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DANCE

    IDEAS

    • Who owns what, anyway?

      Good Morning,

      Three stories today circle the same question: who has standing to control the use of cultural assets — likenesses, artworks, infrastructure — and what happens when that standing is contested.

      Dua Lipa is suing Samsung for $15 million, alleging the company used her image to sell TVs without permission (Variety). Several national pavilions at the Venice Biennale closed Friday in protest of Israel’s inclusion (The Guardian). And nearly 9,000 universities had Canvas — the platform that runs their assignments and grades — held hostage by a ransomware crew demanding payment by Tuesday (Wired).

      The Musée d’Orsay is trying an experiment — embedding unresolved Nazi-provenance cases physically inside the museum, in public view (Salon). Acknowledgement as a kind of policy.

      Elsewhere: Cannes opens this week with the Hollywood studios mostly on the sidelines (Seattle Times), Broadway is positively crawling with celebrities (CBC), and Billie Eilish isn’t sure another Billie Eilish is structurally possible anymore (Wired).

      All of our stories below.

    • When It’s Time For A Revival, But The Musical’s Book Really Needs A Rewrite

      “I think of book writing as analogous to screenwriting: It’s a craft more about structure than dialogue, about setting the scene for the central activity, which … in the case of a musical is singing and dancing.” – American Theatre

    • Xia De-Hong, The Main Character In Her Daughter’s Memoir Of Mao’s Cruelty, Has Died At 94

      “The story of Ms. Chang’s stoic mother holding the family together while battling on behalf of her husband, a functionary who was tortured and imprisoned during Mao’s regime, was the focus of Wild Swans.” – The New York Times

    • New From MolokoTake a Ride with A. Robert Lee’s Travel Painting
      <a href="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2026/05/new-from-molokotake-a-ride-with-a-robert-lees-travel-painting.html" title="New From Moloko
      Take a Ride with A. Robert
    • The Art That Nazis Stole, Still Waiting To Go Home, Wherever Home May Be

      “What makes the Orsay initiative notable is not simply that it acknowledges this history, but that it embeds it physically inside a major national museum — placing unresolved provenance cases in direct view of the public.” – Salon

    ISSUES

    MEDIA

    MUSIC

    PEOPLE

    • Who owns what, anyway?

      Good Morning,

      Three stories today circle the same question: who has standing to control the use of cultural assets — likenesses, artworks, infrastructure — and what happens when that standing is contested.

      Dua Lipa is suing Samsung for $15 million, alleging the company used her image to sell TVs without permission (Variety). Several national pavilions at the Venice Biennale closed Friday in protest of Israel’s inclusion (The Guardian). And nearly 9,000 universities had Canvas — the platform that runs their assignments and grades — held hostage by a ransomware crew demanding payment by Tuesday (Wired).

      The Musée d’Orsay is trying an experiment — embedding unresolved Nazi-provenance cases physically inside the museum, in public view (Salon). Acknowledgement as a kind of policy.

      Elsewhere: Cannes opens this week with the Hollywood studios mostly on the sidelines (Seattle Times), Broadway is positively crawling with celebrities (CBC), and Billie Eilish isn’t sure another Billie Eilish is structurally possible anymore (Wired).

      All of our stories below.

    • When It’s Time For A Revival, But The Musical’s Book Really Needs A Rewrite

      “I think of book writing as analogous to screenwriting: It’s a craft more about structure than dialogue, about setting the scene for the central activity, which … in the case of a musical is singing and dancing.” – American Theatre

    • Xia De-Hong, The Main Character In Her Daughter’s Memoir Of Mao’s Cruelty, Has Died At 94

      “The story of Ms. Chang’s stoic mother holding the family together while battling on behalf of her husband, a functionary who was tortured and imprisoned during Mao’s regime, was the focus of Wild Swans.” – The New York Times

    • New From MolokoTake a Ride with A. Robert Lee’s Travel Painting
      <a href="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2026/05/new-from-molokotake-a-ride-with-a-robert-lees-travel-painting.html" title="New From Moloko
      Take a Ride with A. Robert
    • The Art That Nazis Stole, Still Waiting To Go Home, Wherever Home May Be

      “What makes the Orsay initiative notable is not simply that it acknowledges this history, but that it embeds it physically inside a major national museum — placing unresolved provenance cases in direct view of the public.” – Salon

    PEOPLE

    • Who owns what, anyway?

      Good Morning,

      Three stories today circle the same question: who has standing to control the use of cultural assets — likenesses, artworks, infrastructure — and what happens when that standing is contested.

      Dua Lipa is suing Samsung for $15 million, alleging the company used her image to sell TVs without permission (Variety). Several national pavilions at the Venice Biennale closed Friday in protest of Israel’s inclusion (The Guardian). And nearly 9,000 universities had Canvas — the platform that runs their assignments and grades — held hostage by a ransomware crew demanding payment by Tuesday (Wired).

      The Musée d’Orsay is trying an experiment — embedding unresolved Nazi-provenance cases physically inside the museum, in public view (Salon). Acknowledgement as a kind of policy.

      Elsewhere: Cannes opens this week with the Hollywood studios mostly on the sidelines (Seattle Times), Broadway is positively crawling with celebrities (CBC), and Billie Eilish isn’t sure another Billie Eilish is structurally possible anymore (Wired).

      All of our stories below.

    • When It’s Time For A Revival, But The Musical’s Book Really Needs A Rewrite

      “I think of book writing as analogous to screenwriting: It’s a craft more about structure than dialogue, about setting the scene for the central activity, which … in the case of a musical is singing and dancing.” – American Theatre

    • Xia De-Hong, The Main Character In Her Daughter’s Memoir Of Mao’s Cruelty, Has Died At 94

      “The story of Ms. Chang’s stoic mother holding the family together while battling on behalf of her husband, a functionary who was tortured and imprisoned during Mao’s regime, was the focus of Wild Swans.” – The New York Times

    • New From MolokoTake a Ride with A. Robert Lee’s Travel Painting
      <a href="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2026/05/new-from-molokotake-a-ride-with-a-robert-lees-travel-painting.html" title="New From Moloko
      Take a Ride with A. Robert
    • The Art That Nazis Stole, Still Waiting To Go Home, Wherever Home May Be

      “What makes the Orsay initiative notable is not simply that it acknowledges this history, but that it embeds it physically inside a major national museum — placing unresolved provenance cases in direct view of the public.” – Salon

    THEATRE

      VISUAL

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