Justin Sun, a cryptocurrency mogul who earned international notoriety when he purchased Maurizio Cattelan's Comedian (the banana duct-taped to a wall) and ate it, claims that an art adviser forged his signature and fraudulently sold to Geffen Giacometti's Le Nez. Geffen's attorney calls the suit "bizarre and baseless." - The New York Times
"The newly discovered work shows an unidentified man with a thin moustache, quill in hand, standing next to a stack of papers or books — a prosaic image compared to the scene of Jesus Christ, bound and wearing a crown of thorns, that Titian later painted over it." - Reuters
"The Giller Prize has parted ways with its lead sponsor Scotiabank more than a year after members of the literary community began protesting the bank's ties to an Israeli arms manufacturer. The Giller Foundation, which administers Canada's richest fiction prize, said its 20-year relationship with Scotiabank ended Monday." - The Canadian Press (MSN)
The closure comes nine months after Wales' Culture Secretary assured the historic building would remain open, despite concerns from the museum's director over its deteriorating condition. - BBC
A Hong Kong troupe specializing in the traditional form (a sort of cousin to the better-known Beijing opera) has produced a modern-dress piece based on the 2024 election, with Trump and Kamala Harris singing in Cantonese — and it's a hit. - AP
Of that figure, Ampere claims that streaming services will spending $95 billion on content this year, a 39% share, while commercial broadcasters will comprise 37%. The rest of the spend will be made up by public broadcasters (9%), theatrical studios (8%) and pay-TV (7%). - Variety
Alex Shustorovich, who built his fortune buying Russian science journals after the collapse of the Soviet Union, is using his newfound control of IMG Artists, a small business known for managing classical musicians, to take on his much larger rival. - Financial Times (MSN)
Back in 2014 in Munich, he and historian Doug Fullington did a full reconstruction of Petipa's 1881 version of the piece for the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg. This season at New York City Ballet, he's decided on a "new, freer approach." Here's why. - Playbill
The fate of those grants now appears to be in limbo. A spokesperson for the NEA said the agency is “currently reviewing the recent executive orders, accompanying guidance from the White House Office of Management and Budget, and related documents to ensure compliance and provide the required reporting.” - Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
Not only is he directing, he writes librettos and does translations; in fact, he still hates supertitles and thinks opera should be in the audience's language. He has other strong opinions, too: Arts Council England has "got it in for opera. It hates the art form." - The Telegraph (UK) (Yahoo!)
Early in my career I decided it was my duty to write at least twice as many blurbs as I received. I’ve now written about 20 times as many, and I’ve been happy to do it. But recently three things broke me. - The New York Times
For both galleries in Mexico and those traveling to Mexico City to participate in the city’s three fairs—Zona Maco, Material, and Salón Acme—there appears to be both worry and uncertainty over what effect the impending tariffs might have on collectors’ purchasing behavior, if any, or what costs galleries will have to absorb. - ARTnews
The leaders of four London theatres, including the National Theatre and the Young Vic, along with theatres in Sheffield, Liverpool, and Wales, talk about their goals. - The Guardian
Such attempts to mimic him miss the point, which is that true thinking should be dangerous to your intellectual equilibrium. It should strive for answers that overthrow the terms of the questions being asked, not simply prove a point. - The New Republic
“In 2024, Barnes & Noble opened more new bookstores in a single year than it had in the whole decade from 2009 to 2019 . . . is enjoying a period of tremendous growth as the strategy to hand control of each bookstore to its local booksellers has proven so successful.” - Fast Company
