Stories

AI image and text generation is pure primitive accumulation: expropriation of labour from the many for the enrichment and advancement of a few Silicon Valley technology companies and their billionaire owners. - The Guardian

"Amazon hasn't shared its exact reason for the change …, but one obvious explanation is that relatively few people are buying these subscriptions and it doesn't make financial sense to continue to support them." - Nieman Lab

The British Museum was the most-visited art museum in the UK in 2022—and the third globally. It reported 4.1 million visitors, more than three times higher than in 2021, when it received 1.3 million. However this number is still more than a third down on its 2019 number of 6.2 million. - The Art Newspaper

The New York-based institution is the favored bank of many Broadway theaters, producers, and related businesses; when New York state regulators closed Signature last Sunday, there was genuine fear that those businesses could lose everything but the FDIC-insured $250,000. For now, though, they're okay. - Broadway News

“Despite being the top per capita provider of arts in the nation, Los Angeles ranks 259th in government funding allocation,” the nonprofit’s CEO Gustavo Herrera said in a statement. - Hyperallergic

It made international headlines when Pensacola Christian College cancelled a performance by the famed vocal sextet two hours before curtain time because of some members' "lifestyle." The group's two countertenors recount how they got the news, what they did next, and what they heard from students afterward. - Classic FM (UK)

Before dawn on March 18, 1990, two criminals dressed as policemen convinced a security guard to let them into the Boston museum, tied him up in the basement, and carried away 13 works valued at over $500 million. It's modern history's biggest unsolved property crime. - MSN (The Boston Globe)

Here's a chronology of the entire mystery, from the strange event two weeks before the robbery happened through all the tips, clues, and suspects, most now dead. - MSN (The Boston Globe)

"Stella Abrera is ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School's new Artistic Director. Abrera has been acting in this position for the last several months after serving as Artistic Director of Kaatsbaan Cultural Park in Tivoli (a position now held by former ABT star Paloma Herrera)." - The Ballet Herald

The study, covering calendar year 2021, shows a 13.7% increase in economic value over 2020 provided by the arts; it also indicates clearly that the sector had not fully bounced back from the 2020 lockdowns. - National Endowment for the Arts

The show, whose last working title was Square One, is now called Here We Are; it's based loosely on the Luís Buñuel films The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and The Exterminating Angel. The commercial Off-Broadway production, directed by Joe Mantello, opens at The Shed in September. - The New York Times

Less than a week after the announcement that the Paris contemporary art mecca will have a satellite in Saudi Arabia's planned arts destination, AlUla, news breaks that the Pompidou is now finalizing a deal for a 129,000 sf museum to open in 2025 in Seoul. - Korea JoongAng Daily

“These products never worked in the past because we never had human-level dialogue capabilities. Now we do.” - The New York Times

English may have become universal, but not everyone believes it is a gift. In fact, many hold diametrically opposite views. - Aeon

What I (and everyone I know) is talking about now is a seismic shift in the preparedness, study skills, attention spans, and reading comprehension of the average college student, across the board. - 3 Quarks Daily