“How crazy is it to think that we’re going to celebrate Christ at Christmas with a big traditional production, to celebrate what we are all celebrating in the world during Christmastime, which is the birth of Christ?” Mr. Grenell said at the Conservative Political Action Conference. - The New York Times
The glass-domed plaza between the Philadelphia arts center's venues was intended to be a welcoming public space. Yet it tends to be desolate during the day, despite years of efforts to liven it up. The design of the new café there doesn't help, but the space still has potential. - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
AI is a category of general-purpose tools with myriad beneficial uses. Requiring developers to license the materials needed to create this technology threatens the development of more innovative and inclusive AI models, as well as important uses of AI as a tool for expression and scientific research. - Electronic Frontier Foundation
Gina Duncan was the first person of color to lead the academy, which operates several stages and a cinema, and has an annual operating budget of $56 million. She had previously served as BAM’s first vice president of film and strategic programming but had not held the top job at an arts institution. - The New York Times
“We can’t stand the fact that the sticker price is so high despite the fact that nobody pays it.” This pricing strategy took hold in the early 1980s. - The Atlantic
With each day bringing new troubles and concerns, how should we proceed? Ideally, with boldness, though that quality seems to be in short supply, especially in the arts world. What a far cry from 2016 when, within hours of the shock Election Day result, Toni Morrison’s quote that “this is precisely the time when artists go to work. -...
The Culture Secretary is expected to use a speech in Stratford-upon-Avon, birthplace of William Shakespeare, to announce a new £270 million Arts Everywhere Fund to help organisations in urgent need of financial support. - The Independent
It plays like a David Mamet drama, complete with an inciting incident, characters bringing years of baggage to every scene and a surprising climax. Its cast includes a president carrying a grudge, a board of megawealthy executives unaccustomed to being fired, A-list celebrities and drag queens dragged into the fray. - The Wall Street Journal (MSN)
The Center gets only 16% of its budget from Federal money, and that's for maintenance, repairs and operation of the building, which the government owns. The now-fired CEO and board chairman were very successful fundraisers, and the chairman a major donor. Will anyone be making up for that? - The New York Times
The state’s Performing Arts Equitable Payroll Fund, which helps organizations meet new pay and benefit requirements, launches this year with a $12.5 million budget. The California Arts Council has suffered only half the originally proposed cut, and San Francisco city arts spending has held steady. - San Francisco Classical Voice
Hundreds of artists signed a letter sent to the National Endowment for the Arts asking it to reverse policy changes made as a result of recent executive orders issued by President Donald Trump. - NPR
The call to action was to develop a blueprint for the TCC to take to Capitol Hill to advocate for arts funding, with the $207 million earmarked for the National Endowment for the Arts on the line. - The Hollywood Reporter
The change proposed by Arts Council England was that any organization which had a grant from National Lottery proceeds had to wait until that funded project was complete before applying for another Lottery grant. It seems the Arts Council forgot just how long lead times in the arts are. - The Guardian
"The question now is what a thin-skinned showman will do with an institution of music, theater and dance ... central to Washington’s cultural life for more than 50 years." Many observers in DC expect more country music. (Steve Bannon suggests that the J6 Prison Choir sing for opening night.) - The New York Times
Eight in 10 event-goers are planning to attend either the same number of events, or more, compared to last year.
Gen Zs, in particular, are looking to add more live experiences to their calendars. - ArtsHub
