ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

ISSUES

A Fire Destroyed Brazil’s National Museum. How Do You Rebuild That History?

Before the fire, the museum contained over 20 million items, including unpublished documents from Empress Maria Leopoldina, ethnographic objects from Indigenous Brazilians, significant specimens of the country’s biodiversity, fossils and rare minerals. The blaze destroyed about 85 percent of the museum’s collection. - The New York Times

Anthropic Wins Major Copyright Case: AI Training Is Fair Use

 A court has determined that it was legal for Anthropic to train its AI tools on copyrighted works, arguing that the behavior is shielded by the “fair use” doctrine, which allows for unauthorized use of copyrighted materials under certain conditions. - Wired

What Are “Italian Brain Rot Animals” And Why Are Young Adults Obsessed With Them?

They are memes generated by artificial intelligence and adored by Gen Alpha and the youngest of Gen Z — and if you’re older than that, they almost certainly baffle you. But that’s okay: Chimpanzini Bananini, Ballerina Cappuccina, Cappuccino Assassino (her boyfriend), and Shrimp Jesus were never intended to make sense. - The Guardian

Seattle Festival Canceled Over Concerns About ICE

“My biggest concern was exposing our community members that could be affected by ICE to any danger or safety issues,” said Angel-Cano, a community engagement and communications specialist at the coalition who was raised in South Park by immigrant parents from Mexico. - Seattle Times

New Hampshire Lawmakers Are Still Trying To Cut State Arts Budget To $1

“(Giv.) Ayotte had proposed a $16 billion two-year budget that included nearly $1 million annually for the arts council. ... But some legislators consider that frivolous spending when New Hampshire — which has no income tax or sales tax — is facing a revenue shortfall because of tax repeals.” - The New York Times

How Korean Culture Became A Worldwide Phenom

Experts say the nation’s cultural wave, known as “Hallyu” in Korean, began in the late 1990s, when South Korean soaps started gaining popularity in China and Japan. The rise of the internet spread these exports further. - The New York Times

New AI Arts Residencies Intend To Promote Artists Working In AI

These residencies, usually hosted by tech labs, museums, or academic centers, offer artists access to tools, compute, and collaborators to support creative experimentation with AI. - The Verge

An Ambitious Seattle Artist Housing Initiative Falters

Artspace secured millions in public funding for affordable housing to support the arts. But instead of stemming Seattle’s creative brain drain, problems at the nonprofit’s three local buildings — unresponsiveness, chronic maintenance issues and threats of eviction — have driven some artists away. - Seattle Times

Author Kaveh Akbar Reflects On Making Art During War

“Every Iranian that you know has people in Tehran, people around Iran who are doing poorly,” the author of Martyr! says. For instance, his aunt with Stage Four cancer can’t get her desperately necessary daily chemo. - NPR

Inside The Courthouse Reshaping The Future Of The Internet

“While the FTC’s lawyers were calling witnesses against Meta in one courtroom, a nearby room was hosting arguments about whether Trump could fire two of the agency’s own commissioners.” - The Verge

The Festival That Puts a Scientist In Every Pub

The Roving Scientist Bar thus became a flagship program of the Beaker Street Festival, this year returning to Hope & Anchor, Australia’s oldest continuously licensed pub. Over 150 Australian scientists will be stationed at a table over the course of three days (13-16 August), with experts on topics from Gg(fear of sharks) to dark matter. - ArtsHub

Why Culture Desperately Needs Better Digital Infrastructure

When AI systems learn about Canadian culture, history, and events, they should be learning from trusted, structured, Canadian sources - not filtered scraps from engagement-driven platforms. - LinkedIn

How Detroit Reinvented Through The Arts

Fuelled by an enterprising spirit born from recent adversity, many have found new ways to inject life into their communities and cultural arenas. In Midtown, where the rhythms of jazz bars carry into the streets, a flourishing arts scene spills out of celebrated galleries like the Detroit Institute of Arts. - National Geographic

One Of Philadelphia’s Biggest Arts Funders, Left Homeless By UArts Collapse, Has New Home

“The Barnes Foundation will be the new home for The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, a major funder of local arts programming, after the closure of the University of the Arts in June 2024 left the center without an organizational home. The Pew Charitable Trusts will continue to fund the center.” - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Why The French Government Withdrew An AI Video It Released Celebrating The Nazis’ Withdrawal From Paris

“The problem was that authorities did not check the video for historical accuracy. In a scene of Parisians jubilantly celebrating the 1944 end of Nazi occupation, a soldier wearing a German-style helmet can been seen in the crowd. In the background, someone on a balcony waves the flag of Japan.” - Artnet

Our Free Newsletter

Join our 30,000 subscribers

Latest

Don't Miss

function my_excerpt_length($length){ return 200; } add_filter('excerpt_length', 'my_excerpt_length');