An Angeleno who emigrated from Mexico at age 8, grew into a first-generation college student and climbed his way through the ranks of the city’s arts scene has been named executive and artistic director of UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance. - Los Angeles Times
The number of students nationwide seeking four-year degrees in computer and information sciences and related fields shot up 34 percent from 2017 to 2022, to about 573,000. The English-major head count fell 23 percent in that time, to about 113,000. History fell 12 percent, to about 77,000. - Washington Post
"Picketers and audience members broke out in chants, including, 'pay your writers!' as Zaslav spoke about his career experience" at Boston University. - Washington Post
This comes after the BBC decided to start restoring the sculpture by pedophile artist Eric Gill, which was also attacked in January of 2022. - The Guardian (UK)
"More than 100 Nobel laureates, including Kazuo Ishiguro, Olga Tokarczuk and JM Coetzee, have called for the release of Nobel peace prize winner Ales Bialiatski and said they 'stand with the fearless people of Belarus who continue to fight for their human rights.'" - The Guardian (UK)
Sinking it. "The researchers estimated the weight of all of New York City’s buildings to be around 842 million tons," and there's some soil that cannot handle it. - The Verge
Many of the more recent changes in local arts organizations were sparked by the pandemic, which shone a spotlight on society’s inequities, as well as by the 2020 protests and the increased attention to diversity, equity and inclusion. - Seattle Times
"California's performing arts sector lost a decade's worth of jobs within a two-year period, with 2021 employment dropping to 2010 levels, according to a new study. More than 59,000 jobs disappeared during the pandemic that ... are unlikely to return if drastic action is not immediately taken." - Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)
"An anonymous donation this year made affordable rates for a quarter of the festival's shows possible, (subsidizing) about 1,300 tickets, valued at about $50,000. The program sets a minimum payment of $5 for tickets to cover fees (and) limits patrons to two tickets per show." - The Post and Courier (Charleston)
Reversals of fortune are nothing unusual in the news business. But in the last few weeks it’s been gobsmacking to see Vice facing bankruptcy and BuzzFeed shuttering its news division. The Times, meanwhile, hit its goal of 10 million paying subscribers and aims to have 15 million by the end of 2027. - Vanity Fair
"Decent we have, sometimes even good: well-made, professional. But wild, indelible, commanding us without appeal to change our lives? I don't think we even remember what that feels like. … Art is bland and unimaginative because we have landed ourselves in the lamentable position of getting exactly what we want." - Tablet
The case, Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts v. Goldsmith, No. 21-869, concerned the limits of the fair-use defense, which allows copying that would otherwise be unlawful if it involves activities like criticism and news reporting. - The New York Times
As long as objects have been plundered, countries have called for their repatriation. Yet western popular culture has muted these voices, sometimes expressing anxiety over colonial plunder but ultimately reaffirming British and American supremacy. - The Conversation
The stage and film director, former head of the National Theatre in London, argues for two different (and, of course, generously financed) government funding bodies along the lines of those already in place for sports: one for elite/Olympic-level performance and one for community activities. - The Guardian
Diego Galafassi, who researches the role of the arts in sustainability, argues the arts can foster the disposition and imagination required to address the climate crisis. Arts activities can provoke positive emotions such as hope, responsibility, care and solidarity that, in turn, inspire resilience and climate action. - The Conversation
