"(The policy allows) any non-union theater worker to join who can demonstrate that they have worked professionally as an actor or stage manager within Equity's geographical jurisdiction. The 51,000-member union launched the Open Access policy in July of 2021, but it had a sunset date of May 1, 2023." - Deadline
"The Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is teaming up with MTV Studios to create the six episode docuseries The Exhibit: Finding the Next Great Artist, which will follow seven American artists who will compete for a presentation at the museum and a cash prize." - ARTnews
"The Writers Guild of America's current contract expires on May 1, and the industry is bracing for a major battle, and what could be the first strike in 15 years." One major issue: most writers currently get no residual payments if an old film becomes a hit on streaming video. - Variety
"HarperCollins Publishers and the union representing around 250 striking employees reached a tentative agreement providing increases to entry level salaries. If union members ratify the contract, it will run through the end of 2025 and end a walkout that began nearly three months ago." - AP
"The Philadelphia Folksong Society is teetering on bankruptcy and won't put on its annual festival this summer for the first time in more than 60 years. ... The Philadelphia Folk Festival started in 1962 and is the longest continuously running outdoor music festival in the country." - Axios
Now in his 11th season as music director, he’s hired 23 new musicians and commissioned 37 works, including from composers of different cultures, backgrounds, and perspectives on what classical music can be. - WRTI
“If we’re going to be audience first we have to be digital first. We get up every day and say, ‘What do our audiences want, and where are they?’ And they’re on digital in increasing numbers. And so if we are not there we’re no longer relevant.” - The Globe & Mail (Canada)
Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) quietly became the streamer’s biggest region in terms of subscribers, overtaking the combined user figure for the U.S. and Canada during the second half of 2022. - The Hollywood Reporter
The identity of Vermeer’s patron is of vital importance, since they purchased half of the artist’s entire oeuvre, at least 20 paintings. Equally significantly, De Knuijt began to buy his work in around 1657, the time when Vermeer was creating his intriguing scenes centred around young women in interiors. - The Art Newspaper
While this Ministry of Culture and Heritage announcement is money already in the kitty for the sector’s from the COVID recovery fund rather than newly allotted spending, it’s unsurprisingly been well received - the creative community has been abuzz in a way unseen in a long time. - The Big Idea
"(She) managed a surprise best-actress nomination last month that quickly turned from boon to boondoggle. It's the story everyone in Hollywood is talking about, though you'd be forgiven for wondering what exactly has gone down or why any of it matters." - The New York Times
From the myth that humans only use 10 percent of their brain to the idea that creativity and logic is a "right-brained" versus "left-brained" issue, there are many popular misconceptions about neuroscience that have wormed their way into public consciousness. - Salon
"Louis's depiction of poverty is more radical in its honesty. Deprivation doesn't just cause pain and hunger; it also fosters hostility. Circumstances warp behavior. ... Louis is scathing about the government's neglect of the working class, but he also makes no attempt to sugarcoat the psychological effects of poverty." - The Nation
The modern U.S. economy is really made up of metropolitan regions, not states whose boundaries are arbitrary compared to local economies. A 2009 study identified eleven “megaregions” in the United States with 31 percent of all U.S. counties but 74 percent of the nation’s population. - Big Think
