Yearly Archives: 2023
Why Wagner Isn’t Canceled (Despite Everything)
"What should Wagner look like in the age of the Wagner Group? How can the hammer of the Norse god Thor appear on stage,...
The Internet Is Unraveling In Front Of Us
The very idea of popularity is up for debate: Is that trend really viral? Did everyone see that post, or is it just my little...
Evidence Smartphones Are Making Students Dumber
Researchers such as Jonathan Haidt and Jean Twenge have shown that various measures of student well-being began a sharp decline around 2012 throughout the...
Arts Journalism Is Fading In New Zealand. How To Save It?
There is a significant audience for arts and culture: 96% of adults in Aotearoa New Zealand participated in arts and cultural events in the past three...
We All Believed In Santa. But At What Age Should You Stop Believing?
Children start to distinguish fantasy from reality around preschool, but a belief in Santa Claus or Father Christmas usually lasts longer, to around seven...
Widespread Body Shaming In UK Dance Schools
In total, the BBC has now spoken to more than 100 former dancers who attended UK schools from the 1990s through to the present...
What Made Christmas Cards As We Know Them Possible? The Pigment Revolution Of The...
The discovery and development of synthetic aniline dyes in the 1850s and the widespread adoption of color printing in the following decade made the...
National Theatre Wales Dismayed By 100 Percent Funding Cut
Arts Council of Wales (ACW) previously announced that the theatre charity's £1.6m support was to be cut down to nothing following an investment review....
Humorist Dan Greenburg, Who Wrote “How To Be A Jewish Mother,” Is Dead At...
"A best-selling author, essayist, playwright and screenwriter, (his) satirical prose examined Jewish angst, women and sex, and (he) later produced a series of humorous...
UK Trend: More Standing Ovations In The Theatre
"Like all exuberant behaviour, it takes you off the scale, so if you are really overwhelmed you have nowhere to go aside from making...
Despite Success On Streaming Services, African Filmmakers Face Tough Times
Notwithstanding the big bets on the continent made by Netflix and Showmax, "multiple producers and executives in countries including Nigeria and Kenya … said...
Chrissie Hynde On The State Of The Music Business
"Honestly, the majority is always wrong. Music is just the backdrop to their life. I’m not saying that mainstream music isn’t important to them,...
The Manhattan Transfer Gives Its Final Farewell Performance
"The reason … is one that several pop stars who made it out of the 20th century have cited lately. 'The road life just...
And Now… Parties Where People Get Together And… Read
The parties, which began in May, take place on rooftops, in parks and at bars. The premise is simple: Show up with a book,...
Real Progress For Female Choreographers At U.S. Dance Festivals This Year, Reports Dance Data...
"DDP findings show that women choreographed 50% of the works programmed at the dance festivals collected in 2023, the highest percentage of female-choreographed pieces...
Ireland’s Arts Funding Is Now Up Almost 80% From Four Years Ago
That figure is "unheard-of for most State bodies," let alone arts-funding agencies in almost any country. How did it happen? With what one might...
Scotland’s Next Budget Makes Up (Barely) For The Last Two Cuts In Arts Funding
A mid-cycle cut of £6.6 million imposed abruptly in September has been made up for, with another £6.6 million allocated to make up for...
Anderson Cooper And “60 Minutes” Look Into The Trade In Looted Cambodian Antiquities
America's flagship television newsmagazine reports on the now-notorious trafficking operation by the late dealer Douglas Latchford that saw sacred statues, goldwork and other items...
Recreating The Superstar-Artist Amusement Park From 1987 (That Would Be Worth A Few Hundred...
"The long-delayed reappearance of Luna Luna — with its Basquiat Ferris wheel, Keith Haring merry-go-round and installations by David Hockney and Roy Lichtenstein —...
No Eligible Publishing House Dared Be Seen Accepting This Year’s International Freedom To Publish...
The annual honor by the Association of American Publishers normally goes to a house in a beleaguered country (e.g., Guatemala, Bangladesh, Venezuela) who has...
The High School Students Who Fought Back Against Kentucky Book Banners
A few students at Boyle County High School in central Kentucky learned that their school district had quietly banned more than 100 titles under...
Bollywood Is Huge — AI Might Change Everything
According to a 2019 Deloitte report, India has the largest film industry in the world in terms of films produced each year. The industry...
Man Is Mistaken For A Famous Author, Given An Award, Asked To Speak…
I was in Rimini as a thoroughly marginal person—however fine a speaker, however deserving of my medal, I would surely never have been invited...
The Humanities Have Sown The Seeds Of Their Own Troubles
If the humanities have become more political over the past decade, it is largely in response to coercion from administrators and market forces that prompt disciplines...
Global Movie Box Office Down 5 Percent In 2023
“Given that we lost 50% of production time in 2023, the anticipated 5% year-on-year decrease in 2023 is not indicative of a declining interest...
