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Iranian Director And Oscar Winner Asghar Farhadi Has A Rule

The director says he has no interest in making movies about the rich. "It is very valuable for me to always focus on ordinary people." Perhaps paradoxically, that has won him success and a following across the globe. - The New York Times

The Lockdown Project That Brought Traditional Irish Music Back To Life

In the 1840s, before and during the Famine, William Fforde "undertook a gargantuan task of collecting over 2,000 airs from across the country." Now many of them are published with all of their bilingual glory, and with tons of variations. - Irish Times

Artists Pull Out Of British Show After Gallery Director Is Asked To Resign

The University of Manchester asked him to leave after UK Lawyers for Israel complained about his statements in support of Palestinians and "suggested that the university should take appropriate disciplinary action." Twenty-three artists have pulled out of the show. - The Guardian (UK)

To Get Museum-Goers Truly Involved In The Work, Add Theatre

Science says it's a good idea. "Audience members, whether they know each other or not, will synchronize their heartbeats while watching a live theater performance" - and that works in a natural history museum as well as a proscenium theatre. - American Alliance of Museums

Verdi, But Make It French

Verdi tinkered with Don Carlos for years, making a variety of (all French) versions. And "the opera is better overall in French — but it is a subtle superiority." So has it been saddled with a florid Italian translation for so long? - The New York Times

Black Women Photographers Want To Be Seen In Full Color

Says one, "So much of the photography we have seen of the lives of Black and brown people is in black and white, which to me can sometimes give this sense of fungible devastation." She would rather show people "in all their vibrant, living colors." - Wired

How Asian Representation In Movies Got An 80s Child Star Back Into Acting

Ke Huy Quan was a child star in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies, but a lack of roles led him to drop out of acting entirely - until the success of Crazy Rich Asians in 2018. - Entertainment Weekly

Where Are Today’s Monuments Men And Women?

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has alarmed cultural experts still waiting "more than two years after the Army, with some fanfare, announced  new effort, styled after the old, of dedicated art experts working in a military capacity to preserve the treasures of the past." - The New York Times

Podcast Host Sarah Marshall Changed The Way We See Outcast Women

Marshall: "I often try to reclaim a story that the tabloids have found lucrative because they present someone who the public can safely mock." Then, she says, "Something powerful happens." - Time

The First Abolitionist Paper In The US Is (Finally) Available Online

"While the legacy of the publication stretches over two centuries, its actual time in print was short lived. Not even a full year after its first issue, production was halted after the untimely death of its founder." - The Root

A Reading List For Those Who Desire To Become So-Called Bad Girls

Hey, why not? "Being a bad girl may mean unleashing destructive force, or simply shrugging off expectation. It could mean embracing the calamity of selfhood, or reimagining who that self is entirely. To be bad is to be your own." - The Rumpus

An Asian American Dancer Was Attacked On His Way To A Performance

The dancer was on his way to a first-performance celebration at New York’s Public Theater when he was attacked "in what theater officials describe as the latest 'disgusting and heartbreaking' incident 'in a long history of violence against Asian Americans.'" - Deadline

The Biggest Winners Of France’s Oscars

A rock opera and a Balzac adaptation dominated the night, and Cate Blanchett won an honorary César. - Variety

Discord Is The Latest Site To Revamp Its Policy On Anti-Vaxx Posts

There's more: The updated policy is "designed to target groups or individuals that participate in organized violence, spread harmful anti-vaccination material, or harass other Discord users with hate speech." - The Verge

Why ‘Cyrano’ Is So Infinitely Adaptable

Why, it's about unrequited love, of course. The newest version shows that "singing can make a character (and an actor) more vulnerable, tapping into an openness and emotion that beautifully suits this particular story of romantic longing." - The New York Times

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