AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- What Should Music Festivals Do To Make The Experience Better For Neurodivergent Fans?
In the UK, “The Culture, Media and Sport Committee released guidelines earlier this year setting out ways for disabled people to feel more included at live music events.” – BBC
- Some People Hate Horror Movies While The Rest Of Us Can’t Get Enough
“A horror film builds a safe enclosure where we can rehearse terror, chaos and helplessness with no adverse consequences. … But the body can’t always tell the rehearsal from the real thing.” – The Guardian (UK)
- A Montreal Chemical Lab Is Planning To Close, Leaving Analog Film In Limbo
The MELS post-production studio “is closing a Quebec facility that houses one of North America’s only laboratories capable of developing film for professional productions.” – CBC
- We’re Almost Halfway Through 2026, And Here Are The Five Top Onscreen Moments So Far
To be fair, a lot of good movies and shows come out in the latter, awards-chasing half of the year, but still, here are “subtle, surreal moments that highlight a character’s fears and insecurities.” – The New York Times
- How Domestic Novels Became So Epic
“What can a novel about contemporary domestic life possibly add to our knowledge? If familiarity breeds contempt, what could be more familiar than the home, with its sisyphean routines and demands?” Just ask Ducks, Newburyport. – The Guardian (UK)
ISSUES
- Trading Manhattan Art Meet-Ups For A Farm, And A Huge Studio As Well
Uman: “I love working on the floor. I start with a mood, a color, and I determine the size of the canvas or linen. … I always wanted the color to go straight onto the canvas, and that will probably be a problem for restorers in the future.” – The New York Times
- The Artists Who Painted Early Hollywood Into Existence
“‘In general, at the studios, they systematized the production design, so that it was fast,’ Kanjo said, describing the rigid process as militaristic. ‘Five artists at a time work day after day to get these things done.’” – Los Angeles Times (MSN)
- The Real Story Of What Happened At Pace Gallery
Said one hastily removed artist, “They assured me many times — as recently as two days before the article in the New York Times came out — that there would be no public announcement. … It’s a callous breach of trust.” – Hyperallergic
- When The Curator Retires From A Weird But Cool, Isolated But Well-Trafficked, Museum Along The Columbia River
The Maryhill Museum of Art, on the Washington State side of the Columbia River Gorge, is 150 miles upriver from Portland. Its permanent collection is eclectic, to put it mildly. So how does it get exhibitions, or even help revitalize its own collection? – Oregon ArtsWatch
- Crystal Bridges Gets a New Chief Curator
Courtenay Finn is currently chief curator and director of programs at the Orange County Museum of Art, which merged with the University of California, Irvine last year. She has previously served as the chief curator at moCa Cleveland in Ohio, senior curator at the Aspen Art Museum in Colorado, and curator at Art in General in New York.
MEDIA
- Ad-Free Streaming Has Become A Luxury Good
Remember the halcyon days of watching shows without ads? How great that streaming moment was? Well … it’s over. Mostly over. Apple is one holdout … for now. – The Verge
- Margaret Atwood Says The Problem With AI Is A Classic One
“The thing about AI is that it’s garbage in, garbage out,” she said at a book festival. – Deadline
- Report: Chicago’s Creative Sector Is The City’s Third-Largest Industry
The creative sector is Chicago’s third-largest industry and accounts for nearly 213,000 jobs, according to a new economic impact study released Thursday by Arts Alliance Illinois, a statewide advocacy organization. – WBEZ
- Royal Ballet And Opera In London To Eliminate 64 Staff Positions
“The reductions amount to roughly five percent of the organization’s current workforce of 1,169 staff. Nine of the cuts will involve compulsory redundancies, with the remainder expected to come from unfilled vacancies, voluntary departures, and natural turnover.” – OperaWire
- Southbank Center Chairman To Step Down After Social Media Controversy
In May, Misan Harriman was accused by the Telegraph of sharing a social media post that contained a conspiracy theory about the Golders Green attack because it questioned the amount of coverage given to the Muslim victim, Ishmail Hussein. – The Guardian
MUSIC
- How Domestic Novels Became So Epic
“What can a novel about contemporary domestic life possibly add to our knowledge? If familiarity breeds contempt, what could be more familiar than the home, with its sisyphean routines and demands?” Just ask Ducks, Newburyport. – The Guardian (UK)
- Despite Challenges And Bans, It’s A Golden Age For Queer Literature
A bookstore owner writes, “Queer literature has become one of the growth engines of the publishing industry. L.G.B.T.Q. fiction has never been more visible, more varied or better promoted.” Happy Pride! – The New York Times
- Dave Eggers Says If We Use AI The Wrong Way Humanity Is Cooked
“You’re one of one. … You’re unprecedented in the entire line of human history. Only you have your brain. Only you can think of what you can think of. Only you can tell a story in a particular way. Why would you cede that to a machine?” – The Guardian (UK)
- If Reading Books Feels Hard Right Now, It Might Be Time To ‘Rewild’ Your Brain
“Reading a good book, I feel like a really hysterical chihuahua barking and trembling, and then someone picks me up, and then I just go limp. You know? Like I’m just calm. … And when I’m there, and when I can actually feel stillness.” – The Atlantic
- A New Print-On-Demand Books Program For Libraries
Ingram Library Services and Penguin Random House have announced a print-on-demand program designed to supply libraries with popular backlist titles. – Publishers Weekly
PEOPLE
- What Should Music Festivals Do To Make The Experience Better For Neurodivergent Fans?
In the UK, “The Culture, Media and Sport Committee released guidelines earlier this year setting out ways for disabled people to feel more included at live music events.” – BBC
- Some People Hate Horror Movies While The Rest Of Us Can’t Get Enough
“A horror film builds a safe enclosure where we can rehearse terror, chaos and helplessness with no adverse consequences. … But the body can’t always tell the rehearsal from the real thing.” – The Guardian (UK)
- A Montreal Chemical Lab Is Planning To Close, Leaving Analog Film In Limbo
The MELS post-production studio “is closing a Quebec facility that houses one of North America’s only laboratories capable of developing film for professional productions.” – CBC
- We’re Almost Halfway Through 2026, And Here Are The Five Top Onscreen Moments So Far
To be fair, a lot of good movies and shows come out in the latter, awards-chasing half of the year, but still, here are “subtle, surreal moments that highlight a character’s fears and insecurities.” – The New York Times
- How Domestic Novels Became So Epic
“What can a novel about contemporary domestic life possibly add to our knowledge? If familiarity breeds contempt, what could be more familiar than the home, with its sisyphean routines and demands?” Just ask Ducks, Newburyport. – The Guardian (UK)
PEOPLE
- What Should Music Festivals Do To Make The Experience Better For Neurodivergent Fans?
In the UK, “The Culture, Media and Sport Committee released guidelines earlier this year setting out ways for disabled people to feel more included at live music events.” – BBC
- Some People Hate Horror Movies While The Rest Of Us Can’t Get Enough
“A horror film builds a safe enclosure where we can rehearse terror, chaos and helplessness with no adverse consequences. … But the body can’t always tell the rehearsal from the real thing.” – The Guardian (UK)
- A Montreal Chemical Lab Is Planning To Close, Leaving Analog Film In Limbo
The MELS post-production studio “is closing a Quebec facility that houses one of North America’s only laboratories capable of developing film for professional productions.” – CBC
- We’re Almost Halfway Through 2026, And Here Are The Five Top Onscreen Moments So Far
To be fair, a lot of good movies and shows come out in the latter, awards-chasing half of the year, but still, here are “subtle, surreal moments that highlight a character’s fears and insecurities.” – The New York Times
- How Domestic Novels Became So Epic
“What can a novel about contemporary domestic life possibly add to our knowledge? If familiarity breeds contempt, what could be more familiar than the home, with its sisyphean routines and demands?” Just ask Ducks, Newburyport. – The Guardian (UK)
THEATRE
VISUAL
- Some People Hate Horror Movies While The Rest Of Us Can’t Get Enough
“A horror film builds a safe enclosure where we can rehearse terror, chaos and helplessness with no adverse consequences. … But the body can’t always tell the rehearsal from the real thing.” – The Guardian (UK)
- Some Libraries Are Lending Power Tools, Musical Instruments, And Even Prom Dresses Alongside Books
After all, “Library of Things” doesn’t mean only tech things. – The New York Times
- The Thinking Style That’s Susceptible To Extremism
I’ve found that some of the most rigid thinkers describe themselves as spectacularly flexible while the most flexible people are often unaware of their own adaptability. This is why, instead of relying on asking people how rigid they think they are, I began studying people’s unconscious thinking styles. – Psyche
- The Elusive Illusion Of Utopia (And Its Uses In Our Imagination)
Some patterns emerge: many utopias employ a framing device in which the narrator is accidentally or fantastically transported to a new land, and then subjected to reams of expository monologue about how it all works. – The Guardian
- What To Make Of The US Constitution When The Country Is In Turmoil?
How should we remember the American Revolution when millions march in the streets and shout “No Kings!”? When squads of masked thugs invade homes without warrant, kangaroo immigration “courts” deport hundreds of thousands without due process, and an executive agency buys up warehouses to use as internment camps? – Boston Review
