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- Cheyenne King-Bails talks about the extraordinary impact of the SphinxConnect conference
Cheyenne King-Bails, Director of Community Experience at The Sphinx Organization, shares the value of the SphinxConnect conference and its impact on the arts community.
- Dear Mayor Mamdani: Here’s Your Art EverywhereDear Mayor Mamdani, We love your love of arts for all, and we swooned when we read that your favorite museum is the art we all see and share together in the NYC subway: the “…beautiful murals and pieces of art across our subway system. And the fulfillment of art as being something for the […]
- Good Morning
This week’s Highlights: The mass-market paperback, a century-old staple of democratic reading, is set to vanish from the U.S. market by the end of 2025 (Publishers Weekly), while the art world reckons with a year defined by gallery closures and downsizing, signaling the end of an era of easy expansion (ARTnews).
In entertainment, the industry is obsessed with two very different, highly specific projects: a fierce bidding war has erupted for the TV rights to an unpublished novel about 1960s “Tupperware erotica” (The Guardian), while the Hallmark Channel is stripping down its wholesome image with a reality competition featuring ten shirtless men vying to become the network’s next Christmas movie star (The Washington Post (Yahoo!)).
High culture is attempting a radical pivot. The Metropolitan Opera is actively courting TikTok influencers to bring “delight and surprise” to Lincoln Center, a strategy that is proving surprisingly effective (The New York Times). We also get a look under the hood of a massive creative feat: how a linguist constructed the entire Na’vi language for the Avatar films from scratch (Deutsche Welle).
New research suggests that music can actually change the taste of food, with heavier cutlery and specific sounds enhancing flavor (Nautilus). But some sensory experiences are under threat: the world’s supply of frankincense is running low due to climate change and overharvesting (BBC), and Rome is about to start charging tourists to visit the Trevi Fountain (Euronews).
All our stories, organized by topic, below.
- Welcome to Twenty Twenty-Six<a href="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2025/12/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-six.html" title="Welcome to Twenty Twenty-Six” rel=”nofollow”>
Heavy winter snows whitened the trees. They turned the branches into filigrees shivering in the wind. - Good Morning
Today’s highlights: The visual art market faces a “dominant vibe” of endings rather than expansion, with a wave of gallery closures and downsizings signaling a correction for an oversaturated industry (ARTnews ).
In performance and media, specific disruptions are making headlines. The Kennedy Center’s Christmas Eve jazz concert was abruptly canceled after its host withdrew in protest of the venue’s renaming (AP ). In Chicago, classical station WFMT has baffled listeners by declining to renew the contract of 82-year-old host Bill McGlaughlin, a fixture of the station for two decades (Symphony Magazine ).
Finally: On January 1, thousands of works from 1930—including iconic films and music—will finally enter the public domain (NPR ). And in Egypt, the massive solar boat of King Khufu is being reassembled in public view at the new Grand Egyptian Museum (AP ).
All of today’s stories below:
- AI that turns Museums into Conversations: The Digital Twin
Museums still operate as if interpretation is a one-way stream, produced by experts and consumed by the public. Instead, imagine an exhibition that doesn’t just speak, but listens and responds. - Ancient Pharaoh’s Boat Is Being Reassembled In Public View
The vessel belonged to King Khufu (aka Cheops), builder of the Great Pyramid — near which the boat was discovered in 1954 and excavated in 2014. The 137-foot-long structure, made of 1,540 wooden pieces, is being reassembled in the exhibition hall of the new Grand Egyptian Museum, which opened earlier this year. – AP
- How Hallmark Movies Impact British Columbia’s Economy
Love it or hate it, Hallmark movies are big business in B.C., where the company films the about 40 per cent of its content — Christmas and year-round programming. When Hallmark films in B.C., it hires almost exclusively local workers to make it happen. The province estimates about 100 local crew members are hired for each movie. – CBC
- The Most Important Archaeological Discoveries Of 2025
“While there were some new finds like the oldest blue pigment discovered in Europe, a rare hieroglyphic decree identified in Egypt, and an elite Moche residence unearthed in Northern Peru, a number of archaeological studies took a deeper dive into previously known sites and artifacts.” – ARTnews
- Why Canadian Fiction Needs To Stop Talking To Itself
In Canada, the literary world tends to be inward-looking. It’s obvious why. For three-quarters of a century, the official position has been that if Canadians don’t support Canadian culture, no one will—and that some stage management is required. – The Walrus
- Broadway’s Greatest Season: 1957-58
The last hurrah of these bygone performers was the Broadway season of 1957–58, arguably the greatest season on Broadway of the last 75 years. It was the last time that all of the “hall of famers” of yore (save John Gielgud) appeared “on the boards” in the same New York theater season. – The American Scholar
- The Market Fantasy That Has Undermined The Art World From Within
The current erosion of the art market is not a cyclical contraction; it is the result of oversaturation and a speculative economy in which artworks have functioned as fictitious capital, reinforced by a liquidity crisis where overextended galleries frequently find themselves prioritizing rising commercial overhead over timely payments to artists. – ARTnews
- Yet-To-Be-Published “Tupperware Erotica” Novel Sparks Bidding War For TV Rights
“Wet Ink, a novel (about a 1960s housewife using Tupperware parties to smuggle erotic stories) by the 33-year-old London-based author Abigail Avis, is not scheduled to be published until the spring 2027, but industry insiders said a fierce auction between six major production companies had already taken place.” – The Guardian
- Is The Music Of The Future One Unencumbered By Structures Of The Past?
Busoni proposed the notion of “Ur-Musik.” It is an elemental realm of absolute music in which composers have approached the “true nature of music” by discarding traditional templates. Sonata form, since the times of Haydn and Mozart a basic organizing principle governed by goal-directed harmonies, would be no more. – The American Scholar
- The Film Buffs Preserving Classic Movies
The artifacts of 20th-century cinema are being preserved in museums, archives and other august institutions. But they are surviving, too, in the care of private film collectors like Mr. Darwas, who has amassed hundreds of movie prints at his home in Westchester County. – The New York Times
- Your Spotify Wrapped Doesn’t Really Know You. But Your Reading Does
Listening to music can be a passive experience — one enjoyed in tandem with folding laundry, or driving a car. To really learn about ourselves and how our year has been, we might want to turn elsewhere, to a habit with more intention. I’m talking, of course, about reading. – Los Angeles Times
- Oh, Let’s Just Stop Worrying About Oscars Category Fraud
“Every year, studios, publicists and talent huddle to determine categories for the acting contenders on the bubble between lead and supporting. And many film fans step in to disagree, … debating how the system has been unfairly gamed. … But of course this kind of strategizing is what the Oscars are all about.” – The Hollywood Reporter
- Can AI Help Put Back Together A Cimabue Ceiling Fresco Shattered In An Earthquake?
A joint project headed by the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria in Perugia, which has officially worked with the Basilica’s guardians for the past decade, and the engineering department of Perugia University aims to determine whether AI can help reconstruct the shattered section. – The Art Newspaper
- The Books, Recordings, Culture Entering Public Domain January 1
Under U.S. law, the copyright on thousands of creations from 1930 — including films, books, musical compositions and more — will expire at the stroke of midnight on Jan. 1, 2026, meaning they will be free to use, share and adapt after nearly a century. – NPR
- In Praise Of The Intelligence Of Aphorisms
Aphorisms are different. They are the antithesis of the half-baked hot take and nothing like the machine-made flattery that’s now permeating so many informational environments. A platitude is a placebo for the mind; an aphorism is a wake-up call. – The Atlantic
- The World’s Supply Of Frankincense Is Running Low
Like maple syrup, frankincense is harvested by tapping the sap of a tree, in this case several varieties of the Boswellia tree, which grows in the Horn of Africa. Those trees — all wild; for whatever reasons, nobody farms Boswellia — are threatened by climate change, pest infestation, local conflict, and, above all, overharvesting. – BBC
- Mohammad Bakri, Respected But Controversial Palestinian-Israeli Filmmaker, Is Dead At 72
“A Palestinian director and actor who sought to share the complexities of Palestinian identity and culture through a variety of works in both Arabic and Hebrew, … Bakri was best known for Jenin, Jenin, a 2003 documentary about an Israeli military operation in the northern West Bank city the previous year.” – AP
- Chicago Classical Station WFMT Fires Longtime Host Bill McGlaughlin
Composer-conductor McGlaughlin, now 82, is known to public radio listeners as host of numerous classical music programs over several decades. He’s been founding host of WFMT’s Exploring Music since 2003. Now station management has told him it won’t renew his contract; no reason or rationale was given. – Symphony Magazine
- The Little Nonprofit That Cleaned Up 42nd St. And Times Square
Young’uns under 40 may not realize just how sleazy the heart of Broadway’s entertainment district had become by the 1980s. Now it has The Lion King, Harry Potter, office towers, and a former porn cinema remade into a flagship for children’s theater. We can thank an organization called New 42. – The New York Times
- Folks Lined Up Around The Block For What Might Be Philly’s Last-Ever Wanamaker Light Show
“They came to the Wanamaker Building on Christmas Eve … out of love for the ghosts of Christmas past — and to share a cherished tradition with children who had yet to see (it). They came because it’s going away, and no one knows for sure when it will be back.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
- Kennedy Center’s Christmas Eve Jazz Concert Canceled With Only Few Days’ Notice
“The show’s host, musician Chuck Redd, says that he called off the performance in the wake of the White House announcing last week that President Donald Trump’s name would be added to the facility.” – AP
- The Rockettes, At 100, Need To Give Their Creativity A Good Kick
Gia Kourlas: “They have regressed to being a legacy brand — good for merchandise but sad for the art of precision dance. … True as (their) sisterhood may be, it’s not what the Rockettes should be most admired for. That should be dancing.” – The New York Times
- “Nothing Is Too Extravagant For Christ” — This May Be America’s Most Over-The-Top Christmas Pageant
The 17,000 costume pieces are the least extravagant feature of The Gift of Christmas, the annual spectacular presented by Prestonwood Baptist Church near Dallas. On the 300-foot stage are LED screens, lasers, fireworks, trapezing elves, flying angels, and 21 animals. (And yes, shepherds, three kings, and the Holy Family. And Santa.) – Texas Monthly
- Why Did So Many Art Galleries Close This Year?
Overall, when it came to galleries, the dominant vibe was one of endings more than beginnings—and it continued a building drumbeat. Those who closed or significantly downsized in 2025, after all, joined others that have expired in previous years. – ARTnews
- Archaeologist Discovers A Pharaoh’s “Valley Temple”
“Nyuserra’s sun temple, which is located in Abu Ghurab about 10 miles south of Cairo, was composed of two parts: the previously excavated upper temple and the valley temple (alongside the Nile), which Massimiliano Nuzzolo began work on in 2024.” – Artnet
- Are Our Grandparents Being Captured By Their Phones?
“I am constantly begging my mom to put her phone down, every time I see her she is just mindlessly scrolling. I swear her attention span is GONE,” one person wrote. – The Atlantic
- Disney Has Had Its Best Box Office Year Since Before The Pandemic
Disney is the first and only studio to cross $6B this year, the next best major is Warner Bros with $4.3B. 2025 repped Disney’s biggest year at the B.O. since 2019 when it earned an all-time $13.1B ($11.1B from Disney titles alone, the rest being 20th Century Studios and Searchlight). – Deadline
- AI Voice Clones Are Amazing. But Also Troublesome In Defining Identity
Technology may blur boundaries, but it also reveals who holds the power. When male creators use AI to simulate female voices and personas, are they expanding artistic possibilities or perpetuating a new form of gender appropriation, ventriloquism and misogyny? – The Conversation
- The “Godfather” Of Asian-American Media, Robert Nakamura, Has Died At 88
“As an independent filmmaker, photographer, teacher and activist, he explored issues of justice, identity, memory and racism. He was a founder of Visual Communications, the oldest community-based organization of Asian-American and Pacific Islander filmmakers and media artists in the United States.” – The New York Times
- We Know So Little About How Our Senses Interact. Why Does Music Make Food Taste Different?
When we sit down for a meal, all of our senses come to the table, and some of them have unexpected effects. Heavier cutlery, for example, makes a meal more pleasurable, he has found, and flavors in space are often duller. Foods that sound better taste better, too. – Nautilus
