"Much of this drama stems from a debate about whom Metro Arts should serve with its limited budget. The debate can be summed up like this: should Metro Arts focus its grantmaking on individual artists or arts nonprofits? The issue has divided Nashville’s arts community." - WPLN (Nashville)
"Cultural venues, festivals and events have been given a new £20 million boost weeks ahead of crucial decisions on their future funding by (Creative Scotland). The Scottish Government has committed to provide a record £74m a year for long-term funding programmes by 2026 — much more than had been expected." - The Scotsman
With heavy rain and very high winds pounding the Scottish capital, the torchlight parade, outdoor concerts, street party and fireworks display have been called off, though indoor events will proceed. - BBC
Individual teachers, school boards, and think tanks are attempting to find ways to improve teachers’ working conditions so as to combat burnout, proposing a variety of measures ranging from increasing pay and benefits to offering coverage for mental health care. But such measures fail to address the deeper problem. - Compact Magazine
“TikTok faces a ban if its parent company, ByteDance, does not follow a new federal law that requires it to be sold to a non-Chinese company by Jan. 19, the day before” the presidential inauguration. - Salon
“For decades, National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting System have overcome similar threats. But this year, 'the attention and intensity’ of the calls to defund public media seem greater.” - Seattle Times (NYT)
A Ditto Music survey of over 1,200 artists found that nearly 60% use AI in their projects. Tools like AIVA generate compositions based on specific parameters, replicating complex musical patterns. - Android Police
"This once-desolate northeast corner of downtown attracts millions of guests annually to renowned cultural institutions housed in buildings such as I.M. Pei’s Meyerson Symphony Center and Renzo Piano’s Nasher Sculpture Center. Still, the district is not without its challenges." - The Dallas Morning News (MSN)
The budget cut is a departure from Berlin’s previous plan to inject the city’s cultural spaces with new capital. In 2021, Germany approved a record €2.1 billion federal culture; a €155 million increase from 2020. - ARTnews
Nostalgia is a powerful lure, even when it comes to songs like "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" and movies like "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians." And retailers and radio stations and TV networks know it. - Tedium
“There’s been a lot of conversation about a false doom narrative … surrounding our city’s art scene. I counter that assertion. I want to point out that our scene is, in fact, thriving.” - ARTnews
I’ve set out to perform the annual ritual of assessing and unpacking the year gone by through the objects that captured our attention. Here, then, is the year in objects—the good, the unsettling, and the hard to explain.
"From financial challenges and workforce dynamics to measures of arts vibrancy, these findings capture the trends and key shifts shaping the field today. For a broader perspective, we’ve also included a few honorable mentions, offering a well-rounded look at this year’s discoveries." - SMU DataArts
For all they like to talk about the “enrichment” that diversity brings, pro-immigration liberalism in Britain often insists on a studied lack of curiosity or observancy about either the individuals or their cultures; or the new cultures that emerge as they mix in our cities. - The Critic
