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- SFMOMA has a big hit on its hands
Good Morning,
SFMOMA laid off 7.5 percent of its staff last year amid a $5 million deficit. This month it opened a show of 142 works from the collection of RM, the BTS rapper, and has sold over 66,000 tickets, with advance sales six times that of any previous exhibition (The Guardian).
The Phoenix Symphony, 80 years old and $2.8 million in debt, suspended its season; its 66 musicians, including five married couples, lose their pay on November 2 (Phoenix New Times). Catapult Books, the independent publisher behind Counterpoint and Soft Skull, closes in about a week; it was sold for its assets while roughly 20 employees were in a mid-union vote, and 16 scheduled titles have no stated future (Los Angeles Times).
Eleanor Coppola shot 80 hours of footage on the set of Marie Antoinette in 2005. She died before finishing her documentary, and her daughter Sofia completed Making Marie Antoinette, keeping a scene of herself “irritable and snotty” in a trailer (Seattle Times).
During Frieze week in east London, two men jousted on Lime bikes with PVC pipes, a stunt perfectly in keeping with a return to Renaissance culture. (The Guardian).
All of today’s stories are below.
- Our Playlists Are Filled With ‘Old’ Music
Is nostalgia – and not just A.I. – ruining popular music right now, when more than 100,000 songs are released to streamers every single day? – BBC
- Noise Laws, Drugs, And Cellphones Are Harming Dance Clubs In Britain
Or so lovers of (ridiculously) loud dance music claim. “At Gaffe, a DIY space in northeast London, a sign shows two arrows pointing in different directions. One says ‘Dancing,’ the other ‘Yapping.’” – The Guardian (UK)
- The Queer, Tattooed Colombian Author Who’s A National Book Award Finalist
Júlian Delgado Lopera: “‘Most of the catastrophic violence in our history can be traced back to a man who hasn’t allowed himself to feel tenderness,’ he affirms. … He’s referring to a kind of violence that goes beyond the long-running armed conflict.” – El País English
- The Film Director Whose Impossible Class Struggle Movie Won At Venice
Lee Chang-Dong: “I constantly asked myself: am I worthy of telling this story? And if I am, how do I tell it? Do I stand close to the workers, or keep my distance?” – The Guardian (UK)
- How Netflix Went From Zeitgeist To, Well, Zeitghost
“The main problem with 2020s Netflix: It gets eyeballs watching far more than it gets tongues wagging. If a Super Bowl-size event takes place and nobody talks about it, does it even matter?” – Fast Company
- Authors Are Angry And In Mourning As A Koch Scion Sells Off Catapult Books After Workers Unionize
Author Gina Frangello: “Catapult is intrinsic to L.A. culture and L.A. literature. So many of their writers are in this area. … It’s a huge loss for L.A. It’s a huge loss for the West Coast.” – Los Angeles Times
- Amy Poehler Goes To Ancient Greece
Poehler, and Hugh Laurie, star in a fictional show about realistic archaeologists. “Getting the objects right was important for the production because an appreciation of artifacts is central to archaeology.” – The New York Times
- San Francisco’s SFMoMA Gets A Big Boost From A K-Pop Star
Want to sell tickets? Get a K-pop star’s art collection up. “The show has been a blockbuster success, with over 66,000 tickets sold and advance sales that were six times higher than any previous exhibition at the museum.” – The Guardian (UK)
- Sofia Coppola On Finishing What Her Mother Eleanor Started
“‘It’s like the opposite of Hearts of Darkness,’ Sofia said. ‘In a way it’s sort of a nice counterpoint because that movie’s so macho and masculine and this is so feminine.’ And it’s also true to what really happened.” – Seattle Times (AP)
- J Todd Anderson, The Coen Brothers’ Longtime Storyboard Artist, Has Died
“For more than 40 years, Mr. Anderson was the hidden hand in nearly every movie the Coen brothers made. It was a close-knit but unheralded working relationship that aesthetically defined one of the greatest runs in moviemaking history.” – The New York Times
- The Women Who Are Under Attack Everywhere, But Thriving In Dance Clubs
And not as dancers, but as DJs, promoters, and business owners. “Trans women aren’t just more visible in dance music—they’re ‘taking the reins over the modes of production.’” – Slate
- Four Objects That Measure The Thirty Years Of Rent
“In an alternate universe, might ‘Seasons of Love’ have opened with the lyric: ‘31,536,000 seconds?’” – The New York Times
- Some Questions For And About The Suddenly Shuttered Phoenix Symphony
For instance: “Why it hired a new music director … amid much fanfare last March; whether any employees other than CEO Peter Kjome will be paid during the suspension; or what, specifically, is being done to help the musicians and staff whose pay has been cut off.” – Phoenix New Times
- Short-Story Collections May Be Hard To Sell, But A Single Short Story Can Sell To Netflix For A Million Dollars
Why? The “bite-size format appeals to busy studio executives facing mountains of scripts. Buying unpublished stories also allows producers to avoid the hassle of optioning novels, whose fans often expect a faithful adaptation.” – The New York Times
- The Global Rise Of Album Listening Bars
In Seattle’s Shibuya, for instance, “Once the listening room doors open, all drinks, distractions and shoes must be left at the door.” – Salon
- AI Could Never Have Made The Stop-Motion Wildwood
“Every single thing you see onscreen is an artistic choice. You start with a blank canvas, nothing exists. Everything has to be thought through, designed and manipulated by an artist’s hands.” – The New York Times
- Who Will Take Over Portland’s Many City Performance Spaces?
The city only received two propsals to take over the spaces, known as Portland’5 (yes, there are 5 theatres), starting next July. – Oregon ArtsWatch
- A Huge Fire Has Destroyed Hitler’s Nazi Guesthouse
For some reason (the reason being that after WWII, “local officials fought successfully to keep it, seeing it as a historical site that could attract visitors”), it was still standing, and had a popular restaurant. – The New York Times
- Why Some Youth – The Ones Who Joust On Bikes, For Instance – Are Going Medieval
One “emerging medieval strand [is] ‘wenchcore,’ which offers ‘a more acceptable voracious sexuality, the ribald, singing, dancing, drinking, doesn’t-need-to-be-perfect idea of womanhood and of masculinity … more of just whatever goes.’” – The Guardian (UK)
- Donald Borror shares the transformative impact of Pasculano Dance at Lincoln Center
Donald Borror, Director of the Pasculano Collaborative for Contemporary Dance at Lincoln Center, shares their transformative impact on the field.
- Executive Director, National Museum of Women in the Arts
Founded by collector and philanthropist Wilhelmina Cole Holladay, the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) holds a singular place in the cultural landscape as the world’s first institution solely dedicated to championing women through the arts. Located in Washington, DC, the museum opened its doors in 1987, bringing recognition to the achievements of women artists across all periods and nationalities by exhibiting, preserving, acquiring, and researching their work, and educating the public about their enduring contributions. Its mission is both focused and expansive: to address the persistent gender imbalance in the presentation of art by illuminating important women artists of the past while actively promoting the great women artists working today.
NMWA operates from the conviction that an art museum can be a force for social change: a place where women’s voices are heard and diverse stories are told through exhibitions and programs designed to inspire dynamic exchanges about art and ideas. Its core values, Champion, Open, and Fresh, shape everything from curatorial choices to community engagement, reflecting an organizational culture that prizes both advocacy and accessibility.
The museum is headquartered in an iconic Washington, DC building that recently underwent a sweeping $70 million renovation. With a staff of 102 (70 full-time and 32 part-time) and a FY27 operating budget of approximately $20.5 million, NMWA operates at meaningful institutional scale, supported by an endowment of approximately $76 million, with a $25 million Cornerstone Fund dedicated to the building. Approximately 60 percent of operating revenue is derived from contributed support, reflecting the museum’s deep reliance on philanthropic relationships.
NMWA’s collection spans the sixteenth century to the present, and its exhibitions and programs reach audiences locally, nationally, and internationally. The museum invests significantly in digital engagement and is actively exploring how emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, can elevate its profile and deepen its reach.
The museum is approaching a significant milestone: its 40th anniversary in 2027. The planned retirement of longtime Director Susan Fisher Sterling, appointed in 2008 after joining the museum in 1988, opens a new chapter for an institution that has never been more prepared to pursue its founding vision at scale. In a moment when questions of representation and equity are reshaping the arts world, NMWA has been asking and acting on these questions for nearly four decades.
Learn more about NMWA at http://nmwa.org/.
The Opportunity
The National Museum of Women in the Arts seeks a bold, relationship-driven leader to serve as its next Executive Director at a pivotal moment in the institution’s history. As NMWA approaches its 40th anniversary and embarks on its next chapter, the Executive Director will serve as the museum’s chief executive and primary fundraiser, upholding the museum’s mission and securing the philanthropic partnerships necessary to sustain and expand its impact.
The Executive Director will provide the strategic vision and operational authority to position NMWA as an essential voice in national and global conversations about women, art, and culture. Leading a staff of 102 and overseeing a $20.5 million annual budget, this leader will drive programmatic excellence, promote digital innovation, and serve as the museum’s primary public ambassador, inspiring diverse audiences and elevating NMWA’s reputation across media, government, and civic platforms.
The Executive Director will partner closely with the Board of Trustees to ensure trustees are active advocates, connectors, and donors, and will leverage NMWA’s distinctive infrastructure of state and international committees to build new constituencies and deepen existing ones. They will personally cultivate and close major gifts, and build a culture of philanthropy across the institution, engaging individual donors, foundations, corporations, and government funders alike.
The ideal candidate brings proven executive leadership in a museum or comparable cultural institution, demonstrated success as a frontline fundraiser, and deep passion for gender equity and the arts. This is a rare opportunity to lead one of the most distinctive and mission-driven institutions in the American cultural landscape.
Candidate Profile
We recognize that there is a spectrum of lived and professional experience that will set candidates up for success in this role. While no one candidate will have every experience outlined in the position description, ideal candidates will display the following professional skills and qualities, and personal attributes.
Top candidates will have at least ten years of success in senior leadership roles in a museum, cultural institution, or comparable organization. Deep passion for the arts, gender equity, and the mission of championing women artists globally. Advanced degree in art, art history, arts administration, or other relevant subject matter; our client is also open to candidates with equivalent professional experience in a nonprofit setting.
Strategic Vision and Mission Advancement
Our client seeks leaders with experience developing and executing a multi-year institutional strategic plan, with measurable outcomes and demonstrated board and staff buy-in. This executive will partner closely with the Board and team members to articulate a clear, differentiated organizational identity, successfully unifying internal and external stakeholders around a shared mission narrative. They should have the ability to develop and implement strategic plans to guide growth and development. Experience building high-profile partnerships and collaborations that elevate institutional visibility and deepen artist/community relationships.
Philanthropic Relationship Building and Leadership
Candidates should have exceptional relationship-building skills with the presence and credibility to engage and persuade major donors, board members, government officials, and media. Ideal candidates should be well-networked in relevant donor communities, with a personal track record of cultivating and closing six- and seven-figure gifts. Experience leading or playing a central role in a major capital or comprehensive campaign and an understanding of the long arc of arts philanthropy and donor relationships is desirable. Demonstrated ability to build a culture of philanthropy across an organization, engage volunteer networks as fundraising assets, and develop a sustainable pipeline. Success with personally cultivating and closing significant gifts, an understanding of the relational, non-transactional nature of arts philanthropy, and the credibility to lead significant capital campaign.
Board Partnership and Governance
Experience working in partnership with an engaged Board of Trustees and other key stakeholders. Prior success partnering effectively with complex boards and navigating governance dynamics with diplomacy while moving the institution forward. Track record of evolving a board toward higher engagement, clearer giving expectations, and stronger philanthropic participation. A trusted partner to board leadership across generations who understands and enforces the appropriate boundary between board oversight and staff operations.
Financial and Operational Leadership
Broad expertise in financial management for art museums and/or other relevant not-for-profit settings, with the ability to manage budgets, analyze financial data, and optimize resources for sustainable growth. We seek candidates who have served as effective stewards of complex nonprofit finances, including endowment management, and the discipline to reduce structural reliance on draw while growing earned and contributed revenue to achieve revenue diversification. Our client seeks a leader with a track record of implementing organizational accountability frameworks, including clear processes, defined roles and performance metrics, that translate strategy into execution. An executive who applies a data-driven approach to resource allocation and organizational design while promoting a positive organizational culture and enhancing staff morale.
Communications, Advocacy, and Innovation
Superior communication and public speaking skills, adept at storytelling, in order to serve as a passionate advocate and effective ambassador for the institution. A compelling, credible public voice, comfortable on national stages, in media, and in policy conversations; able to expand an institution’s relevance and presence. Track record of establishing or significantly improving internal communications infrastructure, ensuring staff alignment and engagement during periods of change. Experience defining and advancing a community and public relations agenda tied to an institutional mission and embracing innovative approaches to audience development. Comfort with digital technologies, participatory platforms, and engagement strategies, with an interest in the possibilities for integration of digital and AI tools to effectively interact, build relationships and expand audiences, and drive meaningful internal and external outcomes.
Team Leadership
History of inspiring and motivating a team, setting clear goals, and making informed decisions. A people-first leader known for warmth, approachability, and high emotional intelligence, who builds trust with mission-driven staff navigating organizational transitions. A collaborative leader who empowers senior leaders with clear authority and accountability while maintaining an inclusive workplace culture. Meaningful experience leading organizations through cultural or operational transformation with both decisiveness and compassion.
Comfort with Leading through Changing Times
Forward-looking orientation that honors institutional legacy while building the organization’s adaptive capacity and governance structures needed for long-term sustainability. Attuned to the evolving field for 21st-century museums. Experience leading an organization through sector-wide disruption, funding volatility, or significant leadership transition with steadiness and strategic clarity. Adaptability and creativity to work in ambiguous or changing conditions and with diverse individuals and groups.
Compensation and Benefits
The compensation range for this role is $400,000 – $450,000, commensurate with experience and accomplishments plus attractive benefits.
Contact
DSG | Koya has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Naree W.S. Viner, Gerard Cattie, and Stephen Milbauer. Submit a compelling cover letter and resume by https://talent-profile.dsgco.com/search/v2/23346. All inquiries are strictly confidential.
(To view the full profile, please download the PDF)
To apply, visit: https://www.dsgco.com/search/23346-national-museum-of-women-in-the-arts-executive-director/
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- The Deadly Dancing Plague Of 1518
“Five centuries later, the dancing plague of 1518 remains one of history’s strangest medical mysteries. Historical records confirm that a bizarre episode turned a medieval city” — Strasbourg — “into a very unwilling dance floor that summer, but exactly why it happened remains a matter of debate.” – Popular Science
- Chatbots May Be Bad Writers. But So Are Most Humans
After all, we’ve been producing particle board for a long time. As Orwell observed (in pre-chatbot 1946!), “prose consists less and less of words chosen for the sake of their meaning, and more and more of phrases tacked together like the sections of a prefabricated hen-house.” – The Walrus
- Jonathan Groff’s Next Broadway Project Will Be A Solo Show About A School Shooting
“The play, The Amish Project, will be Groff’s first nonmusical production on Broadway, and it’s strikingly personal for him: It’s a work of fiction inspired by a 2006 shooting at a one-room Amish schoolhouse in rural Pennsylvania, just a few minutes from Groff’s childhood home.” – The New York Times
- The Art Of Attention
“You can’t talk about aesthetics,” he wrote, “without talking about the principle of hope and the existence of evil.” Attention, for him, was a matter of life and death, or at least of their cultural equivalents, remembering and forgetting. – The New York Times
- Dealers Scramble To Get Work Out Of Art Basel Paris After Surprise Early Closing
Multiple dealers told ARTnews they’d received an email announcing the decision at around 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. By then, many had already suspected Saturday’s opening might be canceled. The loss of Sunday came as more of a surprise. – ARTnews
- How One Donor Came To Give $10.5 Million To The Philadelphia Orchestra
David Cohen said that after his return, he “very quickly circled around arts and culture as the space where I thought I could make a real difference, a place where obviously Philadelphia has prominence and wonderful organizations, but where I still felt were a little under-appreciated.” – Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
- How “Star Trek” Was Saved By, Of All People, Lucille Ball
Most people who know Ball only through her crazy-redhead I Love Lucy character don’t realize that she was a savvy TV mogul, and it was her company, Desilu Productions, that saved Star Trek from oblivion after NBC cancelled it at the end of its third season in 1969. – The Hollywood Reporter
- Canadian News Orgs Sue Anthropic Over Copyright
The statement of claim says Anthropic breached the news media websites’ terms of service and circumvented technological protection measures they put in place to restrict copying of their content. – Canadian Press News
- Why Friction Is Necessary For Making Progress
The reality is that friction, despite seeming so antagonistic, is necessary and even productive. The force that resists motion has, since humans first struck a spark from a stone, been the very thing that propels us forward. – Aeon
- Legendary LA Recording Studio For Sale
The list of household names who have recorded at Conway Recording Studios spans generations and genres. Burt Bacharach, Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Wonder, U2, Guns N’ Roses, Daft Punk, Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar are just a few of the artists who have recorded there. – Los Angeles Times
- “Why Satire Is No Laughing Matter”: An Essay By Sacha Baron Cohen
“Satire doesn’t just needle politicians or regimes — it occasionally helps bring them down. … Historian Ben Lewis credits Soviet joke-telling with helping to topple communism, by making it impossible for even the system’s own enforcers to take it seriously. … ‘Every joke,’ George Orwell observed, ‘is a tiny revolution.’” – Time
- Bard College Investigating Explosive Epstein Email
Someone writing from the Bard president’s email address asks Mr. Epstein whether a young woman was “for me, or are you keeping her for yourself.” The contention over the email is the latest, and perhaps most intense, dispute over the former Bard president’s ties to Mr. Epstein. – The New York Times
- Inside Shanghai’s Striking New Opera House
“Our initial thought wasn’t about what the building should look like, but rather: How can an important cultural institution be integrated into everyday public life in one of the world’s most vibrant cities?” – Architectural Digest