“(He's) the man who has brought frolicking gorillas, breaching whales and tiny poisonous frogs into living rooms around the world for more than 70 years. … Attenborough has illuminated the beauty, ferocity and sometimes downright weirdness of nature in a hushed melodic voice that conveys his own awe at what he is witnessing.” - AP
“While early music enjoyed a strong following (since) the 1970s, historical dance needed help catching up — and the New York Baroque Dance Co., founded in 1976 by Catherine Turocy and Ann Jacoby, was seminal in jump-starting research, performance styles, and popularity.” - Early Music America
Amid the current cultural backlash against progressive ideas, today’s debate on consciousness reflects our human fears of belonging to the same family as inanimate matter and losing our dear, transcendent souls. - Noema
Gawker, which shut down 10 years ago this August, was guilty of lapses in judgment — former staffers interviewed for this story admit as much. It could be withering, puerile and gratuitously nasty. But, at its best, it rebelled against media piety and the growing, often indiscriminate power of the digital world. - The Hollywood Reporter
“The hip current events platform targeted at Millennials, which sought to be ‘The Economist for young people’ during the decade (2014-2023), is now being resuscitated by company founder Shane Smith, both as a social-platform-first outlet for his podcast and news reports and as a brand partnership vehicle.” - The Hollywood Reporter
The New York-based media company released its first-quarter earnings report Wednesday, which included a $2.9-billion loss. That amount includes $1.3 billion in restructuring expenses, including updated valuations for Warner's declining linear cable television networks. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo)
“Without this much needed arts tax reform, including indexing it to inflation, we risk losing the very institutions that make Portland vibrant, and we also risk losing the next generation of arts lovers by failing to sustain arts education in our schools.” - KATU
A little over a year later, after the Department of Government Efficiency eliminated more than half of the NEH staff and tried to terminate 97 percent of its grants, Trump fired all but four members of the 26-person advisory board, called the National Council on the Humanities. - Chronicle of Higher Education
From the original, nineteenth-century form popularized by Balzac, Zola, and Stendhal to the “lyrical” variant of today, the verisimilitude that realism pursues—not just lifelikeness, but worldlikeness—is meant to convince us the novel is, for want of a better term, natural. - Boston Review
“Since taking power in 2010, Orbán and his Fidesz party reshaped the country’s media to promote themselves and demonise their opponents, sending press freedom rankings plunging and leaving swathes of the country living in an alternative reality.” Soon after last month’s election, Magyar vowed to suspend and reform state media he compared to North Korea’s. - The Guardian
His way of turning chaos into clockwork, of shifting the act of watching ballet to an out-of-body experience, might do a number on a choreographer trying to make a full-scale classical dance at City Ballet. Still, why hasn’t anyone tried? Why don’t choreographers make huge classical ballets anymore? - The New York Times
Some experts say Substack’s rise fits into a longer arc in publishing, one shaped by the early wave of self-publishing tools like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and Smashwords in the late aughts. Those platforms opened the door for self-published authors, but didn’t solve the marketing problem. - Fast Company
PEN America’s report released Thursday called “Facts & Fiction: Stories Stripped Away by Book Bans” found that 3,743 unique titles were removed from school libraries and classrooms between July 2024 and June 2025. This included 1,102 nonfiction titles. - The Hill
“PEN America analysed the 3,743 unique titles removed from school libraries and classrooms in the (2024-25) July to June period and found that over 1,100 or 29% were non-fiction, more than double the year prior. The most common theme in the banned non-fiction books was activism and social movements.” - The Guardian
“The Trump administration’s cancellation of more than $100 million in humanities grants to scholars, writers, research groups and other organizations was unconstitutional, and the Department of Government Efficiency had no authority to end the funding, a federal judge in New York ruled on Thursday.” - AP
“The Biennale was disrupted on Friday morning as some of the major artists at this year’s event shuttered their exhibitions in protest over Israel’s participation. … Some of the buzziest exhibitions at this year’s event, including those by artists representing Austria, Belgium, Egypt, Japan, the Netherlands and South Korea, were shut.” - The New York Times
The Pantages, built in downtown Winnipeg in 1914, is getting $15 million from the Manitoba government for renovation. The venue was run by the Winnipeg Symphony from 2011 until it closed in 2018 due to physical plant problems, and the orchestra will be the primary (but not sole) tenant when it reopens. - CBC
“(She) spent more than 20 years with The Wall Street Journal. She served variously as a critic, arts editor, book editor and member of the editorial board. She won the criticism Pulitzer for her writing on television, books, opera, art and architecture.” - The New York Times
After this weekend’s concerts, the orchestra — founded in 1987 to develop diverse talent and reach underserved audiences — will present no more public programming until 2027. The organization’s only employee will be the CEO, who will focus on fundraising and sustainability planning. - WBEZ (Chicago)
The jurors had clearly stated, a few days before they quit, that they would not consider the entrants from Russia and Israel. The Israeli artist in the event then threatened lawsuits, and the Biennale warned jurors that they could be personally liable for damages. - Hyperallergic
Amid the current cultural backlash against progressive ideas, today’s debate on consciousness reflects our human fears of belonging to the same family as inanimate matter and losing our dear, transcendent souls. - Noema
From the original, nineteenth-century form popularized by Balzac, Zola, and Stendhal to the “lyrical” variant of today, the verisimilitude that realism pursues—not just lifelikeness, but worldlikeness—is meant to convince us the novel is, for want of a better term, natural. - Boston Review
Some participants were given access to an AI assistant capable of solving the problem autonomously. When the AI helper was suddenly taken away, these people were significantly more likely to give up on the problem or flub their answers. - Wired
The idea of photographic memory is simple and powerful: Experience is captured objectively, stored completely and retrieved perfectly. See it once, keep it forever. There’s just one problem. There’s no scientific evidence it exists. - The Conversation
We don’t value human creations solely for their beauty or their price tag. We also value them because they embody deliberate labour and expertise. - The Conversation
We are taught from a young age that matter is made of atoms, built from particles such as electrons, and electrons are not built from anything else. For this reason, these particles are sometimes said to be fundamental. But are they? Is the Universe really made from the smallest constituents? - Aeon
“Without this much needed arts tax reform, including indexing it to inflation, we risk losing the very institutions that make Portland vibrant, and we also risk losing the next generation of arts lovers by failing to sustain arts education in our schools.” - KATU
A little over a year later, after the Department of Government Efficiency eliminated more than half of the NEH staff and tried to terminate 97 percent of its grants, Trump fired all but four members of the 26-person advisory board, called the National Council on the Humanities. - Chronicle of Higher Education
“The Trump administration’s cancellation of more than $100 million in humanities grants to scholars, writers, research groups and other organizations was unconstitutional, and the Department of Government Efficiency had no authority to end the funding, a federal judge in New York ruled on Thursday.” - AP
What is the Ministry of Awe? “Is it an art gallery?” she asked rhetorically. “Is it a theater? Is a museum? Is it a dream? It’s none of those and all of those and it doesn’t matter exactly what it is because there’s no one right way to experience it.” - The New York Times
This despite the fact that the San Diego County government is facing a budget cliff of its own, just as the city is. - The San Diego Union-Tribune (MSN)
“The Holocaust Museum LA, the first survivor-founded and oldest Holocaust museum in the United States, will reopen after a 10-month closure as part of the new Goldrich Cultural Center — a $70-million campus expansion set to debut June 14 in Pan Pacific Park (near downtown).” - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
The Pantages, built in downtown Winnipeg in 1914, is getting $15 million from the Manitoba government for renovation. The venue was run by the Winnipeg Symphony from 2011 until it closed in 2018 due to physical plant problems, and the orchestra will be the primary (but not sole) tenant when it reopens. - CBC
After this weekend’s concerts, the orchestra — founded in 1987 to develop diverse talent and reach underserved audiences — will present no more public programming until 2027. The organization’s only employee will be the CEO, who will focus on fundraising and sustainability planning. - WBEZ (Chicago)
“Published in The Lancet Digital Health, a new study looked at 1,438 participants and found that 80% reported improved levels of breathlessness, with 61% having achieved clinically important improvements. Of the participants, 87% said that it had a positive impact on their general well-being and 73% reported improved anxiety levels.” - The Stage (UK)
In recent weeks big-name artists including Meghan Trainor, Zayn Malik, Post Malone and the Pussycat Dolls have cancelled performances or entire tours. - The Times (UK)
For many pop concerts in Japan, “fans enter (a lottery) for the chance to buy tickets and can only purchase them in limited quantities if they are selected. … If praying at Fukutoku is believed to work for winning scratch-off lottery tickets, fans hope it might bring luck with concert tickets, too.” - BBC
James Johnson began his tenure with the symphony in 2018 after serving as president and CEO of the Omaha Symphony Association. Since then, Johnson has overseen several changes in the Indianapolis orchestra. - Indianapolis Star
“The Biennale was disrupted on Friday morning as some of the major artists at this year’s event shuttered their exhibitions in protest over Israel’s participation. … Some of the buzziest exhibitions at this year’s event, including those by artists representing Austria, Belgium, Egypt, Japan, the Netherlands and South Korea, were shut.” - The New York...
The jurors had clearly stated, a few days before they quit, that they would not consider the entrants from Russia and Israel. The Israeli artist in the event then threatened lawsuits, and the Biennale warned jurors that they could be personally liable for damages. - Hyperallergic
Iran’s withdrawal is less a sudden decision than the result of converging geopolitical and economic pressures that are reshaping both the global art world and Iran’s place within it. - The Conversation
The Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art on Wednesday announced a $100 million expansion plan to open a second museum building, create a 325-acre campus, and a nature preserve with 10 miles of trails. - Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
Imagine that you live in an enormous, beautiful apartment designed by one of the world’s most admired architects in the most expensive street in Spain and for which you pay a derisory rent, with the right to live there until you die. - The Guardian
The second Trump administration’s call for proposals for the Venice Biennale said the American presentation should “reflect and promote American values” and foster “peaceful relations between the United States and other nations.” So how does that bear out in Allen’s US Pavilion? - ARTnews
Some experts say Substack’s rise fits into a longer arc in publishing, one shaped by the early wave of self-publishing tools like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and Smashwords in the late aughts. Those platforms opened the door for self-published authors, but didn’t solve the marketing problem. - Fast Company
PEN America’s report released Thursday called “Facts & Fiction: Stories Stripped Away by Book Bans” found that 3,743 unique titles were removed from school libraries and classrooms between July 2024 and June 2025. This included 1,102 nonfiction titles. - The Hill
“PEN America analysed the 3,743 unique titles removed from school libraries and classrooms in the (2024-25) July to June period and found that over 1,100 or 29% were non-fiction, more than double the year prior. The most common theme in the banned non-fiction books was activism and social movements.” - The Guardian
“A publishing house is not meant to be a propaganda machine. It is a place where conflict, doubt and nuance can, and should, coexist. ... Grasset’s authors rarely agreed on much, but as the letter of protest we signed said, we have had — and still have — a common enemy: authoritarianism.” - The...
“Before it was a movie, Lauren Weisberger’s The Devil Wears Prada, published by Broadway Books in 2003, marked the absolute high point of that once-ubiquitous genre. … Soon after the success of the novel, chick lit started to fall apart,” with dedicated imprints long since discontinued. - Publishers Weekly
Five leading publishers and a best-selling author filed a class-action lawsuit against Meta and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, on Tuesday, alleging that the tech giant violated copyright law by training its generative artificial intelligence platform on millions of illegally pirated books and articles. - Washington Post
Gawker, which shut down 10 years ago this August, was guilty of lapses in judgment — former staffers interviewed for this story admit as much. It could be withering, puerile and gratuitously nasty. But, at its best, it rebelled against media piety and the growing, often indiscriminate power of the digital world. - The...
“The hip current events platform targeted at Millennials, which sought to be ‘The Economist for young people’ during the decade (2014-2023), is now being resuscitated by company founder Shane Smith, both as a social-platform-first outlet for his podcast and news reports and as a brand partnership vehicle.” - The Hollywood Reporter
The New York-based media company released its first-quarter earnings report Wednesday, which included a $2.9-billion loss. That amount includes $1.3 billion in restructuring expenses, including updated valuations for Warner's declining linear cable television networks. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo)
“Since taking power in 2010, Orbán and his Fidesz party reshaped the country’s media to promote themselves and demonise their opponents, sending press freedom rankings plunging and leaving swathes of the country living in an alternative reality.” Soon after last month’s election, Magyar vowed to suspend and reform state media he compared to North Korea’s. - The Guardian
“Everything you’re watching on the feeds could, potentially, be an ad programmed to make someone a Discourse Topic and/or Zeitgeist Definer, made famous thanks to paid spammers instead of organic attention. The effect is to make one wonder whether anything on social media is ‘real,’ even if it isn’t A.I.” - Slate
With ads like these, it begs the question, is programmatic advertising legal for public radio? “FCC regulations only apply to broadcast,” Henry says. “The only caveat is, if you are wildly successful selling a ton of programmatic advertising, be careful not to do too much commercial business that could risk your IRS tax-exempt status....
“While early music enjoyed a strong following (since) the 1970s, historical dance needed help catching up — and the New York Baroque Dance Co., founded in 1976 by Catherine Turocy and Ann Jacoby, was seminal in jump-starting research, performance styles, and popularity.” - Early Music America
His way of turning chaos into clockwork, of shifting the act of watching ballet to an out-of-body experience, might do a number on a choreographer trying to make a full-scale classical dance at City Ballet. Still, why hasn’t anyone tried? Why don’t choreographers make huge classical ballets anymore? - The New York Times
Meet Brendan Fernandes, whose latest work, Score for the Murphy Auditorium at Chicago’s Driehaus, deploys seven dancers executing semi-improvised steps within a dodecahedron of mirrored benches. - WBEZ (Chicago)
It’s George Balanchine’s company, after all, and he had a special gift for coordinating and synchronizing large casts. Peck particularly admires that achievement and was frustrated by how few choreographers today do the same. So, in her new Symphonie Espagnole, she’s deploying 40 dancers. - The New York Times
“Founded in 1997, the African Dance Biennial has spent three decades rotating across African cities — most recently Maputo, Mozambique, in 2023 — with the aim of raising the visibility of choreographic work on the continent. The three-day event, which closed Sunday, was held at the École des Sables … in Toubab Dialao, Senegal.”...
“The long-running Broadway hit … will close its doors through May 17 as its theater undergoes repairs. … The blaze, which began May 4 in an electrical room, caused ‘substantial damage’ to the Eugene O’Neill Theatre.” - AP
“It doesn’t feel as though we have recovered any meaningful ground since the pandemic, and the fact that venues and their teams remain under such pressure is evident in terms of morale, energy, staff turnover and sector knowledge.” - The Stage
“I would be lying if I said … I didn’t grapple with making that decision. … I will say I do believe in accountability, and I think Scott has spoken about taking responsibility. ... I believe in second chances. I know other people don’t share that belief, and that’s their right.” - Variety
While it’s too early to tell which of the nominated shows will go on to have an international life, we can find some hints of the possibilities with a look at the title pages of their Playbills. - Jaques
“Liberation centers on a group of women who gather to talk, during the second wave feminist movement of the 1970s, about changing their own lives and the world. Fifty years later, one of their daughters looks to the past for answers when she finds history repeating itself.” - Playbill
It is unknown if the fire has had or will have any affect on the production or future performances. No one was inside the theatre when the fire happened, and the show is not scheduled to perform until the evening of May 5. - Playbill
“(He's) the man who has brought frolicking gorillas, breaching whales and tiny poisonous frogs into living rooms around the world for more than 70 years. … Attenborough has illuminated the beauty, ferocity and sometimes downright weirdness of nature in a hushed melodic voice that conveys his own awe at what he is witnessing.” -...
“(She) spent more than 20 years with The Wall Street Journal. She served variously as a critic, arts editor, book editor and member of the editorial board. She won the criticism Pulitzer for her writing on television, books, opera, art and architecture.” - The New York Times
His bold, audacious bet to launch CNN completely transformed the news business, busting the tightly curated delivery platforms that came before it and opening the floodgates of news to the people. - The Hollywood Reporter
“Miller had felt ‘death was always on her shoulder – always’ … (and) that if he did not ‘take care of her life’ she would come to a ‘catastrophic end’. … ‘As it turned out, it took some years, but it happened. It was beyond my powers or anybody else’s to hold her back.’”...
The media business is full of big-talking executives. But Turner’s outsized public persona — some called him the “Mouth from the South” for his free-wheeling trash talk — actually matched his influence on news, politics, sports and entertainment in the late 20th century. Over and over again, Turner shook up established industries. - Los...
“With her dance partner and onetime husband, Juan Carlos Copes” — described as the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers of tango — “(she) formed a duo that, despite their often-painful personal relationship, helped spark a tango revival in Argentina that spread worldwide.” - The New York Times
The State Museum of Pennsylvania seeks a strategic, collaborative Director to lead a major transformation, inspire public engagement, and steward a premier state collection.
Seattle Children’s Theatre, one of the nation’s premiere organizations for theatre-for-young audiences, invites applications from dedicated and collaborative leaders for its Director of Production position.
Tacoma Musical Playhouse seeks Executive Producer to lead the organization on an exciting journey to celebrate musical theater & build community in Tacoma, WA region.
Indianapolis Ballet (IB) seeks its next Artistic Director, who will carry the organization’s mission forward, embracing the history and future of classical ballet through dynamic
Union Arts Center, home of ACT Contemporary Theatre & Seattle Shakespeare Company, is
excited to announce an opening for a Director of Production (DOP).
Springboard for the Arts, an artist-centered community and economic development organization, seeks an experienced leader to serve as its next Executive Director.
Seeking a Vice President of Human Resources to lead TPAC’s strategic growth, culture, and talent while guiding staff through complex, transformative organizational evolution.
The University of Texas Permian Basin's College of Arts and Humanities welcomes applications for an Associate Professor/Professor and Department Chair of Visual and Performing Arts
The jurors had clearly stated, a few days before they quit, that they would not consider the entrants from Russia and Israel. The Israeli artist in the event then threatened lawsuits, and the Biennale warned jurors that they could be personally liable for damages. - Hyperallergic
Five large publishing houses, along with Scott Turow representing authors as a class, allege in their filing that Zuckerberg himself “personally authorized and actively encouraged the infringement” of copyrights by Meta, which used countless books and articles to train Llama, its AI language system. - AP
Why? “Your TV and smartphone are far more interoperable and indistinguishable than ever before, and an inescapable user-tracking singularity is developing, accordingly, in your own living room.” - Slate
Competing studies find that Portland can support one performing arts center or maybe two performing arts centers, or not. And of course, "Portland has appointed a number of advisory committees to study the choices more closely before holding public hearings to make a final decision.” - Oregon ArtsWatch
The journey began in 2018. “Over time became a landmark, a well-known feature of the city. It was a peaceable, delicate creature to replace a symbol of military domination and violence. Fast forward to the summer of 2024.” - The Guardian (UK)
“A century ago, the median down ... Park Avenue was much more welcoming than it is today, a place with seating and substantial plantings where you’d consider spending time. … In 2024, (New York City) announced a call for proposals wherein those two lanes would be reclaimed from traffic for leisure and greenery.” -...
After months of protests from musicians and others over the slender qualifications of conductor Beatrice Venezi, the board of La Fenice confirmed her appointment and it looked like she was all set. Then she trash-talked the opera house and its audience to an Argentine newspaper. - The Guardian
"As a librettist, I’m always aware that I’m serving the music. It’s a humbling experience. Coming from the world of theater is a good thing, because theater is all about collaboration and interpretation—you place the work in the hands of others, and it begins to transform.” - Paris Review
“Lego’s appeal, represented by its zillions of plastic blocks and many movies and TV series, transcends nations. It is one of the planet’s top-selling toy brands, and the toy’s singular pixelated appearance is instantly recognizable on any screen.” - Salon
“Visitor numbers have indeed recovered after falling from their peak in 2019, but finances were hit hard during the pandemic. Those financial headwinds have led to multiple rounds of redundancies, restructures and several ‘culture war’ battles.” - The Guardian (UK)
“There is something in the embodied expression of a trained singer, on stage, in a room with other human beings, that no synthetic content can touch. But in an age when AI generates infinite aesthetic stuff at effectively zero cost, ‘irreplaceable’ needs to be made explicit.” - Opera America
