If you build it (in this case, climate coverage), they will come. “In 2023, stories produced by the organization’s climate teams outperformed the average story on the website in 11 months out of 12, often dramatically.” Could they do the same with, oh, say, the arts? - Nieman Lab
How can we fix this? Gloucester, England, has one (extremely dreamy) idea - give artists money, and tell them you don’t expect an outcome. “This is about dreaming and developing and forming relationships and partnerships, and those things take time.” - The Stage (UK)
Wings was the first known US comic artist to produce work by a lesbian about lesbians. “After publishing her three comics, Ms. Wings turned to novels: She wrote four books about a lesbian detective” and spoke at many art schools, inspiring young queer artists. - The New York Times
Perhaps surprisingly - but perhaps not, if you’ve ever tried to figure out what to watch from 12 different streaming services - “there is such an appetite for classic films these days it almost feels as if they are part of the first-run calendar.” - The Guardian (UK)
No, this doesn't mean the piano etudes of Philip Glass. Ludovico Einaudi is the most famous of a school of keyboard composers such as Joep Breving, Nils Frahm, Lubomyr Melnyk, Riopy, and Sophie Hutchings. They draw far more streaming listeners than even Yuja Wang. Beving actually records for DG. - The Guardian
Collective action is the key: “A rural community may not necessarily receive the art it deserves, but it certainly gets the art it is collectively willing to work for. The majority of any given rural community must demonstrate a willingness to work towards arts vibrancy.” - SMU DataArts
During the 1930s, the Communist regime in Moscow set up Russian-style puppet theaters in the republics as a way to impart Socialist principles to children. In the Kazakh SSR, puppets caught on, especially when doing traditional stories, and the troupe in Almaty, no longer Communist, survives to this day. - History Today
When’s the big reveal after the surprise five animal appearances this week? Is the artist protesting far-right rioters, climate change, or … what? - The Guardian (UK)
"(There's currently) a wave of writers encouraging active resistance to the relentless 'goal-oriented' expectation that, 'in a world where our value is determined by our productivity', every hour and minute of our time should be put to good use." Note the spread of the word "niksen," the Dutch term for doing nothing. - BBC
“At a time when costs for Broadway shows continue to rise … the necessity is producers so committed to projects and their potential to find audience favour that they will fight conventional wisdom to give shows the opportunity for recognition and financial success.” - The Stage (UK)
"Moon has spent decades reassessing the family dynamic. Dweezil no longer speaks to his siblings. Ahmet and Diva, meanwhile, seem dazed by the force of their siblings’ anger — siblings with whom they share not just a fraught business partnership but also a one-of-a-kind childhood." - The Washington Post
"With a mission of publishing 'deep reporting about power and place in North Carolina,' the publication (called The Assembly) has an ambitious vision of curiosity-driven reporting that holds power to account. … (It) takes inspiration from other statewide magazines like California Sunday and Texas Monthly." - Nieman Lab
This week, Martina Šimkovičová — who only just moved from across the border in Austria into Slovakia though she's been minister since last October — abruptly dismissed the directors of the Slovak National Theatre and Slovak National Gallery. She reportedly plans to sack others who protested these firings. - The Slovak Spectator
