AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- Standup Comedian Asks Mother With Fussy Baby To Leave Venue, Brouhaha Breaks Out
“Comedian Arj Barker’s interaction with a mother who brought a seven-month-old baby to his comedy show in Melbourne on Saturday night has sparked outrage, sympathy and debate about the woman’s decision to bring her infant to the gig and his decision to ask her to leave.” – The Guardian
- No-Name Philadelphia Pops Orchestra Now Wants The Name
The self-organized group of musicians playing under the No Name Pops banner is negotiating with the family of late pianist and conductor Peter Nero to acquire the Philly Pops name. – Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
- Bringing Professional Ballet To Green Bay, Wisconsin
Pacific Northwest Ballet principals Kyle Davis and Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan had long wanted to bring fully professional dance to Davis’s hometown. After several years of preparation and (of course) delay because of the pandemic, the first Green Bay Ballet Festival is now underway. – Pointe Magazine
- How America Got Hooked On Credit Card Culture
By the late 1960s, bankers increasingly saw credit cards, which combined innovative information technology with access to affluent consumer markets, as the road to the future – as the key to innovating around the restrictive financial rules. – Aeon
- Opera Philadelphia Picks A New General Director
Anthony Roth Costanzo, 41, has a history with Philadelphia going back almost 30 years. His first appearance at the Academy of Music was in 1996 at the tender age of 14, performing the Shepherd Boy in Puccini’s “Tosca,” in a traveling production created by Luciano Pavarotti. – WHYY
ISSUES
- There Is “No Evidence” That Our Egon Schiele Was Looted By Nazis, Says Art Institute Of Chicago
“The Art Institute of Chicago contends that decades of investigation and litigation have concluded that a watercolor it now holds was never stolen by the Nazis from a cabaret performer who later died in a concentration camp — but rather was legally sold by the man’s heirs.” – Chicago Sun-Times
- The Pompidou Center’s Business Model Is “Unstable,” Find Auditors
“An audit report conducted by France’s Court of Auditors revealed that the Centre Pompidou‘s economic model is unsustainable. The museum faces financial strain from an ongoing renovation project of its primary institution in Paris and the creation of a new branch in Massy, France.” – ARTnews
- Lost Klimt Painting Sells For $32M
It was commissioned by a family of Jewish industrialists in 1917, a year before Klimt’s death. However, there are many unanswered questions about the painting and debates about who the woman in the portrait is, as well as what happened to the painting during the Nazi era. – BBC
- Four Finalists For This Year’s Turner Prize
The Turner Prize carries a £25,000 purse; shortlisted artists will be awarded £10,000. The Turner Prize exhibition at Tate Britain opens on September 25 and runs through 16 February, 2025. – ARTnews
- Renzo Piano Reveals His Design For Boca Raton’s Planned Arts Center
“The building’s programming will take place across three stories, with one section of the building dedicated to a large multi-purpose event and performance space that will ‘merge seamlessly’ with an outdoor piazza. The remaining space will contain a public lobby, working spaces, creator residences, a startup incubator, food and social areas.” – Dezeen
MEDIA
- How America Got Hooked On Credit Card Culture
By the late 1960s, bankers increasingly saw credit cards, which combined innovative information technology with access to affluent consumer markets, as the road to the future – as the key to innovating around the restrictive financial rules. – Aeon
- Venice’s Day-Tripper Entry Fee Starts Today — And Some Venetians Are Protesting
The €5 charge is meant to discourage overcrowding and pay for extra upkeep costs. Yet, says one activist, “You can’t impose an entrance fee to a city; all they’re doing is transforming it into a theme park. This is a bad image for Venice … I mean, are we joking?” – The Guardian
- Venice’s New Entry Fee For Day-Trippers — An Explainer
Why it was introduced, on what dates will it be charged, who does and doesn’t have to pay, where does and doesn’t the fee apply, how it will be implemented, how to buy a ticket, and what will happen to you if you’re caught sneaking in without paying. – The Guardian
- Why Disney Is Spending $60 Billion On Theme Park Expansion
Why the massive investment? At a time when Disney faces revenue challenges due to cord cutting, streaming wars and a slower film box office, its theme parks are a bright — and reliable — spot for its business. – Los Angeles Times
- Embattled Director Of Nashville’s Arts Agency Placed On Administrative Leave
Daniel Singh, executive director of Metro Arts Commission, has been on medical leave for two months, claiming that racism he faces has affected his health. While he has some support in Nashville’s arts community, Metro Arts staff evidently find him a very ineffective leader, and commissioners appear to agree. – WPLN (Nashville)
MUSIC
- How Dallas Turned Into A Literary Hot Spot
“Today Dallas is home to one of the most dynamic, international literary scenes in the country, inspired in many ways by the infectious, D.I.Y. energy of Deep Vellum, now one of the country’s largest publishers of translated literature, and (independent bookstore) Wild Detectives.” – The New York Times
- As Florida And Texas Ban Books From Schools And Libraries, Minnesota And Maryland Are Banning Book Bans
“Minnesota is one of several Democratic-leaning states where lawmakers are now pursuing bans on book bans. The Washington and Maryland legislatures have passed them this year; Illinois did so last year. It was a major flashpoint of Oregon’s short session, where legislation passed the Senate but died without a House vote.” – AP
- Denver Art Museum Is Refusing To Return Alaskan Native Artifacts To Alaskan Natives
“Delegates from the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska sought the return of five items, including a 170-year-old clan house partition. … One Tlingit and Haida cultural resource officer (said) that the Denver Art Museum was ‘probably the worst museum’ they had dealt with.” – Alaska Public Media
- On The Influence Of Small Magazines And Big Ideas
Another meaning of the word “magazine” is a store of munitions. My own addition to the arsenal of the free press, Standpoint, was founded in 2008. I was editor for just over a decade, during which we made the magazine essential reading across the political and cultural spectrum. – The Critic
- Publishers Have Found An Interesting Way To Fight Children’s Book Bans
Publishers, writers, and progressive organizations across the children’s book industry aren’t letting the book bans hold them back. Instead, they’re turning the bans into a rallying cry to publish even more diverse characters and points of view. – Fast Company
PEOPLE
- Standup Comedian Asks Mother With Fussy Baby To Leave Venue, Brouhaha Breaks Out
“Comedian Arj Barker’s interaction with a mother who brought a seven-month-old baby to his comedy show in Melbourne on Saturday night has sparked outrage, sympathy and debate about the woman’s decision to bring her infant to the gig and his decision to ask her to leave.” – The Guardian
- No-Name Philadelphia Pops Orchestra Now Wants The Name
The self-organized group of musicians playing under the No Name Pops banner is negotiating with the family of late pianist and conductor Peter Nero to acquire the Philly Pops name. – Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
- Bringing Professional Ballet To Green Bay, Wisconsin
Pacific Northwest Ballet principals Kyle Davis and Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan had long wanted to bring fully professional dance to Davis’s hometown. After several years of preparation and (of course) delay because of the pandemic, the first Green Bay Ballet Festival is now underway. – Pointe Magazine
- How America Got Hooked On Credit Card Culture
By the late 1960s, bankers increasingly saw credit cards, which combined innovative information technology with access to affluent consumer markets, as the road to the future – as the key to innovating around the restrictive financial rules. – Aeon
- Opera Philadelphia Picks A New General Director
Anthony Roth Costanzo, 41, has a history with Philadelphia going back almost 30 years. His first appearance at the Academy of Music was in 1996 at the tender age of 14, performing the Shepherd Boy in Puccini’s “Tosca,” in a traveling production created by Luciano Pavarotti. – WHYY
PEOPLE
- Standup Comedian Asks Mother With Fussy Baby To Leave Venue, Brouhaha Breaks Out
“Comedian Arj Barker’s interaction with a mother who brought a seven-month-old baby to his comedy show in Melbourne on Saturday night has sparked outrage, sympathy and debate about the woman’s decision to bring her infant to the gig and his decision to ask her to leave.” – The Guardian
- No-Name Philadelphia Pops Orchestra Now Wants The Name
The self-organized group of musicians playing under the No Name Pops banner is negotiating with the family of late pianist and conductor Peter Nero to acquire the Philly Pops name. – Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
- Bringing Professional Ballet To Green Bay, Wisconsin
Pacific Northwest Ballet principals Kyle Davis and Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan had long wanted to bring fully professional dance to Davis’s hometown. After several years of preparation and (of course) delay because of the pandemic, the first Green Bay Ballet Festival is now underway. – Pointe Magazine
- How America Got Hooked On Credit Card Culture
By the late 1960s, bankers increasingly saw credit cards, which combined innovative information technology with access to affluent consumer markets, as the road to the future – as the key to innovating around the restrictive financial rules. – Aeon
- Opera Philadelphia Picks A New General Director
Anthony Roth Costanzo, 41, has a history with Philadelphia going back almost 30 years. His first appearance at the Academy of Music was in 1996 at the tender age of 14, performing the Shepherd Boy in Puccini’s “Tosca,” in a traveling production created by Luciano Pavarotti. – WHYY
THEATRE
VISUAL
- How AI Will Be (Is) Wrecking The Internet
LLMs have begun to disrupt the traditional relationship between writer and reader. Type how to fix broken headlight into a search engine, and it returns a list of links to websites and videos that explain the process. Ask an LLM the same thing and it will just tell you how to do it. – The Atlantic
- Why Did Oxford University Shutter Its Future Of Humanity Institute?
Nick Bostrom – who popularized the theory that humanity may be living in a simulation, one that Musk often repeats – spoke about the closure of the institute in a lengthy final report published on its website this week. – The Guardian
- Why Many Of Us Are Going Back To Pre-Digital Analog Tools
From vinyl records to film cameras, all manner of apparently written-off technologies have been making a comeback, including modular synthesizers – one of the earliest types of this now-ubiquitous electronic instrument. – The Conversation
- The Toll That Questioning Someone’s Authority Takes
Growing research shows regular exposure to even relatively subtle prejudice and discrimination degrades physical and mental health, leading to outcomes like high blood pressure, chronic stress and depression.” – Phys
- At The Los Angeles Times Book Prizes, Winners Support Ousted USC Valedictorian
“Tananarive Due, who won … for her novel The Reformatory, used her speech to add: ‘As we face the horrors in our cities, in Gaza and elsewhere, and witness true-life racism, homophobia, Islamophobia and antisemitism, let us honor the courage of young people.’” – Los Angeles Times