AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- AJ Chronicles: The Venice Biennale Blows Up — Some Takeaways
Culture awards of all kinds have been steadily losing their currency over the past decade. So what’s going on? - Stéphane Denéve shares his philosophy of artistic curation
Stéphane Denève, Artistic Director of the New World Symphony, shares his passion for Modern Masterworks and his philosophy of artistic curation.
- A Venice Biennale in Turmoil
This Week’s Highlights:
The Venice Biennale opened Saturday in something close to disarray. The jury resigned en masse over Israel’s and Russia’s eligibility (Hyperallergic). Iran withdrew days before opening (Artforum). The US pavilion sits empty — the administration’s call for proposals required work that “reflect and promote American values,” and got the silence it asked for (ARTnews). Pussy Riot stormed the Russian pavilion in pink balaclavas (The Guardian). Anish Kapoor said the US should be banned outright (The Guardian). And the Golden Lion itself was scrapped this year for a people’s choice vote (Hyperallergic).
Several pieces of the Biennale’s basic infrastructure failed at once — the jury, the central prize, multiple national pavilions. That’s not a difficult year. It’s a 130-year-old institution built to recognize excellence by adjudicating contemporary art across nations meeting a moment that won’t agree on the basic terms.
Three other stories (among others) worth tracking this week. A federal judge ruled DOGE’s cancellation of $100 million in NEH grants unconstitutional (AP) — after the agency had already been hollowed out, with 97% of its grants terminated and 22 of 26 advisory board members fired (Chronicle of Higher Education). Five publishers and Scott Turow sued Meta and Zuckerberg personally over Llama’s training on pirated books (AP). And the Academy of Motion Pictures ruled AI-generated actors and scripts ineligible for the Oscars (TechCrunch). Duh! Was that even ever really a possibility?
Finally — don’t miss my new AJ Chronicles essay on Diacritical that examines the Venice Biennale mess in a broader cultural context. This is only the latest and most visible version of an erosion of authority and relevance that’s been creeping up on the biggest culture prizes over the past several years. And it says much about the breakdown in our cultural sorting mechanisms, built for finding culture.
All this week’s stories below, organized by topic.
- David Attenborough, Everyone’s Favorite Nature TV Host, Is Now 100
“(He’s) the man who has brought frolicking gorillas, breaching whales and tiny poisonous frogs into living rooms around the world for more than 70 years. … Attenborough has illuminated the beauty, ferocity and sometimes downright weirdness of nature in a hushed melodic voice that conveys his own awe at what he is witnessing.” – AP
- America’s First Baroque Dance Company Is Now 50
“While early music enjoyed a strong following (since) the 1970s, historical dance needed help catching up — and the New York Baroque Dance Co., founded in 1976 by Catherine Turocy and Ann Jacoby, was seminal in jump-starting research, performance styles, and popularity.” – Early Music America
ISSUES
- More Mayhem At Venice Biennale: Artist Strike Closes Several Pavilions
“The Biennale was disrupted on Friday morning as some of the major artists at this year’s event shuttered their exhibitions in protest over Israel’s participation. … Some of the buzziest exhibitions at this year’s event, including those by artists representing Austria, Belgium, Egypt, Japan, the Netherlands and South Korea, were shut.” – The New York Times
- Is This Why The Venice Biennale Jury Resigned En Masse?
The jurors had clearly stated, a few days before they quit, that they would not consider the entrants from Russia and Israel. The Israeli artist in the event then threatened lawsuits, and the Biennale warned jurors that they could be personally liable for damages. – Hyperallergic
- What Iran’s Absence From The Venice Biennale Means
Iran’s withdrawal is less a sudden decision than the result of converging geopolitical and economic pressures that are reshaping both the global art world and Iran’s place within it. – The Conversation
- Brandywine Conservancy Announced $100M Expansion
The Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art on Wednesday announced a $100 million expansion plan to open a second museum building, create a 325-acre campus, and a nature preserve with 10 miles of trails. – Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
- Living In A Gaudi Masterpiece
Imagine that you live in an enormous, beautiful apartment designed by one of the world’s most admired architects in the most expensive street in Spain and for which you pay a derisory rent, with the right to live there until you die. – The Guardian
MEDIA
- Portland, OR Has An Arts Tax. Now It’s Time To Reform It
“Without this much needed arts tax reform, including indexing it to inflation, we risk losing the very institutions that make Portland vibrant, and we also risk losing the next generation of arts lovers by failing to sustain arts education in our schools.” – KATU
- How Trump Took Over The NEH
A little over a year later, after the Department of Government Efficiency eliminated more than half of the NEH staff and tried to terminate 97 percent of its grants, Trump fired all but four members of the 26-person advisory board, called the National Council on the Humanities. – Chronicle of Higher Education
- Judge Rules DOGE’s Cancellation Of NEH Grants Was Unconstitutional
“The Trump administration’s cancellation of more than $100 million in humanities grants to scholars, writers, research groups and other organizations was unconstitutional, and the Department of Government Efficiency had no authority to end the funding, a federal judge in New York ruled on Thursday.” – AP
- Transcending Boundaries: What Is The Ministry Of Awe?
What is the Ministry of Awe? “Is it an art gallery?” she asked rhetorically. “Is it a theater? Is a museum? Is it a dream? It’s none of those and all of those and it doesn’t matter exactly what it is because there’s no one right way to experience it.” – The New York Times
- As City Of San Diego Prepares To Slash Arts Funding, County Sets Up $2.75 Million Program
This despite the fact that the San Diego County government is facing a budget cliff of its own, just as the city is. – The San Diego Union-Tribune (MSN)
MUSIC
- Is Substack The New Book Tour?
Some experts say Substack’s rise fits into a longer arc in publishing, one shaped by the early wave of self-publishing tools like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and Smashwords in the late aughts. Those platforms opened the door for self-published authors, but didn’t solve the marketing problem. – Fast Company
- Report: Twice As Many Books Banned This Year From Libraries And Classrooms
PEN America’s report released Thursday called “Facts & Fiction: Stories Stripped Away by Book Bans” found that 3,743 unique titles were removed from school libraries and classrooms between July 2024 and June 2025. This included 1,102 nonfiction titles. – The Hill
- U.S. Book-Banners Step Up Attacks On Nonfiction: Study
“PEN America analysed the 3,743 unique titles removed from school libraries and classrooms in the (2024-25) July to June period and found that over 1,100 or 29% were non-fiction, more than double the year prior. The most common theme in the banned non-fiction books was activism and social movements.” – The Guardian
- A Manifesto From The Battle Front Of French Literature’s Latest Culture War
“A publishing house is not meant to be a propaganda machine. It is a place where conflict, doubt and nuance can, and should, coexist. … Grasset’s authors rarely agreed on much, but as the letter of protest we signed said, we have had — and still have — a common enemy: authoritarianism.” – The New York Times
- “The Devil Wears Prada” And The Rise And Fall Of Chick Lit
“Before it was a movie, Lauren Weisberger’s The Devil Wears Prada, published by Broadway Books in 2003, marked the absolute high point of that once-ubiquitous genre. … Soon after the success of the novel, chick lit started to fall apart,” with dedicated imprints long since discontinued. – Publishers Weekly
PEOPLE
- AJ Chronicles: The Venice Biennale Blows Up — Some TakeawaysCulture awards of all kinds have been steadily losing their currency over the past decade. So what’s going on?
- Stéphane Denéve shares his philosophy of artistic curation
Stéphane Denève, Artistic Director of the New World Symphony, shares his passion for Modern Masterworks and his philosophy of artistic curation.
- A Venice Biennale in Turmoil
This Week’s Highlights:
The Venice Biennale opened Saturday in something close to disarray. The jury resigned en masse over Israel’s and Russia’s eligibility (Hyperallergic). Iran withdrew days before opening (Artforum). The US pavilion sits empty — the administration’s call for proposals required work that “reflect and promote American values,” and got the silence it asked for (ARTnews). Pussy Riot stormed the Russian pavilion in pink balaclavas (The Guardian). Anish Kapoor said the US should be banned outright (The Guardian). And the Golden Lion itself was scrapped this year for a people’s choice vote (Hyperallergic).
Several pieces of the Biennale’s basic infrastructure failed at once — the jury, the central prize, multiple national pavilions. That’s not a difficult year. It’s a 130-year-old institution built to recognize excellence by adjudicating contemporary art across nations meeting a moment that won’t agree on the basic terms.
Three other stories (among others) worth tracking this week. A federal judge ruled DOGE’s cancellation of $100 million in NEH grants unconstitutional (AP) — after the agency had already been hollowed out, with 97% of its grants terminated and 22 of 26 advisory board members fired (Chronicle of Higher Education). Five publishers and Scott Turow sued Meta and Zuckerberg personally over Llama’s training on pirated books (AP). And the Academy of Motion Pictures ruled AI-generated actors and scripts ineligible for the Oscars (TechCrunch). Duh! Was that even ever really a possibility?
Finally — don’t miss my new AJ Chronicles essay on Diacritical that examines the Venice Biennale mess in a broader cultural context. This is only the latest and most visible version of an erosion of authority and relevance that’s been creeping up on the biggest culture prizes over the past several years. And it says much about the breakdown in our cultural sorting mechanisms, built for finding culture.
All this week’s stories below, organized by topic.
- David Attenborough, Everyone’s Favorite Nature TV Host, Is Now 100
“(He’s) the man who has brought frolicking gorillas, breaching whales and tiny poisonous frogs into living rooms around the world for more than 70 years. … Attenborough has illuminated the beauty, ferocity and sometimes downright weirdness of nature in a hushed melodic voice that conveys his own awe at what he is witnessing.” – AP
- America’s First Baroque Dance Company Is Now 50
“While early music enjoyed a strong following (since) the 1970s, historical dance needed help catching up — and the New York Baroque Dance Co., founded in 1976 by Catherine Turocy and Ann Jacoby, was seminal in jump-starting research, performance styles, and popularity.” – Early Music America
PEOPLE
- AJ Chronicles: The Venice Biennale Blows Up — Some TakeawaysCulture awards of all kinds have been steadily losing their currency over the past decade. So what’s going on?
- Stéphane Denéve shares his philosophy of artistic curation
Stéphane Denève, Artistic Director of the New World Symphony, shares his passion for Modern Masterworks and his philosophy of artistic curation.
- A Venice Biennale in Turmoil
This Week’s Highlights:
The Venice Biennale opened Saturday in something close to disarray. The jury resigned en masse over Israel’s and Russia’s eligibility (Hyperallergic). Iran withdrew days before opening (Artforum). The US pavilion sits empty — the administration’s call for proposals required work that “reflect and promote American values,” and got the silence it asked for (ARTnews). Pussy Riot stormed the Russian pavilion in pink balaclavas (The Guardian). Anish Kapoor said the US should be banned outright (The Guardian). And the Golden Lion itself was scrapped this year for a people’s choice vote (Hyperallergic).
Several pieces of the Biennale’s basic infrastructure failed at once — the jury, the central prize, multiple national pavilions. That’s not a difficult year. It’s a 130-year-old institution built to recognize excellence by adjudicating contemporary art across nations meeting a moment that won’t agree on the basic terms.
Three other stories (among others) worth tracking this week. A federal judge ruled DOGE’s cancellation of $100 million in NEH grants unconstitutional (AP) — after the agency had already been hollowed out, with 97% of its grants terminated and 22 of 26 advisory board members fired (Chronicle of Higher Education). Five publishers and Scott Turow sued Meta and Zuckerberg personally over Llama’s training on pirated books (AP). And the Academy of Motion Pictures ruled AI-generated actors and scripts ineligible for the Oscars (TechCrunch). Duh! Was that even ever really a possibility?
Finally — don’t miss my new AJ Chronicles essay on Diacritical that examines the Venice Biennale mess in a broader cultural context. This is only the latest and most visible version of an erosion of authority and relevance that’s been creeping up on the biggest culture prizes over the past several years. And it says much about the breakdown in our cultural sorting mechanisms, built for finding culture.
All this week’s stories below, organized by topic.
- David Attenborough, Everyone’s Favorite Nature TV Host, Is Now 100
“(He’s) the man who has brought frolicking gorillas, breaching whales and tiny poisonous frogs into living rooms around the world for more than 70 years. … Attenborough has illuminated the beauty, ferocity and sometimes downright weirdness of nature in a hushed melodic voice that conveys his own awe at what he is witnessing.” – AP
- America’s First Baroque Dance Company Is Now 50
“While early music enjoyed a strong following (since) the 1970s, historical dance needed help catching up — and the New York Baroque Dance Co., founded in 1976 by Catherine Turocy and Ann Jacoby, was seminal in jump-starting research, performance styles, and popularity.” – Early Music America
THEATRE
VISUAL
- Claim: Figuring Out Consciousness Isn’t Difficult
Amid the current cultural backlash against progressive ideas, today’s debate on consciousness reflects our human fears of belonging to the same family as inanimate matter and losing our dear, transcendent souls. – Noema
- How Our Machines Are Getting In The Way Of Art
From the original, nineteenth-century form popularized by Balzac, Zola, and Stendhal to the “lyrical” variant of today, the verisimilitude that realism pursues—not just lifelikeness, but worldlikeness—is meant to convince us the novel is, for want of a better term, natural. – Boston Review
- Study: Using AI Could Make You Lazy And Dumber
Some participants were given access to an AI assistant capable of solving the problem autonomously. When the AI helper was suddenly taken away, these people were significantly more likely to give up on the problem or flub their answers. – Wired
- What Research Tells Us About How Memory Works
The idea of photographic memory is simple and powerful: Experience is captured objectively, stored completely and retrieved perfectly. See it once, keep it forever. There’s just one problem. There’s no scientific evidence it exists. – The Conversation
- In An AI Economy, Human-Made Becomes Luxury Good
We don’t value human creations solely for their beauty or their price tag. We also value them because they embody deliberate labour and expertise. – The Conversation
