AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- Here’s What Trump’s Washington Arch Would Look Like

Much of the public debate around the arch has centered on how it would affect other nearby memorials, particularly the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. – Washington Post
- A New Wave Of Women’s Ragebait Lit

“These books may have inspired more than their share of hot takes … but the conversations around them allow us to question where we are and what our feminist ideals have become … (now that) so many of the problems that felt like they were somehow close to being solved … have become drastically worse.” – Harper’s Bazaar
- Ben Folds: The National Symphony Is In Peril

The NSO doesn’t even know if it has a home, given the previously announced two-year closure of the Kennedy Center. This is a very bad sign. Further, the tools for survival are entangled in the Kennedy Center’s legal and financial troubles. – Variety
- Trump Administration’s Plans To Cancel Student Loans For Almost All College Arts Programs

Yale University’s master’s programs in visual arts and music would fail. Harvard University’s master’s degree in museum studies would fail. The Juilliard School’s undergraduate and graduate programs in music would fail. – The New York Times
- Crystal Bridges Completes Major Expansion

This component of a long-running plan for the site adds two galleries and 114,00 square feet (10,590 square metres) of space for a recent major gift and the subsequent reinterpretation of its collection. The museum’s footprint has expanded by half since its opening in 2011. – Dezeen
ISSUES
- Here’s What Trump’s Washington Arch Would Look Like

Much of the public debate around the arch has centered on how it would affect other nearby memorials, particularly the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. – Washington Post
- Crystal Bridges Completes Major Expansion

This component of a long-running plan for the site adds two galleries and 114,00 square feet (10,590 square metres) of space for a recent major gift and the subsequent reinterpretation of its collection. The museum’s footprint has expanded by half since its opening in 2011. – Dezeen
- Painter Of Dallas Whale Mural Painted Over For World Cup Promo Sues FIFA

The 17,000-square-foot mural, one of artist Robert Wyland’s popular “Whaling Wall” series, had been on view in downtown Dallas since 1999. Wyland is suing international soccer’s governing body and the building’s owners for $25 million under the federal Visual Artist Rights Act, saying the mural was covered without his knowledge or consent. – AP
- Brazilian Police Say They’ve Identified Mastermind Of Matisse Robbery In São Paulo

Last December, thieves stole 13 prints, including eight by Matisse, from the Biblioteca Mario de Andrade in São Paulo. Two suspects accused of the robbery itself were identified soon afterward; police have now named the alleged ringleader, who is currently in prison on other charges and has a considerable criminal history. – ArtReview
- Why Restorers Of This Bull Mosaic In Milan Left Out The Testicles

In fact, the missing glands on the bovine in this 19th-century floor mosaic had been gouged out by excessive tourist traffic some time ago, and the restorers (and the landlord) declined to replace them. Here’s why. – Smithsonian Magazine
MEDIA
- Trump Administration’s Plans To Cancel Student Loans For Almost All College Arts Programs
Yale University’s master’s programs in visual arts and music would fail. Harvard University’s master’s degree in museum studies would fail. The Juilliard School’s undergraduate and graduate programs in music would fail. – The New York Times
- Report: Australian Arts Participation At Highest Level Ever
More Australians are attending live arts events and festivals, with 2025 the highest level of attendance recorded. While some art forms have seen shifts back towards more frequent pre-COVID-19 attendance patterns, others have not fully recovered. – Creative Australia
- Trump Administration Wants To Judge Higher Ed Institutions On Graduates’ Earnings, Posing Dangers For Arts Schools
“The Department of Education has proposed a new ‘accountability’ system that would judge higher-education programs largely by graduates’ earnings, … a test that music, visual arts, and filmmaking programs would, by their nature, be likely to fail.” Programs whose graduates don’t meet earnings benchmarks could become ineligible for federal student loans. – ARTnews
- A Priority For Australia’s Next Cultural Policy: Protecting Freedom Of Expression
Treating freedom of expression and social cohesion as trade-offs is a category error. Freedom of expression is an internal attribute of cultural activity, an inherent good. Without it there is no culture worthy of the name, only sanctioned content. – ArtsHub
- Arts Council England, The National Cultural Funder, Names A New Chairman
As of August 1, Dawn Airey, a longtime television executive who is currently chair of the National Youth Theatre and the educational platform Digital Theatre+, will succeed Nicholas Serota, who spent almost a decade leading the Council after a famously successful tenure as director of the Tate galleries and museums. – The Independent (UK)
MUSIC
- A New Wave Of Women’s Ragebait Lit
“These books may have inspired more than their share of hot takes … but the conversations around them allow us to question where we are and what our feminist ideals have become … (now that) so many of the problems that felt like they were somehow close to being solved … have become drastically worse.” – Harper’s Bazaar
- Minnesota Star Tribune To Cut 65 Jobs, Explore Going Fully Nonprofit
“The Star Tribune employs 495 people and cuts will be made across every department. The newsroom has just under 200 journalists and will decline to 175 while remaining one of the largest between the coasts. Just last year, 125 employees were laid off when the company … closed its … printing plant.” – The Minnesota Star Tribune
- Okay, Here’s How The Publishing Business Really Works
Nobody would patronize a best-seller–only shopping mall kiosk called We Bet We Have That Book You Want, even though best-sellers are most of what anyone buys. People want to walk into stores with lots of books which they have no interest in even looking at. – Republic of Letters
- Busting Conventional Wisdom: The Number Of Bookstores Isn’t Shrinking, It’s Growing Robustly
Membership in the ABA grew by more than 500 over the past year, to a total of 3,417 (at 3,783 locations), nearly triple what it was a decade ago and the highest level since the late 1990s. – AP News
- What We Need To Do To Get America Reading Again
Teaching people to read and building a world where they can do so are different problems. Throwing our phones in the lake can’t bring about that world, but designing the conditions for reading will. – The New York Times
PEOPLE
- Here’s What Trump’s Washington Arch Would Look Like
Much of the public debate around the arch has centered on how it would affect other nearby memorials, particularly the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. – Washington Post
- A New Wave Of Women’s Ragebait Lit
“These books may have inspired more than their share of hot takes … but the conversations around them allow us to question where we are and what our feminist ideals have become … (now that) so many of the problems that felt like they were somehow close to being solved … have become drastically worse.” – Harper’s Bazaar
- Ben Folds: The National Symphony Is In Peril
The NSO doesn’t even know if it has a home, given the previously announced two-year closure of the Kennedy Center. This is a very bad sign. Further, the tools for survival are entangled in the Kennedy Center’s legal and financial troubles. – Variety
- Trump Administration’s Plans To Cancel Student Loans For Almost All College Arts Programs
Yale University’s master’s programs in visual arts and music would fail. Harvard University’s master’s degree in museum studies would fail. The Juilliard School’s undergraduate and graduate programs in music would fail. – The New York Times
- Crystal Bridges Completes Major Expansion
This component of a long-running plan for the site adds two galleries and 114,00 square feet (10,590 square metres) of space for a recent major gift and the subsequent reinterpretation of its collection. The museum’s footprint has expanded by half since its opening in 2011. – Dezeen
PEOPLE
- Here’s What Trump’s Washington Arch Would Look Like
Much of the public debate around the arch has centered on how it would affect other nearby memorials, particularly the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. – Washington Post
- A New Wave Of Women’s Ragebait Lit
“These books may have inspired more than their share of hot takes … but the conversations around them allow us to question where we are and what our feminist ideals have become … (now that) so many of the problems that felt like they were somehow close to being solved … have become drastically worse.” – Harper’s Bazaar
- Ben Folds: The National Symphony Is In Peril
The NSO doesn’t even know if it has a home, given the previously announced two-year closure of the Kennedy Center. This is a very bad sign. Further, the tools for survival are entangled in the Kennedy Center’s legal and financial troubles. – Variety
- Trump Administration’s Plans To Cancel Student Loans For Almost All College Arts Programs
Yale University’s master’s programs in visual arts and music would fail. Harvard University’s master’s degree in museum studies would fail. The Juilliard School’s undergraduate and graduate programs in music would fail. – The New York Times
- Crystal Bridges Completes Major Expansion
This component of a long-running plan for the site adds two galleries and 114,00 square feet (10,590 square metres) of space for a recent major gift and the subsequent reinterpretation of its collection. The museum’s footprint has expanded by half since its opening in 2011. – Dezeen
THEATRE
VISUAL
- Study: Humans Need “Semantic Knowledge” To Innovate
The research demonstrates that our “semantic knowledge”, the internal cognitive map of how concepts connect and apply to one another, is the absolute precondition for meaningful invention. – Neuroscience
- We Need Artists To Collaborate With AI
Machine learning represents a seismic shift, both in society and in the arts, and we need storytellers, artists, teachers and thinkers in this space to help determine the direction of that shift and help us navigate this unfamiliar territory. – The Guardian
- The World Is Becoming Automated Around Us. Are Humans Losing Autonomy?
Computers talk to computers, producing information to train computers to sound more like humans or to better engage them. Humans type into the box, scroll, and wait. – The Atlantic
- Oakland Creatives Are Having A (Possibly Long Overdue) Heck Of A Year
“The Town has seen its homegrown talent reach new levels of success on the global stage, from figure skater Alysa Liu earning Olympic gold in Milan to filmmaker Ryan Coogler winning four Oscars for his blockbuster Sinners and R&B powerhouse Kehlani receiving two Grammy Awards.” – San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
- Saying No To New Gadgets Might Make Us Happier
Just in case you’ve missed multiple strains of philosophy, ethics, and “happiness studies” over the years, not to mention Buddhist thought, well: “When we encounter something new, we get a dopamine hit. … But sometimes novelty seduces us without offering anything meaningful.” – Fast Company


















