The little building on Chicago's Logan Square was constructed in 1927 as a comfort station (as the euphemism of the time had it); for many years it was a tool shed. Now it's home to film screenings, art exhibitions, concerts, and puppet shows. - Yahoo! (Chicago Tribune)
It's the largest donation in the Smithsonian Institution's history, and $70 million of it will go toward the museum's ongoing renovation, while the remaining $130 million will fund a new education center. - AP
The New South Wales state government announced $75 million (Aus) in funding to compensate arts organizations that have had to close their doors again. - Limelight (Australia)
ANA pushes the sector further towards a policy model where it delivers ‘returns on investment’ via quantifiable targets. It’s a form of technocratic neoliberalism wildly out of touch with the current COVID-cum-post-COVID reality. - ArtsHub
"Many people working in culture have been forced to take a time out of the day-to-day and reflect on the big stuff. And there is no bigger stuff than the environmental crisis." - BBC
55% of U.S. organizations plan to host performances before October 2021. U.K. arts and culture organizations are even more optimistic, with 83% planning a return to performance before September 1. - TRG
Succeeding longtime chief Nigel Redden in October is Egyptian-American musicologist Mena Mark Hanna, a teacher, composer, Coptic Orthodox cantor (!), and former administrator at Houston Grand Opera. He is currently dean at the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin. - The Post and Courier (Charleston)
An announcement to this effect was made earlier this year, but the mammoth passenger boats turned up anyway. But now the national government, eager to avoid UNESCO "World Heritage in Danger" status, has made it feasible for the rule to take effect August 1. - Reuters
Our research found that a complex blend of social inequalities, labour market failures, and outright discrimination are making these jobs so exclusive and keeping talented working-class people from making it. - The Conversation
Artificial intelligence software can now create very convincing reproductions of people's vocal timbres and speech patterns. Could this be a tool to let voice performers accept more work, a tool for taking work from them, or both? - BBC
Freedom Day (as Boris Johnson has called it) will see all COVID-related legal restrictions on arts venues lifted, but the Society of London Theatres and UK Theatre will continue to "strongly encourage" all audience members to mask up. - WhatsOnStage (London)
Before the coronavirus pandemic, curators had discussed a large anniversary exhibition examining music’s role in uniting Americans after 9/11 and other tragedies. - The New York Times
Charlottesville removes Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson statues four years after white supremacists marched, and murdered, to keep them up. - Slate
Since the program was created with the passage of the Save Our Stages Act in December, the grant been plagued by glitches and delays. - San Francisco Chronicle
