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- Artists Bring a Narrative to Life: We the People
We wanted to celebrate our nation, because 2026 is our 250th birthday, and also, it feels necessary in this moment. But how would we do it in a moment when celebrating living in the USA feels political, feels fraught with potential pitfalls? What could we do to bring people together across perceived differences? What would […] - Culture: The Real Costs of being Real
It’s getting difficult to trust what (or who) is real in the age of AI. - Actor Tim Curry, Star Of “Rocky Horror” And “It,” Has Died At 80
“Though Curry would forever be the face that launched a thousand Time Warp dances …, he (was) far more than a one-trick pony over a career that spanned more than a half-century.” His roles ranged from Pennywise the Clown (Stephen King’s It) to Mozart (Amadeus ,Olivier and Tony nominations) to King Arthur (Spamalot). – Variety
- The NEA Has Survived. But At What Cost?
The generally inoffensive nature of these selections seems to reveal an agency that has trimmed its sails (not only financially) and ceded ground to conservative demands in order to survive. – American Theatre
- Choreographer Azsure Barton Reimagines Pandora’s Box As A Parable About AI
“Pandora … was the first woman, an Eve-like figure, created from clay and given by Zeus to Epimetheus, unbeknownst to him, as a punishment for his brother Prometheus giving humans fire. ‘One of the things I was really driven by was the fact that she was an agent of change,’ says Barton.” – The Guardian
- V&A Museum Workers Vote To Strike
A PCS ballot registered 95% in favour of industrial action. The union did not say how many workers would be striking. It called for better pay, a cross-site policy to close public spaces when temperatures reached 30C, and for V&A East Storehouse workers “to drink and carry water at work”. – BBC
- A Case For Limiting AI In Culture
If we fail to think through and delimit the role of AI in our lives, we risk undermining the intelligibility of our own guiding cultural concepts, and thus initiating a period in our own society of which it may someday be possible to say that “nothing happened.” – The Point
- The Worst Year Ever To Be Alive
A massive volcanic eruption in AD536 has led historians to describe it as the “worst year to be alive”. Europe, the Middle East and parts of Asia were plunged into darkness for 18 months. Temperatures in the summer months fell by 1.5˚C to 2.5˚C, initiating one of the coldest decades in the past two millennia. – The Conversation
- A Lost Poem Found<a href="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2026/08/a-lost-poem-found.html" title="A Lost Poem Found” rel=”nofollow”>‘Born Black’ was lost
- One Of Satirical Sculptors The Gao Brothers Jailed In China For Insulting “Heroes And Martyrs”
Gao Zhen, 70, who with Gao Qiang is known for statuary of Mao Zedong such as the “Miss Mao” series of drag sculptures and a firing squad of seven Maos aiming at Jesus, has been sentenced to three years’ imprisonment under a law passed years after the works were made. – The Guardian
- Our Misconceptions Of What Consciousness Is
Perceiving, experiencing and thinking are inherently embodied activities. The body is not just a physical object, it is a living organism that is in constant flux. It is also part of the social, cultural and material world. – Nature
- In 1939, The BBC Broadcast Sound From A 3000-Year-Old Egyptian Trumpet
“The trumpets of the pharaoh Tutankhamun!” booms the BBC announcer. A short intake of air and then — the blare of a trumpet which for more than 3,000 years had lain silent inside the boy-king’s tomb. – CNN
- Why Is So Much New Literary Fiction So Boring?
The question driving these opening pages is not: “What does it mean to live a good life?” or “What do we owe to people?” or “What can be saved from the ravages of time?” The question I hear is: “Have I impressed you yet?” – Devon Halliday
- Opera Australia Is Having Some Trouble With A Major Donor
“The future of Opera Australia’s signature event, the annual Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour, is in limbo over a funding dispute with its patron, reclusive Japanese billionaire Haruhisa Handa,” who is reportedly unhappy that the event has been presenting money-making musicals rather than opera in recent years. – Australian Financial Review
- US State Department Wants To Sell Kehinde Wiley Painting: “Too Woke”
On Monday, the New York Times reported that the State Department wants to sell the painting. Campos said in her Instagram post that the “Trump Administration and under my leadership we are turning away from globalist and woke ideologies.” – ARTnews
- An All-Star Dance Company At Over-40
For dancers over 40, retirement is close. A new company, WINNDance, is challenging that assumption, and it’s launching with a roster of names that most companies would kill for. – Gramilano
- AI Tracks Banned From Australian Music Charts
Wholly AI-generated tracks will be banned from the ARIA charts from Monday next week, but some AI-assisted music will remain eligible, an ARIA statement said. – PBS
- Stanley Ritchie, Dean Of Baroque Violinists In North America, Is Dead At 91
Following stints as assistant concertmaster of the Met Opera Orchestra and Vancouver Symphony, he took up period instruments in the 1970s and became North America’s first major soloist on Baroque violin. He was an influential teacher; virtually every period violinist in North America at some point studied with him or his students. – Violinist.com
- “Appointment Viewing” Television Is Back
“In the era of streaming, binge-watching is easier than ever. So, it seems potentially incongruous that appointment viewing — watching a television show when it first airs — is so capable of seizing the collective attention of viewers. But fandom is a powerful force, and appointment viewing has tamed the beast into something fearsome.” – Variety
- HarperCollins Now Has A Manga Imprint, Kazé
“The publisher is rolling out the imprint in partnership with the existing Kazé publishers in France and Germany, which distribute manga for the European market and were acquired by HarperCollins last year. Kazé US will build on that brand for American readers of all ages.” – Publishers Weekly
- Why Labor Unrest Is Sweeping Through Britain’s Museum Sector
“Staff at the V&A voted overwhelmingly to strike; … (workers) at the British Museum, the Science Museum, British Library, and Tate, among others, have all walked out in recent years as unions … coordinate campaigns accusing institutions of mistreating their staff and letting wages fall behind the cost of living.” – Artnet
- UK Publisher To Release Jason Arday’s Memoir Despite Questions About Its Veracity
Simon & Schuster UK made no comment beyond a statement from Arday’s family: “Jason was clear that he wanted his memoir to be published and it is only right that we honour his wishes. … We (will) allow the book to speak for itself and won’t comment further on its content.” – The Telegraph (UK) (Yahoo!)
- Trump Administration Threatens To Demolish Kennedy Center If Renovations Don’t Proceed
“Without those efforts,” wrote administration attorneys in a court filing, “the Center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down, with a determination to follow on what to build on the site, such as a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River.” – The Guardian
- Avoiding First-Ever Strike, Boston Symphony Management And Musicians Agree On Contract
In a tellingly worded statement, the union president said, “This groundbreaking agreement offers unprecedented artistic collaboration through all aspects of the artistic process. … It is also an innovative and transformative path forward for American orchestras, involving players as never before in the process of artistic decision making and planning.” – WBUR (Boston)
- Dolly Parton Has Died At 80
“Known for her curvy physique, massive blond wigs and skin-tight outfits that served her self-deprecating wit, she was among the most beloved personalities in music and beyond — the rare celebrity whose appeal transcended generations, geography and politics.” – AP
- The Arts Job That’s Really A Rental
Good Morning,
New York’s incoming arts commissioner wants to keep the city’s culture scene affordable (Gothamist). That’s a useful admission about where the leverage actually sits: the binding constraint on urban culture is rent and space, not programming.
A federal judge blocked the auction of more than 100 Titanic artifacts (Washington Post), courts rather than curators holding the line on what counts as heritage. Florida voters flipped the school board at the center of the state’s book-ban fights (Yahoo News). And Kennedy Center revenue cratered after Trump’s name went on the building (Washington Post) — an audience voting the way an audience can.
Two ideas stories worth your time when you have some: solarpunk cities where the tech follows nature’s lead (Aeon), a future that isn’t just the present running faster. And Australia’s recording industry has banned AI-generated tracks from the ARIA charts (Variety), quietly conceding that a chart was always a trust instrument, not a scoreboard.
Also: a landmark South LA theater reopens after 15 years of renovation (Los Angeles Times), and playing Lumière turns out to require a seven-pound flaming candle strapped to each hand (Yahoo Entertainment).
All our stories below.
- Seaside Towns In Brittany Are Fed Up With Parisian Tourists
“The anger is running high across Finistère, where local populations swell to triple their normal size every summer, and heatwave conditions in the south of France have added to the influx this year. … Hostile messages have been scratched on car doors, and holidaymakers from Paris have had insults hurled at them on the street.” – The Telegraph (UK) (MSN)
- Can Poetry Help Make People More Ecologically Aware?
Researchers have argued that eco-poetry can influence how we experience a place, what we notice and what it might become in the future. They suggest that by “sounding” environmental change, speculative poetry offers us a tangible way to engage with, interpret and navigate the uncertainty of the climate crisis. – The Conversation
- Performing An Entire Disney Musical With A Seven-Pound Flaming Candle On Each Hand
“There’s an entire team at work behind the scenes and a good-natured actor who doesn’t mind flames, sweating and being unable to use his hands for the entire run time (of Beauty and the Beast). Making it work is a show unto itself.” – Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
- Judge Halts Auction Of Titanic Artifacts
A controversial plan to auction off artifacts recovered from the wreck of the Titanic must be put on hold, a federal judge ruled Monday, after the U.S. government and preservationists raised concerns about the sale and the company’s care of the artifacts. – Washington Post
- Report: Revenue Cratered At The Kennedy Center After Name Change
Ticket sales had already dropped in the10 months following Trump’s takeover, but both ticket sales and donations plunged after the Trump-led board of trustees voted in December to rename the center after him and put his name on the front of the building, according to the records. – Washington Post
- Report: Museum Heists In Europe Are Becoming More Violent
The report highlights a concerning rise in violent and forceful tactics, alongside a growing focus on high-value items such as precious metals, gemstones, and culturally significant artefacts. – Insight EU
- Translating Japanese Video Games Into English Can Be Quite The Challenge
“Modern localization, especially for video games, happens at a massive scale today. … A large update for (a) game can contain about 200,000 words, enough for a lengthy novel; major expansions to its world and story can approach 500,000 words. The English localization team can grow to more than 10 people.” – The Washington Post (Yahoo!)
- The “Worst” Year For Classical Music Institutions?
What she told me was a little alarming: “2025-2026 is the worst year for classical arts organizations since I’ve started doing this work.” The reason for this goes deep into the deficiencies of arts funding. – San Francisco Classical Voice
- The Warnings From The Digital Age That Should Inform The AI Age
The adoption and diffusion of such technologies led to wild-eyed speculation about their possible social and political consequences, a discussion that, characteristically, ricocheted between dreams of a technological utopia and fears of an artificial state. – The Guardian