ArtsJournal Classic

AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only

DANCE

    IDEAS

    • Good Morning

      The UK government has reversed course on its plan to let AI companies train on copyrighted creative work without permission (The Times). After a campaign led by Elton John and Paul McCartney, ministers backed down — a rare, decisive win for creators trying to hold onto what they make.

      But questions about who controls creative work are everywhere. The Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Day Florence Price performance is now embroiled in a “forgery” accusation: the piece attributed to America’s first Black female symphonist was so freely re-orchestrated that the leading scholar of her work refuses to call it hers (The Guardian). In Adelaide, newly obtained board minutes show the state premier personally intervened to disinvite a Palestinian-Australian author from Writers’ Week — and the fallout was, by the board’s own account, a “public relations disaster” (Crikey). Meanwhile, San Francisco’s Contemporary Jewish Museum — which laid off 80% of its staff in 2024 — is now selling its 63,000-square-foot building, with its future unresolved (San Francisco Chronicle).

      On a lighter note: Val Kilmer has been posthumously cast in a film via AI, in a role he’d agreed to before his health prevented it (CBC). Ownership of a different kind.

      All of our stories below.

    • What Ireland’s Basic Artist Income Experiment tells us about a new Arts Economy
      Ireland demonstrated something: economic insecurity doesn’t just force workers out, it diminishes the overall creative economy. That matters enormously right now, because we are entering a period when a lot of people across a lot of industries are about to lose their job security.
    • When Daniel Radcliffe Married A New York Theater Critic Onstage

      Sara Holdren of New York magazine recounts how she went to review Every Brilliant Thing on Broadway and wound up as the star’s love interest. – New York Magazine (MSN)

    • An AI Version Of Val Kilmer Is Cast In A New Movie

      First Line Films announced Wednesday that Kilmer has posthumously joined the cast of a film titled As Deep as the Grave. The producers said that, before his death, Kilmer had signed on to perform in the movie but was unable to because of his health. – CBC

    • On The Popularity Of “Heated Rivalry” In Russia

      “On Kinopoisk, Russia’s largest film-and-TV database and ratings site, it sits at 8.3/10 with more than 60,000 ratings. … As a scholar of Russian culture and someone who grew up there, I keep wondering why Heated Rivalry hits with such force in Russia.” – Los Angeles Review of Books

    ISSUES

    MEDIA

    MUSIC

    PEOPLE

    • Good Morning

      The UK government has reversed course on its plan to let AI companies train on copyrighted creative work without permission (The Times). After a campaign led by Elton John and Paul McCartney, ministers backed down — a rare, decisive win for creators trying to hold onto what they make.

      But questions about who controls creative work are everywhere. The Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Day Florence Price performance is now embroiled in a “forgery” accusation: the piece attributed to America’s first Black female symphonist was so freely re-orchestrated that the leading scholar of her work refuses to call it hers (The Guardian). In Adelaide, newly obtained board minutes show the state premier personally intervened to disinvite a Palestinian-Australian author from Writers’ Week — and the fallout was, by the board’s own account, a “public relations disaster” (Crikey). Meanwhile, San Francisco’s Contemporary Jewish Museum — which laid off 80% of its staff in 2024 — is now selling its 63,000-square-foot building, with its future unresolved (San Francisco Chronicle).

      On a lighter note: Val Kilmer has been posthumously cast in a film via AI, in a role he’d agreed to before his health prevented it (CBC). Ownership of a different kind.

      All of our stories below.

    • What Ireland’s Basic Artist Income Experiment tells us about a new Arts Economy
      Ireland demonstrated something: economic insecurity doesn’t just force workers out, it diminishes the overall creative economy. That matters enormously right now, because we are entering a period when a lot of people across a lot of industries are about to lose their job security.
    • When Daniel Radcliffe Married A New York Theater Critic Onstage

      Sara Holdren of New York magazine recounts how she went to review Every Brilliant Thing on Broadway and wound up as the star’s love interest. – New York Magazine (MSN)

    • An AI Version Of Val Kilmer Is Cast In A New Movie

      First Line Films announced Wednesday that Kilmer has posthumously joined the cast of a film titled As Deep as the Grave. The producers said that, before his death, Kilmer had signed on to perform in the movie but was unable to because of his health. – CBC

    • On The Popularity Of “Heated Rivalry” In Russia

      “On Kinopoisk, Russia’s largest film-and-TV database and ratings site, it sits at 8.3/10 with more than 60,000 ratings. … As a scholar of Russian culture and someone who grew up there, I keep wondering why Heated Rivalry hits with such force in Russia.” – Los Angeles Review of Books

    PEOPLE

    • Good Morning

      The UK government has reversed course on its plan to let AI companies train on copyrighted creative work without permission (The Times). After a campaign led by Elton John and Paul McCartney, ministers backed down — a rare, decisive win for creators trying to hold onto what they make.

      But questions about who controls creative work are everywhere. The Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Day Florence Price performance is now embroiled in a “forgery” accusation: the piece attributed to America’s first Black female symphonist was so freely re-orchestrated that the leading scholar of her work refuses to call it hers (The Guardian). In Adelaide, newly obtained board minutes show the state premier personally intervened to disinvite a Palestinian-Australian author from Writers’ Week — and the fallout was, by the board’s own account, a “public relations disaster” (Crikey). Meanwhile, San Francisco’s Contemporary Jewish Museum — which laid off 80% of its staff in 2024 — is now selling its 63,000-square-foot building, with its future unresolved (San Francisco Chronicle).

      On a lighter note: Val Kilmer has been posthumously cast in a film via AI, in a role he’d agreed to before his health prevented it (CBC). Ownership of a different kind.

      All of our stories below.

    • What Ireland’s Basic Artist Income Experiment tells us about a new Arts Economy
      Ireland demonstrated something: economic insecurity doesn’t just force workers out, it diminishes the overall creative economy. That matters enormously right now, because we are entering a period when a lot of people across a lot of industries are about to lose their job security.
    • When Daniel Radcliffe Married A New York Theater Critic Onstage

      Sara Holdren of New York magazine recounts how she went to review Every Brilliant Thing on Broadway and wound up as the star’s love interest. – New York Magazine (MSN)

    • An AI Version Of Val Kilmer Is Cast In A New Movie

      First Line Films announced Wednesday that Kilmer has posthumously joined the cast of a film titled As Deep as the Grave. The producers said that, before his death, Kilmer had signed on to perform in the movie but was unable to because of his health. – CBC

    • On The Popularity Of “Heated Rivalry” In Russia

      “On Kinopoisk, Russia’s largest film-and-TV database and ratings site, it sits at 8.3/10 with more than 60,000 ratings. … As a scholar of Russian culture and someone who grew up there, I keep wondering why Heated Rivalry hits with such force in Russia.” – Los Angeles Review of Books

    THEATRE

      VISUAL

      • Can Wisdom Be Taught?

        The study of wisdom dates to antiquity, but only in the past 40 years have researchers begun to apply the scientific method to probe what wisdom is and how it develops. – Knowable

      • Reconsidering Dopamine’s Effects On The Brain

        Where once there was a simple model that explained how dopamine works in the brain, now there are challenges that seek to amend the theory — or even to overturn it. – Nature

      • What Is Philosophy In The Age Of AI?

        Understanding language as something defined by public use—rather than private intention—helps us grasp how simply scraping text from around the web and finding patterns in the way words fit together can form the basis for passably imitating a human. – Prospect

      • Scholars See Serious Threat Of AI In The Humanities

        In the “humanities” – most scholars see AI as a unique threat, one that extends far beyond cheating on homework and casts doubt on the future of higher education itself in a fast-approaching machine-dominated future. – The Guardian

      • How Do We Calibrate The Use Of AI In Education?

        So what does “getting learning right” look like in the age of generative AI? It involves a lot of experimentation and leaning in with students as a co-learner when I don’t have all of the answers, while remaining staunchly committed to sharing my expertise in writing, critical thinking and learning.  – The Conversation

      WORDS