Walking through Frieze London’s carpeted aisles in October, a long-developed hunch was confirmed emphatically: we are amid a deluge of bad painting. - The Art Newspaper
The company faced several challenges in recent years, including a data breach in 2022 – after the company was acquired by a private investment group in 2021 – that put it in what independent library consultant Marshall Breeding called "a weak financial position." - NPR
“In the re-envisioned Fantasticks, the central romantic pair – traditionally Matt and Luisa – are now Matt and Lewis, reinterpreting the story’s ‘allegory of love, longing, and reconciliation through a gay lens,’ according to producers. The show’s original pair of fathers, who secretly orchestrate the clandestine love affair between their children, are now mothers.” - Deadline
“As this thing became more and more charged, it wasn’t any longer something where I’m under the radar playing this gig. I am actually taking a position by playing at the Kennedy Center now. By not canceling, I’m taking a position, and I don’t want to take that position.” - The Washington Post (MSN)
In his primary career, he ran agencies BBDO Worldwide and Omnicon. As the Met’s general manager, he erased the company’s big deficits and stabilized operations; he also served twice as board chairman. As chair of Lincoln Center, he established peace among feuding resident organizations and set big projects in motion. - The New York Times
Not exactly, no, but science journalist Michael Greshko may have taken a big step toward that goal. No one had yet figured out a workable approach to even attempt reading the famously indecipherable 15th-century codex, but Greshko has demonstrated that a medieval-style cipher using cards and dice is plausible. - Live Science
Charlotte Higgins: “’The goal,’ as one senior employee of the Smithsonian told me, ‘is to reframe the entire culture of the United States from the foundation up.’” - The Guardian
“After a monthslong lull in tensions, the Smithsonian is facing an ultimatum from the White House to comply next week with a demand” to produce a very long list of internal documents for “a comprehensive review of the institution’s content and plans — or risk potential cuts to its budget.” - The New York Times
“A former Richmond Ballet student is suing the performance organization for $11.5 million, alleging sexual, emotional and psychological abuse at the hands of staff members during her eight years (there). The 85-page complaint … is the third lawsuit filed by a former student … in the past five years.” - WTVR (Richmond)
Zhang Wanting spent an entire semester practicing standing on one foot on a three-inch chair handle while lifting her other leg backward and leaning forward with an arched back. And that was maybe the easiest of the tricks she had to learn just with the chair, leaving aside all the other skills necessary. - AP
If nothing else, the new year will likely reveal whether the art world’s pivot to the Gulf, and auction houses’ deepening emphasis on luxury categories, were good choices. - ARTnews
Across the show floor, the car emerged less as a machine and more as a companion as automakers and tech companies showcased vehicles that can adapt to drivers and passengers in real time — from tracking heart rates and emotions to alerting if a baby or young child is accidentally left in the car. - Fast Company
“The National Weather Museum and Science Center in Norman, Oklahoma, the only US museum dedicated to weather artifacts, said late last month that it is at risk of closing. The nonprofit, launched in the early 2000s, has relied completely on donations, grants, and partnerships for funding, and receives no federal funding.” - ARTnews
Pugnacious, fearless and disdainful of academia’s more pretentious mores, Professor Carey was a paradoxical figure in the British literary establishment for more than half a century. - The New York Times
