ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

Today's Stories

Paris Opera Ballet Suspends Its Competition For Promotions

"Union representatives of the Paris Opera Ballet are calling for the abolition of the internal promotion competition for dancers. For the first time, the annual examination, which allows dancers to reach the next rank in the hierarchy of the corps de ballet, has been partially postponed." - Gramilano

How The Ivy League Broke American Culture

If you control the choke points of social mobility, then you control the nation’s culture. And if you change the criteria for admission at places such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, then you change the nation’s social ideal. - The Atlantic

Timothy West, Icon Of British Stage And Television, Is Dead At 90

"(He) brought a commanding presence to historical figures like Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin and King Edward VII, and to notables of classic theater like King Lear, Macbeth and Willy Loman. He was perhaps best known to American audiences for his performances in British television imports." - The New York Times

Who Wins When A Mega-Event Comes To Town?

Projected economic gains from hosting such events can appear impressive on paper, but questions remain about who ultimately benefits. Several reports in support of hosting mega-events use inflated numbers to document indirect economic impacts and job creation without accounting for initial public spending and other hosting costs. - The Conversation

A Revered Master Of Hula Wins $450K Gish Prize

Vicky Holt Takamine, who has spent decades mastering and teaching hula and working to preserve native Hawaiian culture, has been awarded the 31st annual Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, given each year to a 'highly accomplished figure' who has 'pushed the boundaries of an art form." - The New York Times

Forty Years Ago The Celebrity-Fueled Band-Aid Changed Charity Fundraising Forever

Afterwards, fundraising became much more of a spectacle. Donors were re-imagined and empowered as “saviours”. Celebrities began to view endorsement of charities as a key part of their star profile. - The Conversation

Is The 20th Century Novel Its Own Genre?

Everyone seemed to know which books the term picked out, what the generic bones of the novel were, and why novels mattered. People talked about “the death of the novel” as though it could mark an inflection point in the history of civilization. - The New Yorker

Authenticity Is Not A Feeling. It’s A State Of Being

Authenticity is not a feeling, but an active way of being defined by conscious attention to the fit between who we are and the situation(s) in which we find ourselves. - 3 Quarks Daily

How Roger Ailes Commandeered A Save-The-Earth Hippie Musical And Inadvertently Birthed A Pop Juggernaut

Yes, the future chief of Fox News, fresh off getting Nixon re-elected, took control of a California show called Mother Earth, revamped it (badly) and took it to Broadway, where it flopped. Meanwhile, the show's composer, one Toni Shearer, quit — and ended up fronting one of the 1970s' superstar groups. - Playbill

The Tricky Negotiations Of Dark Comedy

Satire is just dark comedy’s alibi, a way for critics to render their attraction to the genre compatible with morality and self-respect. - The Point

We Assume That There’s An Order To “Laws Of Nature.” But…

In short, we assume that, thanks to science, there is a recipe of sorts for how the laws of nature work. - Aeon

Pompeii, Overrun By Tourists, Introduces New Limits

The site welcomed a record-breaking four million tourists this summer alone, and up to 30,000 per day during the peak summer season. Records were broken this year when 36,000 visitors descended on Pompeii during one of the site’s Free Sundays. - Artnet

Big Corporate Streamers May Be Having Trouble, But Niche Streaming Services Are Thriving

"About two dozen smaller, low-cost specialty streaming services have generated significant subscriber growth over the last couple of years. … This includes streamers from traditional cable networks (AMC+, BET+) as well as those (for) specific genres, including British television (BritBox, Acorn TV), horror (Shudder) and anime (Crunchyroll, Hidive)." - The New York Times

“The Broadcast Land Grab”: Trump’s Next Administration May See Wave Of TV Station Acquisitions

"The incoming Trump administration has made it clear that deregulation will be at the top of its priority list, and the companies that own local TV stations — Nexstar, Sinclair, Gray, E.W. Scripps and Tegna, among many others — are practically giddy at what it could mean for them." - The Hollywood Reporter

The Onion Buys Alex Jones’s Site InfoWars (This Is Not Satire)

In a classic case of life imitating parody, the liberal-leaning humor outlet ("America's Finest News Source") purchased Jones's conspiracy-mongering far-right website at a bankruptcy auction held to cover part of the $1.5 billion verdict Jones owes for slandering families of the Sandy Hook school shooting victims. - CNN

British Museum Receives Its Most Valuable Gift Ever: $1.27 Billion Worth Of Chinese Ceramics

"The 1,700 pieces dating from the third to the 20th century have been given permanently by the Sir Percival David Foundation. They had been on loan since 2009. It means the British Museum now holds one of the most important collections of Chinese ceramics ... outside the Chinese-speaking world." - The Guardian

U.S. Cultural Institutions Seriously Rattled By Fallout From Gaza War

"Shock waves from the war have been felt throughout the arts and cultural world, with movie productions, museums and book festivals — not to mention universities, institutions and entire industries — experiencing bitter conflict over what qualifies as tolerable speech about the conflict and its combatants." - The New York Times

Notre-Dame’s Official Reopening Date Is Set, Events Scheduled

"With just 23 days to go until the Dec. 7 reopening, the (office) of President Emmanuel Macron and the Archdiocese of Paris detailed the final inspection and ceremonial events leading up to the big day." The historic cathedral was ravaged by a catastrophic fire on April 15, 2019. - ABC News

Metropolitan Opera Names Daniele Rustioni Principal Guest Conductor

The 41-year-old Italian maestro, currently principal conductor at the Opéra national de Lyon in France, will conduct at least two Met productions per season, starting in 2025-26. He will be only the third principal guest conductor in the company's 141-year history, - AP

Theater Festival Brings Solace To Capital Of Troubled Burkina Faso

The dry, landlocked West African nation used to be known for its lively cultural scene; in recent years, the country's stability has been wrecked by extremist militias and their battles with government forces. Solace has come from the festival Récréâtrales, a festival spread across a district in the capital, Ouagadougou. - AP

By Topic

We Assume That There’s An Order To “Laws Of Nature.” But…

In short, we assume that, thanks to science, there is a recipe of sorts for how the laws of nature work. - Aeon

Constructing A Workable Philosophy For Coping With Hard Times

What is needed is a path forward that allows us to cope with tragedy and injustice without abandoning the value of people we care about or the issues we find important. We long for solutions that ease our anxiety but also provide us with reasons to live. - 3 Quarks Daily

Rationalizing: The Art Of Procrastination (As Explained By Artists)

I have guitars in my writing room. But I don’t think of it as “procrastinating” but as, you know, “getting ready.” - LitHub

Does More Education Fend Off Cognitive Decline? Study Says No

Although education is linked to better cognitive skills and health, it does not appear to alter the brain’s physical structure in the long run. Researchers suggest that any initial structural impact may be temporary or too small to detect with MRI technology. - Neuroscience News

Why We Turn To Crosswords When We’re In Crisis

Perhaps you don’t want to reward The New York Times for not settling with its digital workers (they have a handy Games site here), but if you’re feeling stressed right now, there’s a reason you’re doing crosswords somewhere (or Wordle or Connections equivalents). - The New York Times

For The Arts To Matter During The Los Angeles Olympics, LA Must Start Planning Now

“The Cultural Olympiad (can’t we go back to the friendlier Arts Festival?) is special. It is the only aspect of the Olympics that needn’t be politicized or commercialized.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

How The Ivy League Broke American Culture

If you control the choke points of social mobility, then you control the nation’s culture. And if you change the criteria for admission at places such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, then you change the nation’s social ideal. - The Atlantic

Who Wins When A Mega-Event Comes To Town?

Projected economic gains from hosting such events can appear impressive on paper, but questions remain about who ultimately benefits. Several reports in support of hosting mega-events use inflated numbers to document indirect economic impacts and job creation without accounting for initial public spending and other hosting costs. - The Conversation

Forty Years Ago The Celebrity-Fueled Band-Aid Changed Charity Fundraising Forever

Afterwards, fundraising became much more of a spectacle. Donors were re-imagined and empowered as “saviours”. Celebrities began to view endorsement of charities as a key part of their star profile. - The Conversation

Authenticity Is Not A Feeling. It’s A State Of Being

Authenticity is not a feeling, but an active way of being defined by conscious attention to the fit between who we are and the situation(s) in which we find ourselves. - 3 Quarks Daily

U.S. Cultural Institutions Seriously Rattled By Fallout From Gaza War

"Shock waves from the war have been felt throughout the arts and cultural world, with movie productions, museums and book festivals — not to mention universities, institutions and entire industries — experiencing bitter conflict over what qualifies as tolerable speech about the conflict and its combatants." - The New York Times

What Role For The Arts In These Times? Perhaps Critics Are Needed Even More Now?

Our storytelling is necessarily derivative, since we’re responding to works of someone else’s imagination. And yet in how we frame the plays and operas and films we write about, and whether we even write about them at all, we’re implicitly telling a story about what’s newsworthy and what isn’t. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)

Metropolitan Opera Names Daniele Rustioni Principal Guest Conductor

The 41-year-old Italian maestro, currently principal conductor at the Opéra national de Lyon in France, will conduct at least two Met productions per season, starting in 2025-26. He will be only the third principal guest conductor in the company's 141-year history, - AP

Pacific Symphony Picks A New Music Director

The 45-year-old Englishman enjoys a substantial social media following; he’s a fan of multidisciplinary performances combining music with other art forms; he’s passionately devoted to developing new audiences through music education, outdoor concerts and community initiatives. - CultureOC

Pitchfork Festival Abruptly Pulls Out Of Chicago

New York–based media giant Condé Nast, which owns Pitchfork Media, the longtime online music criticism website, broke the news on Instagram Monday that the festival would no longer take place in Chicago, where it originated 19 years ago. Condé Nast did not explain the decision. - WBEZ

At Age 80, Soprano Lucy Shelton Finds Herself With An Opera Career

For decades she has been one of America's leading singers of avant-garde classical music, premiering dozens of pieces by composers from Elliott Carter to Oliver Knussen. But, until recently, she's worked almost entirely on the concert stage. Now she has opera composers writing roles for her. - The New York Times

A Stroke Disabled Randy Travis From Singing. Now AI Is Helping Him Sing Again

AI gets so close to replicating Travis’s voice that it has, in a sense, brought him back as a full recording artist. The music industry’s reaction to AI is like that of many other industries: impressive new friend or creativity-destroying foe? In Travis’s case, it provided a glimmer of hope. - Variety (MSN)

How Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony’s Musicians Saved Their Bankrupt Orchestra

"They got in touch with its foundation and creditors, and built a new board. ... The newly-formed team of directors and musicians spent months trying to find a way to resuscitate the southern Ontario symphony. And in October, they pulled it off." - The Globe and Mail (Canada)

Pompeii, Overrun By Tourists, Introduces New Limits

The site welcomed a record-breaking four million tourists this summer alone, and up to 30,000 per day during the peak summer season. Records were broken this year when 36,000 visitors descended on Pompeii during one of the site’s Free Sundays. - Artnet

British Museum Receives Its Most Valuable Gift Ever: $1.27 Billion Worth Of Chinese Ceramics

"The 1,700 pieces dating from the third to the 20th century have been given permanently by the Sir Percival David Foundation. They had been on loan since 2009. It means the British Museum now holds one of the most important collections of Chinese ceramics ... outside the Chinese-speaking world." - The Guardian

Notre-Dame’s Official Reopening Date Is Set, Events Scheduled

"With just 23 days to go until the Dec. 7 reopening, the (office) of President Emmanuel Macron and the Archdiocese of Paris detailed the final inspection and ceremonial events leading up to the big day." The historic cathedral was ravaged by a catastrophic fire on April 15, 2019. - ABC News

How One Artist Uses AI To Collaborate

Mr. Leeman was most struck by the cheeky mischief — like the A.I.-generated snubs of the artist’s show that rotated on a wall display, declaring it, among other insults, a “masterstroke of blandness.” - The New York Times

Working In Public View, Conservators Begin Restoration of Rembrandt’s “Night Watch”

"The process" — taking place in a glass chamber in a gallery at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum — "will involve removing varnish that was applied during its 1975-76 restoration and will significantly change the look of the painting, making white paint whiter and dark areas more visible." - The Washington Post (MSN)

Vatican Sets Up AI Replica Of St. Peter’s Basilica

"The Vatican and Microsoft on Monday unveiled a digital twin of St. Peter’s Basilica that uses artificial intelligence to explore one of the world’s most important monument’s while helping the Holy See manage visitor flows and identify conservation problems." - AP

Is The 20th Century Novel Its Own Genre?

Everyone seemed to know which books the term picked out, what the generic bones of the novel were, and why novels mattered. People talked about “the death of the novel” as though it could mark an inflection point in the history of civilization. - The New Yorker

The Onion Buys Alex Jones’s Site InfoWars (This Is Not Satire)

In a classic case of life imitating parody, the liberal-leaning humor outlet ("America's Finest News Source") purchased Jones's conspiracy-mongering far-right website at a bankruptcy auction held to cover part of the $1.5 billion verdict Jones owes for slandering families of the Sandy Hook school shooting victims. - CNN

Has The Internet Trapped Fiction In A No-Man’s Land?

Even beyond social media, the internet seems to flatten prose. This is likely due to the distinct ways our brains interpret text – or, how they have been user-engineered to do so –when reading online. - Spike Art

Librarians, Increasingly Under Attack, Are Facing Burn Out

Librarians around the country are struggling to reconcile their desire to serve their communities with their need for self-preservation, especially as libraries have become hubs for social services and battlegrounds for the culture wars. - The New York Times

Booker Prize 2024: Samantha Harvey’s “Orbital” Scores Upset Win Over Percival Everett’s “James”

"Harvey’s tale of six fictional astronauts on the International Space Station was 'unanimously' chosen as the winner after a 'proper day' considering the six-strong shortlist, according to the judging chair, the artist and author Edmund de Waal." - The Guardian

How The Brothers Grimm Helped Create The Idea Of Germany

"As cultural detectives, they cast a wide net, creating a history for a nation that did not yet exist. The idea of one Germany was itself a fairy tale, a political construct shopping for an origin myth." - The American Scholar

Big Corporate Streamers May Be Having Trouble, But Niche Streaming Services Are Thriving

"About two dozen smaller, low-cost specialty streaming services have generated significant subscriber growth over the last couple of years. … This includes streamers from traditional cable networks (AMC+, BET+) as well as those (for) specific genres, including British television (BritBox, Acorn TV), horror (Shudder) and anime (Crunchyroll, Hidive)." - The New York Times

“The Broadcast Land Grab”: Trump’s Next Administration May See Wave Of TV Station Acquisitions

"The incoming Trump administration has made it clear that deregulation will be at the top of its priority list, and the companies that own local TV stations — Nexstar, Sinclair, Gray, E.W. Scripps and Tegna, among many others — are practically giddy at what it could mean for them." - The Hollywood Reporter

French News Outlets Sue X (Twitter) For Running Their Content Without Paying For It

The lead plaintiffs are the dailies Le Figaro, Les Echos, Le Parisien and Le Monde, with smaller outlets such as Nouvel Obs, HuffPost France, and Télérama joining. They accuse the site of violating 'neighboring rights', which are due when social media platforms republish news content." - The Guardian

The New Pause-Subscription Streaming Subscriber

 New data from subscription analytics provider Antenna offer a deeper look at the subscription pausing habits customers are developing as services like Netflix, Disney+ and Apple TV+ become the go-to way of watching TV in many households, instead of cable. - The Wall Street Journal

Hulu Series About Amanda Knox Films In City Where It All Happened, And Locals Are Furious

The docudrama is being shot in Perugia, where Knox was studying in 2007 when her apartment-mate, Meredith Kercher, was murdered; Knox was wrongfully convicted of the crime and spent four years in prison. Perugians have hung banners around town reading "Respect for Meredith." - Variety

There Will Be No Liberal Equivalent Of Joe Rogan

"The impulse from liberals to replicate the juice by developing their own Rogan equivalent is understandable but ultimately myopic. The idea is little more than fantasy wish-casting, driven by a top-down desire to inorganically bring into the world something that can only exist organically." - Vulture (MSN)

Paris Opera Ballet Suspends Its Competition For Promotions

"Union representatives of the Paris Opera Ballet are calling for the abolition of the internal promotion competition for dancers. For the first time, the annual examination, which allows dancers to reach the next rank in the hierarchy of the corps de ballet, has been partially postponed." - Gramilano

A Revered Master Of Hula Wins $450K Gish Prize

Vicky Holt Takamine, who has spent decades mastering and teaching hula and working to preserve native Hawaiian culture, has been awarded the 31st annual Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, given each year to a 'highly accomplished figure' who has 'pushed the boundaries of an art form." - The New York Times

Dance Is Increasingly Finding A Home In Museums

Though museums have long featured dance performances, today choreographers and companies are being given long-term residencies, exhibitions of their own with performance elements baked in, and site-specific installation pieces. - Dance Magazine

Rough Times For Dance In Chicago As A 52-Year-Old Company Shuts Down And A Venue Fights To Stay Open

The troupe Chicago Moving Company has announced its closing, nine years after the death of founder Nana Shineflug. Meanwhile, Links Hall, a 46-year-old venue and a crucial performing space for emerging companies and artists, has launched a $350,000 "Lifeline for Links" crowdfunding campaign. - Chicago Tribune

Julio Bocca To Take Charge At South America’s Leading Ballet Company

A major ballet star in the 1980s and '90s, Bocca is probably Argentina's most famous living dancer. As of February, he becomes artistic director of the ballet at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. This was the third time he was offered the position. - The New York Times

Remembering Judith Jamison

Jamison was Ailey’s muse, as complicated as that word is, and she was able to bring his feelings, his ideas to life because of who she was. - The New York Times

How Roger Ailes Commandeered A Save-The-Earth Hippie Musical And Inadvertently Birthed A Pop Juggernaut

Yes, the future chief of Fox News, fresh off getting Nixon re-elected, took control of a California show called Mother Earth, revamped it (badly) and took it to Broadway, where it flopped. Meanwhile, the show's composer, one Toni Shearer, quit — and ended up fronting one of the 1970s' superstar groups. - Playbill

The Tricky Negotiations Of Dark Comedy

Satire is just dark comedy’s alibi, a way for critics to render their attraction to the genre compatible with morality and self-respect. - The Point

Theater Festival Brings Solace To Capital Of Troubled Burkina Faso

The dry, landlocked West African nation used to be known for its lively cultural scene; in recent years, the country's stability has been wrecked by extremist militias and their battles with government forces. Solace has come from the festival Récréâtrales, a festival spread across a district in the capital, Ouagadougou. - AP

In The Theatre, Digital Tickets And Programs Erase The Physical Record Of Attending

"It has become possible to spend an evening on Broadway without handling a physical document. Still, it may seem sensational to say that a revolution has taken place. A QR code ticket is still a ticket, isn’t it? But with the decline of documents, something other than information may vanish." - Public Books

At 77, Playwright David Hare Is In A Hurry

"I have written three new plays that are going to be on in different places and I have done that partly because of my sense that I don’t have much time. I am trying to write a lot of stuff while I can." - The Observer (UK)

The Native Woman Who Made Her Own Shows During A Time Of Stereotypes, And Found Massive Success

Go-wan-go Mohawk “decided to write her own roles, ultimately carving out a groundbreaking career in which she told stories onstage about Indigenous people as the heroes of their own lives. She also did it while performing as a man.” - The New York Times

Timothy West, Icon Of British Stage And Television, Is Dead At 90

"(He) brought a commanding presence to historical figures like Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin and King Edward VII, and to notables of classic theater like King Lear, Macbeth and Willy Loman. He was perhaps best known to American audiences for his performances in British television imports." - The New York Times

Lou Donaldson, Master Jazz Saxophonist And Walking History Lesson, Has Died At 98

"An alto saxophonist with a supple, earthy style, (he) was a key figure in the development of three styles of jazz" — bebop, hard bop, and soul jazz — "from the 1940s to the 1960s and sustained a career for almost seven decades." - The Washington Post (MSN)

Painter Frank Auerbach, 93

The child of Auschwitz victims, he was sent to Britain by the Kindertransport project and studied in London. After years of hardship, he got a major solo show in 1978, won the Golden Lion at the 1986 Venice Biennale and became one of his generation's leading painters. - The Guardian

When Garfunkel And Simon Met Up A Few Weeks Ago, For Lunch

“Paul mentioned an old interview where I said some stuff. I cried when he told me how much I had hurt him. Looking back, I guess I wanted to shake up the nice guy image of Simon & Garfunkel. Y’know what? I was a fool!” - The Sunday Times (UK)

A Tribute To Author Dorothy Allison, Dead At 75

Allison, author most famously of Bastard Out of Carolina, “taught the world about Southern and queer identity, abuse and feminism. She was a trailblazer, known for weaving the written word into powerful lessons that proved that we are not defined by where we come from.” - Deep South Magazine

Tony Todd, Actor In Many Movies But Was Best Known For Being The Candyman, Has Died At 69

His manager said that the actor - who worked consistently across TV, video games, and movies, but whose first love was theatre - “gave his time and resources to aspiring actors, consistently advocating for greater representation and authenticity within the industry.” - The New York Times

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Stratford Festival seeks their next Artistic Director

“Stratford is by every measure – budget, employment, attendance, production – the largest repertory theater in North America, and likely the largest nonprofit theater, period.”

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MCC Theater is pleased to be launching a search for a new senior leader dedicated to revenue strategy, relationship building, and the long-term sustainability of the organization.

Director of Communications – Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation

The Director of Communications will take the lead, in collaboration with the Foundation team, in creating and executing communication plans that amplify the organization's mission and boost local and national support.

The Onion Buys Alex Jones’s Site InfoWars (This Is Not Satire)

In a classic case of life imitating parody, the liberal-leaning humor outlet ("America's Finest News Source") purchased Jones's conspiracy-mongering far-right website at a bankruptcy auction held to cover part of the $1.5 billion verdict Jones owes for slandering families of the Sandy Hook school shooting victims. - CNN

At Age 80, Soprano Lucy Shelton Finds Herself With An Opera Career

For decades she has been one of America's leading singers of avant-garde classical music, premiering dozens of pieces by composers from Elliott Carter to Oliver Knussen. But, until recently, she's worked almost entirely on the concert stage. Now she has opera composers writing roles for her. - The New York Times

Working In Public View, Conservators Begin Restoration of Rembrandt’s “Night Watch”

"The process" — taking place in a glass chamber in a gallery at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum — "will involve removing varnish that was applied during its 1975-76 restoration and will significantly change the look of the painting, making white paint whiter and dark areas more visible." - The Washington Post (MSN)

How Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony’s Musicians Saved Their Bankrupt Orchestra

"They got in touch with its foundation and creditors, and built a new board. ... The newly-formed team of directors and musicians spent months trying to find a way to resuscitate the southern Ontario symphony. And in October, they pulled it off." - The Globe and Mail (Canada)

Huge Art Forgery Enterprise Busted By Italian Police

"The seizures in Italy, France, Spain and Belgium netted 2,100 fake works attributed to more than 30 famed artists, including Andy Warhol, Amedeo Modigliani, Banksy, Pablo Picasso, Joan Mirò, Francis Bacon, Wassily Kandinsky, Henry Moore and Gustav Klimt," potentially worth €200 million. - AP

Why Is A Biden Appointee Removing Negative Events From The National Archives Exhibits?

"Archivist of the United States Colleen Shogan and her top aides directed employees to remove certain objects and details over the past year in order to avoid angering Republican legislators and making visitors feel ‘confronted.’” - Hyperallergic

The Torture-Filled World Of A Social Media Moderator

“‘If you take your phone and then go to TikTok, you will see a lot of activities, dancing, you know, happy things,’ says Mojez, a former Nairobi-based moderator who worked on TikTok content. ‘But in the background, I personally was moderating, in the hundreds, horrific and traumatising videos.’” - BBC

For The Arts To Matter During The Los Angeles Olympics, LA Must Start Planning Now

“The Cultural Olympiad (can’t we go back to the friendlier Arts Festival?) is special. It is the only aspect of the Olympics that needn’t be politicized or commercialized.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Make That Art, Take That Class, Create That Play

You never know whom you’ll influence - or end up being influenced by, in an artistic collaboration years down the line. - The New York Times

A Musical That’s Profitable Before It Even Opens? How?

Turns out star power helps a lot - and so does having a city own the theatre and fund its costs. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

India Lifts Ban On Import Of Rushdie’s “Satanic Verses” — For A Surprising Reason

And that reason is bureaucracy at its finest. - The Guardian

Fair Trade: The Idea Behind Nepal’s Museum Of Stolen Art

Nepali conservationist Rabindra Puri has hired local stonecarvers and craftsmen to create and display replicas of dozens of items of sacred art that were looted from temples and other sites over the past 60-odd years. The idea: return the stolen original to us and we'll give you the replica. - BBC
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