AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- National Choreographers Initiative Makes Its Last Dance

Ultimately dating back to 1991 and in its current form — four choreographers working with 16 professional dancers, creating pieces for three weeks and then performing for an audience which gives direct feedback, taking place each July at UCal-Irvine — since 2004. This year’s final edition features work by four alumni. – Pointe Magazine
- Proposed Massachusetts Law Would Help Keep Arts Spaces From Being Evicted Or Priced Out

“Artist studios, rehearsal spaces and performance venues frequently contend with rent hikes and evictions as developers gobble up property across the state. … The Creative Space Act would allow municipalities to establish a trust fund to acquire cultural spaces threatened by displacement.” – WBUR (Boston)
- Alan Turing Wrote A Short Story — And It’s About Cruising For Sex

The unfinished six-page story, titled “Pryce’s Buoy,” was known about by Turing experts but never before studied. Says scholar Sarah Dillon, “He’s been seen as socially unaware, entirely concerned with logic and numbers, and pretty isolated. His short story reveals a different man: playful, cheeky, literary, and someone who really liked sex.” – The Guardian
- Bill McGlaughlin, Longtime Classical Radio Host, Has Died At 82

His long career included stints as a trombonist (Philadelphia Orchestra and Pittsburgh Symphony) and conductor (Kansas City Symphony, among others), but he was best-known to public radio listeners as the host of St. Paul Sunday (1980-2007) and Exploring Music (2003 until earlier this year). – WWFM
- Who’s Stealing our Words?
Good Morning,
Researchers who spent years eavesdropping on thousands of people found we’re speaking about 338 fewer words a day, every year — roughly a Sense and Sensibility-worth of talk gone annually, steepest among the under-25s (The New Yorker). Put that next to a Mississippi teacher’s smart, capable students who simply won’t read (Wired) and Meta’s new app that generates children’s bedtime stories (TechCrunch), and the pattern isn’t declining ability. We’re automating away the moments where language happens.
Chicago reported that cultural events pumped $395 million into the Loop last quarter, up 20 percent (Chicago Sun-Times). But the Art Institute laid off its entire custodial staff to outsource the work (Chicago Sun-Times).
The Glasgow School of Art has concluded that rebuilding Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s fire-gutted masterpiece building would cost $355 million it doesn’t have (The New York Times). That probably won’t happen.
The Louvre, at least, has reopened the gallery where thieves took the crown jewels last fall. It’s empty — but the room is interesting (AFP (MSN)).
All of our stories below.
ISSUES
- Jeff Koons Wins Case Accusing Him Of Copyright Infringement

A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday upheld a ruling in favor of pop artist Jeff Koons in a copyright dispute with a sculptor who had accused Koons of using his sculpture without permission in a 1989 series of artworks. – Reuters
- Art Institute Of Chicago Lays Off Its Entire Custodial Staff, Will Outsource

“The cultural institution announced it will no longer employ 23 custodial workers on June 29. … The employees’ last day is Aug. 14, but a museum spokesperson said they will have the opportunity to re-apply for their positions with the new company, GDI Integrated Facility Services, based in Canada.” – Chicago Sun-Times
- Louvre Reopens Gallery Where Crown Jewels Were Stolen — But It’s Empty

The Apollo Gallery had been closed to the public ever since last October’s broad-daylight theft of the French crown jewels on display there. Now it’s open again, with nothing on display. Fortunately, the room itself is pretty spectacular. – AFP (MSN)
- The Next Director Of Britain’s Tate Galleries Will Be —

— Jessica Morgan, currently director of New York’s Dia Art Foundation. “Morgan will need to guide the organisation through a difficult financial landscape, raise poor staff morale and grapple with fluctuating visitor numbers.” – The Guardian
- Monumental Chilean Mural Painted Over By Pinochet Is Being Uncovered

Beginning and End, a 452-square-foot mural painted by Julio Escámez, was unveiled in 1972 by the Allende-aligned government of the city of Chillán, 250 miles south of Santiago. After Pinochet’s coup, he ordered the mural destroyed, and it was thought lost; in 2021, conservators discovered that it had been only painted over. – Artnet
MEDIA
- Proposed Massachusetts Law Would Help Keep Arts Spaces From Being Evicted Or Priced Out
“Artist studios, rehearsal spaces and performance venues frequently contend with rent hikes and evictions as developers gobble up property across the state. … The Creative Space Act would allow municipalities to establish a trust fund to acquire cultural spaces threatened by displacement.” – WBUR (Boston)
- Why Philanthropists Give?
For some, this elevated focus on philanthropy is not so much a voluntary strategic choice, but rather a response to their existing funders encouraging them to diversify their revenue streams and achieve what they see as a more sustainable future for the sector as a whole. – ArtsHub
- It Might Cost Too Much To Rebuild Mackintosh’s Glasgow School Of Art
Rebuilding the school in line with Mackintosh’s designs would cost 265 million pounds, about $355 million, the school said in a news release. That is “an amount that is not affordable and which would compromise the financial sustainability of the organization,” it said. – The New York Times
- Arts And Culture Events In Downtown Chicago Contributed $395 Million To City’s Economy In Last Three Months
The figure is a 20% increase over the second quarter last year. There were slightly under 1.5 million visitors in that period, and foot traffic in the Loop on weekdays is still below pre-pandemic levels. – Chicago Sun-Times
- How Congressional Republicans Attacked American History At The Smithsonian This Week
Whether “love” is really the metric by which one should assess a historian’s credibility seemed outside the scope of the discussion. Nuance was treated like a threat. – The Atlantic
MUSIC
- Alan Turing Wrote A Short Story — And It’s About Cruising For Sex
The unfinished six-page story, titled “Pryce’s Buoy,” was known about by Turing experts but never before studied. Says scholar Sarah Dillon, “He’s been seen as socially unaware, entirely concerned with logic and numbers, and pretty isolated. His short story reveals a different man: playful, cheeky, literary, and someone who really liked sex.” – The Guardian
- A View From Second-Class On The Titanic In A Rare Surviving Letter From A Passenger
Henry Hodges, a musical instrument salesman, sent the letter from Queenstown (now Cobh), in Cork Harbour in Ireland, the ship’s final stop before crossing the Atlantic on its first and last voyage in 1912. The document provides a little-seen look at accommodations and activities for second-class travelers. – Smithsonian Magazine
- Is It A Reading Crisis Or A Comprehension Crisis?
Plenty of her students are smart and capable, but she’s never encountered a group less interested in reading. And neither she nor anyone else seems to have any idea how to fix it. – Wired
- An AI That Will Write Your Bedtime Stories?
A Meta spokesperson described StoryKit as a creative storytelling app used to craft personalized, imaginative storybooks for children and noted that it uses AI safety filters with no social features and is only available to users over the age of 18. – TechCrunch
- Scientists Discover We’re Speaking Fewer Words Every Year. What’s That About?
Each year the number of words spoken daily seemed to decline by about three hundred and thirty-eight. That translates into around a hundred and twenty thousand words a year—about the length of “Sense and Sensibility.” And Mehl noticed that the decline was even steeper for people under twenty-five. – The New Yorker
PEOPLE
- National Choreographers Initiative Makes Its Last Dance
Ultimately dating back to 1991 and in its current form — four choreographers working with 16 professional dancers, creating pieces for three weeks and then performing for an audience which gives direct feedback, taking place each July at UCal-Irvine — since 2004. This year’s final edition features work by four alumni. – Pointe Magazine
- Proposed Massachusetts Law Would Help Keep Arts Spaces From Being Evicted Or Priced Out
“Artist studios, rehearsal spaces and performance venues frequently contend with rent hikes and evictions as developers gobble up property across the state. … The Creative Space Act would allow municipalities to establish a trust fund to acquire cultural spaces threatened by displacement.” – WBUR (Boston)
- Alan Turing Wrote A Short Story — And It’s About Cruising For Sex
The unfinished six-page story, titled “Pryce’s Buoy,” was known about by Turing experts but never before studied. Says scholar Sarah Dillon, “He’s been seen as socially unaware, entirely concerned with logic and numbers, and pretty isolated. His short story reveals a different man: playful, cheeky, literary, and someone who really liked sex.” – The Guardian
- Bill McGlaughlin, Longtime Classical Radio Host, Has Died At 82
His long career included stints as a trombonist (Philadelphia Orchestra and Pittsburgh Symphony) and conductor (Kansas City Symphony, among others), but he was best-known to public radio listeners as the host of St. Paul Sunday (1980-2007) and Exploring Music (2003 until earlier this year). – WWFM
- Who’s Stealing our Words?
Good Morning,
Researchers who spent years eavesdropping on thousands of people found we’re speaking about 338 fewer words a day, every year — roughly a Sense and Sensibility-worth of talk gone annually, steepest among the under-25s (The New Yorker). Put that next to a Mississippi teacher’s smart, capable students who simply won’t read (Wired) and Meta’s new app that generates children’s bedtime stories (TechCrunch), and the pattern isn’t declining ability. We’re automating away the moments where language happens.
Chicago reported that cultural events pumped $395 million into the Loop last quarter, up 20 percent (Chicago Sun-Times). But the Art Institute laid off its entire custodial staff to outsource the work (Chicago Sun-Times).
The Glasgow School of Art has concluded that rebuilding Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s fire-gutted masterpiece building would cost $355 million it doesn’t have (The New York Times). That probably won’t happen.
The Louvre, at least, has reopened the gallery where thieves took the crown jewels last fall. It’s empty — but the room is interesting (AFP (MSN)).
All of our stories below.
PEOPLE
- National Choreographers Initiative Makes Its Last Dance
Ultimately dating back to 1991 and in its current form — four choreographers working with 16 professional dancers, creating pieces for three weeks and then performing for an audience which gives direct feedback, taking place each July at UCal-Irvine — since 2004. This year’s final edition features work by four alumni. – Pointe Magazine
- Proposed Massachusetts Law Would Help Keep Arts Spaces From Being Evicted Or Priced Out
“Artist studios, rehearsal spaces and performance venues frequently contend with rent hikes and evictions as developers gobble up property across the state. … The Creative Space Act would allow municipalities to establish a trust fund to acquire cultural spaces threatened by displacement.” – WBUR (Boston)
- Alan Turing Wrote A Short Story — And It’s About Cruising For Sex
The unfinished six-page story, titled “Pryce’s Buoy,” was known about by Turing experts but never before studied. Says scholar Sarah Dillon, “He’s been seen as socially unaware, entirely concerned with logic and numbers, and pretty isolated. His short story reveals a different man: playful, cheeky, literary, and someone who really liked sex.” – The Guardian
- Bill McGlaughlin, Longtime Classical Radio Host, Has Died At 82
His long career included stints as a trombonist (Philadelphia Orchestra and Pittsburgh Symphony) and conductor (Kansas City Symphony, among others), but he was best-known to public radio listeners as the host of St. Paul Sunday (1980-2007) and Exploring Music (2003 until earlier this year). – WWFM
- Who’s Stealing our Words?
Good Morning,
Researchers who spent years eavesdropping on thousands of people found we’re speaking about 338 fewer words a day, every year — roughly a Sense and Sensibility-worth of talk gone annually, steepest among the under-25s (The New Yorker). Put that next to a Mississippi teacher’s smart, capable students who simply won’t read (Wired) and Meta’s new app that generates children’s bedtime stories (TechCrunch), and the pattern isn’t declining ability. We’re automating away the moments where language happens.
Chicago reported that cultural events pumped $395 million into the Loop last quarter, up 20 percent (Chicago Sun-Times). But the Art Institute laid off its entire custodial staff to outsource the work (Chicago Sun-Times).
The Glasgow School of Art has concluded that rebuilding Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s fire-gutted masterpiece building would cost $355 million it doesn’t have (The New York Times). That probably won’t happen.
The Louvre, at least, has reopened the gallery where thieves took the crown jewels last fall. It’s empty — but the room is interesting (AFP (MSN)).
All of our stories below.
THEATRE
VISUAL
- How Hierarchy Hides in How We Think
The question is not whether the technological revolution already underway will abolish hierarchy. It will not. The question is different: what will the new currency of rank be, and will it better recognise ability, responsibility, and work, or give old advantages a new language? – 3 Quarks Daily
- Reality Is Breaking Down
The rapidly degenerating digital culture is the third leg of the stool of the “reality distortion field” that has engulfed the U.S. – Artnet
- The Power Of Coffee Houses To Change History
It was debated whether coffeehouses were truly a place of creativity or frivolous laziness. Many resolved to leave the coffeehouse behind, as if it were a vice, and then failed to kick the habit. – Aeon
- Why Costco Is Thriving As The Antithesis Of Amazon
While most retailers today assume that consumers want ever greater assortment, Costco’s popularity speaks to a countervailing desire for less choice. Indeed, the pre-selection of items for sale in their warehouses is part of the value proposition. – The Walrus
- A Short History Of Being Burned Out
Burnout’s meaning shifted from literal to figurative over time. It began as a description of candles burning out or fuel being used up, then shifted to a barn burning down and a worker’s energy or body being depleted in the rebuilding. Eventually it came to simply describe a worker’s exhaustion. – The Conversation












