ISSUES

Alex Ross: Saying Goodbye To The Kennedy Center

Tempting as it is to blame Trump for the Kennedy Center’s fate, he does not bear sole responsibility. The idea of a national arts center was always more of a noble dream than a reality. - The New Yorker

Kennicott: Trump is Wreaking Havoc On DC Architecture

These proposals, the rush to realize them, the stacking of key oversight groups with Trump loyalists and flunkies and the collaboration of firms like Shalom Baranes Associates, have upended and effectively destroyed the process of design review — which has until now preserved Washington as a monumental, picturesque capital. - Washington Post

How Paris Has Been Reborn (For The Better)

Visitors will discover that it’s a dramatically different place than a decade ago: lines of bikes and throngs of pedestrians where lanes were once jammed with cars, greenery encroaching on former pavement, summer swimming in the once-grimy Seine river — and a corresponding drop in air and water pollution. - Bloomberg

A Jury Says Elon Musk Drove Down Twitter’s Price And Defrauded Investors With Misleading Statements

One of those statements was Musk “tweeting a poop emoji when then-Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal commented there was no way for external parties to calculate this information.” - Courthouse News

Game Developers Use AI For A Lot Of Things, But Not Creating Games

This feels like good news for creators: “‘I feel like the human mind is so beautiful,’ The Melty Way developer Gabriel Paquette told me. ‘Why not use it?’” (Archive Today link) - The Verge

What’s The Impact Of The US Dismantling Storied, Award-Winning Black Studies Departments?s

“Early investment in race and gender studies ‘favored programs over departments,’ which has always made financing a tenuous proposition. And at the end of the day, even the highest minded universities stay beholden to bottom lines and trustees.” - LitHub

National Park Service Pulls Films About Mill Workers From Historic Site In Massachusetts

The suspicion is that’s this is the result of bowing down to the “only positive history” guideline from the federal government, but the people of Lowell are not pleased to have their history questioned. - NBC

Why ABC Decided To Play With Fire

“ABC knew that Paul had been charged in a domestic violence incident that led to the injury of her child and somehow thought she would make an excellent Bachelorette anyway. What were they thinking?” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Revisiting Fank Gehry’s Plans For A Grand Avenue Of Culture In LA

Gehry’s vision included completing the original plans cost-cut out of Disney a quarter-century ago, along with new modifications and much more throughout the area. Some are more costly than others. Enough could be done on Grand Avenue in time for the Olympics to make a difference if we begin this minute. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo)

Behold Brisbane’s Shimmering New Performance Venue

The Glasshouse Theatre, a new extension of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Australia’s third-largest city, has a flexible 1,500-seat auditorium designed to accommodate dance performances, opera, orchestral concerts, and musical theatre. The design is by the firms Blight Rayner Architecture and Snøhetta. - Dezeen

Brooklyn’s BAM Names New President And Aims For Stability

“The Brooklyn Academy of Music (has) appointed Tamara McCaw, … who has served as interim president since last June, … as the center emerges from a period of shrinking audiences, declining revenue and turnover in its upper ranks.” - The New York Times

British Museum Is No Longer UK’s Most Visited Attraction

With a record 7.1 million visitors in 2025, London’s Natural History Museum surged past the British Museum to take the top spot. - The Standard (London)

UK Government Backs Off Plan To Let AI Companies Use Creative Work Without Permission

Ministers initially proposed reforming copyright law to boost the AI industry but were faced with a campaign of opposition led by Sir Elton John and Sir Paul McCartney, who accused the government of legalising the “theft” of creative works. - The Times

Hong Kong’s Huge Arts Hub Averts Its Cash Crisis (For Now)

The West Kowloon Cultural District — a 99-acre campus, home to the M+ contemporary art museum, Hong Kong Palace Museum, and two performance venues — has gotten a 10-year loan and authority to issue bonds to bridge the gap until rental income from planned office and apartment towers arrives. - South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)

Inclusivity And The “Elitist” Problem

Many advocates of culture today would proudly describe themselves as anti-elitist. They argue that art should be inclusive. They promote the doctrine of diversity. The reality could not be more different. - The Telegraph (MSN)

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