AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- Johnny Cash Estate Sues Coca Cola Under New “Elvis Act” For Using His Artistic Personna Without Permission
The case has been filed under the Elvis Act of Tennessee, made effective last year, which protects a person’s voice from exploitation without consent. – The Guardian
- Good Morning:
Here are today’s AJ newsletter highlights: In Tennessee, public libraries are shutting their doors to comply with a state mandate to purge books with LGBTQ+ themes (Common Dreams), while a new survey reveals that 39% of novelists are already seeing their incomes slip due to competition from Generative AI (The Conversation).
Meanwhile, the Detroit Institute of Arts is reimagining the museum as an “instrument of cultural education” rather than just a repository (ARTnews), and the LA Phil has reversed course on cutting its East L.A. youth orchestra program following donor intervention (Los Angeles Times).
Also today: Why museums dramatically underspend on marketing (ARTnews), the cognitive decline linked to constant phone checking (Washington Post), and what it’s actually like to wrangle a giant balloon in the Macy’s parade (Slate).
All of today’s stories below:
- Tennessee Libraries Shut Down For Republicans’ Book Purge
Public libraries in Tennessee have begun to shut down as they carry out an order from state officials to remove children’s books containing LGBTQ+ themes or characters. – Common Dreams
- Detroit Institute Of Arts Reimagines “Museum As Instrument Of Cultural Education”
The DIA has achieved a rare feat with its presentations: making art history feel unexpected, and so, truer to life. What immediate change it chooses for its closest community—that’s a story Detroit won’t forget. – ARTnews
- Apply Now: Canada’s National Arts Centre Mentorship Program
Play in section with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra: June 8 to June 25, 2026
A side-by-side experience for emerging and early-career instrumentalists and conductors who are on the audition circuit or who have recently started a position with a professional orchestra.
All participants receive an honorarium, accommodation, a meal stipend, and travel subsidies. International applications welcome.
NAC Orchestra rehearsals and concerts will be led by Music Director Alexander Shelley.
The program includes:
- Sectionals
- Masterclasses
- Career mentorship
- Networking opportunities
- Public performances with the Orchestra
Apply by January 26 2026.
For more information contact Kelly.Symons@nac-cna.ca.
ISSUES
- Detroit Institute Of Arts Reimagines “Museum As Instrument Of Cultural Education”
The DIA has achieved a rare feat with its presentations: making art history feel unexpected, and so, truer to life. What immediate change it chooses for its closest community—that’s a story Detroit won’t forget. – ARTnews
- John Oliver’s Benefit Auction For Public Broadcasting Sets Million-Dollar Record For Bob Ross Painting
On Monday, Ross’ Cabin at Sunset, painted for a 1986 episode of PBS’ iconic “The Joy of Painting”, sold for roughly $1,044,000. – ARTnews
- Report: Museums Are Dramatically Underspending On Marketing
Museums have been resistant to spending on marketing at the same levels as other cultural organizations, says the report, which posits that the thinking may go that museums and art might even be demeaned by treating them like any other product. – ARTnews
- The Art Market Is Designed To Inflate Markets. But Here’s What Artists Need To Know
The structure itself is tilted toward collectors, dealers, and institutions. It is not designed to support artists. But artists who understand the language of the market can sometimes turn that knowledge into a form of protection. – Hyperallergic
- Exactly What Is This Odd New Group That Just Picked America’s Venice Biennale Artist?
If no one has heard of the Tampa-based AAC, this is because it was founded only in July of this year. The press release is so poorly edited that it repeats the same quote by executive director Jenni Parido twice. – Artnet
MEDIA
- Johnny Cash Estate Sues Coca Cola Under New “Elvis Act” For Using His Artistic Personna Without Permission
The case has been filed under the Elvis Act of Tennessee, made effective last year, which protects a person’s voice from exploitation without consent. – The Guardian
- Why Pop Culture Got Dull
Culprit number one is lucre. For pop stars, Mr Marx argues, the idea of “selling out” has died out. The ultimate measure of value is financial success; distinct musical genres have been squished into “glossy, marketable pop”. – The Economist
- Survey: State Of The Arts In Denver
Artists and cultural workers interviewed ahead of Colorado Creates said they worry about gentrification, burnout, lack of collaboration, the need to bring the younger generations into conversations and the cost of living in Denver. – Westword
- What It’s Like To Wrangle A Giant Balloon In The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Katie Shepherd had wanted to be a balloon handler in the parade since grade school — since, believe it or not, she watched on TV the mess of 1997, when gale-force gusts wrought havoc on the balloons. In 2021 (and in calmer weather), Shepherd finally got her chance. – Slate (MSN)
- Mamdani Names Culture Transition Team
The 28-member group includes curators, art dealers, journalists, and arts and nonprofit administrators. It ranges from Elizabeth Alexander, the president of the Mellon Foundation, which sits on an endowment of $7.7 billion, to Hannah Traore, who launched a 3,000-square-foot gallery on the Lower East Side not four years ago. – ARTnews
MUSIC
- Tennessee Libraries Shut Down For Republicans’ Book Purge
Public libraries in Tennessee have begun to shut down as they carry out an order from state officials to remove children’s books containing LGBTQ+ themes or characters. – Common Dreams
- Survey: Writers Report Income Slipping Because Of AI
39% of novelists reported that their income has already been negatively affected by GenAI. They cited a range of reasons, including competition from AI-generated books, sabotage of sales due to rip-off AI-generated imitations of books, and supplementary streams of income such as copywriting becoming scarce due to increased use of GenAI. – The Conversation
- What Possesses People To Want To Own More Books Than They Can Possible Read?
Bibliomania, the only hobby which is also a mental health affliction. The person with piles of titles on their nightstand, in their closet, in the trunk of their car. Books in front of books on their bookshelf. “With thought, patience, and discrimination, book passion becomes the signature of a person’s character.” – LitHub
- AI-Written Children’s Books Are Flooding The Marketplace. Is This Bad?
How big a threat is AI to quality children’s publishing, and does it also threaten children’s learning? In a sense, my questions—not all of which are answerable—boil down to this: What makes a good children’s book, and how much does it matter if a children’s book is good? – Mother Jones
- Writers At The New Yorker Are Furious Over The Firing Of A Fact-Checker
“The abrupt firing earlier this month of a senior fact-checker and New Yorker union member, Jasper Lo, has set off a swell of outrage among magazine staffers and contributors, including some of the most famous writers in America.” – The Washington Post (MSN)
PEOPLE
- Johnny Cash Estate Sues Coca Cola Under New “Elvis Act” For Using His Artistic Personna Without Permission
The case has been filed under the Elvis Act of Tennessee, made effective last year, which protects a person’s voice from exploitation without consent. – The Guardian
- Good Morning:
Here are today’s AJ newsletter highlights: In Tennessee, public libraries are shutting their doors to comply with a state mandate to purge books with LGBTQ+ themes (Common Dreams), while a new survey reveals that 39% of novelists are already seeing their incomes slip due to competition from Generative AI (The Conversation).
Meanwhile, the Detroit Institute of Arts is reimagining the museum as an “instrument of cultural education” rather than just a repository (ARTnews), and the LA Phil has reversed course on cutting its East L.A. youth orchestra program following donor intervention (Los Angeles Times).
Also today: Why museums dramatically underspend on marketing (ARTnews), the cognitive decline linked to constant phone checking (Washington Post), and what it’s actually like to wrangle a giant balloon in the Macy’s parade (Slate).
All of today’s stories below:
- Tennessee Libraries Shut Down For Republicans’ Book Purge
Public libraries in Tennessee have begun to shut down as they carry out an order from state officials to remove children’s books containing LGBTQ+ themes or characters. – Common Dreams
- Detroit Institute Of Arts Reimagines “Museum As Instrument Of Cultural Education”
The DIA has achieved a rare feat with its presentations: making art history feel unexpected, and so, truer to life. What immediate change it chooses for its closest community—that’s a story Detroit won’t forget. – ARTnews
- Apply Now: Canada’s National Arts Centre Mentorship Program
Play in section with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra: June 8 to June 25, 2026
A side-by-side experience for emerging and early-career instrumentalists and conductors who are on the audition circuit or who have recently started a position with a professional orchestra.
All participants receive an honorarium, accommodation, a meal stipend, and travel subsidies. International applications welcome.
NAC Orchestra rehearsals and concerts will be led by Music Director Alexander Shelley.
The program includes:
- Sectionals
- Masterclasses
- Career mentorship
- Networking opportunities
- Public performances with the Orchestra
Apply by January 26 2026.
For more information contact Kelly.Symons@nac-cna.ca.
PEOPLE
- Johnny Cash Estate Sues Coca Cola Under New “Elvis Act” For Using His Artistic Personna Without Permission
The case has been filed under the Elvis Act of Tennessee, made effective last year, which protects a person’s voice from exploitation without consent. – The Guardian
- Good Morning:
Here are today’s AJ newsletter highlights: In Tennessee, public libraries are shutting their doors to comply with a state mandate to purge books with LGBTQ+ themes (Common Dreams), while a new survey reveals that 39% of novelists are already seeing their incomes slip due to competition from Generative AI (The Conversation).
Meanwhile, the Detroit Institute of Arts is reimagining the museum as an “instrument of cultural education” rather than just a repository (ARTnews), and the LA Phil has reversed course on cutting its East L.A. youth orchestra program following donor intervention (Los Angeles Times).
Also today: Why museums dramatically underspend on marketing (ARTnews), the cognitive decline linked to constant phone checking (Washington Post), and what it’s actually like to wrangle a giant balloon in the Macy’s parade (Slate).
All of today’s stories below:
- Tennessee Libraries Shut Down For Republicans’ Book Purge
Public libraries in Tennessee have begun to shut down as they carry out an order from state officials to remove children’s books containing LGBTQ+ themes or characters. – Common Dreams
- Detroit Institute Of Arts Reimagines “Museum As Instrument Of Cultural Education”
The DIA has achieved a rare feat with its presentations: making art history feel unexpected, and so, truer to life. What immediate change it chooses for its closest community—that’s a story Detroit won’t forget. – ARTnews
- Apply Now: Canada’s National Arts Centre Mentorship Program
Play in section with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra: June 8 to June 25, 2026
A side-by-side experience for emerging and early-career instrumentalists and conductors who are on the audition circuit or who have recently started a position with a professional orchestra.
All participants receive an honorarium, accommodation, a meal stipend, and travel subsidies. International applications welcome.
NAC Orchestra rehearsals and concerts will be led by Music Director Alexander Shelley.
The program includes:
- Sectionals
- Masterclasses
- Career mentorship
- Networking opportunities
- Public performances with the Orchestra
Apply by January 26 2026.
For more information contact Kelly.Symons@nac-cna.ca.
THEATRE
VISUAL
- Did We Make A Mistake When We Separated The Notion of Consciousness From Physical Things?
Ever since Descartes, who split mind from matter and linked thinking and being, we’ve drifted from the very thing that makes us human. We’ve separated ourselves from the natural world, physically and mentally. The mental separation enabled the physical one. We came to see ourselves inhabiting a world of things, ourselves the only conscious element within it. – Harper’s
- Study: Constant Checking Of Your Phone Feeds Cognitive Decline
A study by the Singapore Management University found that frequent interruptions to check our devices lead to more attention and memory lapses. Unlike total screen time, the frequency of smartphone checks is a much stronger predictor of daily cognitive failures. – Washington Post
- Scientist: AI Creativity Is Mathematically Limited To Amateur Status
The study provides evidence that large language models, such as ChatGPT, are mathematically constrained to a level of creativity comparable to an amateur human. – Psypost
- Study: Our Brains Have Five Major Eras In Our Lifetimes
The study mapped neural connections and how they evolve during our lives. This revealed five broad phases, split up by four pivotal “turning points” in which brain organisation moves on to a different trajectory, at around the ages of nine, 32, 66 and 83 years. – The Guardian
- Those Eureka Moments And Why They’re So Remarkable
You never feel as if you’re getting warmer; rather, you go from cold to hot, seemingly in an instant. Or, as the neuropsychologist Donald Hebb, known for his work building neurobiological models of learning, wrote in the 1940s, sometimes “learning occurs as a single jump, an all-or-none affair.” – Quanta
