It all began in 2017, when a thrift store in Wales, put a notice in its window imploring people to stop donating copies of “The Da Vinci Code.” On average, the shop was receiving one copy per day. The plea went viral, catching the eye of the British artist David Shrigley... - CNN
Ara Guzelimian, who grew up in Los Angeles and now leads the Ojai Music Festival nearby, described California’s classical music culture as “the lingering positive presence of the pioneers heading West and looking to escape a kind of conformity.” - The New York Times
These bundled aesthetic commonalities aren’t just coincidences, and they can’t be entirely described as trends—at least not in the sense of bottom-up collective favor that the word tends to evoke. - The Atlantic
A favorite on TikTok’s “BookTok” community, the series has sold over 13 million copies worldwide, and been translated into 37 languages, according to Bloomsbury. A Hulu TV adaptation is in development. - The Daily Beast
"It comes as more of one that Winkler is, by his own admission, constantly scared, easily wounded, riddled with self-doubt, perpetually self-involved, childish, cheap, unforgiving and petty. … Winkler doesn’t so much nurse a grudge as midwives one — if necessary, for eternity." - MSN (The Washington Post)
Conservatives used to be intelligent patrons of the arts. In the 1930s, you had the most sophisticated cultural operation of any political organisation in a democratic country. - The Critic
Stonecarving is a centuries-old craft among the Shona people, and it thrived until the start of this century, when the violent turmoil caused by Robert Mugabe's government kept tourists and foreign collectors from traveling to Zimbabwe. But sculptors are hanging on somehow. - The World
The list of such fundamental divisions is long, and it is synonymous with multicultural liberalism. For this, many democracies maintain two-party parliamentary systems. Goading one side to drop its claims in favour of the other, as the arts who univocally espouse left politics do, is anti-democratic. - The Critic
That triggered a subversive thought: why can’t all solo recitals be like this? Why won’t Carnegie Hall enhance its pianists with works of Pissaro or Picasso from the Metropolitan Museum? And why can’t we have live video close-ups of hands, face, hairstyle and legs in the recapitulation section of every over-long sonata? - The Critic
Peter Marks: "How do you analyze the artistic circuitry of a new musical when the musical’s lyricist is just circuits? I faced this challenge the other night at an off-Broadway theater. ... Living, breathing actors performed the musical, but no human brain put the words in their mouths." - MSN (The Washington Post)
"Choreographers’ interest in tying ballet directly to literature is a notable turnaround from the 20th century’s Balanchine-influenced rise of abstract, plotless ballets. Using ballet vocabulary to retell the works of great writers is fraught with potential pitfalls. But the medium of dance can also illuminate a book afresh." - Dance Magazine
The 100-plus participating organizations, some large and wealthy, others neither, include professional orchestras, choruses, opera companies, youth orchestras, and educational institutions. - San Francisco Classical Voice
The city agency FilmL.A. has raised fees for various permits needed to film within Los Angeles proper — and introduced a new set of fees for the use of drones or helicopters, street closures, etc. Says one location manager, "It makes people think, 'Why don’t we shoot this in Canada?'" - The Hollywood Reporter
Okay, he's not building it, or even funding it, entirely by himself, but the foundation run by the actor-playwright and his father is the lead backer of the The People's Theatre: Centro Cultural Inmigrante on West 206th St., expected to open in 2025. - Time Out New York
Laura Collins-Hughes travels to Donegal, in the northwestern corner of Ireland, to visit Glenties — not Friel's own hometown, but that of his mother and aunts (think of the five women of Dancing at Lughnasa), where he spent childhood summers and is now buried. - The New York Times
