The funding freeze at the Institute of Museum and Library Services has left many public libraries without the bedrock federal grant money that keeps them running. That means big cuts to libraries’ book acquisition budgets — which, in turn, means big reductions in publishing houses’ sales. - Publishers Weekly
Fearing legal action from the state Board of Education and Attorney General, the counties, which include the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach, and Pensacola, have removed, without formal review, hundreds of books allegedly containing "sexual content" from public school classrooms and libraries. - Publishers Weekly
“The White House will launch a sweeping review of Smithsonian exhibitions, collections and operations ahead of America’s 250th-birthday celebrations next year. … The vetting process would include reviewing public-facing and online content, curatorial processes and guidelines, exhibition planning and collection use,” - The Washington Post (MSN)
“(His) aesthetic (is) one of the most resonant and wide-reaching in all contemporary art. People who claim no interest in notated music cleave nonetheless to the still, spiritual sounds made by the Estonian composer. … Contemporary classical music has a far broader audience than it would have reached without him.” - Gramophone
Currently, members of the public who want to access these documents must show up in person. The project will enhance the metadata of each document and will enable users to search and cross-reference entire texts from anywhere in the world. - NPR
The Kúpula se Mueve (Kúpula Moves) festival has been held without incident in previous years, but city councilors rejected three different applications for permits this year, claiming that the event would cause noise complaints and public disorder. Organizers say, “We’re convinced we’re being discriminated against on ideological grounds.” - The Guardian
“It’s a mystery how things can be this difficult for an industry that works on such large margins—up to 50 percent for most galleries, for inventory that they don’t have to buy, invest in or manufacture." - The Observer
The evolving plan to build two Portland-owned performing arts centers capable of staging touring Broadway shows has cleared two early hurdles. - Oregon Arts Watch
Julianna Slager, artistic director of Chicago’s Ballet 5:8, crunched the numbers and realized that using the dancers to do administrative office work which had been done by part-time non-dancing employees would be no more expensive and, since benefits would be included, would make a huge difference in the dancers’ lives. - Dance Informa
For two decades, Ms. de Menil was a costume designer for the avant-garde theater director Robert Wilson, who died on July 31. An art collector herself, she was a patron of Willem de Kooning as well as the choreographer Twyla Tharp. She introduced the Los Angeles architect Frank Gehry to New York. - The New York Times
Wikipedia has lost a legal challenge to new Online Safety Act rules which it says could threaten the human rights and safety of its volunteer editors. - BBC
Performers are delighting crowds with bubble blowing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, using a mixture of dish soap, water and lube — and occasional acrobatics. - The New York Times
“The sculpture Agora — a striking work composed of 106 nine-foot-tall iron human figures — has been a fixture on the southern edge of grant park for nearly 20 years. But the artwork might have to take a hike next August.” - Chicago Sun-Times
Today’s analysis indicates that the performing arts have surpassed pre-pandemic levels of revenues and impact on GDP (i.e., the levels in 2019), neither of which was the case in my analysis last year. However, after adjusting for inflation, neither total revenues nor impact on GDP have reached pre-pandemic levels. - Statistical Insights on the Arts
Writers in Los Angeles? To the East Coast, such a notion was ridiculous. And yet, I was to discover, there was a freedom in the fact that nobody seemed to be paying attention. It made the boundaries permeable and thin. - Zocalo Public Square
