AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- Kate Sheeran talks about initiatives that spark student experimentation
Kate Sheeran, Dean of the Eastman School of Music, shares initiatives that support student innovation and experimentation.
- Immediate Opening: Vice President of Marketing and Audience Development
THE POSITION:
Reporting to the President & CEO, the Vice President of Marketing & Audience Development is a key member of the senior leadership team responsible for developing and executing statewide strategies that achieve earned revenue, audience growth, patron loyalty and institutional communications objectives. The Vice President provides executive leadership for marketing, sales, audience development, communications, brand strategy, patron experience, and patron loyalty initiatives, that strengthen the North Carolina Symphony’s visibility, deepen patron engagement, and advance the organization’s long-term financial sustainability.
The Vice President leads a high-performing team in developing integrated, data-driven marketing and communications strategies that increase revenue, build patron relationships, and grow and retain audiences across the state of North Carolina. The position collaborates with senior leadership on strategic planning, budgeting, institutional messaging, technology innovation, artistic planning, pricing strategy, organizational priorities and initiatives that advance the Symphony’s mission of artistic excellence, statewide service, and music education.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Earned Income & Marketing (40%)
- Provide strategic leadership for all statewide earned revenue initiatives, achieving annual ticket revenue goals of at least $5.7 million while managing departmental budgets and maximizing return on marketing investment. Lead, mentor, and evaluate the marketing, sales, and communications team in planning and executing integrated, multi-channel campaigns using customer segmentation and analytics, dynamic pricing, targeted messaging, CRM technology, and performance analytics including regression analysis and sales pacing.
- Develop pricing, packaging, and promotional strategies that maximize attendance, revenue, and long-term patron value across subscriptions, single-ticket and special event programming. Establish and achieve annual performance goals for subscription, single-ticket revenue, paid attendance, capacity utilization, patron retention, new audience acquisition, customer lifetime value, and return on marketing investment.
Institutional Communications & Audience Development (20%)
- Develop the Symphony’s comprehensive brand, communications, and audience engagement strategy to strengthen visibility, deepen community connections, and position the organization as one of North Carolina’s premier cultural institutions. Oversee public relations, media relations, digital communications, social media, website content, videos, podcasts, email marketing, and print publications to ensure timely and compelling messaging across all platforms. Ensure cross-departmental brand consistency. Serve as the organization’s senior communications strategist for institutional announcements.
Strategic Leadership & Organizational Sustainability (15%)
- Partner with the President & CEO and senior leadership team to develop and implement long-range strategies that strengthen financial sustainability and advance the Symphony’s mission. Provide leadership in earned revenue forecasting, expense management, programming recommendations, Patron loyalty strategy, technology, and digital innovation.
Customer Experience & Patron Loyalty (15%)
- Set the standard for organization-wide, customer-facing operations to deliver exceptional patron experiences before, during, and after performances by overseeing parking, security, front-of-house management, usher services, patron communications and run-of-show content and distribution. Lead organization-wide patron loyalty initiatives in collaboration with the Vice President of Philanthropy to strengthen retention, engagement, and lifetime patron value while supporting both earned income and contributed revenue goals.
Other Responsibilities (10%)
- Perform other duties and special projects as assigned.
CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS
- 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in performing arts marketing, preferably with orchestra marketing experience.
- Track record of meeting and exceeding revenue and attendance objectives through integrated subscription and single-ticket marketing campaigns and CRM-driven audience engagement.
- Demonstrated ability to analyze data, develop strategic plans, and make informed decisions that advance organizational goals.
- Demonstrated success leading high-performing integrated communications and audience engagement initiatives.
- Excellent interpersonal, verbal, written, and presentation skills.
- High standards of integrity, professionalism, and sound judgment.
- Collaborative leadership style with flexibility, initiative, and commitment to continuous improvement.
- Commitment to supporting the mission, vision, and values of the North Carolina Symphony.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Copilot, and OneDrive.
- Ability to travel throughout North Carolina and work evenings and weekends as needed.
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent required.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS:
- This is a full-time salaried position based in the Triangle region of North Carolina. The annual salary is $140,000. The benefits package includes health insurance through Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, long-term disability coverage, life insurance, an employee assistance program and voluntary vision and dental insurance. Enrollees in our optional 403(b) retirement plan receive an employer match and our Health Savings Account offering provides a bi-annual employer contribution.
- Because driving between worksites and to various locations may be a central function of the position, administrative staff must maintain a valid driver’s license and have reliable transportation.
- Applicants must be authorized to legally work in the United States.
TO APPLY:
Please email your cover letter, résumé, three references, to: humanresources@ncsymphony.org
No phone calls please.Application Deadline: Monday, August 31, 2026
- Galleries, Gatekeepers, And An 82-Year-Old Pole Dancer
Good Afternoon,
Ocula asks the question the art trade would rather not engage on: do artists still need galleries (Ocula)? The answer depends on what the gallery was ever really selling — access, or permission. Philadelphia offers a blunter version: Curtis is putting $25 million into the building it acquired out of University of the Arts’ collapse, rehearsal hall included (MSN).
Follow the money and the pattern holds. Universal Music posted a 13% revenue jump (The Hollywood Reporter) in the first quarter of 2026. Meanwhile, Tanglewood has spent the summer visibly tense (The New York Times)
The streamers are pressing France to drop the rule requiring them to invest in French production (Variety). And the Kennedy Center ended public tours three days after the Times profiled one of its volunteer 84-year-old tour guides (The New York Times).
Finally, an Italian woman of 82 is now the world’s oldest competitive pole dancer (New York Post).
All of today’s stories below.
- Behold The World’s Oldest Competitive Pole Dancer. She’s 82.
Idanna Abignente, who lives in a suburb of Turin, started pole dancing at around age 70 to keep fit. She developed a passion for it and eventually joined the competition circuit, where she frequently wins her age division for lack of other competitors. – New York Post
- Do Artists Still Need Galleries?
It is often assumed that a gallery is a prerequisite to finding commercial success and a place in the history of art. But a growing number of artists are rejecting that notion and going—to use the kind of commercial lingo that the art market likes to avoid—Direct to Consumer (DTC). – Ocula
ISSUES
- Do Artists Still Need Galleries?
It is often assumed that a gallery is a prerequisite to finding commercial success and a place in the history of art. But a growing number of artists are rejecting that notion and going—to use the kind of commercial lingo that the art market likes to avoid—Direct to Consumer (DTC). – Ocula
- Historic Japanese Castle Damaged By Earthquake For Second Time In Ten Years
Kumamoto Castle, built in 1607 on the island of Kyushu, is considered one of Japan’s three great surviving castles. A portion of its moat wall collapsed following Tuesday’s 7.1 earthquake. In 2016, a different portion of the wall came down in another temblor. – Hyperallergic
- Trump Administration Organizes “Patriotic” Art Exhibition Near White House. Yes, There’s Cronyism Involved.
What with all the complaints Trump has about the Smithsonian’s “bias,” the State Department has decided to “make visual arts great” (their phrase) with the exhibition “Passport to Patriotism: 250 Years of Diplomacy.” No historians or professional curators are involved, and the show includes pieces by the planners’ friends. – The New York Times
- The ARTnews List Of America’s 30 Best Art Museums
“For this list, we focused primarily on the breadth and distinction of each institution’s permanent collection. Additional considerations included the strength of its temporary exhibition program and the grandeur of its architecture.” – ARTnews
- Staffers At All Of V&A’s London Locations Vote To Authorize Strike
The union’s dispute with management is over pay, working conditions, and the museum deciding not to seek living-wage accreditation. Staffers at the new V&A Storehouse in particular complain of inadequate restroom breaks and chances to get water, comparing conditions there to those at an Amazon warehouse. – The Guardian
MEDIA
- Kennedy Center Stops Public Tours Three Days After NY Times Feature On Tour Guide
On Monday, The New York Times posted an article featuring a longtime volunteer tour guide who said of the currently-dormant institution, “Now it’s a black hole.” On Thursday, a Kennedy Center official sent a memo to all volunteer tour guides telling them not to come there “until further notice.” – The New York Times
- Trump Administration’s Overhaul Of Historical Preservation Rules Alarms Preservationists
“A draft of the rule changes that circulated in recent weeks prompted an outcry from preservationists, architects, archaeologists and organizations representing Native American tribes. … ‘It’s both a scalpel and a bludgeon,’ said Greg Werkheiser, a lawyer who specializes in preservation cases.” – The New York Times
- Director Ruth Mackenzie, Sacked From Paris’s Théâtre Du Châtelet In 2020, Joins UK Prime Minister’s New Government
Following her abrupt firing, she went to direct Australia’s Adelaide Festival, then quit two years early to work in South Australia’s state government. Nine months after that, she departed for London to head the British Council. One year later, Mackenzie is now in the House of Lords as Under-Secretary for the Arts. – Limelight (Australia)
- Italian Theatres, Mt. Olympus Added As World Heritage Sites
Meeting in Busan, South Korea, for its 48th session from July 19 to 29, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee inscribed 19 cultural sites, five natural environments, and one property exhibiting both cultural and ecological significance. – Artnet
- Two Of Dallas’s Largest Performing Arts Institutions Are Merging
The AT&T Performing Arts Center — which includes the Winspear Opera House, Wyly Theatre, Annette Strauss Square, and Sammons Park — and one of its five resident companies, Dallas Theater Center, plan to combine administrations and many operations, with DTC becoming ATTPAC’s producing arm. – KERA (Dallas)
MUSIC
- Florida College Professor Fired For Assigning Ottessa Moshfegh Short Story
Vinita Prabhakar, until recently an adjunct professor at South Florida State College, had used Moshfegh’s “Bettering Myself” in an introductory reading-and-writing course there without incident since 2023. But someone complained about the story’s content to the college president, who fired Prabhakar, who’s now suing. – Tallahassee Democrat
- An Odd New Literary Genre: Biographies Of Characters From Books
I’ve counted seven since the start of 2023, meaning one character biography—previously a nearly unheard-of form—every six months. – LA Review of Books
- A Steep Drop In The Number Of Languages In The World, Study Finds
“Globally, people currently use roughly 7,500 languages, with English, Mandarin Chinese, Hindi, Spanish, Arabic and French the most common, counting native and nonnative speakers. That is a lot of languages. But it is a far cry from the peak number historically.” – Reuters (Yahoo!)
- Oops: Book Returned To Public Library 150 Years Late
- It’s Not Just Homer. Gertrude Stein Is Having A Moment, Too.
“Something’s in the air: My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein, published last month by FSG, is just one in a recent cluster of genre-spanning books that interpret, adapt, and play with Stein’s legacy, as well as that of her longtime partner Alice B. Toklas.” – Publishers Weekly
PEOPLE
- Kate Sheeran talks about initiatives that spark student experimentation
Kate Sheeran, Dean of the Eastman School of Music, shares initiatives that support student innovation and experimentation.
- Immediate Opening: Vice President of Marketing and Audience Development
THE POSITION:
Reporting to the President & CEO, the Vice President of Marketing & Audience Development is a key member of the senior leadership team responsible for developing and executing statewide strategies that achieve earned revenue, audience growth, patron loyalty and institutional communications objectives. The Vice President provides executive leadership for marketing, sales, audience development, communications, brand strategy, patron experience, and patron loyalty initiatives, that strengthen the North Carolina Symphony’s visibility, deepen patron engagement, and advance the organization’s long-term financial sustainability.
The Vice President leads a high-performing team in developing integrated, data-driven marketing and communications strategies that increase revenue, build patron relationships, and grow and retain audiences across the state of North Carolina. The position collaborates with senior leadership on strategic planning, budgeting, institutional messaging, technology innovation, artistic planning, pricing strategy, organizational priorities and initiatives that advance the Symphony’s mission of artistic excellence, statewide service, and music education.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Earned Income & Marketing (40%)
- Provide strategic leadership for all statewide earned revenue initiatives, achieving annual ticket revenue goals of at least $5.7 million while managing departmental budgets and maximizing return on marketing investment. Lead, mentor, and evaluate the marketing, sales, and communications team in planning and executing integrated, multi-channel campaigns using customer segmentation and analytics, dynamic pricing, targeted messaging, CRM technology, and performance analytics including regression analysis and sales pacing.
- Develop pricing, packaging, and promotional strategies that maximize attendance, revenue, and long-term patron value across subscriptions, single-ticket and special event programming. Establish and achieve annual performance goals for subscription, single-ticket revenue, paid attendance, capacity utilization, patron retention, new audience acquisition, customer lifetime value, and return on marketing investment.
Institutional Communications & Audience Development (20%)
- Develop the Symphony’s comprehensive brand, communications, and audience engagement strategy to strengthen visibility, deepen community connections, and position the organization as one of North Carolina’s premier cultural institutions. Oversee public relations, media relations, digital communications, social media, website content, videos, podcasts, email marketing, and print publications to ensure timely and compelling messaging across all platforms. Ensure cross-departmental brand consistency. Serve as the organization’s senior communications strategist for institutional announcements.
Strategic Leadership & Organizational Sustainability (15%)
- Partner with the President & CEO and senior leadership team to develop and implement long-range strategies that strengthen financial sustainability and advance the Symphony’s mission. Provide leadership in earned revenue forecasting, expense management, programming recommendations, Patron loyalty strategy, technology, and digital innovation.
Customer Experience & Patron Loyalty (15%)
- Set the standard for organization-wide, customer-facing operations to deliver exceptional patron experiences before, during, and after performances by overseeing parking, security, front-of-house management, usher services, patron communications and run-of-show content and distribution. Lead organization-wide patron loyalty initiatives in collaboration with the Vice President of Philanthropy to strengthen retention, engagement, and lifetime patron value while supporting both earned income and contributed revenue goals.
Other Responsibilities (10%)
- Perform other duties and special projects as assigned.
CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS
- 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in performing arts marketing, preferably with orchestra marketing experience.
- Track record of meeting and exceeding revenue and attendance objectives through integrated subscription and single-ticket marketing campaigns and CRM-driven audience engagement.
- Demonstrated ability to analyze data, develop strategic plans, and make informed decisions that advance organizational goals.
- Demonstrated success leading high-performing integrated communications and audience engagement initiatives.
- Excellent interpersonal, verbal, written, and presentation skills.
- High standards of integrity, professionalism, and sound judgment.
- Collaborative leadership style with flexibility, initiative, and commitment to continuous improvement.
- Commitment to supporting the mission, vision, and values of the North Carolina Symphony.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Copilot, and OneDrive.
- Ability to travel throughout North Carolina and work evenings and weekends as needed.
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent required.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS:
- This is a full-time salaried position based in the Triangle region of North Carolina. The annual salary is $140,000. The benefits package includes health insurance through Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, long-term disability coverage, life insurance, an employee assistance program and voluntary vision and dental insurance. Enrollees in our optional 403(b) retirement plan receive an employer match and our Health Savings Account offering provides a bi-annual employer contribution.
- Because driving between worksites and to various locations may be a central function of the position, administrative staff must maintain a valid driver’s license and have reliable transportation.
- Applicants must be authorized to legally work in the United States.
TO APPLY:
Please email your cover letter, résumé, three references, to: humanresources@ncsymphony.org
No phone calls please.Application Deadline: Monday, August 31, 2026
- Galleries, Gatekeepers, And An 82-Year-Old Pole Dancer
Good Afternoon,
Ocula asks the question the art trade would rather not engage on: do artists still need galleries (Ocula)? The answer depends on what the gallery was ever really selling — access, or permission. Philadelphia offers a blunter version: Curtis is putting $25 million into the building it acquired out of University of the Arts’ collapse, rehearsal hall included (MSN).
Follow the money and the pattern holds. Universal Music posted a 13% revenue jump (The Hollywood Reporter) in the first quarter of 2026. Meanwhile, Tanglewood has spent the summer visibly tense (The New York Times)
The streamers are pressing France to drop the rule requiring them to invest in French production (Variety). And the Kennedy Center ended public tours three days after the Times profiled one of its volunteer 84-year-old tour guides (The New York Times).
Finally, an Italian woman of 82 is now the world’s oldest competitive pole dancer (New York Post).
All of today’s stories below.
- Behold The World’s Oldest Competitive Pole Dancer. She’s 82.
Idanna Abignente, who lives in a suburb of Turin, started pole dancing at around age 70 to keep fit. She developed a passion for it and eventually joined the competition circuit, where she frequently wins her age division for lack of other competitors. – New York Post
- Do Artists Still Need Galleries?
It is often assumed that a gallery is a prerequisite to finding commercial success and a place in the history of art. But a growing number of artists are rejecting that notion and going—to use the kind of commercial lingo that the art market likes to avoid—Direct to Consumer (DTC). – Ocula
PEOPLE
- Kate Sheeran talks about initiatives that spark student experimentation
Kate Sheeran, Dean of the Eastman School of Music, shares initiatives that support student innovation and experimentation.
- Immediate Opening: Vice President of Marketing and Audience Development
THE POSITION:
Reporting to the President & CEO, the Vice President of Marketing & Audience Development is a key member of the senior leadership team responsible for developing and executing statewide strategies that achieve earned revenue, audience growth, patron loyalty and institutional communications objectives. The Vice President provides executive leadership for marketing, sales, audience development, communications, brand strategy, patron experience, and patron loyalty initiatives, that strengthen the North Carolina Symphony’s visibility, deepen patron engagement, and advance the organization’s long-term financial sustainability.
The Vice President leads a high-performing team in developing integrated, data-driven marketing and communications strategies that increase revenue, build patron relationships, and grow and retain audiences across the state of North Carolina. The position collaborates with senior leadership on strategic planning, budgeting, institutional messaging, technology innovation, artistic planning, pricing strategy, organizational priorities and initiatives that advance the Symphony’s mission of artistic excellence, statewide service, and music education.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Earned Income & Marketing (40%)
- Provide strategic leadership for all statewide earned revenue initiatives, achieving annual ticket revenue goals of at least $5.7 million while managing departmental budgets and maximizing return on marketing investment. Lead, mentor, and evaluate the marketing, sales, and communications team in planning and executing integrated, multi-channel campaigns using customer segmentation and analytics, dynamic pricing, targeted messaging, CRM technology, and performance analytics including regression analysis and sales pacing.
- Develop pricing, packaging, and promotional strategies that maximize attendance, revenue, and long-term patron value across subscriptions, single-ticket and special event programming. Establish and achieve annual performance goals for subscription, single-ticket revenue, paid attendance, capacity utilization, patron retention, new audience acquisition, customer lifetime value, and return on marketing investment.
Institutional Communications & Audience Development (20%)
- Develop the Symphony’s comprehensive brand, communications, and audience engagement strategy to strengthen visibility, deepen community connections, and position the organization as one of North Carolina’s premier cultural institutions. Oversee public relations, media relations, digital communications, social media, website content, videos, podcasts, email marketing, and print publications to ensure timely and compelling messaging across all platforms. Ensure cross-departmental brand consistency. Serve as the organization’s senior communications strategist for institutional announcements.
Strategic Leadership & Organizational Sustainability (15%)
- Partner with the President & CEO and senior leadership team to develop and implement long-range strategies that strengthen financial sustainability and advance the Symphony’s mission. Provide leadership in earned revenue forecasting, expense management, programming recommendations, Patron loyalty strategy, technology, and digital innovation.
Customer Experience & Patron Loyalty (15%)
- Set the standard for organization-wide, customer-facing operations to deliver exceptional patron experiences before, during, and after performances by overseeing parking, security, front-of-house management, usher services, patron communications and run-of-show content and distribution. Lead organization-wide patron loyalty initiatives in collaboration with the Vice President of Philanthropy to strengthen retention, engagement, and lifetime patron value while supporting both earned income and contributed revenue goals.
Other Responsibilities (10%)
- Perform other duties and special projects as assigned.
CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS
- 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in performing arts marketing, preferably with orchestra marketing experience.
- Track record of meeting and exceeding revenue and attendance objectives through integrated subscription and single-ticket marketing campaigns and CRM-driven audience engagement.
- Demonstrated ability to analyze data, develop strategic plans, and make informed decisions that advance organizational goals.
- Demonstrated success leading high-performing integrated communications and audience engagement initiatives.
- Excellent interpersonal, verbal, written, and presentation skills.
- High standards of integrity, professionalism, and sound judgment.
- Collaborative leadership style with flexibility, initiative, and commitment to continuous improvement.
- Commitment to supporting the mission, vision, and values of the North Carolina Symphony.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Copilot, and OneDrive.
- Ability to travel throughout North Carolina and work evenings and weekends as needed.
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent required.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS:
- This is a full-time salaried position based in the Triangle region of North Carolina. The annual salary is $140,000. The benefits package includes health insurance through Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, long-term disability coverage, life insurance, an employee assistance program and voluntary vision and dental insurance. Enrollees in our optional 403(b) retirement plan receive an employer match and our Health Savings Account offering provides a bi-annual employer contribution.
- Because driving between worksites and to various locations may be a central function of the position, administrative staff must maintain a valid driver’s license and have reliable transportation.
- Applicants must be authorized to legally work in the United States.
TO APPLY:
Please email your cover letter, résumé, three references, to: humanresources@ncsymphony.org
No phone calls please.Application Deadline: Monday, August 31, 2026
- Galleries, Gatekeepers, And An 82-Year-Old Pole Dancer
Good Afternoon,
Ocula asks the question the art trade would rather not engage on: do artists still need galleries (Ocula)? The answer depends on what the gallery was ever really selling — access, or permission. Philadelphia offers a blunter version: Curtis is putting $25 million into the building it acquired out of University of the Arts’ collapse, rehearsal hall included (MSN).
Follow the money and the pattern holds. Universal Music posted a 13% revenue jump (The Hollywood Reporter) in the first quarter of 2026. Meanwhile, Tanglewood has spent the summer visibly tense (The New York Times)
The streamers are pressing France to drop the rule requiring them to invest in French production (Variety). And the Kennedy Center ended public tours three days after the Times profiled one of its volunteer 84-year-old tour guides (The New York Times).
Finally, an Italian woman of 82 is now the world’s oldest competitive pole dancer (New York Post).
All of today’s stories below.
- Behold The World’s Oldest Competitive Pole Dancer. She’s 82.
Idanna Abignente, who lives in a suburb of Turin, started pole dancing at around age 70 to keep fit. She developed a passion for it and eventually joined the competition circuit, where she frequently wins her age division for lack of other competitors. – New York Post
- Do Artists Still Need Galleries?
It is often assumed that a gallery is a prerequisite to finding commercial success and a place in the history of art. But a growing number of artists are rejecting that notion and going—to use the kind of commercial lingo that the art market likes to avoid—Direct to Consumer (DTC). – Ocula
THEATRE
VISUAL
- The Modern Stadium And Monumentality
Nearly all monumental architecture is expected to convey some set of values greater than its stated purpose. This is especially true of stadiums with their straightforward program – a pitch for a game to be played and seating from which to observe it. – Dezeen
- Should We Stop Listening To Technocrats?
International civil servants do not in fact escape power. They rearticulate it with the help of technical experts. By framing this rearticulation as real impartiality, however, they conflate technocracy and expertise. This conflation lies at the heart of the legitimacy crisis that international organisations face today. – Aeon
- What If Instead Of Humanity Inventing Art, Art Invented Humanity?
Today, many would argue that the ordinary ‘truth of accountants’ is more fundamental than ecstatic truth, which relies heavily on perception, interpretation and subjective feeling. Yet this misses the reality that art discloses. – Aeon
- What’s Happening In Kids’ Brains When They’re Picking Out Music On The Piano
We found that when you’re improvising, you have a different set of activities in your brain compared to when you’re playing. In other words, improvisation is a form of generative creativity. You’re suddenly on the spot, within a certain context, trying to create music. – The Conversation
- Are We Headed To Culture Collapse?
Given worsening inequality, political polarisation, falling fertility, resource shortages and global conflicts, Wilson argues that we are hurtling towards the same end as ancient Rome, the Mayan civilisation and every other sophisticated society before us. – The Guardian