The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense granted special permission for the male musicians to leave the country, calculating that the world will be more motivated to protect Ukraine if it sees its culture as something precious and worth saving. - The World
Whereas fundraising efforts in 2019 raised $6.22 for every fundraising dollar spent, return on fundraising increased to $7.35 in 2020, driven mostly by fundraising expense reduction. SMU Data Arts
We all know what we're doing in a classroom; we're putting on a class and we all share the same script as to what this is. But what began to happen in 2015—and I now realize it's because of social media—is that it's very difficult to have everyone in the same story. - Persuasion
For much of the past six centuries, the neighborhood was the Jewish quarter of Vilnius. Following World War II, the district was badly neglected by the Soviet occupiers; after Lithuanian independence in 1991, Užupis was cheap, and artists flocked there. The "Republic" was an April Fool's gag that never ended. - Euronews
Colbert, who performed at the Old Town theater in the 1990s, will chair the board. He said in a statement Monday that his recruits “all believe that comedy is better off with a vital Second City. - Chicago Sun-Times
"The London company produces 29 of the most popular online kids' shows in the world, found on more than 150 platforms in 32 languages — and with 7.8 billion views on YouTube in March alone." And those shows are very carefully and intensely market-researched and engineered. - The New York Times
Dr. Seuss Enterprises is one of the most prized collections of intellectual property in the world, and nearly every major Hollywood heavyweight is likely to show interest. - Axios
His great innovation was to turn the santoor, a hammer dulcimer which Indians had heard only in Kashmiri folk music, into a full-fledged solo instrument in high-art Hindustani classical music. He was especially known for his duos with bamboo flute superstar Hariprasad Chaurasia, with whom he collaborated on several Bollywood soundtracks. - BBC
A week after Michael Auer was reportedly terminated as ballet master over abusive conduct toward company members, two dancers who performed with RNZB in the 1980s have said publicly that Barker should resign as artistic director. The RNZB board says she has their full confidence. - Stuff (New Zealand)
The "da Vinci" Stradivarius violin, made in 1714, is also called the "ex-Seidel" after former owner Toscha Seidel, who gave Albert Einstein lessons and played (in addition to concerts and recordings) on many film soundtracks, possibly including The Wizard of Oz. - Smithsonian Magazine
Oklahoma!, South Pacific, The King and I, Carousel, The Sound of Music — they can seem corny today. Yet they deal with loaded issues — persecution of outsiders, racism, exploitation and oppression of women, and escape from fascism — and a new generation of directors is bringing those themes out. - BBC
While authors can be colorful, book dealers are often notably cranky and eccentric. One conducting business in fashionable Cecil Court put up a sign that read, “Do not mistake courtesy on my part as an invitation to stay all day.” - Washington Post
Indeed, the work — full title Shot Sage Blue Marilyn and dating from 1964 — is also the highest-priced 20th-century artwork and the second-most expensive artwork of any kind ever sold, trailing only Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi ($450 million). - ARTnews
Fat Ham, which transmutes Hamlet from a tragedy in Denmark into a comedy at a Southern Black family's cookout, was produced for streaming last year by Philadelphia's Wilma Theater, where playwright James Ijames is one of several artistic co-directors. (Live performances start this week in New York.) - The New York Times
