AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- Turns Out Florence Price Wasn’t The Only Black Female Composer The Vienna Phil Slighted Last New Year’s
The arrangement of Price’s Rainbow Waltz the Vienna Philharmonic played at its New Year’s concert in January has been criticized for bearing almost no resemblance to the original. Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin says he commissioned an arrangement from composer Valerie Coleman; the Viennese rejected it as unsuitable. – The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
- Cape Cod Is Losing A Professional Theater Company
After 42 years, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater (WHAT) is suspending its operations as of June 1. The director cited “steadily rising costs in an increasingly challenging philanthropic environment” since the company’s post-COVID reopening in 2021. – TheaterMania
- Nashville Reveals Plans For New Performing Arts Center
Construction on the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, in the redeveloping East Bank neighborhood, begins next year; opening is expected in 2030. The complex, with Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) as lead designer, will include a 2,600-seat hall for touring Broadway shows, a 650-seat dance/opera hall, a black-box theater and a cabaret space. – WPLN (Nashville)
- National Gallery Of Art In Washington Gets $116 Million Gift For Loaning Works Nationwide
“(The donor is) Mitchell Rales, the 69-year-old billionaire art collector and co-founder of health care company Danaher. The contribution is the largest programming-related donation in the NGA’s history and will serve to indefinitely fund the museum’s Across the Nation program, which loans artwork to partner museums.” – The Washington Post (Yahoo!)
- Desmond Morris, Author Of “The Naked Ape”, Zoologist And TV Host (And Artist), Has Died At 98
Over 60 years he wrote or co-wrote more than 50 books and fronted several hundred hours of television, starting in 1956 with the British children’s series Zoo Time. … He was an acknowledged authority on mammal behavior, including that of humans, and maintained a separate career as a surrealist painter. – The Guardian
ISSUES
- National Gallery Of Art In Washington Gets $116 Million Gift For Loaning Works Nationwide
“(The donor is) Mitchell Rales, the 69-year-old billionaire art collector and co-founder of health care company Danaher. The contribution is the largest programming-related donation in the NGA’s history and will serve to indefinitely fund the museum’s Across the Nation program, which loans artwork to partner museums.” – The Washington Post (Yahoo!)
- Smithsonian American Art Museum Names New Director
Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, who begins her term after Labor Day and who is currently CEO of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, in fact began her career at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, where she spent two decades and eventually rose to become chief curator. – ARTnews
- Critics Press V&A Museum To Pay Its Workers A Living Wage
While the V&A complies with all legal minimum-wage requirements, with some workers paid a living wage or above, campaigners say some of the lowest-paid contractors in London are not in receipt of the living wage. The UK minimum wage is £12.71 an hour and the living wage in London is £14.80 an hour. – The Guardian
- Did AI Solve A Longstanding El Greco Mystery?
Using artificial intelligence, researchers analyzed The Baptism of Christ at the microscopic level, looking for trends in the texture of the paint at the resolution of a single paintbrush bristle. The results suggest El Greco painted the majority of The Baptism himself—but some experts caution more research is needed. – Scientific American
- How America’s Museums Are Celebrating The 250th
The exhibitions showcase both the traditional and the unexpected, from portraiture to multimedia installations, from founding documents to found objects. Across the country, the joy, sorrow and humor of the nation’s history are on display. – The New York Times
MEDIA
- Nashville Reveals Plans For New Performing Arts Center
Construction on the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, in the redeveloping East Bank neighborhood, begins next year; opening is expected in 2030. The complex, with Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) as lead designer, will include a 2,600-seat hall for touring Broadway shows, a 650-seat dance/opera hall, a black-box theater and a cabaret space. – WPLN (Nashville)
- Japan’s 1,200-Year-Old Record Of Cherry Blossoms Has A New Keeper
Last summer, Prof. Aono, who had meticulously updated the record year after year, died after a battle with cancer. That prompted supporters of his work to start looking for a worthy successor. – The New York Times
- Seattle Nonprofit Buys Downtown Office Building To Convert To Artist Housing
This is happening through the city’s Office to Residential Conversion Program, which allows developers to take empty commercial buildings and turn them into living spaces. The program gives developers a tax deferral as long as 10% of the units in the building are sold or rented below market value. – KNKX
- How Will Hungary’s Arts World Recover From 16 Years Of Viktor Orbán?
“A wave of leadership changes is widely expected across major museums and cultural bodies, which could lead to the return of (figures) who were previously sidelined. There is, however, reason for caution. Magyar is himself a former Fidesz party member and a conservative politician, and some analysts warn against expecting rapid transformation.” – Ocula
- America’s 250th Birthday Is Here. Americans Are Worried
Increasingly, historians are asking if they need to do more to meet the public’s hunger for meaning and inspiration. – The New York Times
MUSIC
- 120,000 Authors File Claims In Anthropic Copyright Settlement
Claims have been filed for 91% of the more than 480,000 works covered by the settlement, according to a court filing
, opens new tab in the case on Thursday. – Reuters - Lost Poem By García Lorca Discovered
“A previously unknown verse attributed to Federico García Lorca has been discovered 93 years after the celebrated Spanish poet and playwright is believed to have jotted it on the back of one of his manuscripts.” – The Guardian
- Book Bans And Attempts In U.S. Are At Record High, Says American Library Association
“The ALA on Monday issued its annual list of the books most challenged at the country’s libraries, part of the association’s State of America’s Libraries Report. … The (list) usually features 10 books, but this year has 11, with four tied for eighth place.” – AP
- Book Clubs Are Bringing GenZ Into Reading
Reading is experiencing a resurgence among Gen Z and millennials, many of whom are actively seeking alternatives to “doomscrolling” and the mental fatigue associated with constant social media use. – The Conversation
- Letters That Keats Sent His Beloved, Stolen In The 1980s, Are Found
“The customer told them that the books had been bequeathed to him by his grandfather, who had kept them in a box at his retirement home in South Carolina.” – The New York Times
PEOPLE
- Turns Out Florence Price Wasn’t The Only Black Female Composer The Vienna Phil Slighted Last New Year’s
The arrangement of Price’s Rainbow Waltz the Vienna Philharmonic played at its New Year’s concert in January has been criticized for bearing almost no resemblance to the original. Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin says he commissioned an arrangement from composer Valerie Coleman; the Viennese rejected it as unsuitable. – The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
- Cape Cod Is Losing A Professional Theater Company
After 42 years, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater (WHAT) is suspending its operations as of June 1. The director cited “steadily rising costs in an increasingly challenging philanthropic environment” since the company’s post-COVID reopening in 2021. – TheaterMania
- Nashville Reveals Plans For New Performing Arts Center
Construction on the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, in the redeveloping East Bank neighborhood, begins next year; opening is expected in 2030. The complex, with Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) as lead designer, will include a 2,600-seat hall for touring Broadway shows, a 650-seat dance/opera hall, a black-box theater and a cabaret space. – WPLN (Nashville)
- National Gallery Of Art In Washington Gets $116 Million Gift For Loaning Works Nationwide
“(The donor is) Mitchell Rales, the 69-year-old billionaire art collector and co-founder of health care company Danaher. The contribution is the largest programming-related donation in the NGA’s history and will serve to indefinitely fund the museum’s Across the Nation program, which loans artwork to partner museums.” – The Washington Post (Yahoo!)
- Desmond Morris, Author Of “The Naked Ape”, Zoologist And TV Host (And Artist), Has Died At 98
Over 60 years he wrote or co-wrote more than 50 books and fronted several hundred hours of television, starting in 1956 with the British children’s series Zoo Time. … He was an acknowledged authority on mammal behavior, including that of humans, and maintained a separate career as a surrealist painter. – The Guardian
PEOPLE
- Turns Out Florence Price Wasn’t The Only Black Female Composer The Vienna Phil Slighted Last New Year’s
The arrangement of Price’s Rainbow Waltz the Vienna Philharmonic played at its New Year’s concert in January has been criticized for bearing almost no resemblance to the original. Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin says he commissioned an arrangement from composer Valerie Coleman; the Viennese rejected it as unsuitable. – The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
- Cape Cod Is Losing A Professional Theater Company
After 42 years, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater (WHAT) is suspending its operations as of June 1. The director cited “steadily rising costs in an increasingly challenging philanthropic environment” since the company’s post-COVID reopening in 2021. – TheaterMania
- Nashville Reveals Plans For New Performing Arts Center
Construction on the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, in the redeveloping East Bank neighborhood, begins next year; opening is expected in 2030. The complex, with Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) as lead designer, will include a 2,600-seat hall for touring Broadway shows, a 650-seat dance/opera hall, a black-box theater and a cabaret space. – WPLN (Nashville)
- National Gallery Of Art In Washington Gets $116 Million Gift For Loaning Works Nationwide
“(The donor is) Mitchell Rales, the 69-year-old billionaire art collector and co-founder of health care company Danaher. The contribution is the largest programming-related donation in the NGA’s history and will serve to indefinitely fund the museum’s Across the Nation program, which loans artwork to partner museums.” – The Washington Post (Yahoo!)
- Desmond Morris, Author Of “The Naked Ape”, Zoologist And TV Host (And Artist), Has Died At 98
Over 60 years he wrote or co-wrote more than 50 books and fronted several hundred hours of television, starting in 1956 with the British children’s series Zoo Time. … He was an acknowledged authority on mammal behavior, including that of humans, and maintained a separate career as a surrealist painter. – The Guardian
THEATRE
VISUAL
- Rethinking How Our Brains Process The World Using Categories
“The stimulus, cognition, response model of the brain is wrong. The brain prepares for a response and then perceives a stimulus. A brain is not reactive. It’s predictive. Action planning comes first. Perception comes second, as a function of the action plan.” – Picower Institute
- Uncertainty Can Be Toxic. But Understanding it Creates Possibility
Research suggests uncertainty can be more distressing than negative certainty. In one study, people were calmer when they knew they would receive an electric shock than when there was only a 50% chance of one. – The Guardian
- How AI Will Accelerate Human Creativity
The most successful organizations of 2026 and beyond will not be those that simply use AI to do more things faster. Instead, they will be the ones that use AI as a creativity accelerator, freeing up human capacity for the work that only we can do: imagining, connecting, and creating meaning. – Fast Company
- The Board That Built Apple – And A Personal Computing Revolution – Is Turning Fifty
“The Apple I marked a great leap forward in convenience by coming already assembled, albeit without a monitor, a keyboard, or even a case; the purchase price of USD $666.66 (closer to $4,000 today) just got you the board. But what a board.” – Open Culture
- What It Means That Hampshire College’s ‘Experimental’ Liberal Arts Education Is Saying Goodbye
“The shuttering of Hampshire College … feels different, not so much another liberal arts domino falling as the symbolic end of a whole tradition of progressive education in the US.” – New York Review Of Books
