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DANCE

    IDEAS

    • Afa Dworkin talks about the key events celebrating the 30th anniversary of The Sphinx Organization

      Afa Dworkin, President & Artistic Director of the The Sphinx Organization, shares the three keystone events of their milestone 30th Anniversary.

    • Artistic Director -Florida Studio Theatre working with Management Consultants for the Arts

      Florida Studio Theatre (FST) is seeking a talented theater professional to lead the planning and execution of the organization’s core programming as Artistic Director. This newly conceived role will be part of a reimagined leadership team as FST’s long-serving Producing Artistic Director transitions into retirement and top leadership of the organization transfers to an Executive Director, a role effectively defined as a chief executive officer leading a team that includes the Artistic Director and an incoming Managing Director.

      The purview of the Artistic Director will be to shape the programming for the plays and musical offerings that annually define FST’s Winter and Summer Mainstage Series (seven productions), Stage III (three productions), Children’s Theatre (four productions), and New Play Development. The Artistic Director will be skilled in creating seasons that respond to and extend FST’s mission, engaging artistic and production talent to create in full alignment with FST’s aesthetic focused in authentic and engaging storytelling that does not rely on outsized production spectacle.

      The Artistic Director will participate in the artistic life of FST through their own artistic practice as a stage director, actor, designer, or other individual artistic practice, but will fully understand that the primary responsibilities of the role are to serve as the overall producer of FST’s principle theatrical offerings. Working closely with FST’s Executive Director, the Artistic Director will balance artistic ambition with responsiveness to audience needs. Florida Studio Theatre has engaged Management Consultants for the Arts to lead the search, and interested candidates may apply for this position by visiting this link: https://www.mcaonline.com/searches/artistic-director-fst

      FST hopes to make a hiring decision by Spring of 2027, with the selected candidate transitioning into the position sometime in the Fall of 2027. The salary range starts at $160,000 annually and includes a full benefit package. FST is an equal opportunity employer that celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Any offer of employment will be conditional upon satisfactory completion of a background check and reference conversations.

      Florida Studio Theatre was founded in 1973 by artist Jon Spelman as an alternative touring group, reaching out to isolated and underserved audiences in nursing homes, migrant farms, and prisons. When Richard Hopkins was named Producing Artistic Director in 1980, he founded FST’s Mainstage Series with a modest 103 subscribers. Today, FST reaches over 45,000 subscribers and an annual audience of more than 225,000 across its diverse programs, making FST the largest subscription theatre in the state of Florida. Now in its 53rd Season, FST is proud of its reach and impact across its five stages and through over 20 professional productions each year. More about Florida Studio Theatre can be found at https://www.floridastudiotheatre.org/

    • Managing Director -Florida Studio Theatre working with Management Consultants for the Arts

      Florida Studio Theatre (FST) invites applications for its Managing Director, a role for individuals with strong talent for running complex, multi-venue producing operations. The new Managing Director will lead the day-to-day administration of an organization producing more than 1,600 performances annually across five stages, with three additional stages and expanded housing and campus operations coming online at the end of 2027 with the creation of the McGillicuddy Arts Plaza.

      In a newly conceived leadership structure that anticipates the retirement of FST’s long serving Producing Artistic Director, the Managing Director will report directly to the Executive Director, a role recently filled by FST’s long-serving Managing Director. The Managing Director will be the staff lead overseeing finance, marketing, development, and the full range of forward-facing customer service areas associated with the company’s self-produced theatre productions, cabaret performances, education, children’s theatre, new play development, improv and comedy series, and restaurant operations.

      As FST expands its physical footprint with the opening of The McGillicuddy Arts Plaza, the Managing Director will ensure that all facilities are well-maintained, staffed appropriately, and activated to their full capacity. Taking the lead from the Executive Director as FST’s visionary leader, the Managing Director will work closely with a new Artistic Director and other senior leaders to execute FST’s mission in a manner that invites audiences into accessible and meaningful live performance experiences. Florida Studio Theatre has engaged Management Consultants for the Arts to lead the search, and interested candidates may apply for this position by visiting this link: https://www.mcaonline.com/searches/managing-director-fst

      FST hopes to make a hiring decision by Spring of 2027, with the selected candidate transitioning into the position sometime before the Fall of 2027. The salary range starts at $160,000 annually and includes a full benefit package. FST is an equal opportunity employer that celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Any offer of employment will be conditional upon satisfactory completion of a background check and reference conversations.

      Florida Studio Theatre was founded in 1973 by artist Jon Spelman as an alternative touring group, reaching out to isolated and underserved audiences in nursing homes, migrant farms, and prisons. When Richard Hopkins was named Producing Artistic Director in 1980, he founded FST’s Mainstage Series with a modest 103 subscribers.

      Today, FST reaches over 45,000 subscribers and an annual audience of more than 225,000 across its diverse programs, making FST the largest subscription theatre in the state of Florida. Now in its 53rd Season, FST is proud of its reach and impact across its five stages and through over 20 professional productions each year. More about Florida Studio Theatre can be found at https://www.floridastudiotheatre.org/

    • Bannanas are serious business

      Good Morning,

      Maurizio Cattelan, the man who taped a banana to a wall and watched it sell for $6.2 million, says his work has always been serious — the trouble is that people stop at the joke (The Guardian). Today’s stories keep making his point: things filed under “decorative” turn out to be structural the moment someone tries to remove them.

      Public television, for instance, is not just programming. Stations are hardwired into FEMA’s alert system, and when Congress defunded them it also cut the infrastructure for evacuation orders and weather warnings in rural counties (The Hollywood Reporter). Nobody planned for the culture budget to be the emergency budget. It was anyway.

      The Bauhaus closed in 1933; it still matters enough that the far-right German party AfD is running against it in Saxony-Anhalt this month (AP). The Trump administration is now threatening to pull artifact loans and grants unless the Smithsonian drops its “ideological agenda” (The Washington Post). Cleveland Orchestra musicians, meanwhile, have authorized a strike over pay, injuries — and a voice in artistic direction (Ideastream).

      And the one time art got taken entirely too seriously: Vancouver police broke into a gallery to rescue a sculpture whose feet were sticking out from behind a counter (Vancouver City News).

      All of our stories below.

    • Maurizio “Banana Taped To The Wall” Cattelan Insists He’s Serious (And He’s Probably Right)

      The art world’s merriest prankster; the guy who duct-taped a banana to a gallery wall, called it “Comedian,” and saw it get eaten, sold for $6.2 million, and then eaten again — he says “My work has always been serious. The problem is people often stop at the joke.” – The Guardian

    ISSUES

    MEDIA

    MUSIC

    PEOPLE

    • Afa Dworkin talks about the key events celebrating the 30th anniversary of The Sphinx Organization

      Afa Dworkin, President & Artistic Director of the The Sphinx Organization, shares the three keystone events of their milestone 30th Anniversary.

    • Artistic Director -Florida Studio Theatre working with Management Consultants for the Arts

      Florida Studio Theatre (FST) is seeking a talented theater professional to lead the planning and execution of the organization’s core programming as Artistic Director. This newly conceived role will be part of a reimagined leadership team as FST’s long-serving Producing Artistic Director transitions into retirement and top leadership of the organization transfers to an Executive Director, a role effectively defined as a chief executive officer leading a team that includes the Artistic Director and an incoming Managing Director.

      The purview of the Artistic Director will be to shape the programming for the plays and musical offerings that annually define FST’s Winter and Summer Mainstage Series (seven productions), Stage III (three productions), Children’s Theatre (four productions), and New Play Development. The Artistic Director will be skilled in creating seasons that respond to and extend FST’s mission, engaging artistic and production talent to create in full alignment with FST’s aesthetic focused in authentic and engaging storytelling that does not rely on outsized production spectacle.

      The Artistic Director will participate in the artistic life of FST through their own artistic practice as a stage director, actor, designer, or other individual artistic practice, but will fully understand that the primary responsibilities of the role are to serve as the overall producer of FST’s principle theatrical offerings. Working closely with FST’s Executive Director, the Artistic Director will balance artistic ambition with responsiveness to audience needs. Florida Studio Theatre has engaged Management Consultants for the Arts to lead the search, and interested candidates may apply for this position by visiting this link: https://www.mcaonline.com/searches/artistic-director-fst

      FST hopes to make a hiring decision by Spring of 2027, with the selected candidate transitioning into the position sometime in the Fall of 2027. The salary range starts at $160,000 annually and includes a full benefit package. FST is an equal opportunity employer that celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Any offer of employment will be conditional upon satisfactory completion of a background check and reference conversations.

      Florida Studio Theatre was founded in 1973 by artist Jon Spelman as an alternative touring group, reaching out to isolated and underserved audiences in nursing homes, migrant farms, and prisons. When Richard Hopkins was named Producing Artistic Director in 1980, he founded FST’s Mainstage Series with a modest 103 subscribers. Today, FST reaches over 45,000 subscribers and an annual audience of more than 225,000 across its diverse programs, making FST the largest subscription theatre in the state of Florida. Now in its 53rd Season, FST is proud of its reach and impact across its five stages and through over 20 professional productions each year. More about Florida Studio Theatre can be found at https://www.floridastudiotheatre.org/

    • Managing Director -Florida Studio Theatre working with Management Consultants for the Arts

      Florida Studio Theatre (FST) invites applications for its Managing Director, a role for individuals with strong talent for running complex, multi-venue producing operations. The new Managing Director will lead the day-to-day administration of an organization producing more than 1,600 performances annually across five stages, with three additional stages and expanded housing and campus operations coming online at the end of 2027 with the creation of the McGillicuddy Arts Plaza.

      In a newly conceived leadership structure that anticipates the retirement of FST’s long serving Producing Artistic Director, the Managing Director will report directly to the Executive Director, a role recently filled by FST’s long-serving Managing Director. The Managing Director will be the staff lead overseeing finance, marketing, development, and the full range of forward-facing customer service areas associated with the company’s self-produced theatre productions, cabaret performances, education, children’s theatre, new play development, improv and comedy series, and restaurant operations.

      As FST expands its physical footprint with the opening of The McGillicuddy Arts Plaza, the Managing Director will ensure that all facilities are well-maintained, staffed appropriately, and activated to their full capacity. Taking the lead from the Executive Director as FST’s visionary leader, the Managing Director will work closely with a new Artistic Director and other senior leaders to execute FST’s mission in a manner that invites audiences into accessible and meaningful live performance experiences. Florida Studio Theatre has engaged Management Consultants for the Arts to lead the search, and interested candidates may apply for this position by visiting this link: https://www.mcaonline.com/searches/managing-director-fst

      FST hopes to make a hiring decision by Spring of 2027, with the selected candidate transitioning into the position sometime before the Fall of 2027. The salary range starts at $160,000 annually and includes a full benefit package. FST is an equal opportunity employer that celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Any offer of employment will be conditional upon satisfactory completion of a background check and reference conversations.

      Florida Studio Theatre was founded in 1973 by artist Jon Spelman as an alternative touring group, reaching out to isolated and underserved audiences in nursing homes, migrant farms, and prisons. When Richard Hopkins was named Producing Artistic Director in 1980, he founded FST’s Mainstage Series with a modest 103 subscribers.

      Today, FST reaches over 45,000 subscribers and an annual audience of more than 225,000 across its diverse programs, making FST the largest subscription theatre in the state of Florida. Now in its 53rd Season, FST is proud of its reach and impact across its five stages and through over 20 professional productions each year. More about Florida Studio Theatre can be found at https://www.floridastudiotheatre.org/

    • Bannanas are serious business

      Good Morning,

      Maurizio Cattelan, the man who taped a banana to a wall and watched it sell for $6.2 million, says his work has always been serious — the trouble is that people stop at the joke (The Guardian). Today’s stories keep making his point: things filed under “decorative” turn out to be structural the moment someone tries to remove them.

      Public television, for instance, is not just programming. Stations are hardwired into FEMA’s alert system, and when Congress defunded them it also cut the infrastructure for evacuation orders and weather warnings in rural counties (The Hollywood Reporter). Nobody planned for the culture budget to be the emergency budget. It was anyway.

      The Bauhaus closed in 1933; it still matters enough that the far-right German party AfD is running against it in Saxony-Anhalt this month (AP). The Trump administration is now threatening to pull artifact loans and grants unless the Smithsonian drops its “ideological agenda” (The Washington Post). Cleveland Orchestra musicians, meanwhile, have authorized a strike over pay, injuries — and a voice in artistic direction (Ideastream).

      And the one time art got taken entirely too seriously: Vancouver police broke into a gallery to rescue a sculpture whose feet were sticking out from behind a counter (Vancouver City News).

      All of our stories below.

    • Maurizio “Banana Taped To The Wall” Cattelan Insists He’s Serious (And He’s Probably Right)

      The art world’s merriest prankster; the guy who duct-taped a banana to a gallery wall, called it “Comedian,” and saw it get eaten, sold for $6.2 million, and then eaten again — he says “My work has always been serious. The problem is people often stop at the joke.” – The Guardian

    PEOPLE

    • Afa Dworkin talks about the key events celebrating the 30th anniversary of The Sphinx Organization

      Afa Dworkin, President & Artistic Director of the The Sphinx Organization, shares the three keystone events of their milestone 30th Anniversary.

    • Artistic Director -Florida Studio Theatre working with Management Consultants for the Arts

      Florida Studio Theatre (FST) is seeking a talented theater professional to lead the planning and execution of the organization’s core programming as Artistic Director. This newly conceived role will be part of a reimagined leadership team as FST’s long-serving Producing Artistic Director transitions into retirement and top leadership of the organization transfers to an Executive Director, a role effectively defined as a chief executive officer leading a team that includes the Artistic Director and an incoming Managing Director.

      The purview of the Artistic Director will be to shape the programming for the plays and musical offerings that annually define FST’s Winter and Summer Mainstage Series (seven productions), Stage III (three productions), Children’s Theatre (four productions), and New Play Development. The Artistic Director will be skilled in creating seasons that respond to and extend FST’s mission, engaging artistic and production talent to create in full alignment with FST’s aesthetic focused in authentic and engaging storytelling that does not rely on outsized production spectacle.

      The Artistic Director will participate in the artistic life of FST through their own artistic practice as a stage director, actor, designer, or other individual artistic practice, but will fully understand that the primary responsibilities of the role are to serve as the overall producer of FST’s principle theatrical offerings. Working closely with FST’s Executive Director, the Artistic Director will balance artistic ambition with responsiveness to audience needs. Florida Studio Theatre has engaged Management Consultants for the Arts to lead the search, and interested candidates may apply for this position by visiting this link: https://www.mcaonline.com/searches/artistic-director-fst

      FST hopes to make a hiring decision by Spring of 2027, with the selected candidate transitioning into the position sometime in the Fall of 2027. The salary range starts at $160,000 annually and includes a full benefit package. FST is an equal opportunity employer that celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Any offer of employment will be conditional upon satisfactory completion of a background check and reference conversations.

      Florida Studio Theatre was founded in 1973 by artist Jon Spelman as an alternative touring group, reaching out to isolated and underserved audiences in nursing homes, migrant farms, and prisons. When Richard Hopkins was named Producing Artistic Director in 1980, he founded FST’s Mainstage Series with a modest 103 subscribers. Today, FST reaches over 45,000 subscribers and an annual audience of more than 225,000 across its diverse programs, making FST the largest subscription theatre in the state of Florida. Now in its 53rd Season, FST is proud of its reach and impact across its five stages and through over 20 professional productions each year. More about Florida Studio Theatre can be found at https://www.floridastudiotheatre.org/

    • Managing Director -Florida Studio Theatre working with Management Consultants for the Arts

      Florida Studio Theatre (FST) invites applications for its Managing Director, a role for individuals with strong talent for running complex, multi-venue producing operations. The new Managing Director will lead the day-to-day administration of an organization producing more than 1,600 performances annually across five stages, with three additional stages and expanded housing and campus operations coming online at the end of 2027 with the creation of the McGillicuddy Arts Plaza.

      In a newly conceived leadership structure that anticipates the retirement of FST’s long serving Producing Artistic Director, the Managing Director will report directly to the Executive Director, a role recently filled by FST’s long-serving Managing Director. The Managing Director will be the staff lead overseeing finance, marketing, development, and the full range of forward-facing customer service areas associated with the company’s self-produced theatre productions, cabaret performances, education, children’s theatre, new play development, improv and comedy series, and restaurant operations.

      As FST expands its physical footprint with the opening of The McGillicuddy Arts Plaza, the Managing Director will ensure that all facilities are well-maintained, staffed appropriately, and activated to their full capacity. Taking the lead from the Executive Director as FST’s visionary leader, the Managing Director will work closely with a new Artistic Director and other senior leaders to execute FST’s mission in a manner that invites audiences into accessible and meaningful live performance experiences. Florida Studio Theatre has engaged Management Consultants for the Arts to lead the search, and interested candidates may apply for this position by visiting this link: https://www.mcaonline.com/searches/managing-director-fst

      FST hopes to make a hiring decision by Spring of 2027, with the selected candidate transitioning into the position sometime before the Fall of 2027. The salary range starts at $160,000 annually and includes a full benefit package. FST is an equal opportunity employer that celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Any offer of employment will be conditional upon satisfactory completion of a background check and reference conversations.

      Florida Studio Theatre was founded in 1973 by artist Jon Spelman as an alternative touring group, reaching out to isolated and underserved audiences in nursing homes, migrant farms, and prisons. When Richard Hopkins was named Producing Artistic Director in 1980, he founded FST’s Mainstage Series with a modest 103 subscribers.

      Today, FST reaches over 45,000 subscribers and an annual audience of more than 225,000 across its diverse programs, making FST the largest subscription theatre in the state of Florida. Now in its 53rd Season, FST is proud of its reach and impact across its five stages and through over 20 professional productions each year. More about Florida Studio Theatre can be found at https://www.floridastudiotheatre.org/

    • Bannanas are serious business

      Good Morning,

      Maurizio Cattelan, the man who taped a banana to a wall and watched it sell for $6.2 million, says his work has always been serious — the trouble is that people stop at the joke (The Guardian). Today’s stories keep making his point: things filed under “decorative” turn out to be structural the moment someone tries to remove them.

      Public television, for instance, is not just programming. Stations are hardwired into FEMA’s alert system, and when Congress defunded them it also cut the infrastructure for evacuation orders and weather warnings in rural counties (The Hollywood Reporter). Nobody planned for the culture budget to be the emergency budget. It was anyway.

      The Bauhaus closed in 1933; it still matters enough that the far-right German party AfD is running against it in Saxony-Anhalt this month (AP). The Trump administration is now threatening to pull artifact loans and grants unless the Smithsonian drops its “ideological agenda” (The Washington Post). Cleveland Orchestra musicians, meanwhile, have authorized a strike over pay, injuries — and a voice in artistic direction (Ideastream).

      And the one time art got taken entirely too seriously: Vancouver police broke into a gallery to rescue a sculpture whose feet were sticking out from behind a counter (Vancouver City News).

      All of our stories below.

    • Maurizio “Banana Taped To The Wall” Cattelan Insists He’s Serious (And He’s Probably Right)

      The art world’s merriest prankster; the guy who duct-taped a banana to a gallery wall, called it “Comedian,” and saw it get eaten, sold for $6.2 million, and then eaten again — he says “My work has always been serious. The problem is people often stop at the joke.” – The Guardian

    THEATRE

      VISUAL

      • Have We Wrecked Childhood?

        This doesn’t sound like a very nice life, does it? It’s an existence in which you’re micromanaged and surveilled, given almost no freedom or privacy, and put under constant pressure while, at the same time, being seen as incompetent and lazy.  – The New Yorker

      • Twilight Of The Oxford Dons

        These same dons disdained Britain’s provincial universities—known pejoratively as Redbrick—as well as academics in the U.S., whom they scorned for going about their business with “woefully unnecessary seriousness.” A don, by contrast, was effortlessly successful. – The Wall Street Journal

      • There’s A Difference Between Celebrating Innovation and Trying To Understand It

        Journalist Nicholas Carr called the online world “the shallows” for the way it erodes concentration. But the paradox is that its depthlessness arrives as immersion. – The Walrus

      • She Who Controls The Logistics…

        From the battlefields of Europe to middle-class households and sex trafficking, women’s logistics has one thing in common: performing organisational and supply work for men who have capital, status and control. – Psyche

      • Why Letting AI Do Our Writing Is A Bad Idea

        The act of writing is an act of thinking, and to automate our paragraphs is to populate our screens with words without filling our minds with the ideas necessary to conceive of them. – Derek Thompson

      WORDS