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- How Book Prizes Really Work
In every prize I’ve ever judged or heard firsthand reports of, everything else is up to the judges and their idiosyncrasies. There’s no input from anyone else. The heads of these organizations often learn the winner at the same moment the rest of the world does. – Rebecca Makkai
- Why The Pittsburgh Symphony’s Budget Jumped By $7M
Special concerts, especially the live-with-film concerts, are now programmed further in advance and are more predictable in terms of their revenue. This has led the orchestra to include these figures in its overall budget, which raises the figure to $42 million and is more accurate. – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
- The Wrong Way To Criticize The Humanities
This poorly argued case that it may be time to restrain the principles of academic freedom and faculty autonomy is not helping the situation. – Boston Review
- Paris Has Become Europe’s Nexus For Black Culture
“Paris draws together communities from west, central and north Africa, as well as the Caribbean, and its density creates the conditions for encounters that aren’t as easy to manufacture elsewhere. What distinguishes Paris from other diaspora hubs … is the granularity of African identity it sustains.” – The Guardian
- Canadian Art Forger Used His Children In Scheme
Labeled Canada’s largest art fraud ever by investigators, the scheme has been the subject of a prolonged court battle that culminated last year in the conviction of Jeffrey Cowan, one of eight people arrested in 2023. He has been accused of taking part in an effort to sell 1,400 faked Morrisseau works. – ARTnews
- How A Self-Published Book Became A Mega Bestseller
Theo of Golden is one of the bestselling books currently making all the lists right now, but its beginnings are a little unorthodox. It was written by a 70-year-old former judge who first went the self-publishing route before having his book distributed by a top-five publisher. – Book Riot
- How To Open Up Elite Universities?
It seems possible to push wealthy colleges like Princeton to enroll more working- and middle-class students. They surely need that push, because our most prestigious universities enroll a larger share of rich students now than they did in the 1980s. – The New York Times
- Sydney’s Second-Largest Nonprofit Theatre Loses Its Set-Building Workshop To Fire
The blaze broke out at the Belvoir St Theatre’s scenery shop on Monday, June 22 and burned well into the next day; at one point 80 firefighters were battling the flames. No one was injured, but tools, materials, and stored set elements were lost and the building is seriously damaged. – Limelight (Australia)
- LA Sound Studios See Sharp Decline In Business
L.A. soundstages surveyed by permitting office FilmLA were 93 percent occupied as of 2019. That number has fallen to 62 percent as of last year. With that turn, more complexes have retooled themselves as creator campuses. – The Hollywood Reporter
- Conservative Groups Pressure FCC To Punish ABC
Conservative groups are preparing to urge the Federal Communications Commission to revoke Disney’s broadcast television licenses, two representatives told POLITICO — a step that would build on agency Chair Brendan Carr’s already unprecedented efforts to punish President Donald Trump’s perceived critics in the media. – Politico
- A New Kennedy Center Mystery
For weeks, a tarp obscuring the facade of the John F. Kennedy Center has baffled observers, prompting speculation about the Washington, D.C., arts complex following the court-ordered removal of the president’s name. But recent court filings have raised a new mystery beyond the canvas. – The Atlantic
- Mezzo Mignon Dunn, For Decades A Met Opera Stalwart, Has Died At 98
“Dunn appeared in more than 650 performances at the Metropolitan Opera, where she became one of the company’s leading dramatic mezzos. Although she portrayed a wide range of roles, she was most closely associated with Bizet’s Carmen, which she (sang) more than 400 times in opera houses around the world.” – Moto Perpetuo
- Short Story Critics Thought Was Written By AI Wins Overall Commonwealth Prize
“Jamir Nazir’s story ‘The Serpent in the Grove’ went viral after being named as a regional winner in mid-May, with critics on X and Bluesky claiming it showed ‘obvious markers’ of AI use. … Nazir will receive an additional £2,500 on top of the £2,500 he won for being named the Caribbean winner last month.” – The Guardian
- International Booker Prize Doubles Its Award Money And Changes Its Name
“The prize, which honors translated fiction and this year celebrates its 10th anniversary, will be renamed the Bukhman International Booker Prize,” with the top award raised from £50,000 to £100,000 (roughly $66,000 to $132,000), split equally between the winning author and translator. – Publishers Weekly
- Paris Opera’s Musicians Form Self-Governing Concert Orchestra
The independent ensemble, called Philopéra, will be a collective run by the members, along the lines of the Vienna Philharmonic (all members of the Vienna State Opera orchestra) and the Filarmonica della Scala. Philopéra’s first concert will be at the Palais Garnier on September 6, with Daniel Harding conducting. – Moto Perpetuo
- Nine-Hour Online Queues For Bayeux Tapestry Tickets At British Museum
“When tickets went on sale for the first time on Wednesday morning, … there were reports of 40,000 people queueing by mid-morning, with that figure ballooning to almost 80,000 by mid-afternoon.” – The Guardian
- Former Facebook Exec Sues Meta For Trying To Suppress Her Memoir
Sarah Wynn-Williams, who was director of global public policy at Facebook from 2011 until her firing in 2017, argues in her suit that the non-disparagement clause in her severance agreement and the arbitration order barring her from promoting her book, Careless People, are invalid. – AP
- Philadelphia Orchestra Appoints New Assistant Conductor: Sara Aldana
A native of Colombia and a student of Marin Alsop, the Philadelphia Orchestra’s principal guest conductor, Aldana was most recently cover conductor at the Detroit Symphony. – Moto Perpetuo
- Jonas Kaufmann vs. the Orchestra of St. Luke’s – Take Two: Mahler Steinbach FestivalMahler’s composing hut on the Attersee
One of my more popular blogs – it still gets lots of hits
- When Ice Cream Beats the Vermeers
Good Morning,
The Museum of Ice Cream and its cousin the Museum of Balloons are printing money while traditional museums count their deficits (The New York Times). The lesson isn’t that audiences got dumber, it’s that they’ll pay handsomely for an experience they can photograph, and a Rothko isn’t sexy enough for TikTok. Ah, the Selfie Generation.
Traditional institutions are suffering for it. DePaul shut down its art museum’s daily operations but kept the collection on campus, removing art from the public discourse (WBEZ). In Australia, art prizes have lately become pay-to-play, charging artists to enter the very contests meant to discover them (ArtsHub) and the expenses add up fast.
Elsewhere, the Trump administration erased mentions of slavery from two more historic sites in Philadelphia (MSN). So is our culture’s problem fake news or incorrect facts? A smart essay argues our crisis isn’t a facts problem but an interpretation-of-facts problem (Persuasion). Control which facts survive and interpretation takes care of itself.
Also: David Sedaris confesses to a Duolingo habit serious enough to alarm his fans (The Guardian).
All of our stories below.
Doug
- Executive Director – Kansas City Ballet working with Management Consultants for the Arts
Kansas City Ballet (KCB) seeks a strategic and visionary leader to co-lead one of America’s longest-established professional ballet companies. As the organization’s chief administrative leader, the next Executive Director will develop institutional resilience and drive team momentum for long-term success. Partnering with Artistic Director Devon Carney and the Board of Directors, the next Executive Director will champion bold entrepreneurial strategies to build resources, expand connections, and ensure KCB’s continued artistic and operational growth. Kansas City Ballet 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/executive-director-kc-ballet
The salary range for the Executive Director role starts at $200,000 and benefits will be highly competitive with other ballet companies of comparable size and stature. KCB has engaged Management Consultants for the Arts to facilitate this search, with the project led by Jonathan West and Shruti Adhar. The search committee, consisting of 8 KCB Board members, is led by Barbara Storm, immediate past president of the Board. Kansas City Ballet plans to make its decision by Fall 2026.
Founded in 1957 by Tatiana Dokoudovska, KCB has been led artistically by a series of creative and dedicated professionals. These include Todd Bolender, William Whitener, and since 2013, Devon Carney. More information on Kansas City Ballet can be found at https://kcballet.org/.
- Executive Director – The Town Hall
The Town Hall (Town Hall), the storied performance hall in the heart of New York City’s theater district, invites applications for its Executive Director position. Combining a deep passion for a broad range of cultural creativity and the desire to shape the next chapter for one of New York City’s most celebrated venues, the role will be charged with expanding Town Hall’s reach, impact, and importance in the intersection of performing arts, education outreach, and civic engagement. The new Executive Director will serve as the chief executive of this legendary 1,500-seat venue, overseeing a dynamic portfolio of programming that has long brought diverse communities together through music, discourse, and one-of-a-kind performances. At a pivotal moment in the organization’s history, the incoming Executive Director will have the opportunity to deeply influence the next chapter of a venue that has served New York City and the world for more than a century, ensuring it remains a vital, vibrant, and accessible gathering place for generations to come. The Town Hall 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/town-hall-executive-director
Town Hall endeavors to make a hiring decision by the fourth quarter of 2026, with the selected candidate transitioning into the position by the start of the new year. The salary range starts at $225,000 annually and includes a full benefit package. The Town Hall 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.
The Town Hall is one of America’s great civic and cultural institutions. Founded in 1921 by suffragists and located in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, the venue was built as a space for public discourse and democratic engagement. Its 1,500-seat National Historic Landmark auditorium is renowned for landmark concerts, lectures, political debates, and artistic milestones that have shaped American cultural life. Today, Town Hall presents a wide-ranging calendar of programming — including music of virtually every genre, comedy, spoken word, literary events, education outreach, and civic programming — while maintaining a commitment to the accessibility and community spirit that has defined the institution from its earliest days. More information on The Town Hall can be found at https://www.thetownhall.org/.
- ‘The Wild Heart’ Dylan Mattingly Makes Debut on Nonesuch Records<a href="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2026/07/the-wild-heart-dylan-mattingly-makes-debut-on-nonesuch-records.html" title="‘The Wild Heart’
Dylan Mattingly Makes Debut on - David Sedaris Confesses His Duolingo Addiction
“My problem arose when I discovered Duolingo’s competitive aspect, when I learned that it is essentially a game. … This means forgoing any real learning, and earning easy points by simply reading sentences out loud.” An excerpt from his latest book, The Land and Its People. – The Guardian
- What Makes A Rhythm Propulsive
What makes a rhythm distinctive or catchy? The answer lies in the pattern that underlies the structure. Much of human creativity beyond rhythm and music is also shaped by the math underneath the patterns. – The Conversation
- Ballet Costumes Are Shockingly Labor-Intensive
“Beading and sequins, silk bodices and boning, plus 10 layers of pleated net, all painstakingly cut and dyed by hand before being sewn together. … ‘If you break it down to five days a week, 40 hours, it’s usually about two weeks. To make one tutu.’” – The i Paper
- It’s Expensive To Enter Australia’s Art Prize Competitions. But Hard To Give Them Up
In today’s landscape, prizes are no longer a nice little extra, or a back pat that arrives at the end of a long and successful career. They’re a serious part of the machinery. – ArtsHub
- Do We Have A Facts Problem Or An Interpretation-Of-Facts Problem?
Citizens can agree on verifiable facts and still inhabit different worlds, because facts do not interpret themselves. To see why, we need to look beyond narrow factual disagreements to the competing systems of interpretation through which people select, categorize, frame, connect, explain, and narrate facts. – Persuasion
- DePaul Museum Just Closed. But Its Collection Will Stay On Campus
The DePaul Art Museum announcement came two months after the university laid off 114 full-time and part-time staff. Administrators referenced financial troubles due to a significant drop in international graduate student enrollment, increased demand for financial aid and the rising costs of benefits. – WBEZ
- Zelenskyy Suggests A Replacement For The Long-Toppled Lenin Monument In Kyiv
The statue of the father of the USSR was pulled down by demonstrators during the Euromaidan demonstrations in 2013; the pedestal has stood empty ever since. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has officially proposed that a bust of Ivan Mazepa, who led the Cossack state from 1687 to 1709, should go in that spot. – ARTnews
- Stratford Festival Artistic Director Retires After 40 Years
Antoni Cimolino, whose gentle stewardship of this juggernaut of a theater, especially during that existential COVID crisis, was as sure as it was self-effacing, leaves a great deal more. – Chicago Tribune (Yahoo)
- Arena-Sized Aida Canceled
Said a spokesperson for TEG (Ticketek Entertainment Group): “Unfortunately, the ongoing conflict and instability in the Middle East has resulted in massive increases in international freight and airfares, making it impossible to bring the large scale production to Adelaide.” – Limelight
- The Think Tank Leading Trump’s War On Education
The think tank has crafted model legislation to remake colleges and universities as race-blind institutions, fueled the campaign to oust Claudine Gay as president of Harvard, and turned City Journal, its quarterly magazine, into a platform for attacking diversity programs, grade inflation, and university presidents’ capitulation to the demands of left-leaning students and faculty. – Chronicle of Higher Education
- As Many Traditional Museums Struggle, The Museum Of Ice Cream And Museum Of Balloons Are Raking The Visitor Dollars In
“When audience levels have plateaued at many traditional museums, the ability of entertainment companies styled as arts institutions to siphon away visitors poses a new challenge to the industry.” As one think-tank director said, “The culture has diverged, and museums could have done more to seem relevant to people.” – The New York Times
- LA’s Dance Scene Is Contracting. Now It’s Just Survival
“A lot of the challenges that are happening right now are of the times. They’re reflecting what’s going on in our country, and I think it’s important that we all try to stick together through it and keep dancing.” – Los Angeles Times (MSN)
