The firm — which employs just 50 people, including eight architects, according to an industry database — generally does work that is a fraction of the scale and expense of the job. One if its most ambitious projects, according to its online portfolio, was a high school renovation completed in 2016 that cost about $40 million. - Washington Post
Bentonville’s population has nearly doubled. The town is bursting with new activity: award-winning restaurants, shopping, boutique hotels, condominiums, offices and arguably the most sophisticated bike trail network in the country. But prices are bursting too: A single-family home now hovers around $490,000. The average rent has nearly tripled, to $2,000 a month from about $800. - The New York...
“While the sector may be moving past pandemic-era volatility, reduced earned revenue and persistent inflation over the last several years leave fewer resources available to the cultural organizations that bring music, theatre, art, and shared experiences to our communities. Even so, many organizations are maintaining a financial surplus.” - SMU DataArts
For the first time, we have a chance to free Philly’s office of arts and culture from the whims of the mayor, and make it part of the city charter. - Broad Street Review
Hum 10, as it’s commonly known, has become the surprise hit of Harvard’s academic lineup and something of a campus institution. Demand to get into the class has surged, fueled by word-of-mouth from “Hum Alums” who talk it up on social media. - The Wall Street Journal
They argue the city is responsible for nuisance conditions on public property in part because 15 years ago a councilman decided to clear some brush to create a viewing spot near their homes. That brought the crowds, they say, and the city has ignored years of complaints. - Los Angeles Times
“Hollywood veteran Kathleen Kennedy has been tapped to replace Peter Rice” — just appointed as Netflix’s chief content officer — “as head of ceremonies and content for LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games, … four separate events that will be viewed by an audience of billions across the globe.” - The Hollywood Reporter
Students are connecting with each other more in the time between classes, staff across the state said. And during lunch, staff are hearing louder and more lively conversation in the cafeteria — a stark contrast from previous years when phone use stifled talking. - WBUR
“The Crucible, a longtime West Oakland arts institution known for welding, blacksmithing, glassblowing and other hands-on classes as well as fire-related performances, has temporarily closed because of serious financial problems, leaving staff, faculty, students and artists uncertain about what comes next.” - San Francisco Chronicle (Yahoo!)
Things are going so well for the Trust that, in recent years, it has made some of the tinier theater spaces it owns and manages available free of charge to individual artists and small arts organizations. And yet, mentioning the Cultural Trust to some Pittsburgh artists can bring a wince. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“Plans include a five-story parking garage, a new arrival pavilion, a dedicated area for school bus drop-offs, a pollinator garden and a paleontology garden. This will double the amount of square footage that the museum has dedicated to exhibits, but now outside the building.” - KERA (Dallas)
Lee Chang-Dong: "I constantly asked myself: am I worthy of telling this story? And if I am, how do I tell it? Do I stand close to the workers, or keep my distance?" - The Guardian (UK)
For some reason (the reason being that after WWII, "local officials fought successfully to keep it, seeing it as a historical site that could attract visitors"), it was still standing, and had a popular restaurant. - The New York Times
“Satire doesn’t just needle politicians or regimes — it occasionally helps bring them down. … Historian Ben Lewis credits Soviet joke-telling with helping to topple communism, by making it impossible for even the system’s own enforcers to take it seriously. … ‘Every joke,’ George Orwell observed, ‘is a tiny revolution.’” - Time
“Clifford Murphy, the director of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, which runs the festival, called it a ‘democratizing experience’ — one that added up to more than just making lemons into lemonade.” - The New York Times
