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- Why Trump Is Going After Cultural Institutions
One thing that has really struck me is that ordinary Americans are far less interested in fighting about history than it might seem. – The New York Times
- AI Is Forcing Us To Grapple With Meaning
When Wittgenstein referred to the “beginning of the end of humanity,” he was not envisioning sci-fi cataclysms… He was referring to what he called the “form of life” we inhabit. That form of life is threatened by a way of thinking that lowers human life to the plane of science and technology. – Commonweal
- Making Dance Into A Professional Team Sport, Like Basketball Or Football
“In its first official season, starting May 2 in New York City, the International Dance League is offering contracts to top-level dance teams and presenting huge arena competitions. … It’s calling the format ‘the MMA of dance.’ And the dance community is reacting with both excitement and skepticism.” – Dance Magazine
- New School Plans To Cut 15 Percent Of Its Faculty
Amid a projected $48 million deficit largely attributed to enrollment decline, the New School’s upcoming layoffs come as the newest development in the university’s sprawling workforce reduction saga, which the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) called the “largest attempted firing of faculty currently taking place in the nation.” – Hyperallergic
- The Progress Paradox: Are You Coal Or Are You A Horse?
Searches for the phrase job apocalypse are spiking. Polls show that voters are beginning to freak out. But there’s a better question for white-collar workers to ask themselves: Am I coal, or am I a horse? – The Atlantic
- Reality Is Breaking Down
Insulating yourself from inconvenient facts is not an effective long-term life strategy, even for someone powerful enough to externalize the costs of most of their bad decisions onto others. – Artnet
- Baghdad Bob in Drag Sycophancy Is a Feature Not a Bug<a href="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2026/03/baghdad-bob-in-drag-sycophancy-is-a-feature-not-a-bug.html" title='Baghdad Bob in Drag
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‘President Trump has been right about everything.” — White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. (This is old news by now, but the staff felt an obligation to memorialize it.) - What Has Surprised The New York Times’ Lead Reporter On Trump’s Culture Wars
Jennifer Schuessler: “Ordinary Americans are far less interested in fighting about history than it might seem. People who work at historical sites, whether government-run or private, report that most visitors, whatever their politics, show up open-minded and curious and hungry for fact-based, nonpartisan history.” – The New York Times
- An Ethical Path For AI Art?
There is understandable fear among artists that artificial intelligence will plunder their work and render already-difficult careers impossible. This sets up the question: Is there an ethical path forward for art and AI? – Hyperallergic
- Despite War, Middle East Art World Seems “Normal”
As the US-Israel war on Iran enters its fourth week, neighboring Gulf states, a hub of much of the region’s contemporary art production, are projecting an image of normalcy, with many galleries and museums reopening. – Hyperallergic
- Why Are London Theatre Tickets So Much Cheaper Than Broadway’s?
West End theater tickets are regularly less expensive than on Broadway, even for the same shows. Last year, the average West End ticket price was about $81, while last season the average Broadway ticket price was roughly $129. – The New York Times
- PBS To Launch YouTube Documentaries Channel
“The channel will distribute more than 100 new videos annually, including feature-length and short documentaries from the PBS series Independent Lens, POV, Reel South and Voices as well as output from PBS’s partnership with BBC Studios.” – The Hollywood Reporter
- Han Kang And Arundhati Roy Among Winners At National Book Critics Circle Awards
Nobel laureate Han Kang won the fiction category for We Do Not Part, while Karen Hao took nonfiction honors for Empire of A.I. and Arundhati Roy received the autobiography prize for Mother Mary Comes to Me. Among other honorees were Quinn Slobodian for Hayek’s Bastards (criticism) and Kevin Young for Night Watch (poetry). – AP
- New American Operas Do Not Have To “Challenge” Audiences: John McWhorter
“One thing that could help turn things around is if opera companies offered audiences works in the language they speak (and) a musical language they can readily recognize and enjoy. … Too often composers and producers reject music that audiences can easily appreciate as insufficiently sophisticated or original.” – The New York Times
- Boston Lyric Opera Has A Permanent HQ At Long Last
“The BLO has been something of a nomad after ending its relationship with the Shubert Theatre a decade ago. … While the company steadily performs at historic Boston venues like the Emerson Colonial, preparing for their big productions has scattered the company around the city, and beyond, for years” — until now. – WBUR (Boston)
- Salzburg Festival Fires Artistic Director Markus Hinterhäuser
“An Austrian pianist who turns 68 on Monday, Hinterhäuser became artistic director on Oct. 1, 2016. The festival announced in April 2024 that he had been given a third five-year term from 2026-31, but his relationship with management became strained.” – AP
- Despite Initial Denial From White House, Bill Maher Will Receive Mark Twain Prize For American Humor
“After The Atlantic cited anonymous sources saying he was, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called it ‘fake news.’ But today the Kennedy Center made it official.” – NPR
- Trinity Rep Names A New Artistic Director
Meredith McDonough, formerly associate artistic director at Actors Theatre of Louisville and, before that, director of new works at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, takes the helm at the Providence company as of August 3. – The Providence Journal
- Good Morning
Kennedy Center layoffs arrived yesterday — hitting programming, development, marketing, and the office of the president, according to multiple people at the center (Washington Post). Meanwhile in Chicago, founding members of Congo Square Theatre — one of the city’s leading Black theater companies — say the board dissolved the organization without notifying anyone. They found out by searching a state database (WBEZ). In a wider view: British local government arts funding is now less than half of what it was in 2010 (WhatsOnStage).
The AI writing panic has developed its own irony. One op-ed argues that AI-generated text is eroding the basic trust between authors and readers, and the publishing industry isn’t prepared (The New York Times). A companion story finds that writers who learned English as a second language are being flagged as AI precisely because their grammar is too correct (New York Magazine). Too polished to be trusted as human.
Starting in 2029, the Oscars move to L.A. Live — the sports-and-entertainment complex adjacent to Crypto.com Arena, home of the Lakers — the same year the ceremony migrates to YouTube (The New York Times). Hollywood’s most storied night, now flanked by basketball and a Google platform.
All of our stories below.
- The Oscars Are Moving To Downtown LA
Beginning in 2029 — the same year the Oscar telecast moves to YouTube — the Academy Awards will move to downtown Los Angeles, to L.A. Live, a sports-and-entertainment complex adjacent to the Crypto.com Arena, home of the Lakers basketball team and the Kings hockey team. – The New York Times
- This World-Famous Concert Hall Lets Students In To Study While Musicians Play For Them
“The study sessions were first organized during the COVID-19 pandemic by Entree, the youth association of (Amsterdam’s) Concertgebouw, to help students improve their concentration and introduce them to the charms of classical music. They have been a hit ever since.” – AP
- Kennedy Center Started Laying Off Staff Today
Multiple departments were affected — including programming, development, advertising, marketing and the office of the president — according to multiple people at the center. – Washington Post
- I Wanted To Be A Critic. It Doesn’t Exist Anymore
This is how I came to understand that the relationship between what we see and what we know—the art of noticing— is a sophisticated act of interpretation, not just passive observation… “By the time you get to New York, this won’t be a thing,” he hissed, and I withered. He wasn’t wrong. – Talk Scratch
- Arts Funding By Local Governments In Britain Has Fallen By Half Since 2010
“Analysis by the Autonomy Institute shows spending has dropped from £1.19 billion in 2010 to £539 million in 2024 to 25. The data covers local authority budgets for arts and entertainment, including theatres, live performance, museums and galleries.” – WhatsOnStage (UK)
- Hauser & Wirth Partner Leaves To Start An Artist Management Agency
After 16 years helping build one of the most powerful galleries in the world, Cristopher Canizares is stepping away from Hauser & Wirth to try something the art market still hasn’t quite figured out how to define: an artist management agency. – ARTnews
- Can Bluey Bring On A New Generation Of Classical Music Fans?
All we have to do is keep kids and families watching Bluey, and they will playfully and profoundly enjoy more classical tunes than the children of almost any previous generation. – The Guardian
- AI Is Making A Bollox Of The Publishing Industry
As more A.I.-generated writing is put out in the world, more readers will question whether the text they are poring over was penned by a human. We’re barreling toward a rapid erosion of trust between authors and readers, and the publishing industry is unprepared to deal with the consequences. – The New York Times
- The People Getting Falsely Accused Of Using AI Because They Write Too Well
Everyone is trying to figure out who is LLM and who is human, and sometimes we’re getting it wrong. In particular, people who learned English as a second or third language, working hard to master the strange, unpredictable rules, are accused of using AI precisely because they follow those rules. – New York Magazine
- A Film School Teaching Movie Professionals To Make Movies With AI
“You can’t create an AI film that resonates with an audience without understanding how to craft an incredible story. We found the people making the very best AI-assisted films in our community are working professionals in the industry.” – The Hollywood Reporter
- Foundation Stops Supporting Toronto Arts Foundation After Protests
The Azrieli Foundation, a charitable organisation with ties to Israel’s largest real estate company, will cease its support of the Toronto Arts Foundation following a protest campaign by Canadian artists and arts workers. – The Art Newspaper
- Implications Of The Sora/Disney Divorce
Sora stumbled upon AI’s massive potential by giving users free rein over popular characters — from “Rick & Morty” to Pikachu — in any scenario they can imagine. But that, of course, was a nightmare scenario for studios. – Yahoo
- How The London Review Of Books Is Making Money Despite Losing Circulation
The independently-owned title has seen sales decline from a post-pandemic high of 91,000 copies in 2021 to about 78,000 currently. But the LRB has increased income by an average of 6.8% year-on-year since the pandemic and is focusing on revenue per copy rather than discounting to increase circulation. – Press Gazette (UK)
- Works & Process 2026-2027 Paid Residency Open Call
Works & Process invites New York City-based dance artists and dance companies to apply for paid, week-long, out-of-town residencies. Taking place between October 2026 – May 2027, in collaboration with over a dozen partners in six states, residencies may be used to start a new project or continue developing an existing work.
Works & Process residencies will support creative process for companies of eight (or fewer) artists for seven-day residencies. Each artist receives an industry-leading fee of $175 per day ($1,225 per week). Residencies also include 24/7 studio access, on-site housing, a travel stipend, and health insurance enrollment access. Each residency culminates in an open rehearsal or showing for the local community. In addition, the project may potentially be presented by Works & Process in New York City.
300 applications will be accepted starting March 24.
- Supreme Court Protects Internet Providers From Liability For Music Piracy
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Wednesday that internet provider Cox Communications cannot be held liable for music piracy from its users. – The Hollywood Reporter
- How Can We Make Theatre Touring More Environmentally Friendly?
At the moment, theatre companies undertake a range of sustainability practices, including reusing set pieces in different shows and ethically sourcing and constructing sets. –ArtsHub
