Excavations in the Lachish Forest, about 40 miles southwest of Jerusalem, have uncovered the remains of a Hellenistic fortress — a structure which the Israel Antiquities Authority says was destroyed by the Maccabees' army during the rebellion commemorated by Hanukkah. (Other scholars aren't so sure.) - Yahoo! (The Daily Beast)
It’s been quite the turnaround. Utah’s largest newspaper escaped the clutches of the hedge fund Alden Global Capital in 2016 only to see its local owner, Paul Huntsman, lay off a third of staff two years later in the face of plunging ad revenue. - NiemanLab
King Mohammed VI's government says it's making art accessible to more ordinary people and promoting Morocco as an island of stability; some artists and critics argue that it's all just attempting to artwash the image of a repressive regime that keeps its censors busy. - Bloomberg CityLab
65% of respondents said they preferred in-person to online cultural activities. Only 9% favored online experiences, while a more significant 26% is defined as “digitally agnostic,” either preferring the two about equally or opting to make decisions based on content. - Hyperallergic
Claudia Roth, one of the Green Party's top leaders and vice president of the federal parliament, started her career as a theater worker and later managed a German rock band. The left-leaning three-party coalition now in charge plans to make culture a high priority. - Deutsche Welle
The goal of restoring a building, preserving its character while also updating it to suit today's needs, was a monumental task done under the scrutiny of heritage departments and building inspectors, and many of Canada's top musicians and music historians. - CBC
"A land acknowledgment is what you give when you have no intention of giving land. It is like a receipt provided by a highway robber, noting all the jewels and gold coins he has stolen. ... It is difficult to exaggerate the superficiality of these statements." - The Atlantic
Perhaps the Australian journalist who screwed up his country's only interview with Adele was trying to resist her massive PR team. But the performer (& her team) also convinced Spotify to change its automatic shuffle. In short, power cuts many ways. - The Observer (UK)
"For arts institutions looking to make the changes the public wants to see, the numbers couldn’t be clearer: lowering ticket and entry prices should be at the top of their list." Also important: "Improving equity and inclusion ... and engaging more diverse groups." - Hyperallergic
It is one of the country’s leaders in funding — its $38 million is one of the nation’s largest per capita — but it has been mired in controversy. Since 2018, it has weathered a censorship scandal, turf battles with the mayor and a series of short-tenured executive directors. - Washington Post
It’s not possible to live authentically as a member of the working class without self-annihilating or folding oneself into the straitjacket of the middle class — either way, the collateral damage is the integrity of one’s art. The Smart Set
No matter the time of year, the energy of Comic-Con thrives in Southern California’s comic book stores — spaces deeply entwined within its culture. - Los Angeles Times
The amount of paperwork required by the USCIS (United States Citizen and Immigration Service), says Nicki Harper, Los Angeles Opera’s director of artistic operations, plus all the other requirements to obtain an artist’s visa can take on Kafkaesque proportions. - San Francisco Classical Voice
With the privatization and commercialization of higher education, universities are run like businesses, in which a degree becomes a product, students become customers, and the world’s most populous country becomes the biggest overseas market. - The Atlantic
Telling parents you don’t want their kids to have the best possible public schools is never good politics. A full century ago, the most effective school-ban campaign in American history set the pattern: noise, fury, rancor, and fear, but not much change in what schools actually teach. - The Atlantic
