Today's Stories

Meet The Woman Who Brought Helvetica To America

Barbara Stauffacher Solomon brought the now-standard sans-serif font back from her studies in Basel in the early 1960s, when Americans were completely accustomed to traditional typefaces likes Times New Roman and Baskerville. She then became famous for her colorful designs, interior and exterior, for the new Sea Ranch community in California. - Artnet

Musician Opens Jewel Box 750-Seat Music Venue In LA

In a few weeks, this site will be Pacific Electric, a new 750-capacity music venue that Ben Lovett and his venue-developer firm TVG Hospitality have been converting for six years. It’s a small but ambitious entry into a Los Angeles venue landscape that’s recovering from fire and economic woes. - Los Angeles Times

The Aztec Dancers Of Silicon Valley

“Calpulli Ocelocihuatl (is) one of roughly half-a-dozen Aztec dance groups active in San Jose. Other Aztec dance groups – some whose histories stretch back more than half a century — are also thriving along the West Coast, from Washington state down to Sacramento, Oakland, Salinas and San Diego.” - The Mercury News (San Jose)

Why Dictionaries Still Matter

The book is formal and highly structured; it seems like something from another, vaguely bygone time. Still, dictionary editors have long paid close attention to how language is used and perused—in signs, in novels, in articles and pronouncements, and lately on the Web. - The Nation

Our Culture Of Insurance Is Breaking Down

What emerged in tandem with the growth of capitalism was a system in which insurance and investment were bound together until it became integral to the economic system, seen as essential in protecting investments. This is why today you can’t get a mortgage without it. - Aeon

The British Museum Employee Who Stole More Than 300 Prints

“Nigel Peverett, who worked at the museum’s Department of Prints and Drawings in the early 1970s, had remained a ‘frequent visitor’ until one day in April 1992, when he was caught.” He was prosecuted, hospitalized after a suicide attempt, and got a suspended sentence. Amazingly, he kept his employee pension. - The Independent (UK)

Russia Returns To Exhibiting At The Venice Biennale

Russia will host a pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale, the world’s most important art event — the latest sign of the country’s will to end its pariah status in global cultural and sporting life amid the war in Ukraine. - The New York Times

How We Can Shape Our Dreams

Targeted Dream Incubation (TDI) uses external stimuli to connect with a dreamer and encourage them to focus on a particular topic or theme. - The Walrus

Exiled Belarussian Theatre Brings Dissident Work To Venice Biennale

The exhibition, titled “Official. Unofficial. Belarus.,” is a group show presenting work by Belarusian artists who works challenge the long-standing authoritative regime in their native country. - Artnet

How A Scholar Stumbled On Handwritten Notes By Galileo

Historian Ivan Malara spotted notes, annotations and a Bible verse handwritten by the young Galileo circa 1590 in an early printed copy of the Almagest, the second-century C.E. treatise on astronomy by Ptolemy which placed the Earth at the center of the universe. - Smithsonian Magazine

Protests Over Announcement DePaul University Will Close Its Museum

The move has prompted outrage from faculty and staff, including an open letter penned by art history and philosophy faculty members and signed by more than 2,000 community members that criticized the school’s decision as “short-sighted, wrong-headed, and grounded in some deeply disappointing principles of prioritization.” - Hyperallergic

Inside The Painstaking Restoration Of A Frank Lloyd Wright House

The Martin House’s resurfacing as a museum—with its insides restored, and its carriage house and conservatory rebuilt to original specifications—is nothing short of a “civic miracle." - Artnet

Colm Tóibín: Of Course AI Is A Threat To Creative Writing

"This idea no machine could ever replace my sensibility, which is so rich, varied, complex, and arising from experience and from history – that’s all rubbish. You can actually manufacture that." - The Conversation

Chicago Art Institute Expansion Threatens Iconic Louis Sullivan Room

The old Chicago Stock Exchange Building trading room — Adler & Sullivan’s gilded age space rescued from demolition 54 years ago — could be uprooted from its longtime Art Institute of Chicago home under preliminary expansion plans being considered by the museum. - Chicago Sun-Times

How Jonathan Groff Became A Now-Rare Thing: A Male Musical-Theater Superstar

Says director Michael Mayer, “He’s now established himself as someone who can open and sustain a show. And this at a time when star power is pretty much one of the only things that can guarantee viability for a musical.” - The New York Times

60 Years After Hollywood Abandoned It, VistaVision Is Back

While the format was quite popular in the 1950s (Vertigo and The Ten Commandments were filmed in it), the industry moved on in the 1960s and few VistaVision cameras have survived. Yet the films made in it in just the past few years include The Brutalist, Bugonia, Wuthering Heights, and One Battle After Another. - AP

Dalí Museum In Florida Announces $65 Million Expansion

The 35,000-square-foot addition to the St. Petersburg institution, expected to begin construction this year and open in 2028, will increase exhibition space, add a dedicated learning center, and provide flexible environments for “experiential exhibitions that blend art and technology.” - Tampa Bay Times

Is This Bust Of Jesus A Michelangelo? Independent Researcher Says Yes, Scholars Are Skeptical

Valentina Salerno, an actress and novelist with no formal training in art history, says she has reviewed numerous documents indicating that the sculpture, located in a Roman church, is the work of Michelangelo. She published her findings at a non-peer-reviewed website, though she says she’s willing to let scholars examine her research. - AP

Trump’s “Freedom Truck” Mobile Exhibitions Are Now On The Road

“As the U.S. gears up for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, President Donald Trump has dispatched six roving Freedom Truck exhibitions to crisscross the country. The first of 20 planned stops — mainly in the South, with forays to the Midwest, Arizona, and Utah — was last month in Nashville.” - Artnet

Belarus Free Theatre To Appear At Venice Biennale

“The Belarus Free Theatre, an underground theater group in exile since 2020, announced Wednesday that it will stage the exhibition ‘Official. Unofficial. Belarus.’ as an official collateral event of the 61st Venice Biennale.” - ARTnews

By Topic

Our Culture Of Insurance Is Breaking Down

What emerged in tandem with the growth of capitalism was a system in which insurance and investment were bound together until it became integral to the economic system, seen as essential in protecting investments. This is why today you can’t get a mortgage without it. - Aeon

How We Can Shape Our Dreams

Targeted Dream Incubation (TDI) uses external stimuli to connect with a dreamer and encourage them to focus on a particular topic or theme. - The Walrus

Universities As Practical Job Creators? We Ought To Do Better Than That!

An education spent in pursuit of material comfort and convenience is a recipe for unhappiness, an existence in thrall to the raw, hungry American mantra of success, “More! More!” - LA Review of Books

When Pop Culture Has a Half-Life of Six Months

Kids giggling at "six-seven" reveals the brutal math of digital culture: references expire faster than milk. What happens when shared cultural touchstones become as fleeting as TikTok trends? Generational gaps now measure in weeks, not decades. — Common Reader

Why Is It So Hard To Make The Case For Universities?

The “constitutive” role of universities cannot merely be announced to like-minded audiences or extracted from sympathetic courts. - Chronicle of Higher Education

There Are No Psychopaths?

While it has been researched across hundreds of empirical studies – especially since the explosion of research in the late-1990s – there is still remarkably little evidence that corroborates popularised claims about the diagnosis. - Aeon

Trump’s “Freedom Truck” Mobile Exhibitions Are Now On The Road

“As the U.S. gears up for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, President Donald Trump has dispatched six roving Freedom Truck exhibitions to crisscross the country. The first of 20 planned stops — mainly in the South, with forays to the Midwest, Arizona, and Utah — was last month in Nashville.” - Artnet

LA’s Art Gold Rush Ends, Actual Work Begins

The carpetbaggers have packed their Hermès bags and fled back east. What remains? The unglamorous business of building a real art scene—one gallery lease and artist studio at a time. — Artnet

Supreme Court to AI Art: Sorry, Humans Only

The high court declined to revisit whether algorithms can hold copyright, leaving AI creations in legal limbo. While tech bros rage and traditional artists breathe easier, the real question remains: who profits when creativity gets automated? — Artnet

The Role Of Arts And Culture In Turbulent Times

When the news and social media are flooded with opposing interpretations of events, outright lies, and about a zillion editorial style video shorts that offer about a zillion different opinions, art and culture can bring the reality and humanity of the headlines to light. - Ludwig Van

Downtown L.A.’s Latest, And Smallest, Performance Venue Looks Like An Electrical Box

Indeed, when artist S.C. Mero was installing it in the Arts District, police stopped her, concerned she was ripping out copper wire. Inside, the Electrical Box Theatre is “an impromptu performance space for the sort of experimental artists who no longer have an outlet in downtown's galleries or more refined stages.” - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

Should AI Be Used In Grantmaking? If So, How?

Arts-minded folks are likely to hate the idea, but there are pressures which could push toward it: increasing application volumes, limited staff capacity, and mounting expectations for speed and consistency in decision-making (not least from board members). Could grantmakers use AI responsibly? - SMU DataArts

Musician Opens Jewel Box 750-Seat Music Venue In LA

In a few weeks, this site will be Pacific Electric, a new 750-capacity music venue that Ben Lovett and his venue-developer firm TVG Hospitality have been converting for six years. It’s a small but ambitious entry into a Los Angeles venue landscape that’s recovering from fire and economic woes. - Los Angeles Times

Where Stradivarius Found Just The Right Wood

“A study of the tree rings in Stradivarius violins, published in January in the journal Dendrochronologia, has revealed the most likely origin of some of the craftsman’s violins: wood from trees growing at high elevation in northern Italy in the same valley that hosted part of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.” - The New York Times

Barbara Hannigan On The New Work She’s Premiering: “It’s Like Turning Your Soul Inside Out”

Composer Laura Bowler wrote the piece, which sets excerpts from Nobel laureate Han Kang’s The White Book, following her mother’s death in an accident after recovering from leukemia. Despite the daunting circumstances and Hannigan’s description, the soprano says, “I don’t think I’ve ever been more calm for a world premiere.” - The Guardian

Live Nation Anti-Trust Trial Begins

The government says Live Nation retains its grip on the music industry with strong-arm tactics like demanding that artists use its promotion services in order to perform in its amphitheaters. - The New York Times

Lufthansa Changes Musical Instrument Carryon Rules After Incident

As of March 1, Lufthansa Group, citing “customer feedback,” said it would be applying “a new, more generous” carry-on policy for small instruments, such as violins, trumpets or ukuleles. - The New York Times

Paavo Järvi Named Next Chief Conductor Of London Philharmonic

Music director or chief conductor, formerly, of (among others) the Cincinnati Symphony and the Orchestre de Paris, and currently of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and Zurich’s Tonhalle-Orchester, the 63-year-old Järvi will succeed Edward Gardner in London in the fall of 2028. - The Guardian

The British Museum Employee Who Stole More Than 300 Prints

“Nigel Peverett, who worked at the museum’s Department of Prints and Drawings in the early 1970s, had remained a ‘frequent visitor’ until one day in April 1992, when he was caught.” He was prosecuted, hospitalized after a suicide attempt, and got a suspended sentence. Amazingly, he kept his employee pension. - The Independent (UK)

Russia Returns To Exhibiting At The Venice Biennale

Russia will host a pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale, the world’s most important art event — the latest sign of the country’s will to end its pariah status in global cultural and sporting life amid the war in Ukraine. - The New York Times

Protests Over Announcement DePaul University Will Close Its Museum

The move has prompted outrage from faculty and staff, including an open letter penned by art history and philosophy faculty members and signed by more than 2,000 community members that criticized the school’s decision as “short-sighted, wrong-headed, and grounded in some deeply disappointing principles of prioritization.” - Hyperallergic

Inside The Painstaking Restoration Of A Frank Lloyd Wright House

The Martin House’s resurfacing as a museum—with its insides restored, and its carriage house and conservatory rebuilt to original specifications—is nothing short of a “civic miracle." - Artnet

Chicago Art Institute Expansion Threatens Iconic Louis Sullivan Room

The old Chicago Stock Exchange Building trading room — Adler & Sullivan’s gilded age space rescued from demolition 54 years ago — could be uprooted from its longtime Art Institute of Chicago home under preliminary expansion plans being considered by the museum. - Chicago Sun-Times

Dalí Museum In Florida Announces $65 Million Expansion

The 35,000-square-foot addition to the St. Petersburg institution, expected to begin construction this year and open in 2028, will increase exhibition space, add a dedicated learning center, and provide flexible environments for “experiential exhibitions that blend art and technology.” - Tampa Bay Times

Why Dictionaries Still Matter

The book is formal and highly structured; it seems like something from another, vaguely bygone time. Still, dictionary editors have long paid close attention to how language is used and perused—in signs, in novels, in articles and pronouncements, and lately on the Web. - The Nation

How A Scholar Stumbled On Handwritten Notes By Galileo

Historian Ivan Malara spotted notes, annotations and a Bible verse handwritten by the young Galileo circa 1590 in an early printed copy of the Almagest, the second-century C.E. treatise on astronomy by Ptolemy which placed the Earth at the center of the universe. - Smithsonian Magazine

Colm Tóibín: Of Course AI Is A Threat To Creative Writing

"This idea no machine could ever replace my sensibility, which is so rich, varied, complex, and arising from experience and from history – that’s all rubbish. You can actually manufacture that." - The Conversation

Who Wrote This? The Age-Old Question Gets Circuitry

Before ChatGPT made everyone panic about robot poets, writers were already grappling with authenticity's slippery slope. Ghostwriters, collaborators, editors—the literary world's dirty secret is that pure authorship was always a romantic fiction. — LitHub

The Artist Who Copied Out The Complete “Moby-Dick” By Hand

Bethany Collins spent four months transcribing the 900-odd-page text. She finds many of Melville’s concerns relevant today: “following the lone madman who will take the whole ship down, … overconsumption, the pursuit of oil and an obsession with whiteness.” (Okay, the last one might be a stretch.) - T — The New York Times...

The AI-Written College Essay And The Decline Of Thinking

Surely the most dismal prospect is that we will lose sight of our own forms of thinking and understanding if those terms are assimilated to the capacities of AI. - Public Books

60 Years After Hollywood Abandoned It, VistaVision Is Back

While the format was quite popular in the 1950s (Vertigo and The Ten Commandments were filmed in it), the industry moved on in the 1960s and few VistaVision cameras have survived. Yet the films made in it in just the past few years include The Brutalist, Bugonia, Wuthering Heights, and One Battle After Another....

Ctrl+Alt+Delete the Gallery: Gamers Turn Shutter-Happy

Virtual landscapes are the new studio space as artists trade actual cameras for digital controllers. Who needs nature when you've got pixels? The art world's latest existential crisis: if a screenshot falls in cyberspace, does it make a sound? — The Conversation

Paramount Debt Rating Lowered To “Junk” After Warner Deal

Fitch Ratings downgraded Paramount Skydance’s long-term issuer default rating from “BBB-” to “BB+,” putting it into speculative-grade investment territory (aka “junk”). - Variety

Niche-Casting: Live Online Talk Shows About Specialized Topics Are On The Rise

Many of these productions function as modern-day trade magazines. One show targets car dealership owners. Another, TBPN (Technology Business Programming Network), focuses on tech overlords. Malcolm Harris, a former sports talk personality, helms “What The Truck?!?,” a thrice-a-week show all about logistics. - The Hollywood Reporter

Buffalo’s Public Radio Stations To Rearrange Programming

“Buffalo Toronto Public Media (BTPM) plans to move programming currently on news/talk WBFO (88.7) and BTPM Classical WNED (94.5) in Buffalo, NY, resulting from the latter’s recent conversion to an advertising-eligible license and the company’s loss of $2.2 million in annual federal funding.” - Inside Radio

Post-Assad, Syria’s Powerhouse TV Industry Has New Freedoms And New Challenges

“While Egypt is known for its movies and Lebanon for its pop singers and composers, Syria’s TV series” — especially the high-profile dramas aired during Ramadan — “have for decades been seen as the gold standard in the region.” Naturally, the fall of the long Assad family dictatorship has led to some changes. -...

The Aztec Dancers Of Silicon Valley

“Calpulli Ocelocihuatl (is) one of roughly half-a-dozen Aztec dance groups active in San Jose. Other Aztec dance groups – some whose histories stretch back more than half a century — are also thriving along the West Coast, from Washington state down to Sacramento, Oakland, Salinas and San Diego.” - The Mercury News (San Jose)

Ballerinas Learn To Partner Each Other For Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s New Piece

Gentleman Jack, premiering this weekend at England’s Northern Ballet in Leeds, is Lopez Ochoa’s adaptation of a 2019 television series about Anne Lister, a 19th-century landowner considered to be one of the first modern lesbians known to us. - The New York Times

This Fast-Rising Standup Comedian Makes Dance An Integral Part Of His Show

“Chris Fleming … marries the idiosyncrasies of his writing — one bit has him pretending to be a dirty cast-iron skillet — with a delivery that leans heavily on his training in classic modern dance. He is probably the only working funnyman who cites Isadora Duncan as an influence.” - The New York Times

Britain’s Ballet Black At 25

Founding Artistic Director Cassa Pancho: “There was nowhere in this country for Black classical dancers to be hired. It was suggested to me that they go and dance with Dance Theatre of Harlem – as if every Black person trained in ballet can only go to one place!” - Bachtrack

Benjamin Millepied’s New, Mixed-Genre Romeo And Juliet Comes To The Armory

The choreographer: “You fall in love with characters that you see live in the flesh, in front of your eyes. … But then when the camera brings you close to them, it creates a different kind of intimacy.” - The New York Times

After Internal Consideration And Exterior Pressure, San Francisco Ballet Pulls Out Of Kennedy Center Performances

A company representative wrote, “SF Ballet looks forward to performing for Washington, D.C. audiences in the future.” - San Francisco Chronicle (Yahoo)

Exiled Belarussian Theatre Brings Dissident Work To Venice Biennale

The exhibition, titled “Official. Unofficial. Belarus.,” is a group show presenting work by Belarusian artists who works challenge the long-standing authoritative regime in their native country. - Artnet

How Jonathan Groff Became A Now-Rare Thing: A Male Musical-Theater Superstar

Says director Michael Mayer, “He’s now established himself as someone who can open and sustain a show. And this at a time when star power is pretty much one of the only things that can guarantee viability for a musical.” - The New York Times

Belarus Free Theatre To Appear At Venice Biennale

“The Belarus Free Theatre, an underground theater group in exile since 2020, announced Wednesday that it will stage the exhibition ‘Official. Unofficial. Belarus.’ as an official collateral event of the 61st Venice Biennale.” - ARTnews

Follow One Of Broadway’s Top Electricians Through His Workday

Jimmy Fedigan has worked on 125 shows, working up from substitute spotlight guy to overseeing the entire technical production of the musical Chicago. In this video, he walks us through various aspects of his job, from the scene shop where sets get built to backstage shortly before curtain time. - The Wall Street Journal...

This Little Company Brings The Ephemerality Of Theater To A Whole New Level

Every month, in an American Legion hall or women’s center (anywhere but a theater) in Los Angeles, Public Assembly presents three 12-minute plays that it has developed over the previous four weeks from pitches submitted from the audience at the previous month’s show, which is advertised only by word-of-mouth. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

Why Is There A Shortage Of Understudies In Toronto Theatres?

For at least three years running now, shows in Toronto have been disrupted because theatres did not have adequate understudy coverage. - Toronto Star

Meet The Woman Who Brought Helvetica To America

Barbara Stauffacher Solomon brought the now-standard sans-serif font back from her studies in Basel in the early 1960s, when Americans were completely accustomed to traditional typefaces likes Times New Roman and Baskerville. She then became famous for her colorful designs, interior and exterior, for the new Sea Ranch community in California. - Artnet

Rebecca Benaroya, Doyenne Of Seattle Arts Philanthropists, Has Died At 103

“Together with her late husband, real estate developer Jack Benaroya, Becky Benaroya championed dozens of arts, humanitarian and civic organizations including the Seattle Symphony,” whose home, Benaroya Hall, opened in 1998. - The Seattle Times

Dakota And Elle Fanning Started Out As Child Stars In Hollywood

But the sisters are following in the footsteps of leaders like Reese Weatherspoon and Viola Davis, becoming producers who have more control over their projects and performances. - El País English

New York Gets A New Culture Czar At A Fraught Economic Moment

Mayor Zohran Mamdani called Diya Vij a "visionary and deeply thoughtful leader who understands that art is not ornamental to this city — it is essential to it.” - The New York Times

Neil Sedaka, Composer And Songwriter Of So Many Pop Hits, Has Died At 86

Sedaka “went from classical music prodigy to precocious songwriter to teenage idol to pop music fixture in a celebrated career that spanned seven decades.” - The New York Times

Larry Reed, California’s Master Of Shadow Puppetry, Is Dead At 81

He was among the first Americans to study Balinese shadow theater and then perform it back home, which he did for his entire career. He expanded his practice to include collaborating in stagings of Shakespeare and Octavio Solis as well as producing his own elaborate myth- or history-based extravaganzas. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)

AJ Premium Classifieds

President and CEO – Aspen Music Festival and School

Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) welcomes applications and nominations for the position of President and Chief Executive Officer.

The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra seeks President and CEO.

The next President and Chief Executive Officer will serve as the chief strategic and operational leader for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.

Technical and Facility Director

The Technical and Facility Director leads the technical operations for the Hult Center for the Performing Arts.

AJClassifieds

Development Director – The Hermitage Artist Retreat via TOC Arts Partners

The Hermitage Artist Retreat seeks a passionate, intelligent, and driven Development Director.

Dallas Black Dance Theatre seeks Executive Director

Dallas Black Dance Theatre seeks Executive Director. Minimum 10 years of related experience. Estimated base salary in the range of $160k-$200k.

Events and Donor Fulfillment Associate – Paul Taylor Dance Company

We are seeking a highly organized & motivated individual as an Events & Donor Fulfillment Associate. This is a full-time, salaried position in NYC.

Artistic Programs Manager (Part Time)

Artistic Projects Manager (PT): works alongside and supports artistic and programmatic leadership through writing, research, scheduling, and project tracking in a high-activity, multi-program dance organization.

Dallas Opera seeks The Kern Wildenthal General Director and CEO

Dallas Opera seeks The Kern Wildenthal General Director and CEO. Applications will be accepted until March 31, 2025. Please see link for full details.

Director of Development – The Cape Playhouse via TOC Arts Partners

The Cape Playhouse seeks a new Director of Development to advance the fundraising efforts and philanthropic growth of the organization.

Quantum Theatre – Artistic Director

Quantum Theatre seeks a visionary Artistic Director to build on an experimental legacy, shape ambitious programming, and lead Quantum into its next era of impact.

What’s On The Line As Warner Bros Accepts Paramount’s Bid

Oh: “The push into artificial intelligence by Oracle creates a thirst for more insight into how people view news and entertainment and what products they buy online. The streaming channels and social media giant both offer greater and more granular information." - NPR

The Vatican Has Removed ‘A Chalky White Film Of Salt’ Coating The Last Judgement

That is to say, people’s sweat had gotten all over Michelangelo’s masterpiece, and now it’s being cleaned off while the sweat accumulates on a screen. - Associated Press

And Just Like That, 144 Year After Construction Began, Sagrada Familia’s Central Tower Is Finished

“Construction is expected to continue for a decade or so, but The Guardian called it ‘nevertheless a day full of emotion for a city that has lived with Gaudí’s unfinished work for generations.’” - ART News

A Gay Cultural Critic Resistant To “Heated Rivalry” Explains Why He Finally, Happily Succumbed

Wesley Morris: “Why wouldn’t I have wanted this? A six-episode show that’s exemplary as romance, as physical intimacy, as banter, as athlete psychology, as conversation, confession and comedy, as just good television that involves a few of my favorite things: sex, sports, men, ... So why? Let’s start with wariness.” - The New York Times

BBC Radio 3 Fires Norman Lebrecht Over Email To Yuja Wang

The broadcaster’s decision to end its long relationship with Lebrecht — the widely-read, controversial critic and blogger who has hosted several interview programs on Radio 3 over the years — comes after Wang made public a message from Lebrecht which she described as “derogatory misogynistic bullying.” - The Guardian

The Volunteer Army Documenting Museum And Park Wall Texts Before The Trump Administration Rewrites Them

A group called Citizen Historians for the Smithsonian has taken photos of every wall text in the Institution’s museums before they were changed. Other organizations are scouring websites, signage, datasets and documents, treating them with the care of conservators as they resist the Trump administration’s efforts to recast the past. - The Washington Post...

Gustavo Dudamel On His Transition From Los Angeles To New York

“I connect with both, these 17 years in Los Angeles has been amazing, I love it, the people, the community. But this is a completely different vibe. The vibe of this city is very, very alive. It’s very prestissimo: You know, it’s a very fast tempo.” - The New York Times

What Is The Pritzker Prize Going To Do About Tom Pritzker’s Ties To Jeffrey Epstein?

Looks like nothing except defend the jury’s independence — and say that “the announcement of the next laureate, which typically occurs in the first week of March, would be delayed slightly.” - The New York Times

Ireland’s Basic Income For The Arts Is Now Permanent, But What Does It Mean For The Artists?

In Ireland, despite how often the government uses Irish arts to market the country to tourists, "more than 56 per cent of artists and arts workers experience enforced deprivation (that’s three times the rate in the general population).” - Irish Times (Archive Today)

With Lost Boys And Dracula On Broadway, Plus Sinners At The Oscars, Why Are We So Immersed In Vampire Culture?

“These mythological creatures tap into our anxiety over what would happen if we became otherly human. … As the horror author Grady Hendrix put it: ‘Vampires are the only monster that looks like us.’” - The New York Times

South Africa Has Pulled Out Of The Venice Biennale

“The move comes after the country’s right-wing culture minister Gayton McKenzie scrapped a pavilion proposal by artist Gabrielle Goliath and curator Ingrid Masondo.” They said, “The space will remain empty: a space of erasure, cancellation, censure.” - Hyperallergic

Our Inability To Focus On Books Isn’t A Failing

It’s a design flaw, and it can be fixed. “We have been here before. Not just once, but repeatedly, in a pattern so consistent it reveals something essential about how cultural elites respond to changes in how knowledge moves through society.” - Aeon

Subscribe to our newsletter

Join our 30,000 subscribers