“When audience levels have plateaued at many traditional museums, the ability of entertainment companies styled as arts institutions to siphon away visitors poses a new challenge to the industry.” As one think-tank director said, “The culture has diverged, and museums could have done more to seem relevant to people.” - The New York Times
“A lot of the challenges that are happening right now are of the times. They’re reflecting what’s going on in our country, and I think it’s important that we all try to stick together through it and keep dancing.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
Security researcher Ian Carroll used the AI tool Claude Opus 4.7 in April to discover a technique that allowed him full access to the systems of Front Gate Tickets, which handles ticketing for practically every major US music festival, from Lollapalooza and South by Southwest to Austin City Limits. - Wired
Investigators since 2017 have seized more than 120 artifacts from the Met ranging in value from $20,000 to $26 million, plus hundreds of smaller items, such as rare pottery fragments, belt clasps, ax heads, safety pins and goddess figurines, according to an inventory by the office of Manhattan district attorney Alvin L. Bragg. - The New York Times
“Among the boys aged 11 to 14 who were surveyed, eight of the 10 most read books were from Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Girls’ reading was spread across a wider range of authors and genres including Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper ... and Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games.” - The Guardian
“I asked 10 writers what films they would pick to define America and why. Their choices ranged from blockbusters to indies, homegrown comedies to enigmatic Italian drama, a recent best-picture Oscar nominee to a little-known debut — in short, movies as varied as the country itself.” (Dazed and Confused, eh?) - The New York Times
The production, set in a dystopian future plagued by climate change, will star noted Black lesbian and three-time Olivier-winner Sharon D Clarke and will open in Stratford-upon-Avon next February. - Variety
“Neon said Tuesday that it bought the film following a bidding process. Amazon dropped the nearly complete $40 million film, starring Andrew Garfield as Altman, earlier this month, a surprise move that came just months after Amazon announced a $50 billion investment in OpenAI.” - AP
In addition to the much-litigated case of the George Washington house site, all references to enslaved people were quietly removed from Independence Hall and from the wall panel text for the Thomas Jefferson portrait at the nearby Second Bank of the United States. - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
“Following nearly 15 years of lobbying by the International Federation of Musicians and Pearle* Live Performance Europe, the European Parliament and the Council have published a provisional agreement with revised rules, particularly concerning the rights for musical instruments onboard.” - The Strad
The movie certainly helped over the 26 years since it was released: there are noticeably more boys in ballet classes than there used to be — especially where there are boys-only classes. But they still face trouble from peers at school. - The Sunday Times (UK)
The European Foundation for Support of Culture, set up in 2015 and based for several years at the Russian Cultural Centre in Valletta, gave more than €8 million to the Malta Philharmonic between 2018 and 2022, triggering a money-laundering investigation which was stonewalled by the orchestra and eventually faded away. - Times of Malta
Artists and writers have interpreted and reinterpreted George Armstrong Custer, who died in a storied battle that just had a major anniversary. - The New York Times
“Translators like to say, we discover our authors,” writes translator and novelist Anton Hur. “But maybe we’re wrong. Maybe the books choose us.” - American Scholar
