Seth Orza, when he was a principal with Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, developed plantar fasciitis and couldn’t find a shoe that would give his feet enough support and shock absorption to keep the pain at bay. So he designed one, using features copied from running sneakers. - The New York Times
What would happen to the murals is an open question, as removing them may prove difficult. Advocates for the building fear that without protections put in place ahead of a sale, the buyer would have no incentive to maintain the historical features inside. - Washington Post
He was once the most famous Black American in the world, and one of the most accomplished: college football and NFL star, a degree from Columbia Law School, a major career as a classical concert singer and film and stage actor. Then Jackie Robinson, the pioneering baseball player, testified against him. - The Guardian
In execution, this theory works very simply: Don’t change the music; change the way you deliver it. Do the opposite of what institutions are doing when they offer radically shortened operas or watered-down symphonies. - The New York Times
Americans argue about the Smithsonian far more than we would if only its possessions mattered. When our museums of record tell us a story, that story matters enormously. - The Atlantic
For more than a century, scientific journals have been the pipes through which knowledge of the natural world flows into our culture. Now they’re being clogged with AI slop. - The Atlantic
For just over five weeks, from February 7 to March 14, visitors will be allowed to climb the towering 20-foot scaffold inside the Sforza Castle’s Sala delle Asse to view conservators at work on a vast, unfinished wall and ceiling painting by Leonardo hidden for centuries. - Artnet
The di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art in Napa has listed its 217-acre estate for $10.9 million, less than a year after announcing a plan to boost revenue through event rentals. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
The overlooking of the Good Witch was truly Wicked. Then again, crowd pleaser Wicked: For Good got basically nothing overall, so maybe it’s time to reconsider that shunned Academy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Film category …just sayin’. - Deadline
La Scala closed 2025 with record ticket sales of over €40 million (+7.3% compared to 2024). Added to this is the record revenue of the La Scala Theatre Museum, which reached €3.4 million. - Gramilano
For anyone fantasizing about Hollywood as some liberal bulwark, though, the 2024 election brought that idea to an abrupt halt. The industry’s era of progressive sincerity, and much of its wariness toward conservative-coded content, has evaporated. - The New York Times
New York’s Metropolitan Opera is facing a serious financial crunch, and may sell two beloved Marc Chagall murals to help fill the gap—but if it does, it will leave them in place. Sotheby’s valued the artworks at a total of $55 million. - ARTnews
Around 800 artists, writers, actors, and musicians signed on to a new campaign against what they call “theft at a grand scale” by AI companies. The signatories call the campaign “Stealing Isn’t Innovation.” - The Verge
Extracting the endowment after 15 years of operating under the auspices of the Kennedy Center will take more work—and a lot of lawyers. “It is rightly ours,” Francesca Zambello says of the endowment, declining to comment further on the negotiations. “We have a very large legal team.” - Washingtonian
