"(The museum dedicated to Himalayan Buddhist art) will close Oct. 6, when its last exhibition ends, before the institution transitions to a skeleton crew that will process long-term loans and research inquiries and help with fund-raising. Nearly 40 percent of its employees will lose their jobs." - The New York Times
"The Los Angeles Opera has scrapped plans for the world premiere of Mason Bates's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay this fall because of finances. The work will instead open with a student cast at Indiana University" ahead of a planned run at the Met during the 2026-26 season. - AP
"Before the war, many comedians performed their sets in Russian and eyed major comedy festivals in Russia as the pinnacle of career achievement. ... the audience won’t laugh at jokes delivered in Russian, comedians say. Unless, of course, the Russian language is the butt of the joke." - The Atlantic
She is not having it with the censors. For one of her students, it's changed his life. "Until recently, he says, was not naturally inclined towards reading. But the secret bookshelf opened a world of characters and situations he immediately related to." - NPR
"'What’s the most important thing?' they shouted. 'Art, or right to a healthy and sustainable food?' They added: 'Our farming system is sick. Our farmers are dying at work.'" - The Guardian (UK)
Hollywood, of course. But also, an understanding of the supernatural: "In L.A., bizarre gods have tended to operate more in realms of grand fantasy. It's not the power of specific individuals that need scare us but power, period." - MSN (Los Angeles Times)
We think of oligarchy as a foreign concept, but the truth is that American oligarchs abound, and many of them collect art. It’s a time-honored strategy. - Mother Jones
"Using a broad definition of arts and culture inclusive of nonprofit and for-profit industries, $53 billion was awarded nationally to arts and culture via four federal programs. Narrowing the definition to focus primarily on nonprofit arts and cultural industries and independent cultural workers, $17 billion was awarded nationally." - SMU Data Arts
"In a varied career spanning more than a half-century, … (he) spent 22 years anchoring the CBS-TV staple “Sunday Morning” and decades as a radio commentator, and carved a distinct place for himself in broadcasting by occasionally presenting the news in wry doggerel." - The Washington Post (MSN)
DMAC says dismantling is cheaper than repairing. Greenwood Pond: Double Site "is considered to be the first urban wetland project in the country. Its imminent demolition has angered landscape architecture advocates and upset Miss." - The New York Times
Rie Kudan "won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize this week for her sci-fi novel Tokyo-to Dojo-to (Tokyo Sympathy Tower), which centers around a high-rise prison tower and contains themes surrounding AI." The reaction to her news has not been positive. - Vice
"After a demanding (2½-year) program that included a gasp-inducing repair of the two cracking, 500-year-old limewood panels, Getty senior conservator Ulrich Birkmaier and his team stabilized the paintings, while bringing the images back to something close to what they likely were … in the 16th century." - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
It homogenizes, and it silos. It’s the commons, but with gatekeepers. There’s never been anything like it! But it’s really just an extension of Enlightenment rationalism. - Yale Review
"There are complexities to bringing $1 billion into classrooms — and restoring programs that have often been the ones to go when money is short. First, there’s hiring amid an extreme teacher shortage. Then, there’s the odd timing of the funding starting halfway through the school year." - The Mercury News (San Jose)
In a five-decade career, "the Juilliard-trained Schickele generated agreeably melodic chamber music, vocal works, symphonic scores and film soundtracks. But he drew his greatest acclaim as a comedic maestro who created, performed, wrote about and lectured on the pseudo-classical and baroque music of the fictional P.D.Q. Bach." - The Washington Post (MSN)
"Members of the Musicians’ Union and Equity will walk out on February 1. … Members of both unions have voted in favour of strikes after they accused the ENO management of planning to make chorus, orchestra and music staff redundant and re-employ them for only six months a year." - The Independent (UK)
Their petition reads, "The German state has intensified the repression of its own Palestinian population and those who stand against Israel’s war crimes. ... Palestine solidarity protests are mislabeled as anti-Semitic and banned, activist spaces are raided by police, and violent arrests are frequent." - Hyperallergic
Stop clapping so much! Stop drinking so much! Don't use your phone's flashlight to find your seats! And for pity's sake, stop eating potato chips during a movie or play! (And other possibly cranky advice from critics.) - The Guardian (UK)
"Tech companies scrape the work of artists and writers to their benefit without consent or compensation, turning anyone who has ever had the audacity to post anything to the internet — including a 6-year-old — into grist for their mill." - Los Angeles Times
The Austrian conductor, now 63, announced that he will not renew his current contract when it expires at the end of the 2026-27 season. By that point he will be, at 25 years, the longest-serving music director in the orchestra's history. - Cleveland.com
