AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- New Chief Conductor At BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Antony Hermus, a 53-year-old Dutchman who is just finishing his tenure as chief conductor of the Belgian National Orchestra, will succeed Ryan Wigglesworth at the Glasgow-based BBC SSO as of the 2027-28 season. – The Scotsman
- Google Invests $75 Million In A24 Studios To Develop AI Filmmaking Tools
“Google’s DeepMind AI unit and A24 are aiming to create new tools for movie production and distribution. … Though Alphabet unit Google is a major player in online entertainment through YouTube, the deal marks the first time it has taken a stake in a studio.” – The Wall Street Journal (MSN)
- Lonnie Bunch Works To Keep Smithsonian Independent And Functional Amid Trumpist Turmoil
“Bunch has been cast by many of his admirers as something of a resistance figure — one of the only high-profile leaders standing up to Trump by single-handedly preventing the president from rewriting American history itself.” – The Atlantic
- Stolen Picasso Discovered During Drug Trafficking Raid Near Paris
“Officers in the Brigade des Stupéfiants discovered the artwork on 15 June while carrying out a routine search of a house owned by the aunt of a suspected drug dealer. … The artwork has not been publicly named by France’s Alliance Police Nationale, who said it is worth ‘tens of millions’ of euros.” – The Independent (UK)
- Germany And The Netherlands Will Return 2,000 Artifacts To Ghana
The repatriation was announced by Ghana’s foreign minister during a conference in Accra, but no information on the types of artifacts or the timeline for their return was released. – ARTnews
ISSUES
- Stolen Picasso Discovered During Drug Trafficking Raid Near Paris
“Officers in the Brigade des Stupéfiants discovered the artwork on 15 June while carrying out a routine search of a house owned by the aunt of a suspected drug dealer. … The artwork has not been publicly named by France’s Alliance Police Nationale, who said it is worth ‘tens of millions’ of euros.” – The Independent (UK)
- Germany And The Netherlands Will Return 2,000 Artifacts To Ghana
The repatriation was announced by Ghana’s foreign minister during a conference in Accra, but no information on the types of artifacts or the timeline for their return was released. – ARTnews
- Is The First AI Museum Really Art?
The sensory splash, co-founded by artists Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkılıç, showcases four more reality-bending galleries to explore — like the classic “Alice in Wonderland” meets “Avatar” or the trippy, new horror film “Backrooms.” – New York Post
- How Billionaires Visit Museums
As exhibitions become more spectacular, donors expect engagement that goes beyond acknowledgment plaques. Exclusive access has therefore evolved into a sophisticated currency and is increasingly a luxury experience in its own right. – The Times
- Blockbusters Are Dead? Tell That To Frida Kahlo Fans!
Tate was unprepared for the scale of demand. The gallery has said more than 41,000 tickets have already been sold for Frida: The Making of an Icon, which opens on 25 June, making it the highest pre-selling exhibition in Tate’s history, surpassing the previous record of 32,000 advance sales for David Hockney in 2017. – The Guardian
MEDIA
- Lonnie Bunch Works To Keep Smithsonian Independent And Functional Amid Trumpist Turmoil
“Bunch has been cast by many of his admirers as something of a resistance figure — one of the only high-profile leaders standing up to Trump by single-handedly preventing the president from rewriting American history itself.” – The Atlantic
- Kennedy Center Says It Isn’t Required To Book Any Shows
“The Court’s order did not affirmatively require the Board to reschedule programming that had previously been cancelled or to seek new programming,” the lawyers wrote in the filing. – AP News
- With The Roku Sale To Fox, Not To Mention The Paramount Deal, Right-Wing Interests Dominate Streaming
“The scale of this quiet coup is staggering. … In practical terms, Roku controls the television home screen.” – Salon
- Court Says Trump Administration May Alter Slavery Exhibit At George Washngton’s Philadelphia House (And Philadelphia May Not)
When the Trump administration removed from the site panels telling the history of the enslaved people who lived with the Washingtons there, the city of Philadelphia sued. A lower-court federal judge ordered the panels restored; a three-judge panel of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed that order. – The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
- David Hockney Was Working Class. Artists From The Working Class Have A Much More Difficult Time Today
Through policies and schemes, previously unheard-of opportunities for people of his background began to open up, without which he would not have become the success he is considered today. The situation today for aspiring artists from a similar background is much starker. – The Conversation
MUSIC
- Who Is America’s Great Poet?
Do we have a great poet who captures the American spirit, the American story, the American identity? We asked a posse of authors and poets to send us their votes. – Plough
- Granta Says It Will Stop Publishing Prize Winners Over AI Concerns
“For the sake of our own editorial integrity, the Granta Trust board has now taken the decision that we will no longer engage in external publishing partnerships.” – The Guardian
- Why Are Romance Audiobooks Surging In Popularity?
“Romance [is] increasingly shifting from page to ear. This boom — fuelled by pandemic-era isolation and women with sexual agency wanting to multi-task while consuming books that feature guilt-free escapism — is pushing the publishing industry to pursue audio-first strategies.” – CBC
- Judy Blume, She Says, Has Written Enough
The author says, “You’re living with [your characters] for months, sometimes years. And you’re locked up in a little room all day with them. That’s why 50 years is enough. I was ready to come out into the world. Now, she owns and runs a bookstore. – NPR
- Burned By AI, Granta Will No Longer Publish External Award Winning Short Stories
Ouf. “For the sake of our own editorial integrity, the Granta Trust board has now taken the decision that we will no longer engage in external publishing partnerships. We … wish our former partner, the Commonwealth Foundation, all the best in its work.” – The Guardian (UK)
PEOPLE
- New Chief Conductor At BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Antony Hermus, a 53-year-old Dutchman who is just finishing his tenure as chief conductor of the Belgian National Orchestra, will succeed Ryan Wigglesworth at the Glasgow-based BBC SSO as of the 2027-28 season. – The Scotsman
- Google Invests $75 Million In A24 Studios To Develop AI Filmmaking Tools
“Google’s DeepMind AI unit and A24 are aiming to create new tools for movie production and distribution. … Though Alphabet unit Google is a major player in online entertainment through YouTube, the deal marks the first time it has taken a stake in a studio.” – The Wall Street Journal (MSN)
- Lonnie Bunch Works To Keep Smithsonian Independent And Functional Amid Trumpist Turmoil
“Bunch has been cast by many of his admirers as something of a resistance figure — one of the only high-profile leaders standing up to Trump by single-handedly preventing the president from rewriting American history itself.” – The Atlantic
- Stolen Picasso Discovered During Drug Trafficking Raid Near Paris
“Officers in the Brigade des Stupéfiants discovered the artwork on 15 June while carrying out a routine search of a house owned by the aunt of a suspected drug dealer. … The artwork has not been publicly named by France’s Alliance Police Nationale, who said it is worth ‘tens of millions’ of euros.” – The Independent (UK)
- Germany And The Netherlands Will Return 2,000 Artifacts To Ghana
The repatriation was announced by Ghana’s foreign minister during a conference in Accra, but no information on the types of artifacts or the timeline for their return was released. – ARTnews
PEOPLE
- New Chief Conductor At BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Antony Hermus, a 53-year-old Dutchman who is just finishing his tenure as chief conductor of the Belgian National Orchestra, will succeed Ryan Wigglesworth at the Glasgow-based BBC SSO as of the 2027-28 season. – The Scotsman
- Google Invests $75 Million In A24 Studios To Develop AI Filmmaking Tools
“Google’s DeepMind AI unit and A24 are aiming to create new tools for movie production and distribution. … Though Alphabet unit Google is a major player in online entertainment through YouTube, the deal marks the first time it has taken a stake in a studio.” – The Wall Street Journal (MSN)
- Lonnie Bunch Works To Keep Smithsonian Independent And Functional Amid Trumpist Turmoil
“Bunch has been cast by many of his admirers as something of a resistance figure — one of the only high-profile leaders standing up to Trump by single-handedly preventing the president from rewriting American history itself.” – The Atlantic
- Stolen Picasso Discovered During Drug Trafficking Raid Near Paris
“Officers in the Brigade des Stupéfiants discovered the artwork on 15 June while carrying out a routine search of a house owned by the aunt of a suspected drug dealer. … The artwork has not been publicly named by France’s Alliance Police Nationale, who said it is worth ‘tens of millions’ of euros.” – The Independent (UK)
- Germany And The Netherlands Will Return 2,000 Artifacts To Ghana
The repatriation was announced by Ghana’s foreign minister during a conference in Accra, but no information on the types of artifacts or the timeline for their return was released. – ARTnews
THEATRE
VISUAL
- The Philosophers Attempting To Explain This Baffling Time
That must have been revelatory at a time when most people seemed to believe that science was infallible. But expertise has been downgraded—and more people are getting their information from podcasters and influencers. Who could help us understand this shift? – The Atlantic
- A Monolith Built To Record The End Of Planet Earth
“The purpose of the device is to provide an unbiased account of the events that lead to the demise of the planet, hold accountability for future generations, and inspire urgent action,” the Earth’s Black Box website states. “How the story ends is completely up to us.” – Gizmodo
- Smart Phones Enable An Awful Lot Of Fact-Checking – Sometimes To Our Detriment
“There is something thrilling about a document dump, and picking through boxes and boxes of government files. We have often associated these habits with conspiracy theorists, … but in the modern era of digitized records, anyone can jump down a rabbit hole anywhere, anytime, even on their phone.” – The Atlantic
- Have Movies Doomed Us All?
Seriously: Movies have “proved to be a tool of dictators, an instrument of propaganda and the weapon of ruthless, unaccountable corporate interests.” – The New York Times
- Have Our Devices Dulled Our Sensory Experiences?
“The way we consume such content, by swiping idly on a glass screen, stands in stark contrast with the content of the content, the skillful manipulation of resolutely tangible material. It’s ironic, and a bit dystopian, this disjuncture, but I’m entranced by the videos anyway.” – The New Yorker
