ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

Today’s AJ Highlights

Good Morning: What happens when you make things easy? Getting any music you want. News traveling in rivers of stories. Distraction to fill in every available crack in your day. Do we value the music, the news, the distractions more because its easy to get? Or because it’s so ubiquitous do we lose investment in seeking out music or news or movies? Or valuing the artists and reporters that created it? And if it’s so available and, conversely, easily dismissed with a click or a swipe, do we develop any relationships with the art or artists? Turns out, the right kinds of friction in an experience can make it richer and deepen your relationship with it. Read more here in the Guardian.

  1. Threat To Our Future? An Empathy Gap “People find it easier to empathize with a single individual than with groups, plausibly because individuals are easier to conjure in one’s imagination. Therefore, the difference in empathy toward a present person and future others in general is likely even greater than what we’ve found.” – Psyche
  2. How WH Auden Used Culture To Reconsider His Place In The World
    “His work of this period combined a proclamation of the value of microcultures with a commitment to an intellectual cosmopolitanism. He celebrated the ‘local understanding’, but what bound the members of that salon to one another was the combination of cultural and national diversity with moral sympathy.” – Hedgehog Review
  3. When Classical Music Forgeries Pass As The Real Thing, What Does That Say About Us? This thought-provoking piece examines the history of classical music forgeries and how our perception of authenticity shapes the value we assign to art. – The Guardian
  4. How AI De-Aged Tom Hanks In His New Movie Exploring cutting-edge AI technology, this article reveals the processes behind digitally de-aging Tom Hanks in his latest film, underscoring AI’s growing role in filmmaking. – Wired
  5. Major Neurological Study Looks At How Our Brains Respond To Live Dance A pioneering research project investigates the neurological response to live dance performances, blending neuroscience and choreography to uncover how we experience movement. – The Guardian

As usual, jump below to see all the stories we collected in the past day, arranged by art form. If you know someone who might be interested in AJ, send them here to subscribe, or forward this newsletter so they can sign up. See you tomnorrow.

Doug

Latest Stories

That Time William S. Burroughs Made A Claymation Christmas Movie

Yep, it's true. The 21-minute film, The Junky's Christmas (1993), was written and narrated by Burroughs and produced by no less than Francis Ford Coppola. And it's right there on YouTube. - Open Culture

Research: How Walmart Impoverishes Communities

On net, they conclude, Walmart makes the places it operates in poorer than they would be if it had never shown up at all. Sometimes consumer prices are an incomplete, even misleading, signal of economic well-being. - The Atlantic

The Year Peter Gelb Declared War On Critics

Believing that you possess a perfect understanding of what the people want is a poor way to run an opera company—or any organization, up to and including a nation. What we call the “audience” is an ever-shifting assemblage of tastes, expectations, experiences, levels of knowledge, degrees of passion. - The...

Premium

Presidio Theatre seeks Director of Development

The Presidio Theatre, a not-for-profit organization created to restore...

Classifieds

Apply Now: Canada’s National Arts Centre Mentorship Program

Play in section with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra: June 12 to July 1, 2025

Senior Program Officer, Arts and Culture

The Fred and Barbara Erb Family Foundation invite nominations and applications for the position of Senior Program Officer to lead strategy and management for their Arts and Culture grantmaking portfolio.

Executive Director, Dance On Camera

Dance on Camera is looking for an Executive Director who believes in the power of movement on film, is highly organized, and is excited by the prospect of building on a 50+year legacy

Associate or Full Professor of Acting

University of California San Diego Position overview Position title: Associate or Full Professor in ActingSalary range:...

Associate Director of Individual Giving

The Associate Director of Individual Giving is a key member of The Wallis Development Department, responsible for securing and growing $500,000+ in donations of $50 to $24,999 from individual donors.

Executive Office Liaison Supporting ED/CEO & Board

The Wallis is seeking a dynamic Executive Office Liaison who coordinates and administers all activities and communication related to the Board of Directors and supports the day-to-day administrative needs of the Executive Director & CEO.

Stratford Festival seeks their next Artistic Director

“Stratford is by every measure – budget, employment, attendance, production – the largest repertory theater in North America, and likely the largest nonprofit theater, period.”
function my_excerpt_length($length){ return 200; } add_filter('excerpt_length', 'my_excerpt_length');