ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

ISSUES

Fresno, California Is About To Spend Millions On The Arts. The City’s Arts Community Is Extremely Wary.

Fresno voters approved a ⅜-cent local sales tax, with 12% earmarked for arts and culture, in 2018; the city awards the first grants this summer.  But the plan for administering the grants looks, to many arts folk in Fresno, like a money grab by the parks department. - The Fresno Bee

Growing Concern About The DEI Industry

News outlets such as The New York Times and New York magazine are publishing more articles that cover the industry with skepticism. And DEI practitioners themselves are raising concerns about how their competitors operate. - The Atlantic

Turkey’s Arts World Is Feeling Anxious Following ErdoÄźan’s Re-Election

"Turkey's creative community fears ErdoÄźan could now intensify a long-running crackdown that has intimidated artists, musicians, filmmakers and other cultural activists. Kurdish, female and gay artists feel especially vulnerable." - The Art Newspaper

The Inexplicable Survival Of The Guinness Book Of Records

Even now, in the age of YouTube and TikTok, when you can catapult yourself into fame, riches and recognition for feats of all kinds with nothing more complicated than your phone, the Guinness Book of Records continues, somewhat incredibly, to exist.  - The Guardian

Why Did Venice’s Grand Canal Turn Bright Green Over The Weekend?

"A mysterious patch of fluorescent green water that appeared in Venice's famed Grand Canal Sunday was caused by a chemical commonly used in underwater construction to help identify leaks, environmental authorities say. The chemical – fluorescein – is non-toxic." - CNN

Fighting For The Right To Fix Our Own Stuff

Many people are sick of buying and throwing away everything from clothes to phones. But repairing things with computer chips can be illegal. So, "there's this cultural shift, and then there is the policy work that has to be done. ... They have to go hand in hand." - NPR

The Woman Trying To Archive Black Twitter

Professor Meredith Clark "says preserving Black Twitter will allow for a more accurate and complex retelling of the history of the internet. But it's not a simple task." - NPR

How AI Could Improve The Ways We Work

There’s a lot of potential for workers to step outside of the box with the assistance of generative AI, whether it’s improving their daily workflows, or developing long-term projects and goals. - BBC

Xi Jinping’s Latest Cultural Rule That Nobody Was Warned About: Treat China’s Armed Forces With Nothing But Reverence

"In the chest-thumping nationalism that has dominated the country's tightly controlled official and public discourses, the Chinese military occupies a sacred, central place – and any perceived slight can lead to serious consequences." The current crackdown is drawing some comparisons with the Cultural Revolution of the 1970s. - CNN

How To Create Data-Driven Culture

As we expected, ambassadors and others across the bank began working together, making measurements, targeting data cleanups, and eliminating root causes of error. Then, somewhat organically, ambassadors and regular employees began using methods and tools provided in the training in new ways. - Harvard Business Review

How President Erdogan Used Turkish Culture To Support His Power

If the mark of 21st-century politics is the ascendancy of culture and identity over economics and class, it could be said to have been born here in Turkey, home to one of the longest-running culture wars of them all. - The New York Times

Nicholas Hytner Proposed A Whole New Model Of Arts Funding In England. Here’s The Arts Council England Chairman’s Response.

Nicholas Serota: "Nick suggested that the Arts Council's focus should only be on what he terms the 'professional' arts. … It's a mistake to suggest the skills and vision that bring us the 'best possible' art and culture cannot be found in community practice or in settings across the country." - The Guardian

Researchers Are Burning Out. It’s The Culture

The recent studies, which have collectively surveyed tens of thousands of researchers worldwide, suggest that scientists’ mental-health struggles are a direct result of a toxic research culture. - Nature

Egyptians Are Flipping Out Again About A Famous Pharaoh Depicted As Black

"A new exhibition at the National Museum of Antiquities in the Netherlands has sparked controversy by including a contemporary artwork that depicts the Pharaoh Tutankhamun as Black. 'Kemet: Egypt in Hip-Hop, Jazz, Soul and Funk' pairs Egyptian antiquities … with work inspired by ancient Egyptian culture by African diaspora musicians." - Artnet

Head Of Disney’s Theme Parks Division Says Company Won’t Cut Customer-Facing Staff Jobs

"As Disney pledges to enact $5.5 billion in cost-saving measures, Disney Parks Chairperson Josh D'Amaro said his department will also be making cuts, but will not eliminate frontline positions as part of it." - The Hollywood Reporter

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