This week’s highlights: The big story of the week is the continued meltdown of the Kennedy Center. More artists pulled out of their appearances. And the bombshell is the decision of the Washington National Opera’s to leave its longtime home. (The New York Times). Then there is the dissolution of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which has left stations in cities like Atlanta facing a “cold dose of reality” and significant budget gaps (The Guardian). In the visual arts, artists are increasingly being asked to finance their own museum exhibitions, signaling a shift in the basic economic contract between creators and institutions (The Art Newspaper).
Technology continues to reshape the boundaries of creation and ownership. Disney’s $1 billion investment in OpenAI represents a major corporate embrace of generative AI (The Wall Street Journal (MSN)). The legal system prepares for a pivotal year of copyright rulings on AI (Reuters). A Japanese literary prize was revoked after the work was revealed to be AI-generated (Automation). Yet French researchers are using AI to “resurrect” Molière, blurring the lines between homage and automation (The New York Times).
Elsewhere, a university course on “Existential Despair” that requires silence and deep reading has become a surprise hit, reflecting a hunger for depth in a distracted age (New York Magazine). And in a surprising twist, the Metropolitan Opera is courting TikTok influencers to bring “delight and surprise” to a younger generation, proving that even the most traditional art forms are seeking new ways to resonate (The New York Times).
All of this week’s stories below.
