ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

Today's Stories

Things We Learned From The World’s Largest Music Company’s Annual Report

Much of the publication obviously focuses on UMG’s extraordinarily successful 2023: A year in which it posted USD $12 billion in total revenues, with annual adjusted EBITDA just north of USD $2.5 billion. But there’s a bundle of other interesting facts and figures revealed within the report. - Music Business Worldwide

Tending To The Legacy Of Dance Theatre Of Harlem

“Moving the organization forward would depend not only on the art that the company produced, but also on the legacy through its alumni. And that is a huge thing.” In April, an alumni platform will go live, a place, he said, “where we could galvanize and connect and become a community.” - The New York Times Image

The Toll That Questioning Someone’s Authority Takes

Growing research shows regular exposure to even relatively subtle prejudice and discrimination degrades physical and mental health, leading to outcomes like high blood pressure, chronic stress and depression." - Phys

Designers Are Rebranding: Say Hello To “Visual Strategists”

Look at the way most branding agencies describe themselves today and “strategy” now gets top billing. Design is out. Strategy is in. - Fast Company

How Studying Music Makes Better Employees

It is well known many musicians work simultaneously in arts and non-arts roles, often to create some income security. Less understood is just how well the extensive skillset developed in music transfers to a non-arts, professional workplace. - The Conversation

The War On Theatre

In the Educational Theater Association’s most recent survey, 85 percent of American theater teachers expressed concern about censorship. Even Shakespeare is at risk: In Florida, new laws led to the restriction of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” to grades 10 through 12 and “Romeo and Juliet” could not be taught. - The New York Times

Amazon Is Clogged With Fake Books. How Does This Happen?

Many of them gleefully share misinformation or repackage basic facts from WikiHow behind a title that’s been search-engine-optimized to hell and back again. Some of them even steal the names of well-established existing authors and masquerade as new releases from those writers. - Vox

Opera Is Elitist? Er… Not So Much

We have entered a culturally risk-adverse period. Our present age of anxiety — which includes post-pandemic economic challenges to the arts, diminished attention spans and audiences seeking escape from all but virtual reality — has ushered in an atmosphere of caution in just about everything presented to the public. - Los Angeles Times

AI Copyright Wars: US Copyright Office Shifts On The Rules

he is considered the author of the “selection, coordination, and arrangement of text generated by artificial intelligence.” This means no one can copy the book without permission, but the actual sentences and paragraphs themselves are not copyrighted and could theoretically be rearranged and republished as a different book. - Wired

Christopher Knight: LACMA Will Provide Art For New Vegas Museum — What A Bad Idea!

As bad art museum ideas go, this one is right up there. But it fits LACMA’s similarly bad — and unprecedented — decision to build a new, hugely expensive permanent collection building on Wilshire Boulevard that features less gallery space than it had in the 1960s edifice it bulldozed to make way. - Los Angeles Times

How Five Actors With Limited Musical Training Became A Band For Broadway’s Stereophonic

“'I was like, as long as someone is musical, any idiot can be in a band,’ Butler said. ‘I can write to whatever level.’ Later Butler realized that this was perhaps naïve.” - The New York Times

The Critical Book Stanley Kubrick Blocked With Legal Threats Is Now, At Last, Going To Be Published

“His reaction to The Magic Eye showed Kubrick’s image-control obsessions taken to extremes. He didn’t just make edits – he erased the entire project.” But now, after the director's death, Neil Hornick's 55-year-old manuscript has been prepared for publication. - The Observer (UK)

Smithsonian Staff Are Worried About A Clampdown On LGBTQIA Content

At a GOP hearing in December, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch told representatives that he didn’t think having children at drag shows was “appropriate.” Since then, one drag performer has been scheduled, canceled, rescheduled, canceled … and LGBTQIA+ staff members are alarmed. - Washington Post

Marvel Star Chris Pratt And His Wife Demolished An Architecturally Significant Los Angeles House

The Zimmerman House was designed by architect Craig Ellwood in 1950, and was - before Pratt and his wife, Kathryn Schwarzenegger, had it torn down, a fine example of mid-century modern architecture. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)

Blue Denim, A Painting Seems To Show, Is Centuries Older Than Levi’s

An Italian gallery "is appealing for further research to help identify an anonymous painter who specialised in street scenes that often depict poor people in northern Italy wearing what looks like blue denim.” The gallery calls the painter, “Master of the Blue Jeans.” - The Observer (UK)

At The Los Angeles Times Book Prizes, Winners Support Ousted USC Valedictorian

"Tananarive Due, who won ... for her novel The Reformatory, used her speech to add: ‘As we face the horrors in our cities, in Gaza and elsewhere, and witness true-life racism, homophobia, Islamophobia and antisemitism, let us honor the courage of young people.’" - Los Angeles Times

The Tips And Tricks Of A 23-Year-Old Crossword-Solving Champion

The young speedster says, Ttraining your eye to move back and forth from clues to grid without losing your place, remembering clues when you can, really helps." - The Atlantic

The Original Star Trek Enterprise Model, Missing For Decades, Has Surfaced At Sotheby’s

"For die-hard Trekkies, the model’s disappearance had become the subject of folklore, so an eBay listing last fall, with a starting bid of $1,000, didn’t go unnoticed." - The New York Times

Why Is Caravaggio Everywhere On The Cultural Scene?

"This is, after all, the guy who changed it all by introducing emotional intensity and identifiable humanity into the business of representing biblical stories." - The Observer (UK)

Lourdes Portillo, Director Of ‘The Devil Never Sleeps’ And A Visual Artist, Has Died At 80

The documentary filmmaker " ocused her work on writing, directing and producing film and videos that centered the emotions and circumstances of Latin American, Mexican and Chicano experiences,” including Las Madres: The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo. - Variety

By Topic

The Toll That Questioning Someone’s Authority Takes

Growing research shows regular exposure to even relatively subtle prejudice and discrimination degrades physical and mental health, leading to outcomes like high blood pressure, chronic stress and depression." - Phys

At The Los Angeles Times Book Prizes, Winners Support Ousted USC Valedictorian

"Tananarive Due, who won ... for her novel The Reformatory, used her speech to add: ‘As we face the horrors in our cities, in Gaza and elsewhere, and witness true-life racism, homophobia, Islamophobia and antisemitism, let us honor the courage of young people.’" - Los Angeles Times

Call Salvador Dali On His Lobster Phone To Ask An AI Dali Your Burning Questions

Cool and deeply creepy at the same time: “The artist's AI voice was trained on voice samples taken from archival interviews Dalí did in English over his career. (He spoke four languages — Catalan, Spanish, French and English — sometimes interchangeably.)” We’re ready for the four-language answers. - NPR

The Virtual You Is Getting Closer

It would be a mistake to think that the algorithms in the room will remain mere observers. AI is more like an ambitious virtual worker seeking a promotion, or at least a more active role in the proceedings. One day an AI-powered service might actually run the meeting for you. And why not? - Wired

The AI Dilemma: Who Owns The Essence Of Our Work?

“More and more, we’re seeing AI used to replicate someone’s likeness and voice in novel ways without consent or compensation." - Politico

What Does It Mean To “Own” Culture? (And Do We Have To?)

Our music, films, books and photographs are increasingly accessed via digital platforms rather than stored on our shelves. Do these digital items really feel like “mine” in the same way that physical possessions do? And can they become as personally meaningful? - The Conversation

AI Copyright Wars: US Copyright Office Shifts On The Rules

he is considered the author of the “selection, coordination, and arrangement of text generated by artificial intelligence.” This means no one can copy the book without permission, but the actual sentences and paragraphs themselves are not copyrighted and could theoretically be rearranged and republished as a different book. - Wired

Smithsonian Staff Are Worried About A Clampdown On LGBTQIA Content

At a GOP hearing in December, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch told representatives that he didn’t think having children at drag shows was “appropriate.” Since then, one drag performer has been scheduled, canceled, rescheduled, canceled … and LGBTQIA+ staff members are alarmed. - Washington Post

Wait, The Actors From Blair Witch Project Have Never Gotten Residuals?

The actors improvised the script and shot most of the footage. "The film was bought by Artisan Entertainment for $1 million, after which the actors were paid a $300,000 buyout of their ownership points on the film. They were also listed as 'missing, presumed dead' on IMDb." - Vulture

The Problem Isn’t TikTok; The Problem Is American Social Media Illiteracy

“The recent move against TikTok misses the larger point: Americans’ sources of information have declined in quality, and the problem goes beyond any one social media platform." - Fast Company

Colorado Public Radio Has Big News Ambitions. There Are Challenges

Colorado Public Radio has a vision to be the state's top, free news source. Getting there has created some controversy. - WestWord

For Estonians, Culture Could Be The Only Thing Keeping Them From Being Swallowed By Russia Again. They Should Protect It.

"Because as soon as Estonia doesn’t have its own culture, the country will become fair game for Russian propaganda and Russian aggression. … All they have is their culture. And if culture keeps being treated so badly, then we could find ourselves in a really tough situation in 10 years." - Van

Things We Learned From The World’s Largest Music Company’s Annual Report

Much of the publication obviously focuses on UMG’s extraordinarily successful 2023: A year in which it posted USD $12 billion in total revenues, with annual adjusted EBITDA just north of USD $2.5 billion. But there’s a bundle of other interesting facts and figures revealed within the report. - Music Business Worldwide

How Studying Music Makes Better Employees

It is well known many musicians work simultaneously in arts and non-arts roles, often to create some income security. Less understood is just how well the extensive skillset developed in music transfers to a non-arts, professional workplace. - The Conversation

Opera Is Elitist? Er… Not So Much

We have entered a culturally risk-adverse period. Our present age of anxiety — which includes post-pandemic economic challenges to the arts, diminished attention spans and audiences seeking escape from all but virtual reality — has ushered in an atmosphere of caution in just about everything presented to the public. - Los Angeles Times

The Jazz Detective

To Zev Feldman, “solving a case means discovering a concert recording that has been gathering dust in an archive for decades, or studio sessions that were once thought to be lost and gone forever.” - El País English

The Shakuhachi Is Having Its Moment

The Japanese bamboo flute is familiar to audiences who play video games and watch Japanese movies. "It is the sound of the earth. … The sound of the wind passing through a bamboo forest. It’s a sound that is constantly shifting tone colors, like light passing in the sky." - Boston Globe

Portugal’s Eurovision Song In 1974 Helped Topple Its Military Dictatorship

Portugal's song tied for last, but coup planners needed a signal on the radio. The first song suggested was censored, and too obvious. So the coup organizer "suggested that the announcer choose ... 'some banality' that would not raise any eyebrows. That choice was 'E Depois do Adeus.’” - The Observer (UK)

Designers Are Rebranding: Say Hello To “Visual Strategists”

Look at the way most branding agencies describe themselves today and “strategy” now gets top billing. Design is out. Strategy is in. - Fast Company

Christopher Knight: LACMA Will Provide Art For New Vegas Museum — What A Bad Idea!

As bad art museum ideas go, this one is right up there. But it fits LACMA’s similarly bad — and unprecedented — decision to build a new, hugely expensive permanent collection building on Wilshire Boulevard that features less gallery space than it had in the 1960s edifice it bulldozed to make way. - Los Angeles Times

Marvel Star Chris Pratt And His Wife Demolished An Architecturally Significant Los Angeles House

The Zimmerman House was designed by architect Craig Ellwood in 1950, and was - before Pratt and his wife, Kathryn Schwarzenegger, had it torn down, a fine example of mid-century modern architecture. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)

Blue Denim, A Painting Seems To Show, Is Centuries Older Than Levi’s

An Italian gallery "is appealing for further research to help identify an anonymous painter who specialised in street scenes that often depict poor people in northern Italy wearing what looks like blue denim.” The gallery calls the painter, “Master of the Blue Jeans.” - The Observer (UK)

Why Is Caravaggio Everywhere On The Cultural Scene?

"This is, after all, the guy who changed it all by introducing emotional intensity and identifiable humanity into the business of representing biblical stories." - The Observer (UK)

The Argument To Pay A Lot More Attention To Tiny Art

That is, to miniature art and the museums that collect it. "Miniatures imitate life but have no clear practical purpose. They can be harder to make than their full-size counterparts. But they are portable.” - which makes them easy to carry as governments fall and empires shift. - The Atlantic

Amazon Is Clogged With Fake Books. How Does This Happen?

Many of them gleefully share misinformation or repackage basic facts from WikiHow behind a title that’s been search-engine-optimized to hell and back again. Some of them even steal the names of well-established existing authors and masquerade as new releases from those writers. - Vox

The Critical Book Stanley Kubrick Blocked With Legal Threats Is Now, At Last, Going To Be Published

“His reaction to The Magic Eye showed Kubrick’s image-control obsessions taken to extremes. He didn’t just make edits – he erased the entire project.” But now, after the director's death, Neil Hornick's 55-year-old manuscript has been prepared for publication. - The Observer (UK)

The Tips And Tricks Of A 23-Year-Old Crossword-Solving Champion

The young speedster says, Ttraining your eye to move back and forth from clues to grid without losing your place, remembering clues when you can, really helps." - The Atlantic

The Very Dark Side Of The Rare Book World

That is, the side where some books are bound in human skin. - The New York Times

As ‘Ecofiction’ Hits Its First Official Decade, Here Are Some Of Its Best Examples

"Many readers are seeking fiction that addresses environmental issues but explores a successful paradigm shift: fiction that accurately addresses our current issues with intelligence and hope. The power of envisioning a certain future is that the vision enables one to see it as possible." - Reactor Mag

This May Seem Obvious, But Libraries Are Great Places To Write

Libraries, actually, are not just great places, but the absolute best places to write. - LitHub

The Original Star Trek Enterprise Model, Missing For Decades, Has Surfaced At Sotheby’s

"For die-hard Trekkies, the model’s disappearance had become the subject of folklore, so an eBay listing last fall, with a starting bid of $1,000, didn’t go unnoticed." - The New York Times

Netflix Gets Caught Using AI-Generated Images Of A Murder Victim In A True-Crime Documentary

"This isn't inventing a fictional narrative for the sake of entertainment — this is tinkering with the fabric of reality itself to manipulate a true story that actually happened.” (There’s more at the subscription-only 404 Media.) - Futurism

Google’s AI Results Are A Disaster For Publishing

"According to ad sales company Raptive, Google’s Search Generative Experience could lead to a drop in search traffic ranging from 20% to 60%, a potential hit of up to $2 billion in global ad revenue." - The Present Age

Fifteen People Were Injured In A Tram Crash At California’s Universal Studios

The injuries were minor, but this isn’t great. "Universal Studios tour is one of the theme park’s most popular attractions, taking riders on a one-hour backlot tour to see behind the scenes where some of Hollywood’s most memorable films and television shows were filmed." - The Hollywood Reporter

Will Sony Buy Paramount As Streamers Consolidate?

Maybe! "Sony and Apollo’s entry would complicate a deal already in the works for the storied studio behind Mission: Impossible and The Godfather. Paramount, the parent of CBS, MTV and other networks, is holding exclusive talks with Skydance Media." - Bloomberg (Yahoo)

What Actually Happened To The DCist, And Beloved Radio Station WAMU

It’s a sad tale about a sudden, depressing end to the feisty - and revived - digital news publication, and a cautionary discussion about management and public radio. - Washingtonian

Tending To The Legacy Of Dance Theatre Of Harlem

“Moving the organization forward would depend not only on the art that the company produced, but also on the legacy through its alumni. And that is a huge thing.” In April, an alumni platform will go live, a place, he said, “where we could galvanize and connect and become a community.” - The New York Times Image

New World Record For Dancers En Pointe

A total of 353 dancers from across the globe held the position, known as going “en pointe,” to beat the current Guinness World Record of 306, said Youth America Grand Prix, the group that organized the tutu-centric turnout. - New York Post

Things Finally Stabilize At Cleveland Ballet With A Permanent CEO

Larry Goodman, a board member, stepped in as interim CEO after founding chief exec Michael Krasnyansky resigned and his wife, artistic director Gladisa Guadalupe, was fired. The board has now anmed him to the position on a permanent basis. - WKYC (Cleveland)

The Pop Star Who’s Dancing A Martha Graham Solo With Graham’s Own Company

FKA twigs (née Tahliah Debrett Barnett), the British singer/songwriter/actor, studied ballet and contemporary dance, including Graham technique, throughout her childhood and teen years. This week, at artistic director Janet Eilber's invitation, she'll perform "Satyric Festival Song." As she tells Gia Kourlas, it's a highlight of her entire career. - The New York Times

As Tensions Between Russia And South Korea Rise, Ballets Featuring Bolshoi Stars Get Cancelled

Last month a production in Seoul starring Bolshoi prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova was called off following protests. This week, another show featuring 12 Bolshoi principals was cancelled a day before opening. One banner held by protesters read "Purchasing tickets for Russian performances = Purchasing missiles that will kill civilians." - AFP (Yahoo!)

A Philadelphia Ballerina Battles MS In Scotland

After six years dancing with the Philadelphia Ballet, Emily Davis moved to Glasgow in 2021 to do a PhD degree in dance health. Her focus is how dance classes can help patients with multiple sclerosis — of which Scotland has one of the world's highest incidence rates. - BBC

The War On Theatre

In the Educational Theater Association’s most recent survey, 85 percent of American theater teachers expressed concern about censorship. Even Shakespeare is at risk: In Florida, new laws led to the restriction of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” to grades 10 through 12 and “Romeo and Juliet” could not be taught. - The New York Times

How Five Actors With Limited Musical Training Became A Band For Broadway’s Stereophonic

“'I was like, as long as someone is musical, any idiot can be in a band,’ Butler said. ‘I can write to whatever level.’ Later Butler realized that this was perhaps naïve.” - The New York Times

An Immersive Kit Kat Club — How Broadway’s Revival Of “Cabaret” Put Together A 75-Minute Prologue

The lobby became the Vault Bar, with an elevated stage and a rotating disco-ball eye. Upstairs is the Red Bar, with dancers behind beaded curtains. Then the Green Bar has sequined fruit on the walls. Dancers move between the spaces on a tightly choreographed schedule, accompanied by a trippy musical mix. - Variety

Climate-Protesting Theatre Vandals Convicted In London

"Five Just Stop Oil protesters have been (convicted) of aggravated trespass after they stormed a performance of Les Misérables in London's West End. Two of (them) were also found guilty of criminal damage after standing on the orchestra pit netting. … The estimated cost to the theatre of cancelling the performance was £60,000." -...

An All-Male “Macbeth” Gets Pushback, And The Director Returns It

Alex Burns of Philadelphia's Quintessence Theatre Group has been criticized by a number of female and trans actors for, in effect, robbing them of all-too-rare opportunities. He asks, "When does the community get to abort someone else’s creative impulse or vision or claim it’s not appropriate?" - Broad Street Review (Philadelphia)

Putin’s Government Adds Imprisoned Playwright And Director To List Of “Terrorists And Extremists”

"Russian theatre director Zhenya Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk have been added to an official list of 'terrorists and extremists' as they await trial on charges of 'justifying terrorism' … (for) an award-winning play about Russian women who married Islamic State fighters." - Reuters

Lourdes Portillo, Director Of ‘The Devil Never Sleeps’ And A Visual Artist, Has Died At 80

The documentary filmmaker " ocused her work on writing, directing and producing film and videos that centered the emotions and circumstances of Latin American, Mexican and Chicano experiences,” including Las Madres: The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo. - Variety

Sir Andrew Davis, Conductor Who Brought Humor To The Last Night Of The BBC Proms, Has Died At 80

Davis was both chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the musical conductor of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in the 1990s. In 1997, just after Princess Diana was killed in a car crash, his final Proms speech helped the audience process their grief. - The Telegraph (UK) (MSN)

Actor Alfred Molina Has Fallen For New York

And New Yorkers love an actor who is moving to Broadway from Hollywood; though Molina has been nominated for three Tony Awards, it’s been 15 years since he was on a New York stage. But let him explain why he loves the city, including the secret to “the best breakfast in New York." -...

Was Anne Of Cleves Really As Ugly As Henry VIII Said?

The famous Holbein portrait of the king's fourth wife portrays her as nice-looking enough. Yet Henry declared her a "Flanders Mare" and annulled the marriage, and letters from ambassadors at the court were not flattering. It's possible, one scholar argues, that the problem was not her face but her clothes. - History Today

“When The Beginning Is Also The End” — Some Of The Very Greatest One-Hit Wonders

Ralph Ellison. Charles Laughton (as filmmaker). Willis Alan Ramsey, the granddaddy of alt-country. Miguel Adrover, a former fashion designer who made a coat from Quentin Crisp's old mattress. And, of course, Harper Lee. - T — The New York Times Style Magazine

Hugh Grant, Suing One Of London’s Most Notorious Tabloids, Settles For “An Enormous Sum”

"The actor had accused the Rupert Murdoch-owned Sun of phone hacking, unlawful information-gathering, landline tapping, bugging his phone and burgling his flat and office. His case was due to go to trial at London’s high court in January 2025." - The Guardian

AJ Premium Classifieds

Executive Director – Cantabile Youth Singers of Silicon Valley

Seeking an entrepreneurial, strategic and creative business leader to contribute to this award-winning youth choir's next chapter of growth.

Executive Director – Opening Act

The Executive Director will steward the organization with a love for theater and arts education combined with a talent for strategic leadership.

Executive Director – Voices of Ascension

The Executive Director will collaborate with the Artistic Director and program chairs to ensure successful program delivery and with the Board of Directors

Executive Director – Ballet Idaho

The Executive Director will work in a shared leadership relationship with the Artistic Director with both positions reporting to and working collaboratively with the Board of Directors.

CFO- Arena Stage

The CFO is a critical member of the Senior Management Team and important ally to Arena’s co-leaders providing operational leadership and oversight in all matters of ongoing financial management, accounting and strategic business development.

AJClassifieds

Oregon Shakespeare Festival Seeks Director of Production

The Director of Production will oversee the management of...

Chief Programming and Engagement Officer

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust (PCT or the Trust), one of the nation’s premier arts presenters and a major catalytic influence in the city of Pittsburgh, seeks a chief programming and engagement officer (CPEO).

Biggs Museum seeks their next Executive Director

The Biggs achieves its vision and goals within the standards and best practices as an American Alliance of Museums accredited institution, including championing the next phase of expansion.

Executive Director, Institute for Contemporary Art

The ICA has become a focal point of Richmond’s energetic arts district, serving as a nexus for creativity and inclusion, where innovative thinking and transformational ideas are drawn from a spectrum of disciplines.

Payroll/HR Administrator, Mark Morris Dance Group

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION: This position supports the entire organization, interacting regularly...

FringeArts seeks CEO & Producing Director

The Chief Executive Officer and Producing Director (CEO & PD) will drive the organization’s next level of growth through a strategic evolution that enhances FringeArts’ impact and reach.

Chief Executive Officer, Motown Museum

The CEO will be a dynamic, high-energy leader with a minimum of 10 years of strategic leadership experience.

Assistant Teaching Professor of Dance

The Department of Theatre & Dance at UC San Diego invites exceptional dance educators and dance makers who emphasize interdisciplinary methodologies and whose research is rooted in African and Afro-Diasporic experiences and practices that are varyingly multiracial, trans-geographic and intersectional.

Call Salvador Dali On His Lobster Phone To Ask An AI Dali Your Burning Questions

Cool and deeply creepy at the same time: “The artist's AI voice was trained on voice samples taken from archival interviews Dalí did in English over his career. (He spoke four languages — Catalan, Spanish, French and English — sometimes interchangeably.)” We’re ready for the four-language answers. - NPR

Indigenous Artists Win Top Prizes At Venice Biennale

“The exhibition’s top prizes both went to Indigenous artists, with the Golden Lion for the main curated exhibition going to the Mataaho Collective, which consists of four Māori women artists. ... The Golden Lion for the National Pavilion was given to Archie Moore (Kamilaroi/Bigambul), who was Australia’s representative." - ARTnews

When Inigo Philbrick And I Tried To Cut A Banksy Out Of The Wall It Was Painted On

Orlando Whitfield (as recounted in his new book): “I mean, this is great, but it’s on a fucking wall. A door was one thing, but this is different.” Philbrick: “I know. But it has to be doable, right? Has to be. Think of all those frescoes they move in Italy.” - The Guardian

How Harlem Stage Has Helped Create Choreography Careers

The series E-Moves is 25 years old now, and one of its "intended effects has been to take choreographers who work mainly ‘downtown,’ in white-dominated dance institutions, and bring them ‘uptown’ to Harlem." - The New York Times

Disastrous Decisions In The UK As Birmingham Council Slashes All Arts Funding

Birmingham is a bellwether for the UK. Nothing “could be more emblematic of the way that Britain currently devalues life: when we only focus on our most basic needs, dismissing leisure, art, literature and culture as something decadent and middle-class, we do ourselves an injustice.” - The Observer (UK)

Artist Faith Ringgold, Who Wove Black History Into Quilts And Books, Has Died At 93

“For more than a half-century, Ms. Ringgold explored themes of race, gender, class, family and community through a vast array of media, among them painting, sculpture, mask- and doll-making, textiles and performance art.” - The New York Times

The Long-Hidden Sexual Assault Scandal At The New York Phil

Even now, "some employees, particularly female employees, continue to feel unsafe. A current member of the orchestra told me about an incident this past February in which her male colleagues spoke negatively about Asian women performing with the orchestra." - Vulture (MSN)

Roberta Smith On 38 Years Of Art Criticism For The New York Times

"Critics need to be more flexible than artists. You have to be open to being changed and pushed into new directions. ... My main goal has always been to point out art that people would enjoy seeing, and to show them how I saw it and enjoyed it." - The New York Times

Fraud Fail: Musicians Are Seeing Their Music Being Taken Down From Streaming Services

Although distributors and streaming services frequently use language that places the blame on the artist for fraudulent activity detected on their accounts, it has become clear that artists are often caught in the middle of a crossfire between streaming services, distributors and fraudsters attempting to game the system for their own financial gain. - Variety

Librarians Under Threat Of Jail, Lawsuits In Trump 2nd-Term Agenda

In the foreword to Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s blueprint for a possible second Donald Trump administration, it says “people who produce and distribute it should be imprisoned. Educators and public librarians who purvey it should be classed as registered sex offenders.” - AP

Conductor Edo De Waart Suddenly Announces His Retirement

Said the 82-year-old this morning, "I woke up at 5:30 yesterday morning to get ready for rehearsal and I thought, what am I even doing? I was wobbly on my feet, and then I thought, I just shouldn't do it anymore." - NPO Radio 4 (Netherlands) (via Google Translate)

Visa Costs For International Artists In The U.S. Have Risen Astronomically, And With Devastating Effect

One musician says, "Every time I go over there, I'm losing money. … We’re never making money, it's not a possibility. I'm lucky enough that I'm signed now and I've made two albums so I have the money to lose in America.” - BBC
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