Living as we are, in a time of social, political, economic, and environmental crisis, I believe we must resist the temptation to view the arts as a subsidiary or accompaniment to our social, political, and economic experiences and concerns. I believe we have to argue for what I call the freestanding value of art. - The Easel
Time was, folks on a budget could see a film at cinemas where titles that were no longer brand-new were shown at discounted ticket prices before being released for home video. As Hollywood makes that window before video release ever smaller, those theaters are becoming unfeasible. - The Hollywood Reporter
As the pandemic enters its third year, a cluster of new studies now show that about a third of children in the youngest grades are missing reading benchmarks, up significantly from before the pandemic. - The New York Times
She sang with such conductors as Bernstein, Solti, and Karajan (whom she told she wouldn't work with him again), with a repertoire from Mozart to Rossini to Verdi to Wagner to Tippett, and she was a mainstay at Covent Garden, where she sang 780 performances in 60 roles. - The Guardian
Scientists tested 11 strains of bacteria on marble before it was decided that three non-toxic varieties would be the most effective for Michelangelo’s masterpiece. Serratia ficaria, a bacterium that causes urinary tract infections, managed to remove dirt from the tomb in two days. - The Guardian
The holiday season in particular was plagued by constant cast changes or cancellations when someone in the company got sick or tested positive. With the pandemic now receding among the vaccinated, Broadway will have 16 productions opening over about six weeks. - Variety
The Humana Festival of New American Plays, as envisioned prior to the Global Pandemic, has inspired a new approach to develop and produce new work on multiple platforms year-round,” Fleming’s emailed statement read, in part. - WFPL
The open-source online project — started by Bangalore's Museum of Art and Photography, with entries written by Indian experts — will include textiles and craft arts as well as painting, sculpture, and photography and will range from ancient work to the 2010s. - The New York Times
The Getty invested $60 million in the fund, which was titled “structured alpha,” in 2016. Three years later, the investment had grown to $73 million. But in early 2020, when the pandemic hit, the fund suffered devastating losses: The Getty only had $2 million left, or “97 percent of its assets.” - Artnet
Dance Reflections, which will be held in a different city each year, debuts in London March 9-23 with a program featuring contemporary classics by Lucinda Childs, Merce Cunningham, and Trisha Brown as well as newer works by the likes of Boris Charmatz and SERAFINE1369. - Dance Magazine
"Artificial intelligence could bring to life lost texts, from imperial decrees to the poems of Sappho, researchers have revealed, after developing a system that can fill in the gaps in ancient Greek inscriptions and pinpoint when and where they are from." - The Guardian
"The company, which created its theater division just five years ago, has already released 93 audio theater works, ... commissioning new work from 55 playwrights, presenting 25 shows in person ... and becoming one of the most active commercial producers in the city." - The New York Times
Alexander Malofeev traveled to Canada for a concert this week with the Vancouver Recital Society and a Prokofiev concerto this weekend with the Montreal Symphony. He's been dropped from both, despite his own statements against the invasion of Ukraine. Canadians are debating whether this is going too far. - Ludwig Van
In 2019, after years of management turmoil and falling revenue, James Daunt (who turned around British chain Waterstones) was brought in to fix things. He says that though the cafe and newsstand business hasn't yet recovered from COVID, book sales are up more than 5% from 2019. - Publishers Weekly
Volo Bevza and several others have set themselves up in a metal workshop to build steel tank obstacles called "hedgehogs," which look like small Mark di Suvero sculptures. - Hyperallergic
