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- 2,800-Year-Old Bone Flute Discovered In Ruins Of Troy
The relic is the first musical instrument found at the site in 156 years of excavations. – Smithsonian Magazine
- After 20 Years, “Spring Awakening” Creators’ Second Musical Is Finally Making Its Mark
With their Broadway debut a smash hit, Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik expected their next musical, Nero (about the Roman emperor), would go far But, after a 2006 production in San Francisco, the piece got nothing more than workshops and showcases for producers. At long last, Nero is having its London premiere. – The Guardian
- Defining The Artificial State
We have not a single piece of meaningful legislation in the United States Congress about artificial intelligence. We have essentially nothing about social media. This is something that we’re now battling out in the courts. – The Walrus
- The Telephone’s Role In Changing Intimacy
This may strike you as a little paranoid. The rise of the telephone, in the past century and a half—from the rotary diallers at home and the boxes in the street to the smartphones in every pocket—is associated with a change that, broadly speaking, we consider positive. – The New Yorker
- Physical Witness Becomes More Important In The Age Of AI
For a time, the photograph or moving image acquired its own evidential authority: seeing something recorded was, with reasonable caveats, grounds for accepting that an event had occurred. – The Conversation
- Previously Unseen Writing By Harry Houdini Is Published
“Houdini, whose real name was Eric Weisz, was a prolific author, with more than two dozen books, short stories and plays to his name. One of them, an article titled ‘An Interesting Scrapbook,’ … appears for the first time in print on Saturday” — the centennial of his death — “in Strand magazine.” – The Guardian
- Virginia, DC, Sue To Stop Construction Of Trump’s Arch
The 45-page lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia called the project “flagrantly unlawful,” attorneys general Jay Jones of Virginia and Brian Schwalb of the District of Columbia wrote. – NPR
- Naming That Sense Of Civic Disconnect Of Values
How do we give shape to this disquiet? We might call it fatigue, burnout, or ‘just needing a break from the world’, but often it’s grief – mourning for a faith we once had in fellow citizens to recognise a certain decency or sense of fairness. It isn’t partisan; it’s human, and it has a name. – Psyche
- How One Dancer Brought Ballet To A Post-Industrial English Town
In the early years, Darius James said he would cover the word “ballet” on the van they took to do community workshops because he feared it would put people off before trying. – BBC
- Federico García Lorca Has Finally Become A Queer Icon In Spain Itself
While the Anglosphere has long seen the poet-playwright as a gay icon, that side of his life and work was for decades suppressed within his homeland. Any scholar who dared discuss the subject would be denied access to the family archives (and likely harassed by the Franco regime). That has finally changed. – The Guardian
- New NEA Data On Americans’ Arts Participation
The dataset now spans 2003–2025 and includes newly added data from 2024 and 2025. It is available through the NADAC website for free download and online analysis. – NEA
- How American History Became Divisive
Under this rigid order, there’s no room to interrogate our rocky history, let alone change it for the better. There’s just one nation, under God, indivisible—now, always, and forever. – Mother Jones
- Google Says It Will Shut Off Search For Schools That Reject AI
A.I. features are now a standard part of Google’s commercially available search engine. “Search and A.I. are deeply integrated.” If a school has banned A.I., he added, students “will not have access to search, and they’ll see a message from their school that indicates it’s not available.” – The New York Times
- How An Indian Classical Dancer Embodies An Ancient Nonbinary Character
Hindu mythology includes several figures described as third-gender, mixed-gender or genderless. Bijayini Satpathy, one of the great living practitioners of Odissi dance, had never played any of those characters before creating her new solo piece, and she wasn’t sure she would even know how. – The New York Times
- Rebuked! Say Good-bye to the Circus King!<a href="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2026/11/say-good-bye-to-the-circus-king.html" title="Rebuked! Say Good-bye to the Circus King! “
- Phoenix Symphony Management And Musicians Say They’re Making Progress On A Comeback
“In a joint statement, the unionized musicians, board and staff say the meeting discussed fundraising progress over the past week, and a possible plan to resume performances as early as this month.” – KJZZ (Phoenix)
- Objects Removed By New Right-Wing Government From Colombia’s National Museum Are Reinstalled
“On the evening of 28 October, César Enrique Osorio Ortiz — a judge at Bogotá’s 24th Family Court — ordered Colombia’s cultural ministry and the museum to return the works to their original locations within 48 hours. The ministry complied with the order on Friday (30 October).” – The Art Newspaper
- The CBC Is Moving Into Microdramas
“The taxpayer-funded broadcaster and streamer has hired a new head of digital originals, Ariel Yang, and her commissioning duties include taking pitches from local producers for homegrown microdramas.” – The Hollywood Reporter
- Stolen Old Master Painting Is Recovered Thanks To “Wanted” Poster Campaign
A 17th-century painting titled Un Buveur (“A Drinker”) by Willem Cornelisz Duyster, stolen in 1940 from the Musée des Beaux-Arts d’Orléans in France, was located last month at a Swiss auction house. – ARTnews
- “La Bola Negra” Is Now Third-Highest-Grossing Film In Spain’s History
The film by Javiers Calvo and Ambrossi has taken in €36.7 million ($41.0 million) at Spanish cinemas as of November 1. Among Spanish films, only Emilio Martínez-Lázaro’s comedy Ocho apellidos vascos (released in English as Spanish Affair, $61.8 million) and J.A. Bayona’s disaster drama Lo imposible (“The Impossible,” $47.3 million) have earned more. – Variety
- Former COO At Atlanta’s High Museum Of Art Sentenced To Prison For Embezzlement
“Brady Lum, the former chief operating officer of Atlanta‘s High Museum of Art, has been sentenced to one year in federal prison for stealing more than $600,000 from the institution. He previously pleaded guilty to the charges in July.” – Artforum
- Disney Prepares Another Round Of Thousands Of Layoffs
Good Morning,
Disney is preparing layoffs that will reach thousands of employees across its TV networks and film studio; some managers have been told to find 20% in annual savings (Deadline). They follow 1,000 cuts in April and several hundred in July. So what’s ailing the Mouse?
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to raise California’s film and TV tax credit from $750 million to at least $1 billion a year, with new credits for actors’ pay that Georgia and New York already offer (Los Angeles Times). Los Angeles shoot days still fell nearly 5% from July to September.
This fall’s biggest new musicals are opening Off-Broadway because Broadway costs too much. Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen, a manga adaptation with the late Duncan Sheik’s last score, was capitalized at $5 million; its producer says the same show on 45th Street would need $18 to $22 million (NPR).
Novaya Gazeta, Russia’s last major independent newspaper, will close its office on Nov. 9 after authorities blocked its websites, seized its printing house and shut its reader-donation system (Euronews).
Art Basel Paris closed two days early on Oct. 23, citing possible demonstrations, and the galleries say nobody asked them. A group representing more than a quarter of the fair’s exhibitors is demanding compensation and accusing organizers of “disrespect, even contempt” (Hyperallergic).
All of our stories below.
- The Latest Social Media Dance Craze Is Doing Traditional Ethnic Dance To A Hip-Hop Hit
Videographer James Fenwick runs the Born from Culture series, posting videos focusing on the world’s folk-dance traditions. In June, he released a video of Georgian dancers with music from the other Georgia, the Atlanta trap number “Mask Off.” When that went viral, traditional dance groups all over the world started following suit. – Dazed
- We Need To Reconsider The Notion Of Self
The empty-self metaphor has inspired a large following. These followers embrace an optimistic view in which human foibles can be readily vanquished through systematic manipulation of social environment. However alluring it may be, we suggest it is time to replace this Panglossian view with one that acknowledges the importance of enduring psychological structures. – Psyche
- Austin May Be Able To Boost Arts Funding, Thanks To Its New “Airbnb Tax”
“With the Austin Convention Center closed for reconstruction until 2029, the city faces years of diminished convention business and the hotel tax revenue it generates, portions of which fund programs supporting the arts. … But a surge in hotel taxes collected from short-term rentals is providing a financial cushion.” – KUT (Austin)
- AI Translations Have Gotten Very Good. But…
While AI translations are very fluent, fluency doesn’t equal accuracy. Even proficient bilinguals can overlook errors hidden under the surface. – The Conversation
- Disney Prepares To Cut Thousands Of Workers
According to sources, the new round of layoffs will be made across multiple divisions, including TV networks and the motion picture studio, at varying amounts. – Deadline
- French Galleries Accuse Art Basel Of Disrespect
In the letter addressed to the new director of Art Basel Paris, Karim Crippa, the association demanded “concrete proposals for compensating exhibitors,” stated that the galleries were never consulted about the event’s early closure, and accused organizers of “disrespect, even contempt,” according to Monopol. – Hyperallergic
- Clifford Odets, The Great Agitprop Playwright Of The 1930s, Is In The Spotlight Again
His most famous play, Waiting for Lefty, is getting a major Off-Broadway revival; Awake and Sing! is opening on Broadway next month; Golden Boy just finished a London run with movie star Josh O’Connor in the lead. Why is Odets having a moment now? Helen Shaw has some ideas. – The New York Times
- Why This Fall’s Big Musicals Are Opening Off-Broadway
The theaters are smaller. The tickets are lower, but you still often have big casts. You have to pay the musicians. And you may not have to make a million dollars to make your nut, but maybe you have to make half a million or 400 grand. That’s still a lot of money. – NPR
- Gavin Newsom Calls For $1 Billion Tax Incentives For Film Industry
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday called for a significant expansion of the state’s film and TV tax incentives in the face of mounting evidence that producers are fleeing California in search of cheaper locales. – Los Angeles Times
- Is It Time For A “Great Books” Revival?
What we are trying to do is not just help ground students—the large majority of them scientists and engineers in training—in a humanistic research program, but to identify irreplaceable ideas during a time of accelerated change. – The Atlantic
- The New Skydance-Paramount-Warner Bros. Behemoth Has An $80 Billion Debt Burden
“We’ve measured this incredibly carefully,’ Ellison said during a media event last month. ‘We absolutely have the ability to manage the debt and de-lever while investing for growth.’ But Skydance’s merger math doesn’t entirely check out for Wall Street.” – TheWrap (MSN)
- The Enduring Appeal Of Glass Art — New Again
The history, combined with the opportunity for hands-on experience, is fueling new exhibitions at museums across the United States that are exploring today’s complex scientific and social issues through the artistry’s lens. – The New York Times
- The Pied Piper Of Male Dance
When Adrian Mitchell returned to the school in 2022, this time to teach, there were four boys. But in a few short years Mitchell expanded those numbers tenfold, to 40. All four in the original group went on to top ballet schools, professional ballet companies — or both. – The New York Times