"Michael Maurello ... falsified payments to employees and funneled museum payroll into his personal bank accounts from 2007 to 2020, the written plea agreement states. To hide the scheme, Maurello kept spreadsheets and notes to track the embezzled funds so later he could make reversals in the payroll system." - MSN (Chicago Tribune)
"Llano County Judge Ron Cunningham announced that the county's library system will stay open. … Commissioners considered whether or not they would shut down their library system rather than complying with a federal judge's order that they must return 17 banned books to the library shelves." - Texas Public Radio
"The (federal) suit … claims that the orchestra, since merging with the Kimmel Center, has engaged in 'unlawful, anticompetitive and predatory conduct' to 'eliminate the Philly Pops as a competitor in and monopolize the market for live symphonic popular concert music' in the Greater Philadelphia area." - MSN (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
"The Uffizi Galleries (in Florence) have hiked their ticket prices because of pressures from rising energy prices, … sparking a debate about how much people should be asked to pay for culture." - The Art Newspaper
The advisory board on cultural issues, which was disbanded by Donald Trump, has among its new members Shonda Rhimes, Jon Batiste, George Clooney, Kerry Washington, and, as co-chairs, producer Bruce Cohen and Lady Gaga. - AP
Synonymous with defining styles of the era, including the miniskirt and hot pants, her colorful and unashamedly sexy clothes for a drastically changing world were adored as much by celebrities like Twiggy and Audrey Hepburn as they were by young girls on the street with new feelings of freedom. - The New York Times
The app features 4,522 stolen objects which are searchable by subject matter, medium, or artist. Many of the works are not photographed, and a simple search returns multiple reproductions of a stock photo of an empty silver frame. - Hyperallergic
Although the elements vary, the genre is characterized by a reliance on text and discourse to support an abundance of materials, distributed spatially. - ArtForum
This fall, Columbia College Chicago will begin a yearlong, graduate-level program in stage and screen intimacy, leading to a certificate — the first of its kind, it says, offered at an accredited American college or university. - Chicago Sun-Times
The Make It Right Foundation was supposed to provide well-designed replacement homes for wiped-out Katrina victims in the impoverished New Orleans neighborhood. The houses have been plagued by nonstop design and material problems, and a legal settlement to help the beleaguered residents has now come unraveled. - The Hollywood Reporter
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival announced a campaign Tuesday to raise $2.5 million to “save” the season set to begin later this month and said it was suspending its planning for 2024 as it seeks to stabilize its finances. - The Oregonian
"Merritt Moore … is walking, talking, dancing proof that you can build a career in both science and art. She has a PhD in quantum optics from the University of Oxford in the UK, and has also danced professionally with numerous world-class ballet companies." - Physics World
Using a technique known as data sonification, which translates information of practically any kind into soundwaves, W. Walker Smith crafted a new musical instrument from the translated sounds of every element on the periodic table. This acoustic view of chemistry allows for the creation of new kinds of music. - Syfy
"Shot in the deserts of Texas, the film takes (climate activist Andreas) Malm's call to action and builds it into a heist movie. … As with the ragtag group of radicals in their film, each (of the moviemakers) brought their expertise to pull off a job no one thought was possible." - Vulture
Editor Gemma Jones said the Fringe launched a “rival” review website with “an almost identical format and functionality as our ‘Tiser Fringe Adviser”, a decision she said undermined “our ability to find an audience” for similar content. - Crikey
