Stories

Correcting The Record On Lee Krasner

Krasner and Pollock were, in mid-20th-century New York, at the heart of the artistic movement that would become Abstract Expressionism. At that time, the only label more detrimental to a talented artist’s career than “woman” was the handle “wife.” - The New York Times

America’s Largest Young-Adult Book Festival Is Adding Adult Programming

YALLFest, held each fall in Charleston, is adding ROMFest, a parallel programming track for actual grownups, focusing on romance novels. Why are they doing this? Because it turns out that the majority of YALLFest attendees are full-fledged adults. - Publishers Weekly

Habermas’ Ideas On Public Debate

He explained the three types of discourse that characterise deliberation – moral, ethical, and pragmatic – and was clear that when it comes to the moral, there are no experts: only individuals working out, together, what’s right in a given context. - Aeon

Hearing From The New LA Phil And SF Symphony Music Directors

Conversations with the newly minted music directors quickly reveal two distinct, dynamic personalities ready to embark on their next musical journeys. - NPR

A Bookseller Confronts The AI Company Trying To Buy His Rare Books

Brandon DiSabatino quickly became concerned that Blue Angel might be trying to buy his books for a similar ulterior—and to him, sinister—purpose. In so doing, he joined the ever-expanding crowd of people who the AI rush has forced to constantly reconsider their reality. - Mother Jones

Shakespeare’s Globe Opens London’s First Dedicated Shakespeare Library And Research Centre

“The library sits underground, beneath the Globe in London’s South Bank, and is accessible to the public, containing more than 6,000 books about Shakespeare, early modern literature and the history of dramatic performance around the world. A digital performance archive is also available to the public by appointment.” - The Bookseller (UK)

There’s About To Be A Bidding War For The Movie-Fan Website Letterboxd

“A number of suitors, … enamored by the site’s obsessive audience and the subscription and advertising revenue streams it provides, … have submitted expressions of interest, including The New York Times Company, Sony Pictures Entertainment and (indie studio) A24. … Any deal is expected to value Letterboxd at more than $300 million.” - The New York Times

Mark Swed’s Farewell Column As L.A. Times Classical Music Critic

“When I accidentally stumbled into music criticism with an academic penchant for music analysis, my crutches for writing about music were technical and of little use in a newspaper. I had to find a way to simply listen. It gave me new ears, and I was hooked.” - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

In Colombia, Arts Workers Of All Sorts March To Protest Cuts To Culture Budget

“Hundreds of artists, students and cultural workers gathered outside of (the) Ministry of Culture in Bogotá on Monday, protesting a proposed 30% cut to the cultural budget in 2027 and a suspension of national arts awards.” - The Art Newspaper

At Long Last, MOCA In L.A. Has Its New Director

“After almost two decades of high leadership turnover and a more than year-long search, the Museum of Contemporary Art has appointed Jonathan Abbott as its new director and chief executive.” He comes from Boston’s PBS affiliate, GBH, where he was CEO for 15 years. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

Mamdani And The Met To Give Away 70,000 Free Opera Tickets A Year

The program, which the mayor said would continue indefinitely, will draw from the pool of unsold tickets, which will be distributed by lottery via the Metropolitan Opera app. The catch: you’re not eligible if you’ve bought Met tickets any time since fall 2018. - The New York Times

Cleveland Orchestra Musicians On Strike

“Violinist Elayna Duitman, head of the (musicians’ negotiating) committee, said their pay lags both inflation and the other ‘Big Five’ orchestras in Boston, Philadelphia, New York and Chicago, while upper management is well-compensated. … Their most recent contract extension expired earlier this week.” - Ideastream Public Media (Cleveland)

Australian Ballet Gets Its First Black Principal

Davi Ramos grew up in a Rio favela and didn’t start ballet lessons until he was 12. Only two years later, he competed in Youth America Grand Prix and, subsequently, the Prix de Lausanne; he studied in London and apprenticed in Amsterdam before coming to Melbourne, drawn by AD David Hallberg. - Dance Australia

Schools Report Surge In Library Book Checkouts After Cellphone Bans

Students at Pleasure Ridge Park High School are checking out books at a rate librarians say hasn’t been seen before, coinciding with a districtwide cell phone ban that took effect at the start of the 2025 school year. - Aging Untold

Lucas Museum Architects And The Building Of Fantasies

MAD Architects is a team that has completed major cultural and residential projects in 16 countries and counting. Their signature is hard-to-believe designs that do all of the shouting — etched towers churning like hula-hooping women; a museum honed like an ancient stone; an opera house resembling a mountain, bursting from the ground. - The New York Times

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