AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- A bend in the culture
This Week’s Highlights:
The question running through this week’s stories isn’t whether cultural institutions are in trouble. It’s who gets to decide what they’re for. At the Kennedy Center, a former staffer describes being told to “get rid of everything” in the permanent collection (The Atlantic). In Paris, more than 100 authors walked out of the storied publisher Grasset after its billionaire owner forced out the editor who’d run it for 26 years (The Guardian). The V&A quietly censored its own exhibition catalogues to satisfy a Chinese printer (The Guardian). And the Trocks — beloved for 50 years — say some American venues are now afraid to book them (The Irish Times).
Meanwhile, the gulf between haves and have-nots is widening. The Met is mid-renovation at $1.5 billion (New York Times). NPR landed $110 million in philanthropic gifts (Editor & Publisher). But a 36-year-old Berkeley theater is closing because nobody wanted the job (San Francisco Chronicle), Hampshire College is shutting down (WBUR), and San Diego wants to slash city arts funding by 85% (San Diego Union-Tribune). The money hasn’t disappeared. It’s just not going where it used to.
All this week’s stories below, organized by topic.
- AJ Chronicles: This Week — Perils of the Algorithmic Culture
The threat isn’t that AI replaces artists. It’s subtler and more coercive: that an algorithmically saturated environment erodes the capacity for the kind of thinking that we like to think art requires. Tolerance for ambiguity. Patience with difficulty. The willingness to be bored before a breakthrough. - Anna Weber shares the importance of collaborative partnerships
Anna Weber, General Manager for Artistic and Operations at Carnegie Hall, shares the depth of their festival programming and focus on collaborative partnerships.
- The OnlyFans Approach To Spreading Climate Change Awareness
“Headline Newds, a new series of web videos, … is made up of bite-size (segments) in which the climate emergency is broken down and raunchily explained to us by a variety of OnlyFans models.” Now, isn’t this better than throwing soup at paintings in art museums? – The Guardian
- English National Opera Gets A New Chief Exec
At Rambert, Helen Shute has led partnerships with The Royal Ballet and Manchester International Festival expanding Rambert’s international reach and developing new initiatives, including Rambert2, a new ensemble for early career dancers. – Opera Now
ISSUES
- Trump’s Arts Commission Approves Preliminary Design Of Arch
The Commission of Fine Arts, which is filled with Mr. Trump’s appointees, has an advisory role on the design of the project, but no enforcement power. It asked the administration to return with updated drawings before a final vote on the project. – The New York Times
- Architect Peter Zumthor On Criticism Of His New Building At LACMA
On the fact that there’s less exhibition space than in the previous building: “What is this with bigness? What kind of a hang-up is this? You don’t have to be big. It has the right scale. … Small museums are beautiful, big museums tend to be really difficult.” – Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
- As V&A Museum’s Newest Branch Opens, Staffers Campaign For Living Wage
“On Saturday, V&A East will open its doors in Stratford, east London, showcasing stunning fabrics, photos and black British music. … While the V&A complies with all legal minimum-wage requirements, … campaigners say some of the lowest-paid staff and contractors in London are not in receipt of the living wage.” – The Guardian
- Trump’s Plan For A Supersized Arch Alienates Even Supporters
Trump’s push to build the giant arch — more than quadrupling its size from original plans — has alienated early proponents of the project, classical architects and veterans groups who say it will diminish nearby Arlington Cemetery. – The New York Times
- The Met Museum Is In The Middle Of A $1.5 Billion Renovation
One wing has already been renovated; another is being built; galleries will be renewed and rehung; new retail and dining areas are coming; infrastructure will be improved. And it’s all happening within the museum’s current footprint and while the visitors keep streaming in. – The New York Times
MEDIA
- Yale Report: Universities Themselves Are To Blame For Lowered Trust Of Higher Ed
High costs, murky admissions practices, uneven academic standards and fears about free speech on campuses, the committee said, are among the reasons for widening discontent over higher education’s worthiness. – The New York Times
- Inside The Kennedy Center Dumpster Fire (OMG!)
Richard Grenell, told me to “get rid of everything” in the permanent collection because we needed all new art for the reopening. Although I had slow-walked this demand for several weeks by pretending I was waiting on another colleague for updates, I now had only two hours to tie up loose ends. – The Atlantic
- New Hope For The Arts In Hungary After The Fall Of Viktor Orbán?
“A key question is what will happen to … the ‘ideologically burdened’ Hungarian Academy of Arts, an institution given significant funding powers by (Orbán’s party) that is seen as having been an instrument of the government’s conservative agenda. More broadly, members of the art scene hope to see increased institutional autonomy.” – The Art Newspaper
- The End Of The Internet As We Know It
Now, thanks to new A.I. tools, anyone can write code. Soon, bad actors could use those same tools to find out what’s wrong with code. The détente is over. – The New York Times
- Why Should We Indulge In Art In Difficult Times?
At a time of great suffering and upheaval, is it right to engage with art? Or are we using it as a way of dodging the moral realities of the world? – ArtsHub
MUSIC
- Has The Anecdotal Lede Outlived Its Journalistic Utility?
For many years, this tactic served us well, and it’s deeply embedded in the toolkits of generations of writers and editors. But I wonder if its time is quickly passing. – Second Rough Draft
- When AI Can Write Like Me
That a machine might use my writing not only to learn about my subject matter, but also to analyze and ultimately mimic my authorial voice, points to a future that George Orwell envisioned with eerie prescience. – The Conversation
- Trusted Book Publisher In Paris Is Forced Out By Right-Wing Owner; Over 100 Authors Are Following Him
“More than 100 writers have quit the historic French publishing house Grasset in protest at its billionaire owner, Vincent Bolloré, whose media empire has been accused of promoting reactionary and far-right ideas. … The protest was sparked by the departure of Grasset editor Olivier Nora, who had run the imprint for 26 years.” – The Guardian
- An Autistic Man Wrote A Bestselling Book. Didn’t He?
“It is mysterious and confounding to see a severely autistic nonspeaker perform acts of scholarship and fiction writing if you don’t presume intelligence in a disabled person. I have been using the same green board since I was in middle school and I find the letters and colors very calming.” – The Atlantic
- British Government Approves Purchase Of Telegraph Newspaper
“Axel Springer’s planned £575 million takeover of Telegraph Media Group has been approved by the UK Government. It is still awaiting regulatory approval in Ireland and Austria (due to there being a lower threshold for competition concerns in those countries although there is no expectation of any impact there).” – Press Gazette (UK)
PEOPLE
- A bend in the culture
This Week’s Highlights:
The question running through this week’s stories isn’t whether cultural institutions are in trouble. It’s who gets to decide what they’re for. At the Kennedy Center, a former staffer describes being told to “get rid of everything” in the permanent collection (The Atlantic). In Paris, more than 100 authors walked out of the storied publisher Grasset after its billionaire owner forced out the editor who’d run it for 26 years (The Guardian). The V&A quietly censored its own exhibition catalogues to satisfy a Chinese printer (The Guardian). And the Trocks — beloved for 50 years — say some American venues are now afraid to book them (The Irish Times).
Meanwhile, the gulf between haves and have-nots is widening. The Met is mid-renovation at $1.5 billion (New York Times). NPR landed $110 million in philanthropic gifts (Editor & Publisher). But a 36-year-old Berkeley theater is closing because nobody wanted the job (San Francisco Chronicle), Hampshire College is shutting down (WBUR), and San Diego wants to slash city arts funding by 85% (San Diego Union-Tribune). The money hasn’t disappeared. It’s just not going where it used to.
All this week’s stories below, organized by topic.
- AJ Chronicles: This Week — Perils of the Algorithmic CultureThe threat isn’t that AI replaces artists. It’s subtler and more coercive: that an algorithmically saturated environment erodes the capacity for the kind of thinking that we like to think art requires. Tolerance for ambiguity. Patience with difficulty. The willingness to be bored before a breakthrough.
- Anna Weber shares the importance of collaborative partnerships
Anna Weber, General Manager for Artistic and Operations at Carnegie Hall, shares the depth of their festival programming and focus on collaborative partnerships.
- The OnlyFans Approach To Spreading Climate Change Awareness
“Headline Newds, a new series of web videos, … is made up of bite-size (segments) in which the climate emergency is broken down and raunchily explained to us by a variety of OnlyFans models.” Now, isn’t this better than throwing soup at paintings in art museums? – The Guardian
- English National Opera Gets A New Chief Exec
At Rambert, Helen Shute has led partnerships with The Royal Ballet and Manchester International Festival expanding Rambert’s international reach and developing new initiatives, including Rambert2, a new ensemble for early career dancers. – Opera Now
PEOPLE
- A bend in the culture
This Week’s Highlights:
The question running through this week’s stories isn’t whether cultural institutions are in trouble. It’s who gets to decide what they’re for. At the Kennedy Center, a former staffer describes being told to “get rid of everything” in the permanent collection (The Atlantic). In Paris, more than 100 authors walked out of the storied publisher Grasset after its billionaire owner forced out the editor who’d run it for 26 years (The Guardian). The V&A quietly censored its own exhibition catalogues to satisfy a Chinese printer (The Guardian). And the Trocks — beloved for 50 years — say some American venues are now afraid to book them (The Irish Times).
Meanwhile, the gulf between haves and have-nots is widening. The Met is mid-renovation at $1.5 billion (New York Times). NPR landed $110 million in philanthropic gifts (Editor & Publisher). But a 36-year-old Berkeley theater is closing because nobody wanted the job (San Francisco Chronicle), Hampshire College is shutting down (WBUR), and San Diego wants to slash city arts funding by 85% (San Diego Union-Tribune). The money hasn’t disappeared. It’s just not going where it used to.
All this week’s stories below, organized by topic.
- AJ Chronicles: This Week — Perils of the Algorithmic CultureThe threat isn’t that AI replaces artists. It’s subtler and more coercive: that an algorithmically saturated environment erodes the capacity for the kind of thinking that we like to think art requires. Tolerance for ambiguity. Patience with difficulty. The willingness to be bored before a breakthrough.
- Anna Weber shares the importance of collaborative partnerships
Anna Weber, General Manager for Artistic and Operations at Carnegie Hall, shares the depth of their festival programming and focus on collaborative partnerships.
- The OnlyFans Approach To Spreading Climate Change Awareness
“Headline Newds, a new series of web videos, … is made up of bite-size (segments) in which the climate emergency is broken down and raunchily explained to us by a variety of OnlyFans models.” Now, isn’t this better than throwing soup at paintings in art museums? – The Guardian
- English National Opera Gets A New Chief Exec
At Rambert, Helen Shute has led partnerships with The Royal Ballet and Manchester International Festival expanding Rambert’s international reach and developing new initiatives, including Rambert2, a new ensemble for early career dancers. – Opera Now
THEATRE
VISUAL
- Study: The Antidote To Mindless Phone Rot — A Surprising Finding
The results after doing so were eye-opening even to them: among a totally random population, levels of creativity for the people watching the experimental films were immediately higher compared to those watching YouTube videos, which didn’t move much at all. So was openness to seeing the world in new ways. – The Hollywood Reporter
- AI’s Are Beginning To Get Emotional Intelligence
Emotions are the AI industry’s new fixation. Not only are growing numbers of start-ups such as Amotions AI promising tools that interpret feelings; the major AI companies are developing chatbots that apparently aren’t just smarter—they get you. – The Atlantic
- The Pressure To Go Viral: These Days You Can’t Be An Artist Without It
All of a sudden, chefs, lawyers, podcasters, critics – all people with jobs once associated with an off-camera existence – are turning the lens on themselves. Even film director Werner Herzog, a once proud non-social media user, is now sizzling steaks and doing unboxing videos to camera. – The Guardian
- How AI Will Kill Content Platforms
Not only will AI agents compete away the revenue streams of the giant digital platforms, but they will also render irrelevant the data on which the platforms built their competitive advantage. – Harvard Business Review
- Why Has Culture Gone Flat?
Capitalism—and then late capitalism, and then late, late capitalism—has been identified as the culprit for culture’s flattening for at least a century. David Marx borrows heavily from Fredric Jameson’s account of postmodernism. – LA Review of Books
