The Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building in Washington, D.C. contains perhaps the most important New Deal-era murals in the city — works by Philip Guston and Seymour Vogel as well as Ben Shahn’s monumental The Meaning of Social Security. The Trump administration is currently soliciting bids for the building’s demolition. - The New Republic
The beloved outdoor theater will replace all 11,000-odd seats and make structural improvements to protect against flooding, which caused serious damage after a torrential 2022 rainstorm. - St. Louis Public Radio
During the second intermission of Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk on Wednesday evening, a very weak Chailly was taken to a Milan hospital and the third act was cancelled. The 72-year conductor, who has a history of heart disease, is in his last season as La Scala’s music director. - Gramilano (Milan)
And he’s not going to be a rule-breaker, trying to revolutionize the art form: “There’s nothing wrong with organic movement. … There’s a reason why it’s attractive, in the way nature’s attractive. There’s an inbuilt idea of beauty, and you can play with that.” - The Guardian
I love to be surprised: to come across premieres and fresh interpretations that upend my expectations and open my mind to new possibilities. When I think about the past year, those are the moments that stuck with me most. - The New York Times
When these systems become dysfunctional, people who were once highly motivated can become pathologically apathetic. Whereas previously they might have been curious, highly engaged and productive – at work, in their social lives and in their creative thinking – they can suddenly seem like the opposite. - The Guardian
“For the next fifty years, females of all ages both delighted and troubled him. He was not sure he ever understood them, but … he wrote about women time and time again.” - Literary Hub
Korea’s classical music market remains chronically constrained. In an ecosystem dominated by private presenters, major international orchestras often need to schedule at least three concerts per visit to break even -- a scale of economics that leaves little room for profit and even less for broad public access. - Korea Herald
So, how does the cinema experience fit into this time? Its key benefits are “immersion, spectacle, and shared experiences,” the Bain report highlights. “But this is at odds with people’s evolving consumption of media, which is increasingly short-form, interactive, and digital.” - The Hollywood Reporter
More and more, the political noise around the Kennedy Center threatens to overwhelm the music within, and it’s unclear what, if anything, is being done to help. - Washington Post
One of the more common doomsday scenarios about social media goes something like this: an internet-addicted public, hooked on the dopamine hits of engagement and the immediate satisfaction of short-form video, loses its ability to read books and gets stupider and more reactionary as a result. - The New Yorker
The judges praised Nnena Kalu's brightly coloured sculptures - which are haphazardly wrapped in layers of ribbon, string, card and shiny VHS tape - and her drawings of swirling, tornado-like shapes. Kalu, 59, is an autistic, learning disabled artist with limited verbal communication. - BBC
US diplomats have been ordered to return to using the Times New Roman typeface in official communications, with secretary of state Marco Rubio calling the Biden administration’s decision to adopt Calibri a “wasteful” diversity move, according to an internal department cable seen by Reuters. - The Guardian
