Stories

Compromise: Russia Will Have Show At Venice Biennale, But It Will Be Closed To Public

“According to new reports from Italian news outlets, Russia‘s group exhibition ‘The tree is rooted in the sky’ will only be accessible to members of the press and industry insiders during the Bienniale’s preview May 5-8. When the exhibition opens to the public (May 9-November 22), entry will be prohibited.”  - Artforum

Minnesota Orchestra Musicians And Management Agree To New Contract Months Early

The new two-year agreement, effective Sept. 1, includes a 2.5% salary increase each year as well as what are described as “temporary changes to hiring practices” in order to reduce expenses by $2 million. - Pioneer Press (Minneapolis-St. Paul)

One Of America’s Oldest Period-Instrument Orchestras Names Its Second-Ever Music Director

Boston Baroque was founded back in 1973 by harpsichordist/conductor Martin Pearlman, who stepped down as artistic director last year. His successor, as of this coming season, is Marc Minkowski, who has amassed an estimable discography with Les Musiciens du Louvre, the Baroque orchestra he founded in France in 1982. - Moto Perpetuo

“Ghost Imaging” Recovers Text Of 1,500-Year-Old Biblical Manuscript

The 6th-century Codex H included a Greek-language copy of the New Testament's letters of St. Paul. Sometime in the Middle Ages, though, the monks of Mt. Athos broke the book up and re-used the parchment. Fragments have since been identified, but the original text on them was considered irretrievable — until now. - Artnet

Rise Of The Viral Micro-Drama

While the rest of the world was getting hooked on cat videos and bedroom-dance routines, Chinese creators were tinkering with something more ambitious: serialized shows shot vertically, for phones, and packed with racy plots, absurd twists, and great swells of emotion. - The New Yorker

Nilo Cruz: The Art Of Opera Libretto

A play lives in language. An opera lives in duration. One moment in an opera can expand for five minutes. Maybe you give the composer a full sentence. They might take one word and heighten it, expand it even more. Maybe the whole sentence disappears into music.  - The Paris Review

AI: A Philosophy About Language

The underlying intelligence of a large language model isn’t a function of its architecture, its parameter count, or the volume of compute thrown at its training. It is not even about the training data. It is a function of the social complexity of the civilization whose language it digested. - The Ideas Newsletter

The Obsessive Who’s Rescuing And Preserving Indian Cinema’s Early History

“Seventy per cent of India’s films made before 1950 are gone forever. Film Heritage Foundation founder Shivendra Singh Dungarpur is trying to save the rest.” - Variety

When A Fierce Street-Dancing Competitor Starts Choreographing On Contemporary Dance Companies

“’Usually, when I walk in rooms, people are afraid of me,’ the choreographer Courtney Washington said recently.” - The New York Times

New Google Paper Argues AI Will Never Be Conscious

The paper shows the divergence between the self-serving narratives AI companies promote in the media and how they collapse under rigorous examination. - 404 Media

A Detailed Account Of The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist

A former FBI agent who led the investigation for more than two decades is now offering the first detailed account of how investigators reached that conclusion — and publicly identifying the men he believes were involved. - AP News

Why AI Is Struggling With Creativity

Many generative AI programs geared toward creative fields have encountered a common problem: rapid initial adoption, followed by declining sustained engagement. - The Conversation

David Malouf, Australian Author And “Living National Treasure,” Is Dead At 92

“From reimagined Greek and Roman classics to the exploration of identity and morality in the suburbs and landscapes of Australia, David Malouf successfully merged his passion for literature, language and imagination with his connection to home to become one of Australia’s most celebrated writers.” - The Guardian

Docs: Adelaide Writers Week Sacrificed To Save Arts Festival

Adelaide writers’ week was sacrificed to save the 2026 Adelaide festival, an event that ploughs more than $60m into South Australia’s economy each year, documents show. - The Guardian

Why It’s So Difficult To Agree On Truth

These different notions of truth shape everyday discourse as well as philosophical debate. They might help explain why some arguments feel pointless, why political debates circle endlessly, and why certain disagreements never quite meet on common ground. - Psyche

Our Free Newsletter

Join our 30,000 subscribers

Latest

Don't Miss