AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- Who gets to be in the room?
This Week’s Highlights:
The most revealing arts story this week was a hire that, by the old rules, wouldn’t have happened. The San Francisco Symphony passed over the marquee conductors and handed its podium to Elim Chan — the first woman to lead one of America’s “Big 7” orchestras and, by critic Joshua Kosman’s own count, the most unproven music director the institution has chosen in four decades. His verdict: the choice “could not have been wiser” (San Francisco Chronicle). Potential.
Chicago arts groups are locking patrons’ phones in pouches to sell something a screen can’t (WBEZ). And a Philadelphia orchestra that programs Rainbow Road and the Sonic theme is growing like a weed. What’s the secret? (Philadelphia Inquirer).
The field’s top honors kept landing in unexpected places, too. The Regional Theatre Tony went to American Players Theatre, in a Wisconsin town of 1,500 (Wisconsin Public Radio). And the International Booker, for the first time in its history, went to a novel written in Mandarin Chinese (AP).
None of these are the same story, but they pose the same question: the map of what counts — who leads, who belongs in the room, what’s allowed on the program — is being redrawn from the edges in.
Which is the bigger question I take up in this week’s AJ Chronicles: Hollywood has completely reinvented its core business model six times in a century. The nonprofit arts have managed it once. Is the second time finally being forced?
All this week’s stories below, organized by topic.
- AJ Chronicles: Hollywood, 6; Non-Profit Arts, 1
Hollywood has reinvented its core model at least six times in a century. The nonprofit arts model has reinvented itself exactly once. Now there may no choice. But what’s the case? - Christine Taylor Conda talks about the One Score, One Chicago program
Christine Taylor Conda, Executive Director of Education and Community Engagement at Ravinia, talks about the unique impact of their One Score, One Chicago program.
- The Robot Fight Clubs Of San Francisco Are Now Having Dance Wars
Yes, this is a thing. – The San Francisco Standard
- Is Arts Criticism A Moral Good?
We no longer argue about whether art as such is a matter of life and death—we assume that it’s not. Consequently, critics aren’t prompted to ask about the political valence of their own activity: Is criticism itself a moral good? – Artforum
ISSUES
- Philadelphia Museum Of Art Remakes Its Leadership Team
Daniel Weiss took over as director and CEO in December after the dismissal of former leader Sasha Suda. He has rolled back some of the decisions made during her tenure, including the brief renaming of the museum as the “Philadelphia Art Museum,” or PhAM. And now new leaders in finance and human resources. – Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
- Finnish Museum Tries Radical Support Plan For Artists
The museum has committed to supporting four artists over the next several years—P. Staff, Tarik Kiswanson, Jenna Sutela and Eglė Budvytytė—in four distinct ways: acquiring their work throughout the period; financially supporting external production; providing a part-time stipend for a year to alleviate financial pressure; and covering health insurance for a year. – The Art Newspaper
- Officials Say Congressional Approval To Build Trump’s Triumphal Arch Was Granted 101 Years Ago
“The Trump administration does not plan to seek approval from Congress for President Donald Trump’s planned 250-foot arch, arguing that they do not need it because lawmakers a century ago authorized a somewhat similar project that was never built.” – The Washington Post
- No Transparency: Palm Springs Museum Refuses To Release Report On Investigation Into Fraud And Theft
The whistleblower complaint made numerous detailed allegations. Among them are claims that the museum improperly reclassified funds in its endowment to meet cash crunches. – ARTnews
- Paris Judge Rejects Attempt To Block New Windows Commissioned For Notre-Dame
“A Paris judge has rejected a request to halt the removal of six 19th-century stained-glass windows by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc from Notre-Dame Cathedral, which are to be replaced by government-commissioned contemporary works (by artist Claire Tabouret).” – ARTnews
MEDIA
- New Zealand To Decentralize Arts Funding, Awarding Most Grants Regionally
The national government’s arts agency, Creative New Zealand, plans to have most funding decisions (excepting international projects and national companies such as the NZ Symphony and Royal NZ Ballet) made by up to 16 independent regional organizations. – The Big Idea (New Zealand)
- Universities Are Canceling Commencement Speakers Who Might Be Controversial
Some students only want people who hold similar views to address them at their graduation. They exercise what free speech law experts call a “heckler’s veto,” meaning when an audience’s reaction, or anticipated response, stops someone from speaking. – The Conversation
- US Homeland Security Puts Out Alert For Comedian Who Created A Satire Website
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has circulated a “Be on the Lookout” alert to law enforcement nationwide, targeting a comedian whose satire of US immigration enforcement went viral. – The Guardian
- Trump Panel Approves Trump Arch
Thursday’s vote by the Commission of Fine Arts, whose job is to vet the design of monuments and other major projects in the capital, represents a key approval as the White House seeks to begin construction. – Washington Post
- National Trust Lists America’s 11 Most-Endangered Historic Places
Among those selected are two sites that have drawn the ire of the Trump administration, the Stonewall National Monument in New York, often considered the birthplace of the gay right’s movement, and the President’s House Site in Philadelphia, which served as the presidential home prior to the capital’s relocation to Washington. – ARTnews
MUSIC
- Chicago Tribune Strikes Last-Minute Agreement To Buy Suburban Paper Daily Herald
The Tribune, owned by finance firm Alden Global Capital, landed the deal to purchase the employee-owned Herald (based in northwestern suburb Arlington Heights) after several full-page ads, an 11th-hour bid and (probably) a premium price. – Chicago Tribune (Yahoo!)
- The Perils Of Writing With AI When You Don’t Check
My fellow nonfiction writers: AI can be a helpful tool. If you rely on it for factual accuracy you are putting your reputation, your career, your very livelihood in peril. – The AI Humanist
- Short Story Which Won Prize Last Week Is Now Thought To Be Written By AI
“’The Serpent in the Grove’ was named as the winning entry for the Commonwealth Prize from the Caribbean on Saturday and published in Granta magazine. … Shortly (afterward), internet sleuths — and a few literary critics — seized upon the work and its author, Jamir Nazir, reportedly a 61-year-old from Trinidad with few publications to his name.” – The Guardian
- Pirated Audiobooks Voiced By AI Bots Are All Over YouTube
“While piracy has long been an issue for the book business, the rapid rise of unauthorized audiobooks” — typically with vocally flat narration and unrelated visuals — “on YouTube, which publishers and authors believe are eroding sales for their books, poses a new challenge for the industry.” – The New York Times
- Author Of A Book About AI And Truth Admits Some Of His Book Was Written By AI With Fake Quotes
The author of a nonfiction book about the effects of artificial intelligence on truth acknowledged on Monday that he had included numerous made-up or misattributed quotes concocted by A.I. – The New York Times
PEOPLE
- Who gets to be in the room?
This Week’s Highlights:
The most revealing arts story this week was a hire that, by the old rules, wouldn’t have happened. The San Francisco Symphony passed over the marquee conductors and handed its podium to Elim Chan — the first woman to lead one of America’s “Big 7” orchestras and, by critic Joshua Kosman’s own count, the most unproven music director the institution has chosen in four decades. His verdict: the choice “could not have been wiser” (San Francisco Chronicle). Potential.
Chicago arts groups are locking patrons’ phones in pouches to sell something a screen can’t (WBEZ). And a Philadelphia orchestra that programs Rainbow Road and the Sonic theme is growing like a weed. What’s the secret? (Philadelphia Inquirer).
The field’s top honors kept landing in unexpected places, too. The Regional Theatre Tony went to American Players Theatre, in a Wisconsin town of 1,500 (Wisconsin Public Radio). And the International Booker, for the first time in its history, went to a novel written in Mandarin Chinese (AP).
None of these are the same story, but they pose the same question: the map of what counts — who leads, who belongs in the room, what’s allowed on the program — is being redrawn from the edges in.
Which is the bigger question I take up in this week’s AJ Chronicles: Hollywood has completely reinvented its core business model six times in a century. The nonprofit arts have managed it once. Is the second time finally being forced?
All this week’s stories below, organized by topic.
- AJ Chronicles: Hollywood, 6; Non-Profit Arts, 1Hollywood has reinvented its core model at least six times in a century. The nonprofit arts model has reinvented itself exactly once. Now there may no choice. But what’s the case?
- Christine Taylor Conda talks about the One Score, One Chicago program
Christine Taylor Conda, Executive Director of Education and Community Engagement at Ravinia, talks about the unique impact of their One Score, One Chicago program.
- The Robot Fight Clubs Of San Francisco Are Now Having Dance Wars
Yes, this is a thing. – The San Francisco Standard
- Is Arts Criticism A Moral Good?
We no longer argue about whether art as such is a matter of life and death—we assume that it’s not. Consequently, critics aren’t prompted to ask about the political valence of their own activity: Is criticism itself a moral good? – Artforum
PEOPLE
- Who gets to be in the room?
This Week’s Highlights:
The most revealing arts story this week was a hire that, by the old rules, wouldn’t have happened. The San Francisco Symphony passed over the marquee conductors and handed its podium to Elim Chan — the first woman to lead one of America’s “Big 7” orchestras and, by critic Joshua Kosman’s own count, the most unproven music director the institution has chosen in four decades. His verdict: the choice “could not have been wiser” (San Francisco Chronicle). Potential.
Chicago arts groups are locking patrons’ phones in pouches to sell something a screen can’t (WBEZ). And a Philadelphia orchestra that programs Rainbow Road and the Sonic theme is growing like a weed. What’s the secret? (Philadelphia Inquirer).
The field’s top honors kept landing in unexpected places, too. The Regional Theatre Tony went to American Players Theatre, in a Wisconsin town of 1,500 (Wisconsin Public Radio). And the International Booker, for the first time in its history, went to a novel written in Mandarin Chinese (AP).
None of these are the same story, but they pose the same question: the map of what counts — who leads, who belongs in the room, what’s allowed on the program — is being redrawn from the edges in.
Which is the bigger question I take up in this week’s AJ Chronicles: Hollywood has completely reinvented its core business model six times in a century. The nonprofit arts have managed it once. Is the second time finally being forced?
All this week’s stories below, organized by topic.
- AJ Chronicles: Hollywood, 6; Non-Profit Arts, 1Hollywood has reinvented its core model at least six times in a century. The nonprofit arts model has reinvented itself exactly once. Now there may no choice. But what’s the case?
- Christine Taylor Conda talks about the One Score, One Chicago program
Christine Taylor Conda, Executive Director of Education and Community Engagement at Ravinia, talks about the unique impact of their One Score, One Chicago program.
- The Robot Fight Clubs Of San Francisco Are Now Having Dance Wars
Yes, this is a thing. – The San Francisco Standard
- Is Arts Criticism A Moral Good?
We no longer argue about whether art as such is a matter of life and death—we assume that it’s not. Consequently, critics aren’t prompted to ask about the political valence of their own activity: Is criticism itself a moral good? – Artforum
THEATRE
VISUAL
- Is Arts Criticism A Moral Good?
We no longer argue about whether art as such is a matter of life and death—we assume that it’s not. Consequently, critics aren’t prompted to ask about the political valence of their own activity: Is criticism itself a moral good? – Artforum
- AI Passes Turing Test For The First Time
Researchers discovered that when equipped with specific “persona” prompts, advanced models like GPT-4.5 were judged to be human 73% of the time, significantly outperforming actual human participants and fundamentally altering our understanding of machine intelligence. – Neuroscience News
- How Does Your Brain Process Beauty?
“Neuroaesthetics is a search to give a value, a quantity, to beauty—to locate it, perhaps, in the brain and in the heart.” – Smithsonian
- Always On: Pretty Much Everything We Do Now Is Being Recorded
The next time you conduct a delicate bit of office diplomacy or share a romantic or financial secret with a friend over drinks, a sensor built into someone’s glasses, necklace, or lapel pin might be watching you and listening. – The Atlantic
- The Slop Before The AI Slop
In 1962, a programmer at Librascope, a California-based defense contractor, announced that “a computer can be programmed to write meaningful and relevant sentences in proper English.” – The New Yorker
