"Cervantes knew that after the terrible, dogmatic reality in which he lived, there would be imagination. But" — having spent years in Algiers — "the power, beauty, humor, and eloquence of Islamic Spain wasn't something he had to imagine." - Public Books
The number of performances had the largest upside effect on ticket sales in September, with a 20% increase producing a 9% increase in ticket sales. The price effect also increased a bit, with a 20% price discount increasing ticket sales by 7%. We expect these trends to continue. - SMU Data Arts
2021 is the 300th anniversary of the six extraordinary works. Mark Swed looks at the slew of recordings marking the occasion, from a spectacular period-instrument account to a reissued version from 86 years ago to a set of six new companion pieces. - Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)
"Religion and sincerity go hand in hand, and neither one is particularly associated with Andy Warhol, whose name is synonymous with ironic, detached irreverence. But you don't have to dig very deep in Warhol's biography or catalog to find plenty of both." - Artforum
It's a trend at professions offering noneconomic benefits, a sense of mission at a nonprofit or the cachet of working in book publishing or television production. They rely on young employees toiling for meager wages and a chance to make it in a prestigious field. - The New York Times
The larger issue is the years-long attempt by (mostly conservative) federal and state governments to make funding of arts groups contingent on corporate-style board governance rather than leaving control in the hands of artists. - ArtsHub (Australia)
Those ways aren't pretty: incels glommed onto the "red pill" idea; "free your mind" has been adopted by far-right populists; "post-truth" is now regularly applied to today's media environment; deepfake videos resemble the way Morpheus's group hacked the matrix. - BBC
He achieved quite a lot — far more than he, or skeptical observers, expected: rejuvenating the animation studios; acquiring Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and 21st Century Fox; opening major theme parks in China; pioneering in direct-to-consumer distribution; increasing Disney's stock value by 400%. - Variety
Box office grosses are down by one quarter just from the previous week by nearly one half from Christmas week in 2019, the last one before the pandemic. - The New York Times
The Baltimore Museum of Art won't reopen until Wednesday, Dec. 29 (although its gift shop and restaurant will keep running), and the Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture is closed until Jan. 5. - The Baltimore Sun
"U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has … an additional £30 million in funding will be made available through the existing Culture Recovery Fund to support organizations such as theaters, orchestras and museums through the winter to March 2022." - Variety
My elevator pitch goes something like this: “I know you think cyborgs are always imminent. But not here yet. However, I am a cyborg. And cyborgs are first and foremost disabled people. We’re the ones who have a fundamental interface with tech. - Wired
