Stories

State Department’s Removal Of Painting Is Another Attack On Artists

By choosing Kehinde Wiley as the opening act in what may be a systematic effort to deaccession art from official government collections, the administration has chosen an artist whose work has become formulaic and clichéd, who has made comments that can easily be parodied as reverse racism. - Washington Post (MSN)

Invoking Dolly Parton, Federal Judge Overturns Texas Law Banning Drag Shows

The law, Texas Senate Bill 12, would fine business owners up to $10,000 for hosting “sexually oriented performances”; performers would face up to a year in prison. The judge reaffirmed his ruling from three years ago that the law was an overly vague infringement on free speech. - The Texas Tribune

“Odyssey” Earns Highest Box Office Of Any R-Rated Movie Ever

“The Odyssey,” an adaptation of Homer’s epic poem from Christopher Nolan, has surpassed “Deadpool & Wolverine” to become the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time. - Washington Post

Travel Guru Rick Steves Buys His Local Theatre

The effort secures the future of the more than 100-year-old facility and is just another investment by Steves in the local community over the past year. - KING 5

Cyber Attack On Australian Book Distributor

A cyber attack on one of the country's major publishing distributors has left bookshops and authors struggling to fill their shelves in the lead-up to their busiest trading period. - ABC Australia

For Its Latest Production, Berlin’s “People’s Stage” Installed A Public Pool. It Became A Culture-War Flashpoint.

“In less than a month (at the Volksbühne), the pool has become a window to the rising power of right-wing online media outlets in Germany, underscored debates over who has the right to cool off in public, … and revealed fundamental changes in Berlin’s working class.” - The New York Times

Ancient Gold Treasure In Spain Stolen In Four-Minute Raid

“Thieves in Spain have raided the Treasure of Villena – a stunning collection of bronze age gold artefacts that has been described as the most important prehistoric trove in Europe – in the latest high-profile smash-and-grab heist on the continent.” - The Guardian

The Warehouse Where Amazon Takes Apart And Scans Books To Train Its AI: An Employee Speaks

“The employee worked at Amazon’s VGT3 warehouse, which is housed in the same facility as LAS8, where Amazon operates its print-on-demand business. … The Amazon employee I talked to described what that operation looks like from the warehouse floor.” - 404 Media

Reggie Watts Cut From Monterey Jazz Festival After Reports Of Abuse

“The Los Angeles-based improviser and former The Late Late Show With James Corden bandleader, who headlined San Francisco's Downtown First Thursday party earlier this year, was taken off the Northern California festival bill … following a recent investigation into allegations involving the comedian and musician's relationships and drug use.” - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)

Paramount Says It’ll Release 30 Movies A Year Post-Merger. Is That Even Possible?

“Among creatives who spoke to TheWrap in the past week, skepticism still abounds that the studio could make good on such a lofty goal. ‘In the old days at Warner Bros. they released almost that many movies, but I don't know if the marketplace can bear that,’ said one veteran producer.” - TheWrap (MSN)

LACMA Hit With Class-Action Lawsuit Over Data Breach

“A former employee of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art has filed a class action complaint against the institution over a 2025 data breach that he claims has compromised sensitive visitor and employee information, including Social Security numbers.” - ARTnews

Artist Yayoi Kusama Has Died At 97

“Tenacious, obsessive and, in the eyes of her critics, relentlessly self-promoting, she became a pop-culture fixture, making brightly colored, instantly recognizable paintings, sculptures and installations that were exhibited at major museums and made her one of the world’s top-selling contemporary artists.” - The Washington Post (MSN)

Actor Tim Curry, Star Of “Rocky Horror” And “It,” Has Died At 80

“Though Curry would forever be the face that launched a thousand Time Warp dances …, he (was) far more than a one-trick pony over a career that spanned more than a half-century.” His roles ranged from Pennywise the Clown (Stephen King’s It) to Mozart (Amadeus ,Olivier and Tony nominations) to King Arthur (Spamalot). - Variety

The NEA Has Survived. But At What Cost?

The generally inoffensive nature of these selections seems to reveal an agency that has trimmed its sails (not only financially) and ceded ground to conservative demands in order to survive. - American Theatre

Choreographer Azsure Barton Reimagines Pandora’s Box As A Parable About AI

“Pandora … was the first woman, an Eve-like figure, created from clay and given by Zeus to Epimetheus, unbeknownst to him, as a punishment for his brother Prometheus giving humans fire. ‘One of the things I was really driven by was the fact that she was an agent of change,’ says Barton.” - The Guardian

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