AJ Four Ways:
Text Only (by date) | headlines only
- Good Morning.
Here are today’s AJ highlights.
In Venice, musicians from Teatro La Fenice marched through the city to protest the political overreach of their music director—a defense of artistic independence that sounded through St. Mark’s Square (AP). On Broadway, the actors’ union nearly went dark before a deal was struck in the eleventh hour (The Hollywood Reporter), while director Bartlett Sher explained to the Observer that theatre’s job isn’t to instruct, but to “help us live with ambiguity” (New York Observer).
The Louvre is racing to rebuild its sense of security—literally—after a jewel heist forced a $92 million “master plan” for its defenses (Artsy). Two U.S. art museums face their own reckonings: a revolt over the Palm Springs Art Museum’s new director (Los Angeles Times (MSN)) and the firing—after investigation—of the Philadelphia Museum’s chief (The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)).
And the BBC is burning: its top two news executives quit under political and legal fire as Trump threatens a billion-dollar lawsuit (The London Standard).
Editor’s Note: Maybe we don’t crave stability in the arts at all—just a better class of turbulence. The rest of today’s stories below.
- Musicians Of Venice’s Opera House Lead March Through City To Protest Music Director
“On Monday, musicians, singers and stagehands (from Teatro La Fenice) marched through Venice with workers from other Italian opera houses. … They were joined by season-ticket holders, music students and Venetians worried about the future of artistic independence at La Fenice — and across Italy.” – AP
- Bart Sher: Theatre As Catalyst For Change
“I think theatre is a catalyst for change,” Sher said. “I don’t think you make theatre pieces to tell people how to change. We tell stories that express people’s ability to handle ambiguity, deal with problems, see conflicts and make decisions.” – New York Observer
- Inside The Negotiations That Ultimately Kept Broadway Actors From Striking
As the union’s executive director, Al Vincent Jr., tells it, Actors’ Equity was much closer to declaring a work stoppage than we might think. – The Hollywood Reporter
- We Have A Growing AI Slop Problem
Of course, with mass production comes surplus and, then, refuse. We containerize actual trash because otherwise debris gets on everything else and makes everything less good. AI is, arguably, doing the same on the internet. It’s clear we think of a lot of AI as trash, though we’re not doing much to clean it up. – Fast Company
- The Brilliant Critic Who Took On Raising American Literature
Cowley’s power and influence lay in opening, not shutting, the door to a new generation. He came of age at an especially fertile literary moment, after World War I, and he had a special interest in the work of his contemporaries, in the homegrown modernism of Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway. – The Atlantic
- Controversy Over Appointment Of Palm Springs Art Museum’s New Director
Christine Vendredi may well have proven to be the best candidate, but that the bungled process of simply elevating the chief curator to the directorship behind the scenes also did a disservice to the new director, as it “put her legitimacy in question.” – Los Angeles Times (MSN)
- There Are Two Farmer’s Almanacs In The US. Only One Is Shutting Down.
There are The Farmer’s Almanac and The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Both are over 200 years old and both are annual publications known for their seasonal weather forecasts. The Farmer’s Almanac (founded in 1818) is the one closing; The Old Farmer’s Almanac (founded in 1792) “isn’t going anywhere.” – Nieman Lab
- AI Chatbots Can Make You Smarter. Or They Can Make You Dumber. Here’s How To Avoid The Latter
Whether we like it or not, chatbots are here to stay. It’s not necessarily a problem, but it risks becoming one if people use chatbots in harmful ways. I’m going to help you avoid that. – Psyche
- How Our Brains Are Wired For Motivation
People with higher levels of dopamine are more likely to choose a harder task with a higher reward than an easier, low-reward task. Low dopamine doesn’t reduce focus, but it’s believed it provokes giving more weight to the perceived cost of an activity instead of the potential reward. – 3 Quarks Daily
- Rural Libraries are Struggling For Oh So Many Reasons
Communities are already feeling the impact: Some rural libraries in Florida and Mississippi, for example, have frozen interlibrary loan programs, sharply reducing the range of materials available to residents in more remote areas. – The New York Times
- Protesters Disrupt Opening Of Nigeria’s New Museum Of West African Art
“Videos circulating online show more than a dozen young people on Sunday evening rushing the grounds of the multi-million-dollar Museum of West African Art in Benin City. … The demonstrators asserted that the museum’s opening is a violation of Benin City’s cultural heritage, which falls under the authority of its traditional ruler.” – AP
- What NYT Staff Learned When They Asked People To Spend Ten Minutes Look At A Piece Of Art
For the team that works on the series, the project has been an enlightening experience. Mr. Buchanan said he had begun noticing subtle things in his own life, like how cracks zigzag across the sidewalk, or the way light hits the water, or the way a plant is squeezed against a rock. – The New York Times
- Sarah Jessica Parker’s Year Of Reading 153 Books As A Booker Prize Judge
My husband and children knew what this meant. No one tried to compete with the Booker. Anytime after dinner, when there was a discussion about what movie to watch, no one asked me. Everybody knew what I would be doing. – The New York Times
- Claim: End Of Public Funding Will Make Public Media More Polarizing
Losing the rest of the public funding is likely to make the problem worse. In the face of cuts, many stations are issuing renewed appeals to their traditional donor base, making public radio even more reliant on private donations and an audience that’s older, whiter, and richer than the average American. – NiemanLab
- Lucinda Childs’s Niece Comes Into Her Own As A Choreographer
“As (Ruth) Childs carved her own path as a freelance dancer (in Europe), the specter of her aunt’s work loomed. It continued to deter her from making her own choreography, until it inspired her to try.” – The New York Times
- Boston’s WGBH Has Fourth Round Of Layoffs This Year
“Fifteen employees were told that their positions were being eliminated, according to a statement from President and CEO Susan Goldberg. She cited the loss of federal funding and said that staff numbers were being reduced ‘as contracts and seasons end.’” – Boston.com
- Meet The Minnesota Orchestra’s Full-Time Social Media Content Creator
“The day before a fall show, Minnesota Orchestra musicians rushed through the stage door for rehearsal. At the bottom of the stairs was the orchestra’s social media manager with an iPhone … to record their most anxiety-inducing performance stories.” – The Minnesota Star Tribune (MSN)
- Philadelphia Art Museum Fired Director Sasha Suda After Outside Investigation
“The Philadelphia Art Museum dismissed director and CEO Sasha Suda for cause after commissioning an independent investigation … by an outside law firm, which made the recommendation that Suda’s employment be terminated.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
- Louvre Hurriedly Institutes New $92 Million Master Security Plan
“The Louvre has unveiled a €80 million ($92 million) overhaul of its security systems in response to the brazen $102 million jewel theft that stunned Paris last month. … The initiative follows public scrutiny of internal audits — some dating back more than a decade — that revealed serious lapses.” – Artsy
- Firestorm At BBC News: Top Two Execs Resign And Trump Threatens To Sue For $1 Billion
BBC Director-General Tim Davie and BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness resigned after the leak of a memo about the editing, for the show Panorama, of Trump’s speech just before the US Capitol invasion in January 2021. Trump’s attorneys have threatened suit unless the network retracts the show and pays compensation. – The London Standard
- Born in the DSA*: It’s Time to Sign a New Declaration of Independence
The time will never be more right to create Pacifica, the seventh largest economy in the world, by disabusing ourselves of the dangerous DSA cultists forever. Just sign your name in the comments and join us.
*DSA stands for the Divided States of America (aka “One Nation, Divisible”). Periodically, I’ll be writing more specific takes on issues that are clearly wrong for this country, using the arts as context. If there are issues you’d like to take up (or that you’d like me to take up), let me know. And again, I’m sorry, Bruce.
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident:
- That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their very existence with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness;
- That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed;
- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
Such has been the patient sufferance of these regions currently associated with California, Oregon, Washington, and Hawai’i; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present president of the United States is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, instead opting to govern by dictum and declamation;
He has forbidden his followers to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature by any means, including gerrymandering and the discount or overcount of votes, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands;
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers; indeed the thirty-four felonies for he has been found guilty have held no consequence for him or his followers;
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries, providing favor for those who transfer their wealth to him;
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance;
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures, using archaic laws with thin credibility or precedence to attack his own people;
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power;
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, as long as its leaders are seen as draconian dictators with megalomaniacal aspirations, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world by his use of arbitrary tariffs, causing prices within the country to soar for his own people;
For Reducing Taxes on the wealthy while Imposing Taxes on the poor;
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to locales such as Guantanamo Bay and foreign prisons in South America to be tried for pretended offences, or, when convenient to him, for no trial at all;
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments;
For suspending our own Congress’ rights and responsibilities toward the public purse, and declaring himself invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people, even those who voted for him. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, particularly on January 6, 2021.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Vance, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our American brethren, even those who attempted to secede the Union in the middle portion of the 19th Century. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
The map of the nation on the left and New Glory with the national mammal, the sea otter, honorably flapping in peace, freedom, and dignity on the right. We, therefore, the Representatives of the Country of Pacifica, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these aforementioned lands, solemnly publish and declare, That collectively, as the Country of Pacifica, the lands of California (west to the Pacific Ocean, east to the mountain ranges such as the Sierra Nevadas that bisect the region), Oregon (west to the Pacific Ocean and east to the Cascades, which bisect the region), Washington (west to the Pacific Ocean and east to the Cascades), and Hawai’i, are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent Regions part of a single land; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the poorly-monikered United States of America, and that all political connection between them and the USA, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as a Free and Independent Entity, the people shall have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor. Further, we support any decision by the state of Hawai’i, formerly an independent country, to choose to revert to that designation at any time its people choose to do so.
Finally, we urge those who believe their heritage was taken from them by the defeat of the Confederacy eight score ago to renew and revive their own path to a new Confederacy whose values more highly reflect their own histories and choices. We truly wish them nothing but success in that endeavor. In so doing, and reflecting the collective adherence to the notion of “Bring us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” we open the borders of Pacifica to anyone who chooses to reside and become citizens therein upon renunciation of citizenship in any other country or regime and the ability to grow the economy and power of this mighty, peaceful land.
Big enough so that Little Donny Dingdong can see it from the golden toilet.
If you want your nonprofit arts organization to thrive, in whatever country you choose, just pick up this inexpensive trilogy. If not, I can instead show you know how to throw “Going Out Of Business” sales. 
I love that you read this column all the way to the end. Could you find it within you to support my caffeine habit, either by clicking the cup or better yet, getting together? - 2025 Booker Prize Goes To David Szalay’s “Flesh”
“Szalay’s sixth work of fiction traces the life of one man, István, from his youth to midlife. The judges ‘had never read anything quite like it’, said panel chair Roddy Doyle, who won the prize in 1993. ‘It is, in many ways, a dark book, but it is a joy to read.’” – The Guardian
- Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra seeks President & Chief Executive Officer
Reporting to the Board of Directors, the President and Chief Executive Officer who will provide positive leadership and vision to ensure the Kalamazoo Symphony’s organizational, financial, and artistic success. They will be responsible and accountable for all aspects of the Orchestra’s operations, including strategic planning, budgeting and financial management, artistic administration and some program planning, contract negotiations and labor relations, marketing and public relations, fundraising, human resource management, education, and community engagement.
Additionally, the President & CEO will actively seek new opportunities for performances, partnerships, and collaborations throughout the community and region, creating innovative and engaging alternative concert formats and venues with the Music Director with the goal of welcoming, growing, and diversifying new audiences. They will also take a leadership role in fundraising, develop creative fundraising strategies, and provide guidance and impetus to the fundraising efforts of the Board. The President and Chief Executive Officer will ensure that the Kalamazoo Symphony realizes its vision, fulfills its mission, achieves its operational and budgetary goals, and fulfills its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Founded in 1921, the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra (KSO) recently celebrated 100 years as part of the Kalamazoo community’s rich musical heritage. The Orchestra’s mission is to serve the Kalamazoo community through outstanding musical listening and learning experiences. That mission is demonstrated as symphony musicians perform throughout the region in full orchestra and chamber concerts, in dynamic educational programming, in creative formats, and with many collaborative partners. Music Director Julian Kuerti, in partnership with the President & CEO, guides the artistic direction that underpins the Symphony’s main programming. The dedicated Board of Directors and the KSO staff work to maintain the Orchestra’s financial and administrative health. The donors and supporters—individuals, businesses, and the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra League—all help to make the Symphony a vibrant resource where the Kalamazoo community comes together to create shared musical experiences.
A bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience and at least seven years of arts management experience is preferred for this role. Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra will consider candidates with a broad range of backgrounds. If you are excited about this role and feel that you can contribute to KSO, but your experience does not exactly align with every qualification listed above, we encourage you to apply. All applications must be accompanied by a cover letter and résumé. Cover letters should be responsive to the mission of Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra and the responsibilities and qualifications specified in the position prospectus.
The salary range for this position is $140,000 to $160,000. Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra offers a comprehensive package of benefits, including generous paid vacation days, personal days and sick time, as well as health, vision, and dental insurance, 403(b) retirement plan with a 3% employer match, life insurance, and short and long-term disability insurance, and free parking downtown at the Epic Center parking garage.
Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra is committed to the inclusion of all qualified candidates. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, or participating in the selection process, please contact Jeanette Rivera-Watts at jeanetterw@aspenleadershipgroup.com.
To apply for this position, visit: https://apptrkr.com/6694736.
- How Journalism Media Lost The American Public
“I actually think that the decline of trust has to do with newspapers’ becoming more responsible, more accurate. Nobody I know would trade today’s newspaper for one from 1960.” – Harper’s
- Instant Translation Is Like Magic. But Might We Be Losing Something?
As people embrace these transformative tools, they risk eroding capacities and experiences that embody values other than seamlessness and efficiency. – The Atlantic
- The Crushing Debt Of Arts Schools
Art schools are marketed as gateways to success. However, the fine print tells a different story: crushing debt, unreliable outcomes, and a mismatch between what’s promised and what’s delivered. – Hyperallergic
- Expert Critics Look At This Year’s Booker Finalists
Academic critics read closely this year’s Booker Prize finalists: Each novel has emotional temperature and structural ambition: domestic quietudes stretched into myth, migration histories turned intimate, masculinity stripped to bone, love sagas operating as cultural x-rays. A list that prizes atmosphere over spectacle. – The Conversation
- Enough With Those Claims Culture Has Become Less Creative. Look Around!
The Internet didn’t destroy monoculture. It exposed the fact that monoculture was always a bottleneck, popped the cork, and let the contents fizz out. – ARTnews
- Fired Philadelphia Art Museum Director Sues Over Her Dismissal
In her lawsuit, which was filed in Pennsylvania state court, the former director, Sasha Suda, contends that she was fired “without a valid basis” after negotiations over the terms of her departure with the museum’s board of trustees had reached an impasse. – The New York Times
- How To Build An Imagination: The Books Of Childhood
We learn from stories. Our ancestors were raised on myths about their ancestors, tales about their saviours, emperors and lawgivers, and, eventually, novels about any number of times and places, most of them named. – Equator
- Fighting The Algorithms: Tips For Discovering New Music
“For the past year and a half, I’ve been trying to figure out the easiest way to uncover new music. Not new releases, not new songs like the ones I already like, but music that’s new to me, by artists I haven’t encountered before.” – The New York Times
- Why Music Education Should Resist Conformity
We live in an age of unprecedented connectivity, and yet this very connectedness has led to something paradoxical: uniformity. In our quest to standardise, streamline, and compare ourselves globally, we risk erasing the very differences that make human creativity, and particularly music, so rich. – The Strad
- @100: Remembering Charles Mackerras’ Impact On English Musical Life
Mackerras had a major impact on British musical life, whether as Music Director of English National Opera and Welsh National Opera, working with major symphony orchestras, or conducting smaller groups such as the English Chamber Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. – Gramophone
- Washington National Opera Considers Leaving The Kennedy Center
Leaving the Kennedy Center is a possible scenario after a collapse in box office revenue and “shattered” donor confidence in the wake of Trump’s takeover, said Francesca Zambello. – The Guardian
