AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- At Long Last, MOCA In L.A. Has Its New Director
“After almost two decades of high leadership turnover and a more than year-long search, the Museum of Contemporary Art has appointed Jonathan Abbott as its new director and chief executive.” He comes from Boston’s PBS affiliate, GBH, where he was CEO for 15 years. – Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
- Mamdani And The Met To Give Away 70,000 Free Opera Tickets A Year
The program, which the mayor said would continue indefinitely, will draw from the pool of unsold tickets, which will be distributed by lottery via the Metropolitan Opera app. The catch: you’re not eligible if you’ve bought Met tickets any time since fall 2018. – The New York Times
- Cleveland Orchestra Musicians On Strike
“Violinist Elayna Duitman, head of the (musicians’ negotiating) committee, said their pay lags both inflation and the other ‘Big Five’ orchestras in Boston, Philadelphia, New York and Chicago, while upper management is well-compensated. … Their most recent contract extension expired earlier this week.” – Ideastream Public Media (Cleveland)
- Creative Markets are being Swamped
A flood of books, music and images is overwhelming creative markets. Some of it is democratization of tools. Some of it is pure AI. Is this a crisis or an opportunity? - 4,200 Library Books, Three Months, No Phones
Good Morning,
Students at Pleasure Ridge Park High School in Louisville have checked out 4,200 library books in the first three months of this school year, twice last year’s total, since the school district locked phones away “bell to bell.” Noah Berry, a senior, says he had never borrowed a book there before (Aging Untold).
Davi Ramos, now the Australian Ballet’s first Black principal, started ballet at 12 in Rio’s Vidigal favela. His school waived the fees, friends’ mothers helped pay his way to the Prix de Lausanne, and Lausanne brought him 12 offers (Dance Australia).
Thélyson Orélien, a Haitian-Canadian writer, has sold 35,000 copies in France of his first novel, C’était ça ou mourir, a Goncourt contender. An anonymous X account says the detector Pangram scored it 94 percent AI-written; when AFP ran the excerpts through other detectors, one called them “very probably” human and seven others disagreed. Orélien denies using AI (Euronews).
In distressed institutions news: Kanal, Brussels’ new Centre Pompidou partner museum in a former Citroën garage, gave away all 30,000 opening-weekend tickets in a day. Its director, Yves Goldstein, leaves two days after the November 28 opening, and a budget once promised at €35 million a year is headed toward €10 million by 2029 (Artforum). The Nashville Symphony says it lacks the cash to keep operating at its current level, a month after the death of Martha Ingram, who took on its $20 million mortgage in 2013 (Nashville Scene).
All of our stories below.
ISSUES
- At Long Last, MOCA In L.A. Has Its New Director
“After almost two decades of high leadership turnover and a more than year-long search, the Museum of Contemporary Art has appointed Jonathan Abbott as its new director and chief executive.” He comes from Boston’s PBS affiliate, GBH, where he was CEO for 15 years. – Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
- Lucas Museum Architects And The Building Of Fantasies
MAD Architects is a team that has completed major cultural and residential projects in 16 countries and counting. Their signature is hard-to-believe designs that do all of the shouting — etched towers churning like hula-hooping women; a museum honed like an ancient stone; an opera house resembling a mountain, bursting from the ground. – The New York Times
- Former Microsoft CEO Repairs Damaged Calder Mobile In U.S. Senate Building
When Kim and Jon Shirley visited Alexander Calder’s Mountains and Clouds (1976/1986) in the atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building, the stabile portion of the sculpture (the mountains) was there, but the mobile part (clouds) had been removed due to structural damage. Ten years and $10 million later, the clouds are back. – ARTnews
- The African American History and Culture Museum, Ten Years On
The decades-long effort got its final push with the bipartisan efforts of Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, a stalwart of the civil rights movement, and Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas; the bill establishing the museum was signed by President George W. Bush in 2003. – The Smithsonian
- Director Of Kanal-Centre Pompidou In Brussels Will Step Down Immediately After Opening Weekend
“Yves Goldstein will leave (the new contemporary art museum) two days after its opening on November 28. He has spent a decade leading Kanal through the planning and renovation of its home in a massive Art Deco building, which formerly housed a Citroën garage, and navigating a partnership with the Centre Pompidou.” – Artforum
MEDIA
- Australia’s Performing Arts Sector Is In Crisis
Too many of our finest performers and musicians feel compelled to leave Australia. Productions, concert seasons and festivals are being cancelled or scaled back. – ArtsHub
- White House Officials Search For Easier DC Landmarks To Put Trump’s Name On (But Not Ford’s Theatre)
What with the ongoing battle over the Kennedy Center, Trump administration staffers are reportedly trying to find other spots to which his name could be added without legal wrangling. An MS NOW report said that among the places aides considered was the site of Lincoln’s assassination, a suggestion Trump himself angrily denies. – AlterNet
- Kennedy Center Officials Extend Closure For Another Week, Citing Safety Issues
“Executive Director Matt Floca cited recent studies of roofing damage he says could harm pedestrians in a status report filed Wednesday evening. … Floca has said the current shutdown is separate from the board’s decision” to close indefinitely, which requires the court’s approval, “and was prompted by immediate safety concerns.” – The Washington Post (MSN)
- Higher Ed’s AI-Detection Struggle
Four years into the ChatGPT era, colleges may be further from solving AI cheating than they were when it launched. – The Atlantic
- Hungary’s New Government Temporarily Closes Orbán’s House Of Terror Museum
“The museum closure is part of new Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s attempts to rectify his predecessor, Viktor Orbán’s, control of state media and arts and culture entities. … (Culture minister Zoltán) Tarr said that the museum would reopen later this year ‘pending a review of the exhibition’s content.’” – ARTnews
MUSIC
- Schools Report Surge In Library Book Checkouts After Cellphone Bans
Students at Pleasure Ridge Park High School are checking out books at a rate librarians say hasn’t been seen before, coinciding with a districtwide cell phone ban that took effect at the start of the 2025 school year. – Aging Untold
- Author Of One Of France’s Biggest Hit Novels Of The Year Accused Of Using AI
C’était ça ou mourir (It Was That Or Die) by Thélyson Orélien has sold over 35,000 copies and been hailed in France’s literary mediasphere as a revelation. On Monday, an anonymous X (Twitter) account claimed the AI-spotting software Pangram found that “this novel was written almost entirely by an artificial intelligence.” – Euronews
- How AI Is Changing The Art Of Translation
Many literary translators fear that if machine-assisted translation becomes the norm in book publishing, it could fundamentally change the nature of their profession. – Publishers Weekly
- The Powers Of Bibliotherapy
Today, bibliotherapy takes many different forms, from literature courses run for prison inmates to reading circles for elderly people suffering from dementia. Sometimes it can simply mean one-on-one or group sessions for “lapsed” readers who want to find their way back to an enjoyment of books. – The New Yorker
- Nova Scotia Closed Libraries. The Backlash Has Been Intense
Persistent provincial underfunding forced the Annapolis Valley Regional Library system to announce plans earlier this year to permanently close five of its ten libraries. Many are tired of—even enraged by—what they perceive as the government’s assault on culture, treaty rights, and the environment. – The Walrus
PEOPLE
- At Long Last, MOCA In L.A. Has Its New Director
“After almost two decades of high leadership turnover and a more than year-long search, the Museum of Contemporary Art has appointed Jonathan Abbott as its new director and chief executive.” He comes from Boston’s PBS affiliate, GBH, where he was CEO for 15 years. – Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
- Mamdani And The Met To Give Away 70,000 Free Opera Tickets A Year
The program, which the mayor said would continue indefinitely, will draw from the pool of unsold tickets, which will be distributed by lottery via the Metropolitan Opera app. The catch: you’re not eligible if you’ve bought Met tickets any time since fall 2018. – The New York Times
- Cleveland Orchestra Musicians On Strike
“Violinist Elayna Duitman, head of the (musicians’ negotiating) committee, said their pay lags both inflation and the other ‘Big Five’ orchestras in Boston, Philadelphia, New York and Chicago, while upper management is well-compensated. … Their most recent contract extension expired earlier this week.” – Ideastream Public Media (Cleveland)
- Creative Markets are being SwampedA flood of books, music and images is overwhelming creative markets. Some of it is democratization of tools. Some of it is pure AI. Is this a crisis or an opportunity?
- 4,200 Library Books, Three Months, No Phones
Good Morning,
Students at Pleasure Ridge Park High School in Louisville have checked out 4,200 library books in the first three months of this school year, twice last year’s total, since the school district locked phones away “bell to bell.” Noah Berry, a senior, says he had never borrowed a book there before (Aging Untold).
Davi Ramos, now the Australian Ballet’s first Black principal, started ballet at 12 in Rio’s Vidigal favela. His school waived the fees, friends’ mothers helped pay his way to the Prix de Lausanne, and Lausanne brought him 12 offers (Dance Australia).
Thélyson Orélien, a Haitian-Canadian writer, has sold 35,000 copies in France of his first novel, C’était ça ou mourir, a Goncourt contender. An anonymous X account says the detector Pangram scored it 94 percent AI-written; when AFP ran the excerpts through other detectors, one called them “very probably” human and seven others disagreed. Orélien denies using AI (Euronews).
In distressed institutions news: Kanal, Brussels’ new Centre Pompidou partner museum in a former Citroën garage, gave away all 30,000 opening-weekend tickets in a day. Its director, Yves Goldstein, leaves two days after the November 28 opening, and a budget once promised at €35 million a year is headed toward €10 million by 2029 (Artforum). The Nashville Symphony says it lacks the cash to keep operating at its current level, a month after the death of Martha Ingram, who took on its $20 million mortgage in 2013 (Nashville Scene).
All of our stories below.
PEOPLE
- At Long Last, MOCA In L.A. Has Its New Director
“After almost two decades of high leadership turnover and a more than year-long search, the Museum of Contemporary Art has appointed Jonathan Abbott as its new director and chief executive.” He comes from Boston’s PBS affiliate, GBH, where he was CEO for 15 years. – Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
- Mamdani And The Met To Give Away 70,000 Free Opera Tickets A Year
The program, which the mayor said would continue indefinitely, will draw from the pool of unsold tickets, which will be distributed by lottery via the Metropolitan Opera app. The catch: you’re not eligible if you’ve bought Met tickets any time since fall 2018. – The New York Times
- Cleveland Orchestra Musicians On Strike
“Violinist Elayna Duitman, head of the (musicians’ negotiating) committee, said their pay lags both inflation and the other ‘Big Five’ orchestras in Boston, Philadelphia, New York and Chicago, while upper management is well-compensated. … Their most recent contract extension expired earlier this week.” – Ideastream Public Media (Cleveland)
- Creative Markets are being SwampedA flood of books, music and images is overwhelming creative markets. Some of it is democratization of tools. Some of it is pure AI. Is this a crisis or an opportunity?
- 4,200 Library Books, Three Months, No Phones
Good Morning,
Students at Pleasure Ridge Park High School in Louisville have checked out 4,200 library books in the first three months of this school year, twice last year’s total, since the school district locked phones away “bell to bell.” Noah Berry, a senior, says he had never borrowed a book there before (Aging Untold).
Davi Ramos, now the Australian Ballet’s first Black principal, started ballet at 12 in Rio’s Vidigal favela. His school waived the fees, friends’ mothers helped pay his way to the Prix de Lausanne, and Lausanne brought him 12 offers (Dance Australia).
Thélyson Orélien, a Haitian-Canadian writer, has sold 35,000 copies in France of his first novel, C’était ça ou mourir, a Goncourt contender. An anonymous X account says the detector Pangram scored it 94 percent AI-written; when AFP ran the excerpts through other detectors, one called them “very probably” human and seven others disagreed. Orélien denies using AI (Euronews).
In distressed institutions news: Kanal, Brussels’ new Centre Pompidou partner museum in a former Citroën garage, gave away all 30,000 opening-weekend tickets in a day. Its director, Yves Goldstein, leaves two days after the November 28 opening, and a budget once promised at €35 million a year is headed toward €10 million by 2029 (Artforum). The Nashville Symphony says it lacks the cash to keep operating at its current level, a month after the death of Martha Ingram, who took on its $20 million mortgage in 2013 (Nashville Scene).
All of our stories below.
THEATRE
VISUAL
- Is AI Above The Law? Outside? Under?
At least for now, then, robots legally are things, not persons. But neither category quite fits. Instead, robots are outlaws: they lie outside the protection of the law, and their actions are not answerable to it. – The New Yorker
- Are Debates Over Student AI Use Arguing Over The Wrong Things?
The battle for the role of AI in higher education this fall is being fought over when and where AI and other digital technologies should be used. This combat ignores the larger crisis: how can colleges verify that they are preparing students to become productive members of society in a digital age? – Post Alley
- Looking Back On What The Literary Theory Generation Wrought
A half-century after poststructuralism broke out of Parisian lecture halls and stumbled into unexpected acclaim and vitriol in the English-speaking world, we now have enough distance from the culture wars of the 1980s and ’90s to look back on theory with clearer vision. Or so it would seem. – Hedgehog Review
- The Real Qualities Of A Skeptic
‘Sceptic’ comes from the Greek skeptikos, meaning enquirer, and has a long and serious pedigree in philosophy. Yet, since the 1990s, the term has been hijacked by science-denial movements, giving us oxymorons like ‘climate sceptic’, ‘vaccine sceptic’, and ‘evolution sceptic’. – Aeon
- New UK Company Will Recreate Famous Concerts With Hyper-Realistic Digital Avatars In Any Space
The former chief executive of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s entertainment group has obtained a near-£15m investment for his UK music tech startup that hopes to recreate classic concerts by manifesting musicians as digital avatars. – The Guardian