"The cause of death, in this coroner's verdict, is a prolonged failure to address reality. ... The decline and fall of England's national opera is a lesson to all working in the arts that you cannot kick problems down the road." - The Critic (UK)
Today’s staff memo from AMC Networks chairman James Dolan, whose family is the company’s controlling shareholder, was particularly grim, noting that “the mechanisms for the monetization of content are in disarray.” - Deadline
"Sent by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to his ambassador at the French royal court — a man called Jean de Saint-Mauris — the letter gives an insight into the preoccupations of Europe's rulers at a time of dangerous instability caused by wars of religion and rival strategic interests." - BBC
"No matter how cobbled together the entire operation might be, some of the very best comedy shows in L.A., for more than two decades, have happened in a comedian's (or a group of comedians') backyard, living room, garage, grotto, warehouse, etc." - Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)
"Professors of art, workers at museums, and assistants at a publishing house have all gone on strike or staged public protests during contract negotiations. Call this a black-turtleneck-worker uprising rather than a white-collar one." - The New Republic
"The news comes after eight different Oscar categories — original score, makeup and hairstyling, documentary short, film editing, production design, animated short, live action short and sound — were cut from the main telecast at the 2022 Academy Awards, leading to much outrage across the film industry." - Variety
Amsterdam's flagship museum is, after all, about to present the largest Vermeer exhibition in history, so increasing the artist's slim corpus could very much benefit the institution. And there's definitely scholarly disagreement over these paintings, especially Girl With a Flute. - ARTnews
Leisure travel has roared back since the pandemic, with the Greek capital a destination rather than a transit point to the islands; the Acropolis is now getting 16,000 visitors a day. The mayor of Athens is arguing for a tourist tax to cover the ballooning cost of services. - The Guardian
John Storgårds, a Finnish violinist-turned conductor who is also artistic director of the Lapland Chamber Orchestra, was named the BBC Phil's Principal Guest Conductor in 2012 and Chief Guest Conductor in 2017. He now succeeds Omer Meir Wellber as the orchestra's Chief Conductor. - Gramophone
It must, however, be noted that the 2022 exhibition ran longer than usual, stretching over 197 days instead of 173 days in 2019. According to the Biennale, 41% of this year’s visitors were from Italy while 59% came from other countries. - Hyperallergic
The installation is American photographer Spencer Tunick's latest project, aimed at encouraging Australians to get regular skin checks. Legislation was changed to allow public nudity on the beach for the first time. Australia is the country in the world worst affected by skin cancer. - BBC
The Horniman Museum in south-east London is returning 72 items, including so-called Benin Bronzes, to Nigerian ownership - making it the first in the UK to officially take such action on this scale. - BBC
“Most of the interesting things in the human experience need friction,” Honoré explained, and they benefit from a slower approach: cooking, creativity, thoughtful work, meaningful conversations, relationships. “Digital optimization just leads to a superficial way of being.” - The Walrus
“In this age of misinformation — of ‘fake news,’ conspiracy theories, Twitter trolls, and deepfakes — gaslighting has emerged as a word for our time,” the dictionary company said Monday, unveiling its pick. - Washington Post
During the past two centuries, educators, psychologists, toy companies and parents like us have acted, implicitly or otherwise, as if the purpose of play is to optimise children for adulthood. - The Guardian
