Today’s AJ highlights: The institutional hollowing out of our culture is most visible in Washington. The Washington Post has begun sweeping layoffs, shuttering its dedicated Sports and Books sections and drastically shrinking its international, metro and culture desks—a retreat from the curated expertise that once defined the capital’s paper of record. This media contraction coincides with the looming physical closure of the Kennedy Center, leaving the National Symphony Orchestra to scout for a life-raft venue while executives scramble to promise funding for an orchestra whose stage is being dismantled for a two-year “rebuilding”.
In Ukraine, ballet dancers Serhiy Kryvokon and Natalia Matsak have been punished for performing Swan Lake abroad; the Ministry of Culture has revoked their military exemptions and travel permissions, framing their art as a “cultural product of the aggressor state”. In Philadelphia, a judge has intervened to halt the removal of memorial displays regarding slavery at George Washington’s house, stopping what critics described as an attempt to scrub the site of its complex history. And a super odd story from in Rome, where the Pope has ordered the repainting of a restored fresco to remove the face of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni from an angel.
A new Trump-lampooning opera by Nobel winner Elfriede Jelinek has premiered in Hamburg, featuring a “President-King” eaten by a monster. Meanwhile, copyright advocates find rare cause for optimism in legal victories that may finally curb the “blatant piracy” of AI tech companies.
All of our stories below.
