According to the plan released, “We are maintaining an infrastructure built for 30,000 students while currently serving 20,000.” Other options “have been exhausted” and “incrementalism” has failed, it says. - InsideHigherEd
French artist JR has taken over Paris’s Pont Neuf—the oldest bridge over the Seine, and the city’s first built from stone, not wood. JR’s hotly awaited hometown installation La Caverne du Pont Neuf (2026) measures 120 meters long, 20 meters wide, and, in some spots, 18 meters tall. - Artnet
Ashley Ferro-Murray of the Doris Duke Foundation: I’m interested in … funding resilient models for the future as well as legacy models that ... value the labor of the artist. One way the Doris Duke Foundation is doing this is by combining our grant-making capacity with other resources like marketing and communications. - Dance Magazine
Reaching more than 20 feet in height, the hall was built over the course of nine months by a team of more than 100 volunteers who relied on the tools and techniques of their Neolithic ancestors. - Artnet
“What we have seen, across the country, is that institutions that have eliminated admissions have generally not seen an increase in visitation in any meaningful way,” says Daniel Weiss. - The Art Newspaper
Gandhi demonstrated that micro-morality is essential, but not good enough. We have to be morally good people used to looking inside and judging what we do before we do it, but also people who look seriously at the flawed systems that surround us and think about what we can do to oppose them. - 3 Quarks Daily
“One New York staffer said that, in contrast to other billionaires who have purchased media properties in recent years, James Murdoch has ‘actually been in the media business for a long time. It’s not like he’s just coming in new to it as like a fun trophy or novelty.’” - The Washington Post (MSN)
The 20 inauthentic channels analyzed have had nearly 40 million views. Videos use AI-generated deepfakes, often of Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney, and include “frequent and obvious lies.” Channels include “AI avatars and paid American voice actors.” - The Conversation
While TikTok’s stunted critical language sells legions more books—even good ones—than the literary critics who dismiss the platform, as a doubtfully salable fiction writer I’m less interested in how a book goes viral than in what this costs the reader. - The Point
“The new and sole artistic director is Lindsay Smiling, who has been one of the company’s three co-artistic directors for the past three years; … the other two, Yury Urnov and Morgan Green, are moving on to other roles and pursuits.” - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
The 50-year-old British conductor and part-time Air France pilot is currently chief conductor at Rome’s Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and has held similar positions at the Orchestre de Paris, Swedish Radio Symphony, and Mahler Chamber Orchestra. He begins his initial six-year term in 2027. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
When he became general director in 2024, he had to raise $4 million in 12 weeks just to keep the company from closing; that entire season was, as he put it, “three weeks away from stopping payroll.” Now, notwithstanding the $11-or-pay-what-you-wish tickets, Opera Philadelphia has a cash surplus. - The New York Times
“From his days as a teen phenom to his more measured solo work and experimentation with free jazz, Rollins was revered for his improvisational skill. He was among the last living greats of the bebop era and — with John Coltrane and Charlie Parker — one of the most influential saxophonists of his time.” - AP
“In a grisly case that shocked the art world, a Cuban-American man was found guilty of his role in a murder-for-hire plot that resulted in the stabbing death of his estranged husband, prominent New York art dealer Brent Sikkema, during a holiday in Brazil.” - The Wall Street Journal (MSN)
The National Art Museum, National Philharmonic of Ukraine, Kyiv Opera Theater, National Chornobyl Museum, Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium and Hinaus Gallery were among sites hit in what the Minister of Culture called the "largest series of damages" to cultural institutions in Kyiv since Russia's war in all of Ukraine began in 2022. - CBC
He directed well over 100 films and telecasts of operas and concerts for the BBC, the Royal Opera House in London, the Met, and most prominent companies in Europe and the U.S. Among his most famous telecasts were the Boulez/Chéreau Ring cycle from Bayreuth and the original Three Tenors stadium concert. - OperaWire
With our economy stagnant, this situation is not going to improve any time soon, and we need glamour and celebrity to boost sales, particularly in the subsidised sector. - The Telegraph (Yahoo)
I think the library feels like a place where you can do something concrete. You can go to an actual library; you can pull books off the shelves. And I think maybe that’s behind this strange resurgence of book banning. - The Walrus
Cristian Mungiu's Norway-set drama about political polarization, Fjord, has won the Palme d'Or, handing the Cannes Film Festival's top honour for the second time to Mungiu, the Romanian director of 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. - CBC
Gandhi demonstrated that micro-morality is essential, but not good enough. We have to be morally good people used to looking inside and judging what we do before we do it, but also people who look seriously at the flawed systems that surround us and think about what we can do to oppose them. - 3 Quarks Daily
The extent to which AI will upend creative work remains unsettled. But that uncertainty has made guaranteeing income for creatives a more viable policy idea. - The Conversation
We no longer argue about whether art as such is a matter of life and death—we assume that it’s not. Consequently, critics aren’t prompted to ask about the political valence of their own activity: Is criticism itself a moral good? - Artforum
Researchers discovered that when equipped with specific “persona” prompts, advanced models like GPT-4.5 were judged to be human 73% of the time, significantly outperforming actual human participants and fundamentally altering our understanding of machine intelligence. - Neuroscience News
According to the plan released, “We are maintaining an infrastructure built for 30,000 students while currently serving 20,000.” Other options “have been exhausted” and “incrementalism” has failed, it says. - InsideHigherEd
The National Art Museum, National Philharmonic of Ukraine, Kyiv Opera Theater, National Chornobyl Museum, Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium and Hinaus Gallery were among sites hit in what the Minister of Culture called the "largest series of damages" to cultural institutions in Kyiv since Russia's war in all of Ukraine began in 2022. - CBC
Last year, at least sixteen nonprofit colleges and universities announced that they would close and seven more announced that they would merge with or be acquired by other schools. - The New Yorker
The national government’s arts agency, Creative New Zealand, plans to have most funding decisions (excepting international projects and national companies such as the NZ Symphony and Royal NZ Ballet) made by up to 16 independent regional organizations. - The Big Idea (New Zealand)
Some students only want people who hold similar views to address them at their graduation. They exercise what free speech law experts call a “heckler’s veto,” meaning when an audience’s reaction, or anticipated response, stops someone from speaking. - The Conversation
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has circulated a “Be on the Lookout” alert to law enforcement nationwide, targeting a comedian whose satire of US immigration enforcement went viral. - The Guardian
The 50-year-old British conductor and part-time Air France pilot is currently chief conductor at Rome’s Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and has held similar positions at the Orchestre de Paris, Swedish Radio Symphony, and Mahler Chamber Orchestra. He begins his initial six-year term in 2027. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
When he became general director in 2024, he had to raise $4 million in 12 weeks just to keep the company from closing; that entire season was, as he put it, “three weeks away from stopping payroll.” Now, notwithstanding the $11-or-pay-what-you-wish tickets, Opera Philadelphia has a cash surplus. - The New York Times
The cascading cancellations were devastating for the orchestra and its 61 professional musicians. Their annual salary is paid by performance and the lack of work has been demoralizing. The whole ensemble last played together in the Kennedy Center with the American Ballet Theater in February. - The New York Times
Something has happened since the pandemic. I don't know if it was greed accumulated during the closure years, if it was inflation, if it was the lack of competition on platforms like Ticketmaster. But ticket prices have skyrocketed to levels that are, plainly and simply, obscene. - Armando Barrera Barrios
In 2019, Howard Reich, longtime jazz critic of the Chicago Tribune, published The Art of Inventing Hope, based on conversations with Elie Wiesel and Reich's mother’s experiences in WWII Poland. He has now adapted that book into an opera libretto, The Dialogue of Memories, with music by Tom Cipullo. - WTTW (Chicago)
The evening was championed by baritone Christian Pursell, better known in the fandom as Chester the Geroo, who plays Escamillo in Carmen. As far as anyone can tell, this was the first official Furry Night at the opera in history, a genuinely historic moment for the fandom and the city of Seattle. - The Stranger
French artist JR has taken over Paris’s Pont Neuf—the oldest bridge over the Seine, and the city’s first built from stone, not wood. JR’s hotly awaited hometown installation La Caverne du Pont Neuf (2026) measures 120 meters long, 20 meters wide, and, in some spots, 18 meters tall. - Artnet
Reaching more than 20 feet in height, the hall was built over the course of nine months by a team of more than 100 volunteers who relied on the tools and techniques of their Neolithic ancestors. - Artnet
“What we have seen, across the country, is that institutions that have eliminated admissions have generally not seen an increase in visitation in any meaningful way,” says Daniel Weiss. - The Art Newspaper
The artwork, which still appears on Danziger’s website, does not contain a title but is headlined A.I. GENERATED, From the prompt: Make a realistic color version of Ansel Adams’ iconic “Moonrise Over Hernandez”. - ARTnews
Daniel Weiss took over as director and CEO in December after the dismissal of former leader Sasha Suda. He has rolled back some of the decisions made during her tenure, including the brief renaming of the museum as the “Philadelphia Art Museum,” or PhAM. And now new leaders in finance and human resources. - Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
While TikTok’s stunted critical language sells legions more books—even good ones—than the literary critics who dismiss the platform, as a doubtfully salable fiction writer I’m less interested in how a book goes viral than in what this costs the reader. - The Point
I think the library feels like a place where you can do something concrete. You can go to an actual library; you can pull books off the shelves. And I think maybe that’s behind this strange resurgence of book banning. - The Walrus
Writers have a bevy of mantras—“show don’t tell,” “kill your darlings”—that mainly help by giving the writer a sense that there are rules. But the rules can’t govern the place the work comes from. - The New Yorker
The Tribune, owned by finance firm Alden Global Capital, landed the deal to purchase the employee-owned Herald (based in northwestern suburb Arlington Heights) after several full-page ads, an 11th-hour bid and (probably) a premium price. - Chicago Tribune (Yahoo!)
My fellow nonfiction writers: AI can be a helpful tool. If you rely on it for factual accuracy you are putting your reputation, your career, your very livelihood in peril. - The AI Humanist
“’The Serpent in the Grove’ was named as the winning entry for the Commonwealth Prize from the Caribbean on Saturday and published in Granta magazine. … Shortly (afterward), internet sleuths — and a few literary critics — seized upon the work and its author, Jamir Nazir, reportedly a 61-year-old from Trinidad with few publications to his name.” -...
“One New York staffer said that, in contrast to other billionaires who have purchased media properties in recent years, James Murdoch has ‘actually been in the media business for a long time. It’s not like he’s just coming in new to it as like a fun trophy or novelty.’” - The Washington Post (MSN)
The 20 inauthentic channels analyzed have had nearly 40 million views. Videos use AI-generated deepfakes, often of Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney, and include “frequent and obvious lies.” Channels include “AI avatars and paid American voice actors.” - The Conversation
Cristian Mungiu's Norway-set drama about political polarization, Fjord, has won the Palme d'Or, handing the Cannes Film Festival's top honour for the second time to Mungiu, the Romanian director of 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. - CBC
The response from Alamo patrons has been largely negative, with many expressing outrage at a perceived about-face. They have taken to social media in droves to protest mobile ordering, and started a Change.org petition asking the chain to reinstate its no-phones policy. - The New York Times
In 2022, Vermont Public Radio merged with Vermont Public Television to form a new entity titled simply Vermont Public. The marriage pulled together 57 employees from the radio network and 42 from the TV side and total assets valued at $90 million. It thus became the state’s largest news organization by far. - Valley...
Large online streaming services must contribute 15% of their Canadian revenues to Canadian content, the country’s federal broadcast regulator said Thursday. That figure is three times the 5% initial contribution requirement the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission, CRTC, set out in 2024. - AP News
Ashley Ferro-Murray of the Doris Duke Foundation: I’m interested in … funding resilient models for the future as well as legacy models that ... value the labor of the artist. One way the Doris Duke Foundation is doing this is by combining our grant-making capacity with other resources like marketing and communications. - Dance...
What is the International Dance League? The N.B.A. of dance. The W.W.E. of dance. Formula 1 racing meets the TV show “America’s Best Dance Crew.” These are some of the analogies that came up in conversations with the league’s founders and participants. - The New York Times
“I choreograph because it is the only language in which I feel completely uninhibited. … Words remain fragile. They can be misinterpreted or fail to capture the depth of what we truly mean. Movement, however, transcends the invisible barriers that divide us — culture, borders, language, religion — and speaks directly to something instinctive.”...
“After 18 years as artistic director and two years in dual roles as chief executive and artistic director, Debbie Blunden-Diggs, daughter of DCDC founder Jeraldyne Blunden, has passed the artistic director baton to Qarrianne Blayr, … (who) has served as associate artistic director for five years.” - Dayton Daily News
Adam Sklute, who came to Salt Lake City in 2007, will depart at the end of next season. His tenure, the longest in Ballet West history, saw the company stabilize its finances, increase its subscriber base, triple its budget, and sextuple its school's enrollment. - KSL (Salt Lake City)
“The new and sole artistic director is Lindsay Smiling, who has been one of the company’s three co-artistic directors for the past three years; … the other two, Yury Urnov and Morgan Green, are moving on to other roles and pursuits.” - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
With our economy stagnant, this situation is not going to improve any time soon, and we need glamour and celebrity to boost sales, particularly in the subsidised sector. - The Telegraph (Yahoo)
An indicative ballot held by the performing arts union, Equity, was overwhelmingly backed by its membership: 98% voted yes to potential strikes. The result means the union now has the right to have a statutory ballot on taking industrial action. - The Guardian
“A decision to go ahead with a sale of ATG Entertainment, previously known as Ambassador Theatre Group, … could value the business at more than £4 billion ($5.38 billion). … ATG Entertainment owns and operates more than 70 venues across the UK, the United States, Germany and Spain.” - Reuters (MSN)
American Players Theatre, located in Spring Green, Wisconsin — a town 40 miles west of Madison, home to roughly 1,500 people and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin — presents nine productions each year in its 1,075-seat amphitheater and 200-seat indoor space. APT’s repertory focuses on “timeless, challenging, poetic texts," particularly Shakespeare. - Wisconsin Public Radio
“In the West End, average ticket prices rose by a nominal 0.92 per cent over the last year. When measured against the annual UK inflation rate of 3.4 per cent, this represents a real-terms price drop of 2.5% for consumers. Compared to 2019, this real-term drop extends to 8.9%.” - WhatsOnStage (UK)
“From his days as a teen phenom to his more measured solo work and experimentation with free jazz, Rollins was revered for his improvisational skill. He was among the last living greats of the bebop era and — with John Coltrane and Charlie Parker — one of the most influential saxophonists of his time.”...
“In a grisly case that shocked the art world, a Cuban-American man was found guilty of his role in a murder-for-hire plot that resulted in the stabbing death of his estranged husband, prominent New York art dealer Brent Sikkema, during a holiday in Brazil.” - The Wall Street Journal (MSN)
He directed well over 100 films and telecasts of operas and concerts for the BBC, the Royal Opera House in London, the Met, and most prominent companies in Europe and the U.S. Among his most famous telecasts were the Boulez/Chéreau Ring cycle from Bayreuth and the original Three Tenors stadium concert. - OperaWire
His return became one of the most remarkable late-career success stories in American opera. As his voice matured into a true dramatic tenor, Pulliam emerged as a sought-after interpreter of Verdi and other heavyweight repertoire. - Moto Perpetuo
“Over the years with the RSC, the English Shakespeare Company” — which he co-founded — “and beyond, Pennington played most of the leading roles in the canon; … his stage career looked like ‘he drew up a list of the juiciest roles in the classical repertoire and methodically set about ticking them off’.” -...
As President, lead a world-renowned orchestra into an exciting new era. Shape the future of the Buffalo Philharmonic and make a lasting cultural impact.
The University of Texas Permian Basin's College of Arts and Humanities welcomes applications for an Associate Professor/Professor and Department Chair of Visual and Performing Arts
Saint Louis Art Museum seeks Chief Exhibitions and Collections Officer. Salary range is between $210,000 and $240,000. Please visit the link for full job description.
The 50-year-old British conductor and part-time Air France pilot is currently chief conductor at Rome’s Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and has held similar positions at the Orchestre de Paris, Swedish Radio Symphony, and Mahler Chamber Orchestra. He begins his initial six-year term in 2027. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
Joshua Kosman: “In appointing Elim Chan as its next music director, the San Francisco Symphony has tapped the most inexperienced, unproven new artistic leader the organization has had in more than 40 years. The choice could not have been wiser or more opportune.” - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
As the troubled San Antonio Philharmonic, which has canceled more concerts than it has played this year, appears to edge toward collapse, Jeffrey Kahane, who resigned as the Philharmonic’s music director in February, has announced the founding of a new orchestra and education initiative called Harmonium of Texas. - San Antonio Express-News
“Across TikTok and Instagram, videos centred on Rothko’s work are accumulating hundreds of thousands of views. One creator has begun styling outfits inspired by individual Rothko canvases; another assigns Rothko works to personality archetypes.” - The Guardian (UK)
“Gelb, who is paid $1.2 million annually, oversees a $326 million budget. … Beyond the often caustic scrutiny of opera critics and patrons, Gelb must reckon with the demands of 3,000 full- and part-time employees, 15 labor unions and a 144-member board of directors.” - The New York Times
“The open letter, published earlier this week to coincide with the opening of the Cannes film festival, was signed by more than 600 figures, including ... Juliette Binoche.” Now the head of Canal+ says the organization will no longer work with any of the signers. - The Guardian (UK)
“Musicians, artists and writers generally possess something AI does not, which is the lived human experience out of which they create. That experience includes the accidents, serendipities and epiphanies that shape our arts.” - KC Studio
At least, according to The New York Times’s Helen Shaw. For instance: “When I think about the sheer old-fashioned ebullience of Cinco Paul’s Schmigadoon! — its compositional invention and depth of talent — I find myself hoping the voters will give it the laurel.” - The New York Times
The massive whale mural is “'gone forever,’ Wyland told me, ... sounding at turns shattered and furious.” But why? Could be for some sports marketing, of course, since the men’s World Cup is coming soon. - Dallas Morning News
The head of one viral marketing firm says 90 percent of what we see online is advertising. And of course, “the point of this kind of marketing is that nobody is supposed to notice it. But lately, the machinery has started to show.” - Vulture
“Prior to the discovery of the Rome manuscript, the earliest one was from the early 12th century. So this is three centuries earlier than that. And so it attests to the importance that was already being attached to the English in the early 9th century.” - Seattle Times (AP)
“Ballet can be a pretty conservative artform, with many companies trundling out Swan Lakes, Nutcrackers, and Cinderellas year after year. Every now and again, though, someone like Rojo comes along and truly shakes things up – even if that has meant ruffling tutus in the process.” - NPR
