theatre discussions at both regional and national publications. Says an editor, “Her writing was clear, clean, and imaginative.” - Oregon ArtsWatch

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Bullied At School, Samuel Marino Can Now Say He Has One Of The Rarest Voices In Opera

Mariño, a sopranist, once begged his mother to take him to the doctor to fix his voice. Now, he says before a residency in Australia, "I like to describe my voice as a light lyric soprano, with a bit of coloratura.” - The Guardian (UK)

The Deeply Human Desire That Makes Social Media A Real Problem

Everyone, deep down, has “a desire for recognition to be seen as human by other humans. This is a driving, animating desire. Attention is like right next to it, and so it tastes enough like it to keep you going for it without ever delivering the thing you want.” - Slate

The Martha Graham Dance Company Is Moving To Times Square And Getting A Lot More Space

"The company announced on Friday that it would leave its offices in the West Village of Manhattan and relocate to a 30,000-square-foot space in Times Square, more than doubling its footprint.” - The New York Times

The Tiny British Publisher That Took A Big Risk – And That Is Now Expanding To The US

“Tilted Axis has carved out a unique literary niche, and has caught the attention of critics and prize juries, landing major awards and winning acclaim for writers who were unknown in the Anglophone world.” - The New York Times

Kennicott: Can Trump Destroy The Kennedy Center?

Or will he use it in the usual way that authoritarians have used the arts in the past, as a vehicle for Trumpian propaganda? - Washington Post

L.A. Unified School District Sued For Diverting Millions Earmarked For Arts Education

"Los Angeles Unified officials repeatedly violated Proposition 28 — a state law requiring the hiring of arts teachers — misusing millions in state funds and denying promised arts instruction to students across the school system, according to allegations in a lawsuit filed Monday." - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

Tom Robbins, Author Of Novels Including Even Cowgirls Get The Blues, Has Died At 92

“With their meandering plots, pop-philosophical asides and frequent jabs at social convention and organized religion, Mr. Robbins’s books were the perfect accompaniment to acid trips, Grateful Dead shows and weekend yoga retreats, long before those things became middle-class and mainstream.” - The New York Times

Three Men Convicted In Ring Of Multiple Museum Thefts

“For two decades, a crew from Lackawanna County in Pennsylvania traveled to a dozen small museums across the country, where its ringleader smashed through security systems to strip them of art and precious memorabilia.” - The New York Times

Denzel Washington Can Be A Rather Tough Interview

He drops gems anyway. About his wife, who competed for the Cliburn: "Acting just sort of chose me, and I got going. But she’s an artist. I never looked at myself that way. I learned a lot about it, the discipline, the appreciation, from her.” - The New York Times

Librarians Saved The Day In WWII

The so-called “ink knights” were deeply into the spy game. “What’s stronger than the sword? Apparently a humble aspect, a high tolerance for cocktail party talk, and a library card.” - LitHub

Trump Seizes Control Of The Kennedy Center

Trump plans to announce the dismissal of multiple members of the Kennedy Center board as soon as today, a group likely to include recent appointees of former President Joe Biden. - The Atlantic

Daniel Barenboim Reveals That He Has Parkinson’s Disease

"The 82-year-old musician has been in failing health for some years, and in January 2023 resigned from his position as the general music director of the Berlin State Opera. Although increasingly frail, he has continued to make occasional appearances as a conductor." - The Guardian

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