Outdoor rock art made by ancient Native Americans in the Southwest is familiar to many; not so with the underground pictographs in the southern Appalachians, which date from 6,500 years ago up to the 13th century CE, during the Mississippian Period. - The Conversation
"The broadened Directors Project will offer fellowships for early-stage directors, programs to help mid-career theater directors transition into film and television, and assistantships for young BIPOC creatives to shadow established BIPOC directors." - Variety
Chicago Public Media, WBEZ's parent organization, will take on the newspaper as a new division, according to a letter of intent approved by the board of directors. The plan was initiated by Sun-Times principal investor Michael Sacks in an attempt to secure the money-losing title's future. - Robert Feder
State-of-the-art filterless air purifiers and an "ionisation curtain" (a row of snake plants with ionisers attached to draw in aerosols) at the front of the stage are among the measures being taken to reassure live audiences. - The Straits Times (Singapore)
After debuting with the New York Philharmonic at seven and studying at Juilliard, he became one of the key members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. His recording of Barber's Violin Concerto, one of many he made for Naxos, was nominated for a Grammy. - The Strad
The Institution handed out weather monitoring equipment to 150 volunteer observers across the country. Each day their reports arrived by telegraph, and the Smithsonian generated a national weather map displayed on the National Mall. The map became a popular attraction. - Smithsonian
"I always say the pandemic was the universe telling everyone to go to their room and think about what they’ve done. And while we’ve been in this season, it’s gifted—at least for me, it’s gifted me the opportunity to truly reflect on the why I wanted to do this in the first place." -NonProfit Quarterly
Science fiction is clearly a leaping-off point for Amazon's next wave of product ideas. Suri Maddhula, director of software for Amazon's Astro, even said as much: "It's taking science fiction and making it a reality." - CNet
Shonda Rhimes’ “Bridgerton” Season 1 scored as the No. 1 series based on both number of Netflix households and time spent viewing (in the initial four-week release), while “Extraction” was the most-viewed film in terms of households. - Variety
TikTok’s popularity soared during the pandemic, becoming the most-downloaded app in the world in the first quarter of 2020, with some 315 million downloads in that quarter alone according to app analytics company SensorTower. - The Verge
"It was the iconic Black music and dance show, a party every weekend that anyone could join from their living room. (On It's Been a Minute,) we break down the lasting influence of Soul Train … with scholars, fans and even a few featured dancers." - NPR
In Singin’ in the Rain, the late Clive James felt he encountered “the absolute concentration of an entire popular culture at its most powerful.” As for Kelly, James said, “it took the whole of America, including all its modern history, to create one of him.” - The American Scholar
Western Australia has had only one new COVID case in 30 days, and, at least when resource prices are high, the state has money for the arts. So the West Australian Ballet in Perth has added seven full-time corps positions to its roster of 32 dancers. - Limelight (Australia)
The orchestra has a deep pool of artistic talent, a fiercely devoted following, and Gail Samuel’s predecessor, Mark Volpe, grew the BSO’s endowment to roughly $550 million (the largest of any American orchestra) while overseeing a pre-pandemic operating budget of more than $100 million. - Boston Globe
