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- Louisiana State Museums’ Reaccreditation Put On Hold
“The LSM system, comprising ten museums across the state — including the New Orleans Jazz Museum, Louisiana Civil Rights Museum and historic houses — has faced lawsuits, public controversy and an unfavourable audit in recent years.” Accreditation body the American Alliance of Museums indicated that “tabling” is so that “specific issues can be addressed.” – The Art Newspaper
- Paramount Pictures Launches Its Own Book Publishing Imprint
“Operating under the products & experiences division, Paramount Global Publishing ‘will develop complementary publishing content inspired by its iconic portfolio of brands and franchises as well as generate new IP through the creation of original stories.’” – Publishers Weekly
- Lyric Opera Of Chicago Expands Season, Hires Sondra Radvanovsky As Artistic Advisor
While the company isn’t back to the schedule it had before COVID, there will be six full productions plus one opera-in-concert, longer runs, a Haydn oratorio, and the return of the summer Broadway musical (this year, Guys and Dolls). Soprano Radvanovsky has signed on for a five-year term as artistic advisor. – Chicago Tribune
- Maine’s Portland Museum Of Art Buys New Building
“The building, previously owned by MaineHealth, … was sold for $14 million. The plan is for the PMA to move its administrative offices to the new Free Street building, which is next door to the museum, as a way to open up space for more galleries in its main building.” – ARTnews
- Good Morning
Los Angeles’s two biggest museums are passing each other in opposite directions. The Getty Center announced it will shut down for a full year of renovations, aiming to reopen in spring 2028 just ahead of the Olympics (The New York Times). Meanwhile, LACMA’s $724 million new building — 25 years of argument made concrete — is finally about to open, and the question is whether it can reinvent what an encyclopedic museum even means anymore (The New York Times, Los Angeles Times).
The Hirshhorn’s Melissa Chiu is heading to the Guggenheim — the fourth Smithsonian museum director to leave in two years as the Trump administration reshapes the institution from above (The New York Times). And the administration quietly dropped its legal fight to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services, but the proposed 2027 budget zeroes out its funding anyway (Publishers Weekly). Same destination, different route. Disney, meanwhile, is cutting another 1,000 jobs (Variety).
On the US-Canada border, a library that straddles both countries just installed a new door — on the Canadian side — after the U.S. made it nearly impossible to walk in the old one (CTV). When one door closes, apparently, another country opens one.
All of our stories below.
- Hirshhorn Museum Director To Become Guggenheim Museum Director
Melissa Chiu, who has led the Hirshhorn for more than a decade, is the fourth director of a Smithsonian museum to depart within the last two years, and the most recent to leave amid the Trump administration’s effort to overhaul the organization’s network of 21 museums and other cultural centers. – The New York Times
- Considering The Tap Shoe
“You’ll never say you didn’t hear them coming.” – AP
- Getty Center To Close For A Year
The reopening of the museum, which draws about 1.3 million visitors each year, is planned for spring 2028, shortly before the Summer Olympics come to Los Angeles. – The New York Times
- Sean “Diddy” Combs’s Attorneys Argue His Prostitution Conviction Should Be Reversed On First Amendment Grounds
“Combs’s lawyers repeated claims they made before the trial judge, including an assertion that Combs’ films of sexual encounters between his girlfriends and male sex workers amounted to ‘amateur pornography’ and (were) protected by the First Amendment.” – AP
- London’s Times Newspaper Reduces Story-Count, Increases Readership
Across the whole newsroom, The Times has gone from publishing more than 200 stories a day to about 150 – a 25% cut. – Press-Gazette
- Our Zombie Entertainment Industrial Complex
Entertainment and tech companies have gotten smarter about putting consumers into bastardized flow states that leaves people feeling drained and sad rather than challenged and enlarged as selves. – Derek Thompson
- Library On The US/Canada Border Gets A Door On The Canadian Side
For decades, people in Stanstead were allowed to walk around the Haskell Free Library and Opera House, but last year the U.S. limited access. Instead of walking a few metres, you’d have to drive down the street and go through a border crossing just to get in the front door. – CTV
- The Fight To Keep A Collection Of Landmark Art From Leaving Mexico And Going To Spain
“One of the world’s most important collections of 20th-century Mexican art, including works by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, is set to be exported to Spain under an agreement with Banco Santander, sparking outrage among Mexico’s cultural community.” Everyone involved insists that this is a temporary loan, though many aren’t convinced. – The Guardian
- What The Ambitious New LACMA Building Is Trying To Do
The new LACMA, which opens to members in the coming weeks and to the general public May 4, is momentous not only because of its long and often bumpy road, but because it is seeking to reinvent what an encyclopedic museum means in the modern era. – The New York Times
- What’s In The New Writers Guild Contract With Movies Studios
- South Korea Shakes Up Its Cultural Leadership
South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has announced a series of high-profile appointments across its leading arts institutions, led by the naming of conductor and cellist Chang Han-na as the new president and chief executive of the Seoul Arts Center. – Moto Perpetuo
- Family-Friendly San Jose Theater Company Is Closing. Its Owners Blame City Government
“Scott Guggenheim, who with his wife Shannon Guggenheim owns 3Below Theaters, cited an ongoing landlord dispute as one major factor in what he called a ‘difficult’ decision. … ‘There were … specific issues — particularly around construction, signage, and commitments — that were not fully realized,’ he told the Chronicle.” – San Francisco Chronicle (Yahoo!)
- Who Likes To Be Sad? So Why Do We Seek Out Art That Makes Us Sad?
It’s a phenomenon that has long puzzled psychologists and philosophers alike. Given that we usually dread sadness and strive to avoid it because it feels so bad – from painful conversations to the grief of loss – why do we actively seek it in art? – Psyche
- In Praise Of Ghostwriting
Ghostwriting has an undeservedly bad reputation. Even without AI, some readers feel betrayed if the name on a book’s cover doesn’t tell the whole story. – The Atlantic
- Disney To Lay Off 1000 Workers
While the layoffs are noteworthy, they are a fraction of the size of the cuts overseen by former CEO Bob Iger when he rejoined the company. From 2023 to 2025, multiple rounds eliminated some 8,000 workers, achieving cost savings of $7.5 billion. – Deadline
- Can UNESCO Heritage Status Help Preserve England’s Tradition Of Choral Evensong?
You can make a solid argument that, except for the particular music being sung (and, today, the inclusion of girls and women), the practice of cathedral choral music is largely unchanged from the days of Elizabeth I. But declining church attendance and financial support are taking a toll. – AP
- Marcel Duchamp Was Anything But Reverent. Are We Being Too Reverent Of Him?
“Marcel Duchamp is an enigma that art history swallowed and got stuck in its throat. What do we do with him now? I left the Museum of Modern Art’s big new show of Duchamp not sure if I know, or the museum knows, or if the public will know.” – Artnet
- U.S. Court Of Appeals Rules That Iowa’s School-Library-Book-Banning Law May Stand
“In a blow to the freedom to read in the United States, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that a controversial 2023 Iowa law … can go into effect, reversing a lower court decision and sending the case back for a third hearing.” – Publishing Perspectives
- Traditional News and Nonprofit Art: You’re No Longer in Charge. They Are.Here’s another reason for nonprofit arts organizations to make that scene change toward charitable activities.
- Big Hollywood Studios Aren’t Much In The Lineup At Cannes This Year
There will be famous actors in the competition, certainly, but they’re in indie-studio productions. Indeed, artistic director Thierry Fremaux said openly, “The United States will be present. Studios less (so). When the studios are less present in Cannes, they are less present full stop.” – The Hollywood Reporter
- LACMA Spent $724 Million On Its New Building. Here’s How That Money Got Spent.
For 25 years, people have been arguing about whether that this project was a good idea or a terrible one. Here’s a look at each side, at why the building has cost so much, and why director Michael Govan considers the whole thing so important. – Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
- Disney Is Preparing To Lay Off 1,000 Staffers: Report
The Walt Disney Co. “is expected to lay off as many as 1,000 employees through role eliminations in the coming months, Variety has learned. Many of the cuts are expected to come from the media giant’s marketing department.” – Variety
- Trump Administration Abandons Appeal, Gives Up Attempt To Dismantle Institute Of Museum And Library Services
“A federal court granted the administration’s request to withdraw its appeal of a federal judge’s earlier ruling that struck down Trump’s attempt last year to dismantle the agency” by executive order. However, the fiscal 2027 budget which the White House is submitting to Congress includes no funding for IMLS. – Publishers Weekly
- Celebrating the Heroes behind the Jazz
As jazz — the music, business and culture of it — depends on an intricate and widespread network of activists, altruists and advocates to thrive, and celebrating local doers at least used to be a way to focus attention on the out-of-the-spotlight work necessary to make anything worthwhile happen, the
- The Artist Behind The Banana On The Wall And The Golden Toilet Is Now Hearing Confessions
Maurizio Cattelan has set up a hotline where folks from anywhere can “confess their sins.” Those the artist/father-confessor considers most in need of repentance will be invited to confess to him in real time during an April 23 live-stream. “In a world of sin, absolution has never been so close,” he says. – Euronews
- In The Bay Area, Earlier Curtain Times Are Catching On
From ACT in San Francisco to Berkeley Rep to Stanford Live, producers and presenters are moving starting times from 8:00 to 7:30, 7:00 or even 6:30. So far, there have been lots of favorable comments and very few complaints. – San Francisco Chronicle (Yahoo!)
- Spain’s Culture Minister Refuses Transfer Of Guernica For Basque Loan
The Basque government is already familiar with the Reina Sofía’s condition report—which deems the painting too fragile to travel—and that it is instead requesting a feasibility report from independent technicians on how a transfer to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao could be carried out safely. – ARTnews
- HarperCollins’ Canadian Side-Hustle. Be Wary.
There is every reason to be wary when a foreign-owned corporation stakes a claim to defending Canada’s cultural sovereignty, but the case of HarperCollins calls for particular skepticism. – The Walrus
- LACMA Reinvented: Inside LA’s New Museum
No L.A. institution has taken as risky a leap in this century as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. With the opening of the $724-million David Geffen Galleries, LACMA has effectively erased and reinvented itself, trading a fragmented campus core for a sinuous, hovering concrete megastructure. – Los Angeles Times
- Nathan Lane On Being Half-Outed By Oprah On Live TV
“In those days, you might as well say: ‘And by the way, I love cock,’” he said about his 1996 interview to promote The Birdcage. “But I wasn’t ready; I wasn’t brave enough. I was a character actor. I wasn’t thinking I was going to become a leading man.” – The Guardian
