The Paul Hamlyn Foundation — whose endowment has grown steadily since 2020 and now stands at £916 million ($1.28 billion) — has closed its £6.5 million ($8.7 million) Arts Fund to any new applicants. The Foundation says applications have wildly exceeded available grant money and blocking new applicants is necessary for long-term stability. - Arts Professional (UK)
The case — which charges that, with the book Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father's Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success, the publishing house and the newspaper disparaged Trump and undermined his 2024 campaign — was thrown out last month by a Federal judge who called it “improper and impermissible.” - Publishers Weekly
“The new numbers validate efforts to make the Loop a social destination and combat high retail and office vacancy rates that have plagued the area since the pandemic … (and) it’s arts and culture programming that’s ‘driving the bus at the moment,’” said Chicago Loop Alliance CEO Michael Edwards. - WBEZ (Chicago)
“The goal is to create a unified strategy and list of priorities to present with the Legislature to support the arts, culture, and humanities going forward,” CACO Senior Advisor Sue Hildick told Oregon ArtsWatch. - Oregon Arts Watch
The protests, known collectively as Fall of Freedom, will take place on the weekend of Nov. 21. Organizers, including the visual artist Dread Scott and the playwright Lynn Nottage, describe the effort as “an urgent call to the arts community to unite in defiance of authoritarian forces sweeping the nation.”
As the current administration repeals the right to culture, we, everyday people, must work to keep it. Exercise it to the fullest extent. Dine at local and immigrant-owned restaurants. Read books written in English or in translation. Recommend Hollywood and indie movies. Speak out, share ideas. - Hyperallergic
Fonda announced on October 1 that she would revive the Committee for the First Amendment, an anti-censorship group originally formed in 1947 whose members included her father, actor Henry Fonda. - Hyperallergic
Unfortunately, it’s not for all artists. There will be 2,000 stipends available, with applications opening in September of 2026 and qualified applicants (who may work in visual arts, performing arts, literature, film or architecture) selected at random. The payment will be €325 (currently $377) per week, roughly $19,600 per year. - ARTnews
This fraught debate has pitted artists who are broadly in agreement against each other. “There’s so much energy being spent ripping ourselves to shreds that arguably could be repurposed and deployed to Nigel Farage or Keir Starmer." - The Guardian
Even if an artist can afford to turn up their nose at it, the entire structure that allows them to show, see, and otherwise participate in the arts is so enmeshed with government money that rejecting it individually is as meaningless as refusing to eat Madagascar vanilla to help with your carbon footprint. - The Walrus
We are now seeing what the lost decade in American education has wrought. By some measures, American students have regressed to a level not seen in 25 years or more. - The Atlantic
“My hope is that the administration continues to recognize how important artists and culture workers are to telling the story of Chicago and to making Chicago the kind of beautiful, vibrant place that we’re all fighting for.” - Chicago Sun-Times
“Many of the statues have been revived with the help of Italian American groups, who cherish Columbus as a figure their ancestors embraced as a hero of the diaspora.” But generally, they’re not being returned to public lands. - The New York Times
