Treating freedom of expression and social cohesion as trade-offs is a category error. Freedom of expression is an internal attribute of cultural activity, an inherent good. Without it there is no culture worthy of the name, only sanctioned content. - ArtsHub
As of August 1, Dawn Airey, a longtime television executive who is currently chair of the National Youth Theatre and the educational platform Digital Theatre+, will succeed Nicholas Serota, who spent almost a decade leading the Council after a famously successful tenure as director of the Tate galleries and museums. - The Independent (UK)
“We began evacuating the artefacts while the roof was still ablaze and the firefighting operation was still under way,” said the director of one museum. “We could hear the roof collapsing. We were constantly wading through water.” - The Guardian
If the National Science Foundation does stop funding social scientists, experts told me, our 5,000-foot-view of American life will get foggier. The NSF, through the SBE division, is the primary funder of the “big three” social-science surveys, which have enabled the work of several generations of academics, economists, and policy wonks. - The Atlantic
Um, ouf? “He doubled down on his personal commitment to AI, noting that he still uses it every day. … I asked him whether he would rather stop writing than stop using AI in his writing process. ‘Yeah,’ he answered.” - Wired
“When the history of Trump’s second administration is written, the whole sorry Kennedy Center chapter will be key to understanding the chaos, cruelty and grotesque egotism of the president, as well as the bravery and determination of those who resisted and persevered.” - Washington Post (Yahoo)
Remember when Jonah Peretti of Buzzfeed seemed like a good guy? That was a long time ago, and we were all so much more innocent, including the creator of Good Advice Cupcake: "I trusted them, though naively, when they said they had no interest in continuing Cuppy without me." - Wired
Those belt buckles sure aren’t handmade. And: “Nearly all aspects of the accounts appear to be AI-generated — from the ‘person’ in the video to automated responses to comments, which in some cases attempt to mimic African American vernacular.” - The Verge
A federal judge Friday ordered that President Donald Trump’s name be removed from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and that officials halt its plan to close the venue for two years. - Washington Post
“We now observe preparation gaps so severe that instructors must reteach middle-school mathematics while simultaneously teaching the material students need for sciences, engineering, economics, and other quantitatively demanding fields,” the professors write in an open letter to the Board of Regents. - The Wall Street Journal
“(He) did not set out to make the exhibit American Aspirations his swan song. But he said that his organizing of an exhibition that honors America’s 250th anniversary could well be among his final acts as secretary. ‘It’s probably the last exhibit I will curate, there’s no doubt about that.’” - The New York Times
Arts Council England has unveiled a new strategy to replace the “Let’s Create” regime, which was widely criticized for appearing to de-emphasize high quality in favor of inclusiveness. The new policy aims for ACE’s grants to “support excellence, deliver for everybody, and reach everywhere.” - The Stage (UK)
