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Portland’s Theatrical Future Thrown Into Doubt After New Study

The 3,000-seat Keller Auditorium is seismically challenged. Should the city rebuild it, support the new Portland State University Broadway-show-size theatre, or make a third choice? A new study says the city’s population can’t support both. - Oregon ArtsWatch

The Man Who Ate The AI ‘Art’ Tells Us Why

Graham Granger: “I saw the AI piece and it was just—as an artist myself, it was insulting to see something of such little effort alongside all these beautiful pieces in the gallery.” - The Nation

Seattle Rep Has Rare Paid Apprenticeships, And Washington State Approves

“Apprentices can study one of five tracks: directing and artistic programs, lighting design, production management, scenic paint or stage management. The apprenticeships are about 10 months long.” - Seattle Times

This Year’s Oscar-Nominated Documentaries Fight The Power

“Each is a story about standing up to something that seems too big to confront: an authoritarian government, an abusive system, dehumanizing societal norms. Together, they show the power of nonfiction filmmaking, both amateur and professional, in those acts of resistance.” - The New York Times

Metropolitan Opera Announces Layoffs, Pay And Programming Cuts

The company is laying off 22 of its 284 administrative staffers, reducing pay for 35 of its top executives (including general director Peter Gelb and music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin), and dropping one production from next season’s schedule. - The Guardian

Travel Bans From The US Administration Have Stymied Artists, Keeping Them From North America

This isn’t great for U.S. audiences either - or the producers and promoters trying to bring international artists. “It’s an unbelievable mess, … and no one can provide an answer.”- The New York Times

Popular Streaming ‘Singer’ Sienna Rose Probably Isn’t Real

One huge tell: If you listen to a few of “Rose’s” tracks, “you'll hear a telltale hiss. … That's a common trait of music generated on apps like Suno and Udio - partly because of the way they start with white noise and gradually refine it until it resembles music.” - BBC

The Best Use Of AI In Music Is For Surveillance

But that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. “AI music is here to stay, and rather than fighting it, we should understand its benefits as a tool for artists—either to amplify existing production processes or to introduce new ways of designing music.” - Fast Company

To The Mayor Of San Francisco, The Demise Of The California College Of The Arts Is Nothing At All To Celebrate

“Learning about the end of California College of the Arts was a sad day. And it’s in moments like these that we should rekindle the debate over what kind of city we want to be going forward. Simply put, San Francisco without artists is a dystopia.” - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)

One Art Student Hung An AI-Generated Show As His Own, And Then Another Art Student Ate Some Of It

The student who ate some of the show was then arrested and charged. One Bluesky post about the event said, “Look for the helpers.” - Art News

Our Attention Is Being ‘Fracked’ By Big Tech

But there are ways to resist. - The Guardian (UK)

Artists Killed By Iran In Crackdown On Protests As The Repression, And Internet Blackout, Continues

Though the number is undoubtedly higher, "among the thousands of civilians confirmed dead are sculptor Mehdi Salahshour, filmmaker Javad Ganji, fashion designer and student Rubina Aminian, and hip-hop artist Soroush Soleimani.” - Art News

Plan To Dismantle Antwerp’s Contemporary Art Museum Is Put On Hold

Following ferocious criticism from the art world in Belgium and internationally, Flemish culture minister Caroline Gennez has agreed not to put her plan to reorganize the system of museums in Flanders — a plan which includes the dismantling of Belgium’s oldest museum of contemporary art — on the government’s agenda just yet. - Belgian News Agency

Adelaide Festival’s Writers’ Week Cancelled After Writers Withdraw And Board Resigns

In response to the festival board’s earlier intervention to disinvite Palestinian-Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah, more than 180 writers and speakers cancelled their appearances at the February-March event and half the board resigned. Now the remaining board members have quit and the festival has been called off. - The Guardian

New York’s New Mayor Says Theatre Should Be For Everyone, Handing Out Free Tickets

“'The shared laughter in a crowded theater, the eager debrief after a musical, the heavy silence that hangs over all of us in a drama — these are moments that every New Yorker deserves,’ Mamdani said.” - The New York Times

Hamnet Wins Best Picture For Drama At The Golden Globes, Raising Its Oscar Odds

“Chloé Zhao recovered from looking shellshocked to quote Paul Mescal, saying that making Hamnet made him realize that being an artist is about being vulnerable and being seen for who we are, not who we ought to be, and giving ourselves fully to the world.” - The New York Times

How A Writer Got Sucked Into The Ranks Of Broadway Superfans

“There was what I would not call lying to my family but obfuscating about where I was and what I was doing, as if I were having an affair. (An affair would have been easier to explain.)” - The New York Times

National Portrait Gallery Swaps Trump Portraits And Removes Reference To His Two Impeachments

The caption for the previous photo read in part, “Impeached twice, on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials.” - Washington Post (Yahoo)

Why Are So Many Writers Dropping Out Of Adelaide’s Famous Writing Festival?

“Nearly 50 authors, commentators, and academics have dropped out of this year’s Adelaide Festival in Australia after the Festival announced that they were canceling an appearance by Dr. Randa Abdel-Fattah over ‘cultural sensitivity’ concerns.” - LitHub

Why Thomas Paine Still Matters, 250 Years Later

“The pamphlet changed the way Americans viewed government. Beginning with an origin story that echoed John Locke’s ‘Second Treatise of Government,’ Paine depicted people originally created free and equal in nature and subsequently forming representative governments to better secure their liberty and happiness.” - Salon
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