"NHS mental health trusts will use the activities to help 600 young people on their waiting lists for care as part of a study into whether 'social prescribing' helps improve mental wellbeing. ... If participation proves successful, the NHS may seek to make such activities available across England." - The Guardian
"The result of a year-long series of workshops in northern Iraq, the Yazidi Cultural Archives aim not simply to document the traditions of the small ethnic minority. Crucially, they address the mental-health crisis now gripping the Yazidi community." - The Art Newspaper
The global report determined that ‘only 21% of employees were engaged at work, and most didn’t find their work meaningful following the pandemic’. In other words, Gallup says that low engagement alone has cost the global economy US$7.8 trillion. - ArtsHub
So what’s the actual reason for the gap between audiences and critics? Simply put, it’s that audiences tend to be easier to please because they’re merely looking for movies to be entertainment while critics are trying to judge them artistically. - The Bulwark
"Arts Council England has revealed it has hit the brakes on its imminent investment programme announcement. ... The 2023-26 programme has promised to be a seismic moment for many arts organisations, with ACE suggesting it will incorporate a 'levelling up' strategy to move funds away from the capital." - WhatsOnStage (London)
Citing 19th Century patriotic poetry and Mussolini-era writers and philosophers, the freshly appointed culture minister of Italy’s new right-wing government has promised a new era for the country’s cultural sector and revealed he wants to reform state funding for the performances arts. - Deadline
In the arts, entertainment, and recreation industry grouping, the job vacancy rate was 6.8% in March 2022, double the rate before the pandemic (3.4% in the last quarter of 2019). - Hill Strategies
"The Dallas Morning News and KERA announced Monday the formal launch of their new shared endeavor Arts Access, 'a first-of-its-kind journalism partnership' designed to expand 'arts, music and culture coverage in North Texas, through the lens of equity and access.'" - KERA (Dallas)
Audiences are being more selective, according to researchers and arts leaders across the region. Some are scared to gather in crowded indoor venues. Others have lost the habit of attending. Still others are avoiding the hassle of driving and parking, instead staying at home. - KERA
Proposed legislation in Canada, "the Online News Act, compels online platforms like Facebook and Google to share revenue with the publishers they aggregate their news from." Meta will not have it. - The Verge
Zar Amir Ebrahimi was a young actor when a leaked sex tape forced her to flee her country. Now, she says, "This Islamic Republic has to end. Women today know their rights. ... There is no other way." - The New York Times
"Those institutions which made it – sometimes barely – through the pandemic are now contending with huge leaps in fuel prices, increased staffing costs, reluctant audiences and the logistical and cost hangovers of Brexit." - The Guardian (UK)
Few places in the country host a professional show-business destination as quirky and expansive as this Missouri mountain town a few dozen miles north of the Arkansas border. Singer Andy Williams opened a theater here. So did comedian Yakov Smirnoff. - Washington Post
In an era when chess engines entirely dominate the game—when they’ve so monopolized human players’ thinking, strategy, and preparation that chess has, in certain ways, come to resemble poker—is it really possible to disentangle creativity from computing? - The Atlantic
The concentration of arts institutions around Broad Street south of City Hall transformed that portion of the city, but the street north of City Hall has lagged behind. Now, with the Philly Pops joining PAFA, the Met Philadelphia and Philadelphia Ballet in expanding there, North Broad could catch up. - The Philadelphia Inquirer
