CCA, which currently has 1,295 students, has long been in dire financial straits. Enrollment had fallen almost one third from its 2019 peak of 1,800, with the most recent class including only 207 undergraduate and 117 graduate students, according to the EDU Ledger. - Artnet
Following on Antonio Pappano’s widely-praised 22-year reign as the company’s music director, 44-year-old Jakub Hrůša has taken the baton, with Speranza Scappucci joining as the Royal Opera’s first principal guest conductor in three decades. - AP
Describing the state of the economy as “in its worst condition”, the gallerist says many people can no longer afford basic necessities such as meat, bread, eggs or oil. Instability makes even simple purchases impossible. - The Art Newspaper
The city’s famed Rocky statue has been cleared for installation atop the Philadelphia Art Museum’s iconic steps later this year following an Art Commission vote Wednesday. - Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
The reason the Washington National Opera can leave, while the National Symphony Orchestra would find it extraordinarily difficult to do so under ordinary conditions, has little to do with repertoire, prestige, or audience relevance. - William Ford
Following ferocious criticism from the art world in Belgium and internationally, Flemish culture minister Caroline Gennez has agreed not to put her plan to reorganize the system of museums in Flanders — a plan which includes the dismantling of Belgium’s oldest museum of contemporary art — on the government’s agenda just yet. - Belgian News Agency
The project — a complete redesign of the streetscape of Broad Street, home to a number of the city’s leading arts institutions, from City Hall to the edge of South Philadelphia — will start modestly but will speed up after the America 250 celebrations this year. - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
“A pocket dynamo of a man who seemed to bounce as he walked along, Frank Dunlop will be remembered for many outstanding and remarkable achievements, but most notably as the founding director of the Young Vic in 1969 and as a controversial director of the Edinburgh International Festival from 1983 to 1991.” - The Guardian
“A bipartisan spending bill … would allocate $643 million for broadcasting from the U.S. Agency for Global Media. … Trump signed an executive order in March calling for the dismantlement of the agency, which oversees Voice of America and funds nonprofit groups including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia.” - The Washington Post (MSN)
A press release stated, “The decision reflects a changing global environment that is impacting major events, festivals and cultural programs worldwide. … SXSW Sydney worked … to explore potential pathways forward for the event; however, prevailing market conditions mean the Sydney edition will not be going ahead at this time.” - ArtsHub (Australia)
“The letters cover more than two decades and in them (she) discusses growing old, her aversion to public attention, … her opinions of fellow writers like Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams and Eudora Welty, … (and) her take on the Deep South’s transition from Depression-era segregation to the Civil Rights movement.” - The New York Times
“The museum said the 45% price hike to 32 euros ($37) from 22 euros is part of a national ‘differentiated pricing’ policy announced early last year that’s coming into force across major cultural sites. … The change affects visitors from most non-EU countries, including the United States.” - AP
When the old National Theatre of Wales closed in late 2024, Sheen came up with a plan. "Ultimately, I found myself arguing for something that I realised I” — with fame, professional connections, and deep-ish pockets — “was in the best position to deliver. … It could happen, but only if I did it." - BBC (Yahoo!)
A philosophy professor was ordered to remove Plato’s Symposium from the list of assigned readings for the class “Contemporary Moral Issues.” Plato fell victim to a policy adopted by the university in the fall, which states that classes cannot “advocate race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity." - The Atlantic
