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Today's Stories

What Happens When You Expose Octopuses To Art?

The Japanese artist Shimabuku wanted to find out — so he started making artworks for them. - CNN

The Power Of Gossip And Spiritual Ease

I was able to differentiate between types of ­gossip through this association: the kind that aims to bring a rival low, that tries to set the ­record straight about some unfairly maligned ­individual, or that is akin to a secret stock tip and meant to benefit a shrewd listener. Every ­subject was fair game. -...

Just Whom Is Spotify’s New Time-Limited Audiobook Subscription For? Not Enough Time For The Whole Book.

The 30-hour limit won’t get you through titles like George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones or Brandon Sanderson’s The Way of Kings, for example. You could listen to two or three smaller novels instead, but if you want to re-listen to them in the future, you’ll have to sacrifice those hours again. - The Verge

Yale Art Gallery Withdraws Grant Applications After NEA Anti-DEI Rules

The Yale Art Gallery,  the renowned university museum in New Haven, Connecticut, has withdrawn two federal grant applications for an African art exhibition after rejecting the new, anti-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) stipulations introduced by the Trump administration. - ARTnews

Stephen Petronio Company To Give Its Last-Ever Performances At Jacob’s Pillow Next Week

The 69-year-old choreographer announced earlier this year that this season, the company’s 40th anniversary, is its last. Two years ago, he announced that the dance center he had opened in upstate New York would shut down after only six years. Both closures are fallout from the COVID pandemic. - MassLive

How Trump Managed To Kill Bipartisaan Support For Public Broadcasting

Trump had campaigned on retribution and made the news media a core element of his grievance. Public broadcasting has offered a ready target, given the government funding, and he has repeatedly claimed NPR and PBS demonstrate ideological bias. - NPR

How Trump’s Attacks On Journalists Are Weakening The First Amendment

They show Trump has found tactical ways to prevail in his nonstop battle to discredit outlets that report critically on him and his activities. - Variety

Fantastical Set Designer John Conklin, 88

The term “prodigy” rarely applies to set designers, but Mr. Conklin’s instincts were on full display in his youth. Growing up in Hartford, Conn., he attended symphonies and operas with his family, and by the age of 10 he was building his own models, based on photographs he found perusing the magazine Opera News. - The...

The Most Dangerous Book In America?

“What has been labeled the ‘bible of the racist right’ has influenced American culture in a way only fiction can. … There is no exaggeration in saying that The Turner Diaries and books like it have played a part in spreading hateful ideas that now even influence government policy.” - The Atlantic (MSN)

“Citizen Kane”‘s Rosebud Sleigh Sells For $14.75M

Film director Joe Dante had owned the piece since 1984, when a person was clearing out a section of the Paramount Pictures film lot that had once been owned by RKO, the defunct studio which produced "Citizen Kane." - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)

The Art Of Extra-ing

 In gaps between jobs, an assortment of artists, coders and labourers played policemen, caterers and journalists. As one of the extras playing a journalist, I could draw on personal experience. - The Observer (UK)

Cancelling Colbert: The Ideological Purge Comes To Late Night TV

CBS knows what all this looks like. They’re trying very hard to address the optics. - Washington Post

Detroit Opera, Facing Big Budget Shortfall, Cancels Next Season’s First Production

Following steep drops in donations and especially government funding, the company has called off all performances of Puccini’s Girl of the Golden West this fall. It was to be the only traditionally presented staging of the coming season; the remaining productions are of unconventional repertoire. - Detroit Free Press

Why Liberal Arts Education Is Really In Decline At American Universities

The tragedy of the contemporary academy is that even when traditional liberal learning clearly wins with students and donors, it loses with those in power. - The New York Times

Canada’s Giller Prize Will Close Down This Year Without New Sponsor Or Government Funding

“The annual $100,000 prize for fiction ended its 20-year partnership with lead sponsor Scotiabank earlier this year. At that time, Giller Foundation executive director Elana Rabinovitch did not comment on the financial effect the loss of the lead sponsor would have on the prize’s future.” - Quill & Quire

Meet The New Champion Of The Left-Hand Piano Repertoire

Nicholas McCarthy, a 35-year-old Briton who was born without a right hand, has not only conquered the well-known works such as the Ravel concerto, he has commissioned new pieces for piano one-hand and revived little-known pieces from a repertoire that number more than 3,000 scores. - The New York Times

Making The Gisèle Pelicot Trial Into Theatre

“The three-hour performance (at the Avignon Festival) has been created by Milo Rau, the Swiss director and playwright acclaimed for his theatre interpretations of court proceedings, including the Moscow trial of the Russian punks Pussy Riot and the trial of the Romanian despot Nicolae Ceaușescu.” - The Guardian

Steve Benson, Provocative, Pulitzer-Winning Editorial Cartoonist, Is Dead At 71

“(He) evolved from a conservative, high-profile member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints into an outspoken atheist and liberal, all while using his pen to skewer presidents and the powerful.” (He liked to describe himself as an “editorial harpoonist.”) - The Washington Post (MSN)

Woody Allen Is Now A Novelist

Since the 1970s, Allen has written several books of short stories and essays, as well as a memoir, Apropos of Nothing, published in 2020, but this is his first novel. What’s With Baum, to be released later this year by Swift Press, is about a middle-aged Jewish journalist-turned-novelist ‘consumed with anxiety about everything under the sun.” -...

Congress Approves Trump’s Clawback Of All Public Radio And TV Funding

The bill reclaims the entire $1.1 billion previously appropriated for the next two years for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The CPB distributes two-thirds of its funding to over 1,500 local public radio and TV stations, with most of the rest going to NPR and PBS to support national programming. - AP

By Topic

The Power Of Gossip And Spiritual Ease

I was able to differentiate between types of ­gossip through this association: the kind that aims to bring a rival low, that tries to set the ­record straight about some unfairly maligned ­individual, or that is akin to a secret stock tip and meant to benefit a shrewd listener. Every ­subject was fair game. - The Walrus

Why Liberal Arts Education Is Really In Decline At American Universities

The tragedy of the contemporary academy is that even when traditional liberal learning clearly wins with students and donors, it loses with those in power. - The New York Times

How Misinformation Infects A Community

Social connections establish pathways of influence that can facilitate the spread of germs, mental illness and even behaviors. We can be profoundly influenced by others within our social networks, for better or for worse. - The Conversation

AI Companions Are Getting Really Good. But We Lose Something Creatively Important

Solitude is the engine of independent thought—a usual precondition for real creativity. It gives us a chance to commune with nature, or, if we’re feeling ambitious, to pursue some kind of spiritual transcendence. - The New Yorker

Why We Choose To Ignore Useful Information Right In Front Of Us

If the saying ‘knowledge is power’ is true, then most people hold an indefinite amount of power in their pockets. And, in this light, it’s curious that someone would choose to relinquish that power by avoiding information. - Psyche

What Brain Scans Reveal About Humans Seeking Revenge

Recent neuroscience discoveries reveal a chilling picture: Your brain on revenge looks like your brain on drugs. Brain imaging studies show that grievances—real or imagined perceptions of injustice, disrespect, betrayal, shame, or victimization—activate the “pain network,” specifically the anterior insula. - Slate (MSN)

How Trump’s Attacks On Journalists Are Weakening The First Amendment

They show Trump has found tactical ways to prevail in his nonstop battle to discredit outlets that report critically on him and his activities. - Variety

Republicans Propose Big Cuts To NEA, NEH, Kennedy Center Budgets

House Appropriations Interior Subcommittee recommended 35 percent cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) budget, and a 17.2 percent reduction in the Kennedy Center’s budget. If passed, this would be the NEA’s lowest allocation since 2007. - American Theatre

Burlesque Is Experiencing Yet Another Revival

“(The 21st-century’s neo-burlesque) feels relevant to 2025 – in step with drag and queer culture, and in line with the broader movement towards diversity and inclusivity that we've seen in the last decade. Yet what's surprising about some of the new burlesque offerings is how old-fashioned they seem.” - BBC

Australian Artists And Universities Could Have Funding Blocked If They Fail To Fight Antisemitism

“Universities and artists would have funding withheld if they fail to act against antisemitism, AI tools would be banned from sharing Jewish hatred, and the government would have new grounds to deport visitors under a wide-ranging plan put forward by Australia’s antisemitism envoy.” - The Guardian

How Italian Towns Selling Houses For €1 Changes Culture

The campaigns seemed to me to have been largely successful – some towns had sold all their listed properties. By attracting international buyers to a house that “costs less than a cup of coffee”, as one piece put it, some of Italy’s most remote towns now had new life circulating through them. - The Guardian

The Frustrations Of Advocating For The Arts

Advocacy emerges from discontent. In the arts, it’s often borne of witnessing creative practice undervalued, institutions destabilised and public funding eroded. These grievances are real and deeply felt. But passion alone, when untempered, can be self-defeating. - Arts Hub

Detroit Opera, Facing Big Budget Shortfall, Cancels Next Season’s First Production

Following steep drops in donations and especially government funding, the company has called off all performances of Puccini’s Girl of the Golden West this fall. It was to be the only traditionally presented staging of the coming season; the remaining productions are of unconventional repertoire. - Detroit Free Press

Meet The New Champion Of The Left-Hand Piano Repertoire

Nicholas McCarthy, a 35-year-old Briton who was born without a right hand, has not only conquered the well-known works such as the Ravel concerto, he has commissioned new pieces for piano one-hand and revived little-known pieces from a repertoire that number more than 3,000 scores. - The New York Times

Folk Rock Band Hits Big On The Music Charts. Trouble Is, The Band Is AI. So Now What?

 As the project rises on global charts and dominates Viral 50 playlists, artists and industry professionals are asking urgent questions about authenticity, consent and the future of music creation. - ArtsHub

Two Orchestras In Southwest Florida Have Recently Closed, While Two Others Are Thriving. Why Is This?

In the past 18 months, the Punta Gorda Symphony and the Fort Myers-based Southwest Florida Symphony have gone under. Meanwhile, the Sarasota Orchestra and Naples Philharmonic are doing rather well — and there are reasons for the difference. - Naples (Fla.) Daily News

Leonard Slatkin Returns To Nashville Symphony As Music Advisor

Slatkin held the post — in this particular case, a sort of interim music director position — twenty years ago, from 2006 to 2009, between the tenures of music directors Kenneth Schermerhorn and Giancarlo Guerrero. With Guerrero having stepped down, Slatkin is returning for another three-year term. - WZTY (Nashville)

Electrical Recording Debuted 100 Years Ago This Year

“The ascent from one method (purely mechanical recording on a horn) to the other (electrical recording with a microphone) was more significant even than the later leaps from wax cylinder to flat disc, shellac to vinyl, mono to stereo, analogue to digital or CD to streaming.” - Gramophone

What Happens When You Expose Octopuses To Art?

The Japanese artist Shimabuku wanted to find out — so he started making artworks for them. - CNN

Yale Art Gallery Withdraws Grant Applications After NEA Anti-DEI Rules

The Yale Art Gallery,  the renowned university museum in New Haven, Connecticut, has withdrawn two federal grant applications for an African art exhibition after rejecting the new, anti-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) stipulations introduced by the Trump administration. - ARTnews

The School Teacher Who Was Selling “Creepy” Art Made By His Students

The page was entitled “Creepy Portrait Art,” and the pictures were, as promised, incredibly creepy. Dozens of student portraits, mostly in crayon, depicted a grab bag of nightmarish externalization: twelve- and thirteen-year-olds with bleeding wounds, sutured mouths, and dangling eyeballs.  - The Walrus

Russia’s Private Art Museums Are Targets In Putin’s Crackdown On Dissent

“Many cultural workers and some billionaire museum founders have chosen to leave Russia; others have felt compelled to do so after warnings that they could be imprisoned. Here is how four private Russian museums are faring in this difficult environment.” - The Art Newspaper

What The UK’s Redesigned Money Will Say About Its People

The invitation to contribute to the redesign will therefore show two things. It will tell us how the country sees itself. It will also demonstrate the contradictions around national symbols and the exclusions they can produce. - The Conversation

Why The Nazis Stole A Piece Of The Bayeux Tapestry

Nazi interest in the Bayeux tapestry may seem surprising to British people, where the tapestry is considered a symbol of a singularly significant moment in Britain’s history. However, just as politicians in modern Britain have found it tempting to reference the tapestry. - The Conversation

Just Whom Is Spotify’s New Time-Limited Audiobook Subscription For? Not Enough Time For The Whole Book.

The 30-hour limit won’t get you through titles like George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones or Brandon Sanderson’s The Way of Kings, for example. You could listen to two or three smaller novels instead, but if you want to re-listen to them in the future, you’ll have to sacrifice those hours again. - The Verge

The Most Dangerous Book In America?

“What has been labeled the ‘bible of the racist right’ has influenced American culture in a way only fiction can. … There is no exaggeration in saying that The Turner Diaries and books like it have played a part in spreading hateful ideas that now even influence government policy.” - The Atlantic (MSN)

Canada’s Giller Prize Will Close Down This Year Without New Sponsor Or Government Funding

“The annual $100,000 prize for fiction ended its 20-year partnership with lead sponsor Scotiabank earlier this year. At that time, Giller Foundation executive director Elana Rabinovitch did not comment on the financial effect the loss of the lead sponsor would have on the prize’s future.” - Quill & Quire

Woody Allen Is Now A Novelist

Since the 1970s, Allen has written several books of short stories and essays, as well as a memoir, Apropos of Nothing, published in 2020, but this is his first novel. What’s With Baum, to be released later this year by Swift Press, is about a middle-aged Jewish journalist-turned-novelist ‘consumed with anxiety about everything under the...

India’s Nationalist Government Is Pushing Hindi To Replace English. Non-Hindi-Speaking States Are Pushing Back Hard.

It’s the latest outbreak of a recurring argument: the central government in Delhi (in Hindi-speaking north-central India) pushes for Hindi in place of the British colonizers’ tongue, while other states argue that with English, every region is on an equal footing and Hindi won’t crowd out their own languages. - Deutsche Welle

How TikTok Is Changing The Ways We Communicate

Because we’re social creatures, your recommendation page will pressure you to watch or participate in these trends, so you can feel caught up on the latest cultural references. - LitHub

How Trump Managed To Kill Bipartisaan Support For Public Broadcasting

Trump had campaigned on retribution and made the news media a core element of his grievance. Public broadcasting has offered a ready target, given the government funding, and he has repeatedly claimed NPR and PBS demonstrate ideological bias. - NPR

“Citizen Kane”‘s Rosebud Sleigh Sells For $14.75M

Film director Joe Dante had owned the piece since 1984, when a person was clearing out a section of the Paramount Pictures film lot that had once been owned by RKO, the defunct studio which produced "Citizen Kane." - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)

The Art Of Extra-ing

 In gaps between jobs, an assortment of artists, coders and labourers played policemen, caterers and journalists. As one of the extras playing a journalist, I could draw on personal experience. - The Observer (UK)

Cancelling Colbert: The Ideological Purge Comes To Late Night TV

CBS knows what all this looks like. They’re trying very hard to address the optics. - Washington Post

Congress Approves Trump’s Clawback Of All Public Radio And TV Funding

The bill reclaims the entire $1.1 billion previously appropriated for the next two years for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The CPB distributes two-thirds of its funding to over 1,500 local public radio and TV stations, with most of the rest going to NPR and PBS to support national programming. - AP

CBS Cancels “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” In A “Purely Financial Decision”

The cancellation, effective next May, of US late-night TV’s highest-rated program comes as CBS’s corporate parent, Paramount Global, seeks FCC approval of an $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media. Colbert has long been a strong and high-profile critic of Donald Trump, including in his monologues on The Late Show. - CNN

Stephen Petronio Company To Give Its Last-Ever Performances At Jacob’s Pillow Next Week

The 69-year-old choreographer announced earlier this year that this season, the company’s 40th anniversary, is its last. Two years ago, he announced that the dance center he had opened in upstate New York would shut down after only six years. Both closures are fallout from the COVID pandemic. - MassLive

Wisconsin Has A New Professional Ballet Company

Wisconsin Dance Theatre, based in the southern part of the state between Milwaukee and Madison, just opened its debut production — A Hero’s Homecoming, a World War II story which artistic director Samuel Huberty believes is more resonant with today's audience than are classic story ballets about royalty and the supernatural. - Wisconsin Public...

Jacob’s Pillow Gets A New Modern Addition

It is unmistakably a work of contemporary architecture, a radical departure for Jacob’s Pillow. As such, it must be judged not only on how successfully it performs its programmatic duties but also on its implications for the character of the campus. In other words, is it a good neighbor? - The Wall Street Journal...

The Power Of Cutting Loose On The Dance Floor

“A new season at London’s Southbank Centre is inspired by Emma Warren’s book Dance Your Way Home, about the potency of communal movement. She and other artists involved explain why the dance floor is their happy place.” - The Guardian

Mark Morris After 45 Years

Morris’s dance impulse is still very much alive. “We’re far from that time, 40 years ago, when it was a group of my peers,” Morris said. “But my way of working hasn’t changed that much.” - The New York Times

The Latest Korean Pop Culture Phenomenon? Swing Dancing

“For a vintage American cultural practice to spread overseas and thrive there more robustly than at home is a story at least as old as jazz. Not in every case, though, does the transplanted form evolve into a local variant. That’s what has happened in Korea.” - The New York Times

Making The Gisèle Pelicot Trial Into Theatre

“The three-hour performance (at the Avignon Festival) has been created by Milo Rau, the Swiss director and playwright acclaimed for his theatre interpretations of court proceedings, including the Moscow trial of the Russian punks Pussy Riot and the trial of the Romanian despot Nicolae Ceaușescu.” - The Guardian

Why Did Supercool Indie Film Studio A24 Buy An Off-Broadway Theater?

Since A25 bought the Cherry Lane Theater in Manhattan’s West Village two years ago, the house has been closed. Turns out the studio has been renovating, and the theater will reopen in September as A24’s first live performance venue. - The New York Times

“Gypsy” Starring Audra McDonald Will End Broadway Run Early

The revival, which was nominated for five Tony Awards but won none, had been expected to run until at least Oct. 5; it will now close on Aug. 17. - The Hollywood Reporter

Williamstown Theater Festival Is Back From The Brink With A New Plan

“This summer, the ... latest leadership team has opted for a radically new and risky reboot: Instead of a summer-long season with two shows at a time, the company is leaning into the ‘festival’ part of its name, offering eight shows simultaneously, but only for three long weekends.” - The New York Times

The Most Talked-About Director In British Theatre

“Theatre is controversial again and it’s happened, surprisingly, in an Andrew Lloyd Webber revival” — the Evita in which Eva Perón sings to the crowd on the street — “at the London Palladium. ... And those buzzy shows that you heard about were probably directed by the same guy as this one: Jamie Lloyd.” - GQ

It Might Be Time To Revive This Forgotten Pulitzer Prize-Winner’s Plays

“Gale didn’t coin the term ‘think global, act local,’ but that’s what Sodality does: Gale’s stories imagine an anti-capitalist vision of ‘sodality’ that could extend across the world, if only women were in charge.” - LitHub

Fantastical Set Designer John Conklin, 88

The term “prodigy” rarely applies to set designers, but Mr. Conklin’s instincts were on full display in his youth. Growing up in Hartford, Conn., he attended symphonies and operas with his family, and by the age of 10 he was building his own models, based on photographs he found perusing the magazine Opera News....

Steve Benson, Provocative, Pulitzer-Winning Editorial Cartoonist, Is Dead At 71

“(He) evolved from a conservative, high-profile member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints into an outspoken atheist and liberal, all while using his pen to skewer presidents and the powerful.” (He liked to describe himself as an “editorial harpoonist.”) - The Washington Post (MSN)

Connie Francis, One Of The Best-Selling Pop Stars Of The 1950s and ‘60s, Has Died At 87

“(She was) the most popular female singer of the late 1950s and early ’60s, with such hits as ‘Who’s Sorry Now,’ ‘Stupid Cupid’ and ‘Where the Boys Are,’ and who became an unlikely TikTok sensation at 87 for a song she recorded six decades earlier.” - The Washington Post (MSN)

Poet Andrea Gibson, Subject Of Prizewinning New Documentary, Is Dead At 49

Gibson, spouse Megan Falley, and their four-year struggle with Gibson’s ovarian cancer are the main subjects of the documentary Come See Me in the Good Light, winner of the Festival Favorite Award this year at the Sundance Film Festival and scheduled to air this fall on Apple TV+. - AP

Praemium Imperiale 2025 Winners: Marina Abramović, András Schiff, Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, Peter Doig, Eduardo Souto de Moura

It seems the categories for the $100,000 arts prizes this year were made a bit flexible: performance artist Abramović won the prize for sculpture and choreographer de Keersmaeker won the theatre/film award. Meanwhile, pianist Schiff won for music, artist Doig for painting, and Souto de Moura for architecture. - FAD Magazine

“Gorky Park” Author Martin Cruz Smith Dead At 82

“(He) had just published Hotel Ukraine, the 11th and final installment in his Arkady Renko detective series, three days before he died. The novel featured his detective hero grappling with the usual concerns — official corruption, a brutal murder — as well as the same debilitating illness faced by Mr. Smith.” - The Washington...

AJ Premium Classifieds

Orchestra Lumos Seeks President and CEO

Orchestra Lumos brings live symphonic music to nearly 15,000 residents annually across Fairfield County, Connecticut, the most populous county in the state.

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra seeks a Director of Operations

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra seeks a Director of Operations to manage orchestra services, production, touring, and union compliance while fostering collaboration across departments and musicians.

Artistic Director – Everyman Theatre

Currently celebrating its 35th Season, Everyman Theatre seeks a positive, collaborative, and dynamic leader to serve as its second-ever Artistic Director...

RADAR Nonprofit Solutions seeks Remote Accounting Manager

RADAR Nonprofit Solutions is seeking an experienced Accounting Manager to perform the accounting activities for various clients in the arts and other nonprofit sectors.

MAJOR GIFTS OFFICER, Paper Mill Playhouse

The Major Gifts Officer (MGO) is a critical member of the Development team and plays a central role in helping to advance PMP's philanthropic goals.

Executive Director – Southeastern Theatre Conference

The Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC), the largest network of theatre practitioners in the US, seeks service-oriented & inclusive leader to serve as its Executive Director

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Director of Marketing & Communications

CANADIAN STAGE is seeking a creative and energetic individual to serve as its next Director of Marketing & Communications.

Executive Director, IN Series

IN SERIES, one of the nation’s leading companies for innovative “small” Opera and music-theater work, invites applications for the newly created full-time position, Executive Director

Director of Marketing and Communications, Mark Morris Dance Group

As we approach our 45th anniversary this position will play an integral role in ensuring the organization’s brand is effectively communicated to diverse audiences, including ticket buyers, donors, students, community members, press, presenters and other industry professionals.

General Director – Pittsburgh Opera

As it looks forward to its 87th season, Pittsburgh Opera—one of America’s most artistically respected opera companies—invites recommendations/applications for the position of General Director

Adult Programs Manager, Mark Morris Dance Group

This position is focused on delivering programming excellence and increasing programming visibility, diversity and engagement with both professional and recreational dancer communities.

PRESIDENT & CEO, South Arts

South Arts is searching for a bold, visionary leader with a proven ability to shape strategy, inspire collaboration, and drive impact across complex, evolving landscapes.

Congress Approves Trump’s Clawback Of All Public Radio And TV Funding

The bill reclaims the entire $1.1 billion previously appropriated for the next two years for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The CPB distributes two-thirds of its funding to over 1,500 local public radio and TV stations, with most of the rest going to NPR and PBS to support national programming. - AP

Can The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center Survive?

The venerated, invaluable theatre incubator is facing, like so many performance-related sites, money trouble. - The New York Times

The Salt Path’s Author Had A New Book Coming Out, Then Came Last Week’s Revelations

“Penguin, publisher of The Salt Path, is delaying author Raynor Winn’s next book after reporting cast doubt over the truth of the 2018 memoir. The decision was taken to 'support the author.’” - The Guardian (UK)

As The Kennedy Center Loses Subscribers, What Will This Mean For The National Symphony Orchestra?

It’s not great: Subscriptions are down 36 percent. But “complicating things for a number of NSO supporters … is the energy surrounding the orchestra itself, which remains infectiously high, ascendant and alive with promise, especially following last season’s extension of music director Gianandrea Noseda’s contract.” - Washington Post (MSN)

The Multitude Of Ways Trump Is Preventing Musicians From Other Countries Getting To The US

It’s not pretty. Yet organizers persist. Why? "When you’re in the same room as the artist, when you feel the music move through your body, when you see the emotion on their face and hear their story — that creates a bond. … It counters propaganda. It softens xenophobia.” - Seattle Times

In A Tough Hollywood Job Market, YouTube And Other Social Media Provide Aa Rare Bright Spot

Yes, it’s true: "That part of the industry, once dominated by amateurs making funny viral videos with smartphones has blossomed into a formidable entertainment force, where video creators are setting up real businesses with large studios in Southern California funded through advertising by major brands. - Los Angeles Times

Remember The Collective That Sold Pieces Of A Damien Hirst Painting Dot By Dot? Look At What They’re Up To Now.

“Billed as a ‘financial trust fall,’ the project” — a sculpture of an infant, built to be taken apart and divided, which the collective MSCHF has titled King Solomon’s Baby — “invites collectors to take the plunge (and buy a piece), hoping others will follow suit in a reverse pyramid scheme that’s artfully self-aware.”...

Kyoto’s Overtourism Problem May Be Even Worse Than Amsterdam’s Or Barcelona’s

“Last year, more tourists visited Kyoto than Barcelona, Amsterdam, or even Paris. … (It's a) conundrum with no obvious solutions. Tokyo and Osaka are big enough to soak up tourists the same way New York and London can, but Kyoto is hemmed in by mountains, which keeps the city from expanding.” - New York...

Famous Art Detective Arthur Brand Recovers Stolen Documents So Historic That They’re UNESCO-Listed

The cache of papers, dating from the 15th through the 19th centuries, was stolen from the National Archives of the Netherlands in 2015. Among the recovered papers are archives from the early days of the world’s first multinational corporation, the Dutch East India Company. - France 24

Brad Pitt Is Fooling You

“The cumulative effect of F1 and its press tour have been a carefully tuned charm offensive meant to obscure, if not outright bury, the alleged violent particulars of his behavior toward ex-wife Angelina Jolie.” - Vulture (Internet Archive)

A Strad That Disappeared At The End Of WWII May Have Resurfaced

“The case of the Mendelssohn Stradivarius highlights the opaque trade for rare instruments, in which details about provenance, or the history of previous ownership, are often not well documented or, in some cases, intentionally obscured.” - The New York Times

Did The Salt Path Seem Like A Good Story?

That’s because the “memoir” (and its sequels, not to mention the new movie starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs) was at least partly fiction, covering up theft, a criminal case, and land in France. - The Observer (UK)

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