ISSUES

What It’s Like To Go Through One Of Burning Man’s Dust Storms

“The next big gust tore the tarp from our shade structure. I scrambled to secure the flapping tent walls, using water jugs and costume bags as weight. Above the screaming wind, I heard poles clanging as neighboring camps were blown to smithereens. Then, in a lull, I heard a faint voice. ‘Help!’” - The Guardian

Numbers: The Percentage Of Australians Who Engage In Culture

The figures are growing. Live performance attendance has increased by 1.2 million since 2022, to the highest figures ever. Around three quarters of those surveyed had attended a live performance or festival in 2025. - ArtsHub

Invoking Dolly Parton, Federal Judge Overturns Texas Law Banning Drag Shows

The law, Texas Senate Bill 12, would fine business owners up to $10,000 for hosting “sexually oriented performances”; performers would face up to a year in prison. The judge reaffirmed his ruling from three years ago that the law was an overly vague infringement on free speech. - The Texas Tribune

Trump Administration Threatens To Demolish Kennedy Center If Renovations Don’t Proceed

“Without those efforts,” wrote administration attorneys in a court filing, “the ⁠Center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down, with a determination to follow on what to ​build on the site, such as a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River.” - The Guardian

Seaside Towns In Brittany Are Fed Up With Parisian Tourists

“The anger is running high across Finistère, where local populations swell to triple their normal size every summer, and heatwave conditions in the south of France have added to the influx this year. … Hostile messages have been scratched on car doors, and holidaymakers from Paris have had insults hurled at them on the street.” - The Telegraph (UK) (MSN)

Report: Revenue Cratered At The Kennedy Center After Name Change

Ticket sales had already dropped in the10 months following Trump’s takeover, but both ticket sales and donations plunged after the Trump-led board of trustees voted in December to rename the center after him and put his name on the front of the building, according to the records. - Washington Post

Historic LA Performing Center Reopens After 15-Year Renovation

After a 15-year renovation, South L.A.’s historic Vision Theatre Performing Arts Center is reopening, marking a major milestone for Leimert Park and a $40-million investment in Black arts and culture. - Los Angeles Times

Elections Flip Control Of Florida School Board At Center Of Book Bans And Culture Wars

“Two Democratic-backed candidates beat out conservatives in Tuesday's school board election in Sarasota, Florida, flipping the board's majority. Helmed for the past year by a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, … the board is moving in a new direction, the winners said.” - The Washington Post (Yahoo!)

LinkedIn Added An AI Slop Button, And People Are Clicking It A Whole, Whole Lot

Since July 30th, more than a million people have clicked on the button accessible on each post. - The Verge

Viral, Often AI-Generated, TikToks Have Police Announcing The Cat In The Hat Isn’t Real

Wild: “Many of the AI generated images have been centred on the Irish counties of Limerick and Wexford, where shaky videos purportedly showed the character wandering through the streets, causing alarm and confusion among residents.” - BBC

The Mayor Of Los Angeles Suddenly Loves The Warnermount Merger

What in the rolling over for rich people hell, Karen Bass? - Vulture

Weird Idea Spreads On Chinese Internet That Tang Dynasty Never Existed

The Tang era (618-907 CE) is considered a golden age, a period of territorial expansion, prosperity and high culture which every Chinese schoolchild learns about. Claiming it never happened is like telling Brits there was no Norman Conquest. Yet the bogus idea has caught on widely enough that China’s government is weighing in. - CNN

How The COVID Crisis Shifted Culture Funding

In 2019, arts organizations in BIPOC-majority neighborhoods of a major U.S. city received 16% less median grant funding than those in white-majority neighborhoods. By 2022, they were receiving 289% more. - SMU Cultural Data

How The Kennedy Center Plans To Put Trump’s Name Back

In a status report submitted late Tuesday to a federal court, the Kennedy Center outlined its plans to put President Trump's name back on the arts complex. - NPR

Refurbishment Plans For The Kennedy Center Detailed

More than 160 pages of plans, assembled by the real estate company JLL and presented to the board of trustees, outline extensive changes throughout the building. - Washington Post

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