Today's Stories

Meet The Last Of The Signpainters For The Markets Of Naples

“Announcing the clementines, artichokes and other goods on offer are cheerful, hand-painted signs in sun-bright lettering. Quotidian but also quintessential, the signs have become emblems of Naples’s vibrancy. … Pasquale De Stefano is, by consensus, the last living numeraio — or number painter — in Naples.” - The New York Times

Universities As Practical Job Creators? We Ought To Do Better Than That!

An education spent in pursuit of material comfort and convenience is a recipe for unhappiness, an existence in thrall to the raw, hungry American mantra of success, “More! More!” - LA Review of Books

Ballerinas Learn To Partner Each Other For Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s New Piece

Gentleman Jack, premiering this weekend at England’s Northern Ballet in Leeds, is Lopez Ochoa’s adaptation of a 2019 television series about Anne Lister, a 19th-century landowner considered to be one of the first modern lesbians known to us. - The New York Times

When Pop Culture Has a Half-Life of Six Months

Kids giggling at "six-seven" reveals the brutal math of digital culture: references expire faster than milk. What happens when shared cultural touchstones become as fleeting as TikTok trends? Generational gaps now measure in weeks, not decades. — Common Reader

Ctrl+Alt+Delete the Gallery: Gamers Turn Shutter-Happy

Virtual landscapes are the new studio space as artists trade actual cameras for digital controllers. Who needs nature when you've got pixels? The art world's latest existential crisis: if a screenshot falls in cyberspace, does it make a sound? — The Conversation

Who Wrote This? The Age-Old Question Gets Circuitry

Before ChatGPT made everyone panic about robot poets, writers were already grappling with authenticity's slippery slope. Ghostwriters, collaborators, editors—the literary world's dirty secret is that pure authorship was always a romantic fiction. — LitHub

Barbara Hannigan On The New Work She’s Premiering: “It’s Like Turning Your Soul Inside Out”

Composer Laura Bowler wrote the piece, which sets excerpts from Nobel laureate Han Kang’s The White Book, following her mother’s death in an accident after recovering from leukemia. Despite the daunting circumstances and Hannigan’s description, the soprano says, “I don’t think I’ve ever been more calm for a world premiere.” - The Guardian

LA’s Art Gold Rush Ends, Actual Work Begins

The carpetbaggers have packed their Hermès bags and fled back east. What remains? The unglamorous business of building a real art scene—one gallery lease and artist studio at a time. — Artnet

Paramount Debt Rating Lowered To “Junk” After Warner Deal

Fitch Ratings downgraded Paramount Skydance’s long-term issuer default rating from “BBB-” to “BB+,” putting it into speculative-grade investment territory (aka “junk”). - Variety

Supreme Court to AI Art: Sorry, Humans Only

The high court declined to revisit whether algorithms can hold copyright, leaving AI creations in legal limbo. While tech bros rage and traditional artists breathe easier, the real question remains: who profits when creativity gets automated? — Artnet

The Artist Who Copied Out The Complete “Moby-Dick” By Hand

Bethany Collins spent four months transcribing the 900-odd-page text. She finds many of Melville’s concerns relevant today: “following the lone madman who will take the whole ship down, … overconsumption, the pursuit of oil and an obsession with whiteness.” (Okay, the last one might be a stretch.) - T — The New York Times Magazine

Why Is It So Hard To Make The Case For Universities?

The “constitutive” role of universities cannot merely be announced to like-minded audiences or extracted from sympathetic courts. - Chronicle of Higher Education

The Role Of Arts And Culture In Turbulent Times

When the news and social media are flooded with opposing interpretations of events, outright lies, and about a zillion editorial style video shorts that offer about a zillion different opinions, art and culture can bring the reality and humanity of the headlines to light. - Ludwig Van

Live Nation Anti-Trust Trial Begins

The government says Live Nation retains its grip on the music industry with strong-arm tactics like demanding that artists use its promotion services in order to perform in its amphitheaters. - The New York Times

Follow One Of Broadway’s Top Electricians Through His Workday

Jimmy Fedigan has worked on 125 shows, working up from substitute spotlight guy to overseeing the entire technical production of the musical Chicago. In this video, he walks us through various aspects of his job, from the scene shop where sets get built to backstage shortly before curtain time. - The Wall Street Journal (MSN)

Niche-Casting: Live Online Talk Shows About Specialized Topics Are On The Rise

Many of these productions function as modern-day trade magazines. One show targets car dealership owners. Another, TBPN (Technology Business Programming Network), focuses on tech overlords. Malcolm Harris, a former sports talk personality, helms “What The Truck?!?,” a thrice-a-week show all about logistics. - The Hollywood Reporter

This Fast-Rising Standup Comedian Makes Dance An Integral Part Of His Show

“Chris Fleming … marries the idiosyncrasies of his writing — one bit has him pretending to be a dirty cast-iron skillet — with a delivery that leans heavily on his training in classic modern dance. He is probably the only working funnyman who cites Isadora Duncan as an influence.” - The New York Times

Buckminster Fuller Sculpture Collapses Following Snowstorm

The piece, installed outdoors at the LongHouse Reserve on the South Fork of eastern Long Island, is one of only five existing versions of Fuller’s Fly’s Eye Dome. The roof of the fiberglass structure caved in under the weight of the heavy snow which fell in late February. - Artnet

Downtown L.A.’s Latest, And Smallest, Performance Venue Looks Like An Electrical Box

Indeed, when artist S.C. Mero was installing it in the Arts District, police stopped her, concerned she was ripping out copper wire. Inside, the Electrical Box Theatre is “an impromptu performance space for the sort of experimental artists who no longer have an outlet in downtown's galleries or more refined stages.” - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

Buffalo’s Public Radio Stations To Rearrange Programming

“Buffalo Toronto Public Media (BTPM) plans to move programming currently on news/talk WBFO (88.7) and BTPM Classical WNED (94.5) in Buffalo, NY, resulting from the latter’s recent conversion to an advertising-eligible license and the company’s loss of $2.2 million in annual federal funding.” - Inside Radio

By Topic

Universities As Practical Job Creators? We Ought To Do Better Than That!

An education spent in pursuit of material comfort and convenience is a recipe for unhappiness, an existence in thrall to the raw, hungry American mantra of success, “More! More!” - LA Review of Books

When Pop Culture Has a Half-Life of Six Months

Kids giggling at "six-seven" reveals the brutal math of digital culture: references expire faster than milk. What happens when shared cultural touchstones become as fleeting as TikTok trends? Generational gaps now measure in weeks, not decades. — Common Reader

Why Is It So Hard To Make The Case For Universities?

The “constitutive” role of universities cannot merely be announced to like-minded audiences or extracted from sympathetic courts. - Chronicle of Higher Education

There Are No Psychopaths?

While it has been researched across hundreds of empirical studies – especially since the explosion of research in the late-1990s – there is still remarkably little evidence that corroborates popularised claims about the diagnosis. - Aeon

A Conspiracy Theory That A Jim Carrey Doppelganger Picked Up His Honorary Cesar Is Making The Rounds In France

This is where we are with the internet now: The man in charge of the Césars (the “French Oscars”) had to say, "“From the outset, he was extremely touched by the Academy’s invitation. ... He worked on his speech in French for months.”- The Guardian (UK)

In A Time Of Lies, Sudden Wars, And AI Hallucinations, We Desperately Need Live Performance

“The performing arts, with their warm embrace of subjectivity, might not seem the most likely corrective amid this crisis. But they have much to teach us about the notion of truth.” - The New York Times

LA’s Art Gold Rush Ends, Actual Work Begins

The carpetbaggers have packed their Hermès bags and fled back east. What remains? The unglamorous business of building a real art scene—one gallery lease and artist studio at a time. — Artnet

Supreme Court to AI Art: Sorry, Humans Only

The high court declined to revisit whether algorithms can hold copyright, leaving AI creations in legal limbo. While tech bros rage and traditional artists breathe easier, the real question remains: who profits when creativity gets automated? — Artnet

The Role Of Arts And Culture In Turbulent Times

When the news and social media are flooded with opposing interpretations of events, outright lies, and about a zillion editorial style video shorts that offer about a zillion different opinions, art and culture can bring the reality and humanity of the headlines to light. - Ludwig Van

Downtown L.A.’s Latest, And Smallest, Performance Venue Looks Like An Electrical Box

Indeed, when artist S.C. Mero was installing it in the Arts District, police stopped her, concerned she was ripping out copper wire. Inside, the Electrical Box Theatre is “an impromptu performance space for the sort of experimental artists who no longer have an outlet in downtown's galleries or more refined stages.” - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

Should AI Be Used In Grantmaking? If So, How?

Arts-minded folks are likely to hate the idea, but there are pressures which could push toward it: increasing application volumes, limited staff capacity, and mounting expectations for speed and consistency in decision-making (not least from board members). Could grantmakers use AI responsibly? - SMU DataArts

Chicago Launches Plan To Create Loop Arts District

“The district will be supported by nearly 90 Loop arts organizations that will develop the neighborhood as an arts and culture destination. … (It) is also envisioned as a way to stitch together attractions such as Millennium Park and the Chicago Riverwalk.” - Chicago Sun-Times

Barbara Hannigan On The New Work She’s Premiering: “It’s Like Turning Your Soul Inside Out”

Composer Laura Bowler wrote the piece, which sets excerpts from Nobel laureate Han Kang’s The White Book, following her mother’s death in an accident after recovering from leukemia. Despite the daunting circumstances and Hannigan’s description, the soprano says, “I don’t think I’ve ever been more calm for a world premiere.” - The Guardian

Live Nation Anti-Trust Trial Begins

The government says Live Nation retains its grip on the music industry with strong-arm tactics like demanding that artists use its promotion services in order to perform in its amphitheaters. - The New York Times

Lufthansa Changes Musical Instrument Carryon Rules After Incident

As of March 1, Lufthansa Group, citing “customer feedback,” said it would be applying “a new, more generous” carry-on policy for small instruments, such as violins, trumpets or ukuleles. - The New York Times

Paavo Järvi Named Next Chief Conductor Of London Philharmonic

Music director or chief conductor, formerly, of (among others) the Cincinnati Symphony and the Orchestre de Paris, and currently of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and Zurich’s Tonhalle-Orchester, the 63-year-old Järvi will succeed Edward Gardner in London in the fall of 2028. - The Guardian

Live Nation Antitrust Trial Begins — Will The Music Juggernaut Be Broken Up?

For Live Nation, the stakes are high — a possible breakup of the company, or at least a disruption of the lucrative business model that over the last 16 years has made it a colossus of the music industry. - The New York Times

A Day At The Art Institute With The New 30-Year-Old Conductor Of The Chicago Symphony

Klaus Mäkelä is "stepping into one of the most visible cultural perches in the city and in classical music at large. He appears to bring to his new job in Chicago a curiosity about the arts that goes beyond his own medium of music.” - Chicago Sun-Times (Archive Today)

Meet The Last Of The Signpainters For The Markets Of Naples

“Announcing the clementines, artichokes and other goods on offer are cheerful, hand-painted signs in sun-bright lettering. Quotidian but also quintessential, the signs have become emblems of Naples’s vibrancy. … Pasquale De Stefano is, by consensus, the last living numeraio — or number painter — in Naples.” - The New York Times

Buckminster Fuller Sculpture Collapses Following Snowstorm

The piece, installed outdoors at the LongHouse Reserve on the South Fork of eastern Long Island, is one of only five existing versions of Fuller’s Fly’s Eye Dome. The roof of the fiberglass structure caved in under the weight of the heavy snow which fell in late February. - Artnet

Site Of Cancelled Pompidou Center Jersey City May Become Affordable Housing

“Jersey City Mayor James Solomon, who took office in January” and killed the project shortly afterward, “announced Monday that the city would work with Kushner Real Estate Group on new plans for the Artwalk Towers development.” - Gothamist

Painting Unseen For 65 Years Authenticated As Rembrandt

The artwork, Vision of Zacharias in the Temple, has been in private hands since 1961, a year after art historians declared it not to be by Rembrandt. After two years of examination with state-of-the-art equipment, experts at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum have now reversed that earlier assessment. - AP

Indianapolis Museum Of Art Has Closed Its High-Tech Immersive Art Space

The museum opened the 30,000-square-foot space, called the Lume, in 2021 with a 150-projector installation emblazoning images of Van Gogh’s paintings across the walls and floor. - The Indianapolis Star (Yahoo!)

The Louvre Scandals And A French President’s Legacy

France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, is at risk of losing what could be a legacy-defining cultural project: a $1 billion-plus refurbishment of the Louvre, which would include moving the Mona Lisa, the museum’s most famous painting, to its own room and building a new entrance. - The New York Times

Who Wrote This? The Age-Old Question Gets Circuitry

Before ChatGPT made everyone panic about robot poets, writers were already grappling with authenticity's slippery slope. Ghostwriters, collaborators, editors—the literary world's dirty secret is that pure authorship was always a romantic fiction. — LitHub

The Artist Who Copied Out The Complete “Moby-Dick” By Hand

Bethany Collins spent four months transcribing the 900-odd-page text. She finds many of Melville’s concerns relevant today: “following the lone madman who will take the whole ship down, … overconsumption, the pursuit of oil and an obsession with whiteness.” (Okay, the last one might be a stretch.) - T — The New York Times...

The AI-Written College Essay And The Decline Of Thinking

Surely the most dismal prospect is that we will lose sight of our own forms of thinking and understanding if those terms are assimilated to the capacities of AI. - Public Books

Poet Threatens To Sue Arts Council England After Defunding

A poet is threatening Arts Council England (ACE) with legal action after a magazine it funds withdrew her work from publication based on her “social media presence”, which she believes refers to gender-critical posts. - The Guardian

Firefighters Rescue Rare Books From A Library On The Cliff Edge After Landslide

“Firefighters drilled through the wall of a building behind the structure and entering for minutes at a time, strapped the bookcases together and hauled them backwards to reach the books.” - The Guardian (UK)

Ode To A Great Editor

During my own editing stint, I came to understand writers as prisoners of their own minds, pressed up against the bars of the words they have already committed to the page. Writers suffer from a cognitive impairment that limits their ability to see flaws in their prose. - The Atlantic

Ctrl+Alt+Delete the Gallery: Gamers Turn Shutter-Happy

Virtual landscapes are the new studio space as artists trade actual cameras for digital controllers. Who needs nature when you've got pixels? The art world's latest existential crisis: if a screenshot falls in cyberspace, does it make a sound? — The Conversation

Paramount Debt Rating Lowered To “Junk” After Warner Deal

Fitch Ratings downgraded Paramount Skydance’s long-term issuer default rating from “BBB-” to “BB+,” putting it into speculative-grade investment territory (aka “junk”). - Variety

Niche-Casting: Live Online Talk Shows About Specialized Topics Are On The Rise

Many of these productions function as modern-day trade magazines. One show targets car dealership owners. Another, TBPN (Technology Business Programming Network), focuses on tech overlords. Malcolm Harris, a former sports talk personality, helms “What The Truck?!?,” a thrice-a-week show all about logistics. - The Hollywood Reporter

Buffalo’s Public Radio Stations To Rearrange Programming

“Buffalo Toronto Public Media (BTPM) plans to move programming currently on news/talk WBFO (88.7) and BTPM Classical WNED (94.5) in Buffalo, NY, resulting from the latter’s recent conversion to an advertising-eligible license and the company’s loss of $2.2 million in annual federal funding.” - Inside Radio

Post-Assad, Syria’s Powerhouse TV Industry Has New Freedoms And New Challenges

“While Egypt is known for its movies and Lebanon for its pop singers and composers, Syria’s TV series” — especially the high-profile dramas aired during Ramadan — “have for decades been seen as the gold standard in the region.” Naturally, the fall of the long Assad family dictatorship has led to some changes. -...

Tilly-The-AI Actor Gets Her Own Universe

AI talent studio Xicoia, which created Norwood, has announced plans for a “rapid expansion” for the digitized actor. The developments include a digital universe dubbed the “Tillyverse,” where ”Tilly and a new generation of AI characters will live, collaborate and build careers.” - Los Angeles Times

Ballerinas Learn To Partner Each Other For Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s New Piece

Gentleman Jack, premiering this weekend at England’s Northern Ballet in Leeds, is Lopez Ochoa’s adaptation of a 2019 television series about Anne Lister, a 19th-century landowner considered to be one of the first modern lesbians known to us. - The New York Times

This Fast-Rising Standup Comedian Makes Dance An Integral Part Of His Show

“Chris Fleming … marries the idiosyncrasies of his writing — one bit has him pretending to be a dirty cast-iron skillet — with a delivery that leans heavily on his training in classic modern dance. He is probably the only working funnyman who cites Isadora Duncan as an influence.” - The New York Times

Britain’s Ballet Black At 25

Founding Artistic Director Cassa Pancho: “There was nowhere in this country for Black classical dancers to be hired. It was suggested to me that they go and dance with Dance Theatre of Harlem – as if every Black person trained in ballet can only go to one place!” - Bachtrack

Benjamin Millepied’s New, Mixed-Genre Romeo And Juliet Comes To The Armory

The choreographer: “You fall in love with characters that you see live in the flesh, in front of your eyes. … But then when the camera brings you close to them, it creates a different kind of intimacy.” - The New York Times

After Internal Consideration And Exterior Pressure, San Francisco Ballet Pulls Out Of Kennedy Center Performances

A company representative wrote, “SF Ballet looks forward to performing for Washington, D.C. audiences in the future.” - San Francisco Chronicle (Yahoo)

The Choreographer Behind The Ecstatic Shakers Dances In “The Testament Of Ann Lee”

“The night before we started filming, I was sleeping and, literally, the ghost of Ann Lee was over my bed with angels around and she said: ‘Go forth!’ Celia Rowlson-Hall laughs at herself for revealing this. “Was that my imagination allowing myself to go forth? Maybe, probably.” - The Guardian

Follow One Of Broadway’s Top Electricians Through His Workday

Jimmy Fedigan has worked on 125 shows, working up from substitute spotlight guy to overseeing the entire technical production of the musical Chicago. In this video, he walks us through various aspects of his job, from the scene shop where sets get built to backstage shortly before curtain time. - The Wall Street Journal...

This Little Company Brings The Ephemerality Of Theater To A Whole New Level

Every month, in an American Legion hall or women’s center (anywhere but a theater) in Los Angeles, Public Assembly presents three 12-minute plays that it has developed over the previous four weeks from pitches submitted from the audience at the previous month’s show, which is advertised only by word-of-mouth. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

Why Is There A Shortage Of Understudies In Toronto Theatres?

For at least three years running now, shows in Toronto have been disrupted because theatres did not have adequate understudy coverage. - Toronto Star

Why Did Thornton Wilder’s Our Town Suddenly Appear On Star Trek’s Starfleet Academy?

Turns out the youth are going to be putting on this play for … pretty much ever? “Our Town just sort of felt like this perfect, simple, rich story about the human experience and about time.” - Reactor

When The Reviewer Isn’t Sure If The Play Is Great Or Terrible

"There is a way to describe this show that will make it seem, at worst, exactly like every cliché of venturing into Brooklyn to see a one man play/spoken word poem/performance piece in a small black box off the L or G train.” - Culturebot

Jonathan Groff Is Practicing Sonnets To Prepare To Play Rosalind In “As You Like It”

“(I wanted to) just start slow, with some Shakespeare that wasn’t the play,” said the Tony-winning actor, who’ll be starring in an all-male staging at the RSC this fall, “just to get my mouth around the language, the rhythm, and then sort of break out into exploring the role in the play.” - Deadline

Rebecca Benaroya, Doyenne Of Seattle Arts Philanthropists, Has Died At 103

“Together with her late husband, real estate developer Jack Benaroya, Becky Benaroya championed dozens of arts, humanitarian and civic organizations including the Seattle Symphony,” whose home, Benaroya Hall, opened in 1998. - The Seattle Times

Dakota And Elle Fanning Started Out As Child Stars In Hollywood

But the sisters are following in the footsteps of leaders like Reese Weatherspoon and Viola Davis, becoming producers who have more control over their projects and performances. - El País English

New York Gets A New Culture Czar At A Fraught Economic Moment

Mayor Zohran Mamdani called Diya Vij a "visionary and deeply thoughtful leader who understands that art is not ornamental to this city — it is essential to it.” - The New York Times

Neil Sedaka, Composer And Songwriter Of So Many Pop Hits, Has Died At 86

Sedaka “went from classical music prodigy to precocious songwriter to teenage idol to pop music fixture in a celebrated career that spanned seven decades.” - The New York Times

Larry Reed, California’s Master Of Shadow Puppetry, Is Dead At 81

He was among the first Americans to study Balinese shadow theater and then perform it back home, which he did for his entire career. He expanded his practice to include collaborating in stagings of Shakespeare and Octavio Solis as well as producing his own elaborate myth- or history-based extravaganzas. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)

Rena Bransten, Pillar Of San Francisco’s Gallery Scene For 50 Years, Has Died At 92

“Rena Bransten Gallery was known as one of the pioneering contemporary art programs in San Francisco. She helped the gallery develop a long tradition of presenting female artists, artists of color and LGBTQ creatives, particularly known for presenting emerging artists alongside more established names.” - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)

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The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra seeks President and CEO.

The next President and Chief Executive Officer will serve as the chief strategic and operational leader for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.

Executive Director – The Washington Ballet

The Executive Director of The Washington Ballet will co-lead the organization with Artistic Director Edwaard Liang..

President and CEO – Aspen Music Festival and School

Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) welcomes applications and nominations for the position of President and Chief Executive Officer.

Technical and Facility Director

The Technical and Facility Director leads the technical operations for the Hult Center for the Performing Arts.

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Quantum Theatre – Artistic Director

Quantum Theatre seeks a visionary Artistic Director to build on an experimental legacy, shape ambitious programming, and lead Quantum into its next era of impact.

Director of Development – The Cape Playhouse via TOC Arts Partners

The Cape Playhouse seeks a new Director of Development to advance the fundraising efforts and philanthropic growth of the organization.

Dallas Opera seeks The Kern Wildenthal General Director and CEO

Dallas Opera seeks The Kern Wildenthal General Director and CEO. Applications will be accepted until March 31, 2025. Please see link for full details.

Events and Donor Fulfillment Associate – Paul Taylor Dance Company

We are seeking a highly organized & motivated individual as an Events & Donor Fulfillment Associate. This is a full-time, salaried position in NYC.

Dallas Black Dance Theatre seeks Executive Director

Dallas Black Dance Theatre seeks Executive Director. Minimum 10 years of related experience. Estimated base salary in the range of $160k-$200k.

Artistic Programs Manager (Part Time)

Artistic Projects Manager (PT): works alongside and supports artistic and programmatic leadership through writing, research, scheduling, and project tracking in a high-activity, multi-program dance organization.

What’s On The Line As Warner Bros Accepts Paramount’s Bid

Oh: “The push into artificial intelligence by Oracle creates a thirst for more insight into how people view news and entertainment and what products they buy online. The streaming channels and social media giant both offer greater and more granular information." - NPR

The Vatican Has Removed ‘A Chalky White Film Of Salt’ Coating The Last Judgement

That is to say, people’s sweat had gotten all over Michelangelo’s masterpiece, and now it’s being cleaned off while the sweat accumulates on a screen. - Associated Press

And Just Like That, 144 Year After Construction Began, Sagrada Familia’s Central Tower Is Finished

“Construction is expected to continue for a decade or so, but The Guardian called it ‘nevertheless a day full of emotion for a city that has lived with Gaudí’s unfinished work for generations.’” - ART News

A Gay Cultural Critic Resistant To “Heated Rivalry” Explains Why He Finally, Happily Succumbed

Wesley Morris: “Why wouldn’t I have wanted this? A six-episode show that’s exemplary as romance, as physical intimacy, as banter, as athlete psychology, as conversation, confession and comedy, as just good television that involves a few of my favorite things: sex, sports, men, ... So why? Let’s start with wariness.” - The New York Times

BBC Radio 3 Fires Norman Lebrecht Over Email To Yuja Wang

The broadcaster’s decision to end its long relationship with Lebrecht — the widely-read, controversial critic and blogger who has hosted several interview programs on Radio 3 over the years — comes after Wang made public a message from Lebrecht which she described as “derogatory misogynistic bullying.” - The Guardian

The Volunteer Army Documenting Museum And Park Wall Texts Before The Trump Administration Rewrites Them

A group called Citizen Historians for the Smithsonian has taken photos of every wall text in the Institution’s museums before they were changed. Other organizations are scouring websites, signage, datasets and documents, treating them with the care of conservators as they resist the Trump administration’s efforts to recast the past. - The Washington Post...

Gustavo Dudamel On His Transition From Los Angeles To New York

“I connect with both, these 17 years in Los Angeles has been amazing, I love it, the people, the community. But this is a completely different vibe. The vibe of this city is very, very alive. It’s very prestissimo: You know, it’s a very fast tempo.” - The New York Times

What Is The Pritzker Prize Going To Do About Tom Pritzker’s Ties To Jeffrey Epstein?

Looks like nothing except defend the jury’s independence — and say that “the announcement of the next laureate, which typically occurs in the first week of March, would be delayed slightly.” - The New York Times

Ireland’s Basic Income For The Arts Is Now Permanent, But What Does It Mean For The Artists?

In Ireland, despite how often the government uses Irish arts to market the country to tourists, "more than 56 per cent of artists and arts workers experience enforced deprivation (that’s three times the rate in the general population).” - Irish Times (Archive Today)

With Lost Boys And Dracula On Broadway, Plus Sinners At The Oscars, Why Are We So Immersed In Vampire Culture?

“These mythological creatures tap into our anxiety over what would happen if we became otherly human. … As the horror author Grady Hendrix put it: ‘Vampires are the only monster that looks like us.’” - The New York Times

South Africa Has Pulled Out Of The Venice Biennale

“The move comes after the country’s right-wing culture minister Gayton McKenzie scrapped a pavilion proposal by artist Gabrielle Goliath and curator Ingrid Masondo.” They said, “The space will remain empty: a space of erasure, cancellation, censure.” - Hyperallergic

Our Inability To Focus On Books Isn’t A Failing

It’s a design flaw, and it can be fixed. “We have been here before. Not just once, but repeatedly, in a pattern so consistent it reveals something essential about how cultural elites respond to changes in how knowledge moves through society.” - Aeon

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