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Philly Fringe Returns To Regular-Season Programming

“The legendary festival, known for experimental and boundary-pushing theater, previously offered year-round programming before the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. In recent years, it has seen record-breaking audience growth, prompting producing director Nell Bang-Jensen to expand beyond the month of September.” - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

Emily Nussbaum Named The New Yorker’s Theatre Critic

“Nussbaum, a highly respected culture writer who received a Pulitzer Prize for her television criticism, has been a member of the New Yorker writing staff since 2011. She takes over the position from Helen Shaw, who has left The New Yorker after being appointed chief theatre critic at The New York Times.” - Playbill

As Benin Bronzes Are Being Returned To Nigeria, There’s Nowhere Suitable Which Can Display Them

When 100 of the restituted sculptures were exhibited last month in Benin City, there was no high-tech security and the labels were on paper stuck to the walls. Meanwhile, the flashy new Museum of West African Art, built to house the bronzes, isn’t permitted to have or show them. - The New York Times

People Over 70 Who Listen To Music Daily Face Significantly Lower Risk Of Dementia, Finds New Research

“A major new study led by researchers at Monash University (in Melbourne) … found that daily musical engagement correlates with a marked reduction in dementia incidence.” - Limelight (Australia)

A New Solti Conducting Competition Is Starting Up In Budapest

This one, which takes place next October, will involve the Hungarian Radio Symphony and Hungarian National Philharmonic and is being organized by Müpa, Budapest’s equivalent of Lincoln Center. - Bachtrack

Baritone Jubilant Sykes, 71, Stabbed To Death

A Grammy-nominee (for Leonard Bernstein’s Mass conducted by Marin Alsop) who moved smoothly between classical, musical theater, and gospel, Sykes was found dead in his home following a 911 call from his wife reporting an assault. His 31-year-old son Micah is in custody as the suspect. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

2025 Turner Prize Goes To Nigerian-Scottish Artist Nnena Kalu

“Kalu, an autistic artist with learning disabilities and limited verbal communication, … (won) for her colourful drawings and sculptures made from found fabric and VHS tape, becoming the first artist with a learning disability to take home the £25,000 ($33,300) prize.” - The Guardian

Paul Taylor’s “Esplanade” At 50

How the landmark modern dance was created, whom it influenced, and why it’s still magical today. - The New York Times

Why Are We Curious About Some Things And Not Others?

All this infophilia raises an important question: if we like information so much, why don’t we seek out more of it? - Psyche

Dallas Black Dance Theatre Makes Its Interim Artistic Director Permanent

Richard A. Freeman Jr. served on an interim basis for two seasons, including holding the company together through the turmoil following the firing of 10 dancers for attempting to unionize. - KERA (Dallas)

Pew Arts And Culture Names A New Leader

Christina Vassallo, 45, follows Paula Marincola, who retired in October after serving as the center’s first director, since 2008. After leaving the Fabric Workshop in 2023, Vassallo became director of the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. - Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

How Streaming Made Documentaries Popular (And Wrecked The Form)

Presently, non-fiction filmmaking (in the form of docuseries) stands as a cornerstone of streaming economics, a format bolstered and degraded by an ever-growing demand for cheap, time-consuming content. - Stat Significant

How Netflix Upended The Movie Business

Netflix’s movies don’t have to abide by any of the norms established over the history of cinema: they don’t have to be profitable, pretty, sexy, intelligent, funny, well-made, or anything else that pulls audiences into theater seats. - n+one

How A Crazy Musician Spent Six Months Teaching An Octopus To Play Piano

Did Mattias Krantz pull it off?  Sort of.  Here’s what he did, how well it worked, and why it didn’t work better. - ZME Science

Princeton’s New Museum Is An Important Building

This extraordinarily rich design is certainly assertive throughout, but it is completely in synch with the nature of an institution that has been collecting for 255 years, one that inevitably reflects the sprawling curiosity and a worldliness—or lack thereof—among generations of Princetonians. - James Russell

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