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- Can Paris’s Iconic Zinc Rooftops Be Adapted To An Ever-Hotter Climate?
Some four-fifths of the city’s roofs are covered in the lightweight, malleable, low-maintenance metal. Many of them now need replacing — to prevent leaks in more intense rainstorms and because high summer temperatures turn the rooms below them into ovens. Parisian artisans are finding ways to address these problems. – Smithsonian Magazine
- African Publishers And “The Wakanda Problem”
“When we listen to audiobooks produced in the West, they have a Wakandan accent,” said Eghosa Imasuen, executive director of Narrative Landscape Press in Lagos, Nigeria. “Nobody talks like that on the continent.” – Publishers Weekly
- Mali’s Capital City, Beset By Jihadi Militants, Cheers Itself Up With Marionettes
Bamako, a city of 3 million, is being squeezed by an Al-Qaeda-affiliated militia which has blocked fuel imports and made travel beyond the capital dangerous. Yet Bamakoans recently raised their spirits with a three-day festival celebrating puppetry, which has deep roots in Mali. – AP
- Creator Of The AI Actress Tilly Speaks Out
“As a creative, I have really enjoyed creating her,” she says. “It’s been just like a writer creating characters. You fall in love with your characters when you’re writing them. It’s a wonderful process. It wasn’t like I just made her in a second, and that was it. You know, it took a long time.” – Variety
- What Nigeria’s New Museum of West African Art Is Attempting To Do
Nigeria’s stunning new Museum of West African Art (Mowaa) has found itself in the crosshairs of local power politics on the week it was supposed to – but failed – to open its doors to the public for the first time. – BBC (MSN)
- The BBC’s Impact On World History
The BBC’s founding father, John Reith, set out what he saw as broadcasting’s true purpose. In the wake of a destructive global conflict, he believed it was radio that could draw out ‘everything that is best in every department of human knowledge, endeavour and achievement’. – History Today
- Margaret Atwood On Being A “Feminist”
“So we have to be a bit careful with that word, right? Because I do think words are important. And that word has been overused and applied to all sorts of things.” Q: “Which type of feminist are you?” “The kind that’s interested in equality under the law.” – AP
- How Did The Muppets Fail So Spectacularly On Broadway?
The Muppets’ long-overdue Broadway debut is over almost as soon as it began, the show now closing this Sunday. It was originally scheduled to run until Jan. 18, 2026; instead, at the time of its closing, Playbill reports, it will have played just 20 preview performances and four regular ones. – The Daily Beast
- Federal Museums Reopen And Count Up The Losses
In addition to staff furloughs and suspended or canceled programs, the 2018-2019 shutdown resulted in a loss of some $5 billion, according to the American Alliance of Museums. – NPR
- New Study: Listening To Music Significantly Reduces Risk Of Dementia
Researchers looked at data spanning a decade and involving more than 10,000 relatively healthy people, aged 70 and older, in Australia. People who listened to music most days slashed their risk of developing dementia by 39 percent compared with those who did not regularly listen to music, the study found. – Washington Post
- Five Takeaways From The Dallas Black Dance Theatre Fiasco, Now That It’s Over
Bad publicity, funding lost and regained, a change in leadership, “community trust,” and so on. – KERA (Dalllas)
- Five Art Gallery Apps To Help You Explore
For a decade, See Saw has reigned as the app for art world denizens, but the last year has seen the arrival of new apps and influencers — curator types, reviewers and spirit guides whose mission is to get you to discover art shows, exhibitions and events in New York, even internationally. – The New York Times
- Not One Of Hollywood’s Big Star Movies This Fall Has Become A Hit
Not one of the 25 dramas and comedies that movie companies released in North American theaters over the past three months has become a hit, certainly not in the way that Hollywood has historically kept score. – The New York Times
- Sound System Culture Is Taking Over UK Art And Fashion
There has already been a clear increase in the number of Japanese-style listening bars across the UK, but the visual arts trend is also harnessing sound system culture, which originated in Jamaica in the 1950s and was initially a cheap, democratic way for neighbourhoods to listen to the latest releases. – The Guardian
- Ireland’s Basic Income For Artists Program Proved That It Works. Why Is The Government Tentative About Expanding It?
The results from the three-year pilot were clear: artists were able to make work and less dependent on other government assistance, and every €1 in cost returned €1.39 in value to the Irish economy. Even so, the government, though it made the program permanent, is keeping it small-scale. – Novara Media (UK)
- Hilary Mantel’s Most Notorious Short Story Is Now Being Staged
“’The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher – August 6th 1983’ was published in The Guardian in 2014 and gave the title to Mantel’s collection of short stories that year. … Billed as a psychological thriller, the adaptation is by Alexandra Wood and will be directed by John Young at (Liverpool’s) Everyman Theatre in May.” – The Guardian
- Brooklyn Public Library Is Now Lending Out Contemporary Art The Same Way It Lends Books
“The institution has announced an experimental art lending program that coincides with its new exhibition ‘Letters for the Future,’ created in collaboration with the artist-organized group Department of Transformation, which opened earlier this month.” The effort mirrors an art lending initiative the library had in the 1950s and ‘60s. – Artnet
- China Cracks Down On Gay Male Romance Novels That Young Women Adore
“Fans of the popular danmei same-sex romance genre, written and read mainly by straight women, say the Chinese government is carrying out the largest crackdown yet on it, effectively neutering the enjoyment. In the world of fantasy, danmei is relatively straightforward: Two men stand in for idealized relationships, from chaste to erotic.” – AP
- BBC Offers Trump An Apology But Balks At Financial Compensation
“The BBC says it has apologized to President Donald Trump over an edited interview clip that suggested he encouraged violence ahead of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. The news corporation also said it would not offer compensation in the wake of Trump threatening a $1 billion lawsuit over the edited video.” – Variety
- Disney Co. To Add Yet Another Billion Dollars To Its Content Budget
The entertainment behemoth is increasing its spending on content to $24 billion for fiscal 2026. Does this mean more work for underemployed creatives? Actually, most of that spending will be on broadcast rights for sports. – The Hollywood Reporter
- International Opera Awards 2025 To Dallas Opera, Glimmerglass, Asmik Grigorian, Nicholas Brownlee, Agnes Baltsa
Grigorian and Brownlee took male and female singer of the year honors; Theater an der Wien is company of the year; Agnes Baltsa was recognized for lifetime achievement. The Dallas Opera’s women conductors’ institute was awarded for equal opportunity; Glimmerglass took the musical theatre category for Sunday in the Park with George. – Opera Now
- The Book That Shaped The Modern Revival Of Wicca
In 1899, Charles Godfrey Leland published, with the help of Roma Lister, Aradia, or the gospel of the witches, which purported to record an ancient tradition of female-led sorcery in Italy. In the 1950s, “mother of Wicca” Doreen Valiente used the book to shape Wicca as it exists today. – The Public Domain Review
- Good morning:
Universities pull the plug on culture when ROI falls short—Bucknell shuts its press, signaling trouble for academic publishing (Inside Higher Ed). Chicago’s arts broker revamps grantmaking amidst political turbulence (WBEZ Chicago). Museums ponder bans on selfies; operational chaos trumping curatorial ideals (The Art Newspaper). New study shows AI music fools 97% of listeners—creators face existential uncertainty as technology outpaces regulation (Reuters). Has culture lost its creative edge in the 21st Century? Reboots rule and algorithms smother invention (The Economist). These stories and more in today’s ArtsJournal.
- University Decides ROI On Investment In Its University Press Is Insufficient And Closes It. Others To Follow?
Bucknell University Press is on track to shut down by the end of this fiscal year. Demise of the press is raising broader questions about the future of university publishing as higher education institutions across the country face financial hardship and pressure to prove their return on investment to an increasingly skeptical public. – InsideHigherEd
- Chicago’s Unofficial Arts Czar Is A Daughter Of The City’s Most Famous Political Dynasty
“Amid (Trump-era) turbulence, Nora Daley — who generally prefers to avoid the spotlight — has quietly built a reputation as one of the city’s most effective cultural brokers. … In recent years, that has meant retooling the state’s cultural arm, the Illinois Arts Council, where she led a full overhaul of grantmaking as board chair.” – WBEZ (Chicago)
- As We Prepare To Celebrate America’s 250th Birthday, Is There A Recognizable American Classical Music?
Is there a unifying theme around the kinds of music being written in the classical world that could indicate an “American style?” (And, as an aside, can we take pride or ownership as a nation in something if we can’t define it?) – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
- Is It Time For Museums To Ban Selfies?
For some institutions, a ban on selfie-taking could be an operational choice, tied to staffing levels, available space, or the types of objects on display. – The Art Newspaper
- Has 21st Century Culture Lost Its Creativity?
Music without instruments and lyrics without meaning. Endless reboots, sequels and superheroes in the cinema. After a burst of magnificent TV dramas in the noughties, every glitzy new show is hailed as a must-see when most are mediocre. The algorithm has vanquished imagination. – The Economist
- Sarasota Orchestra Releases Design For Its New $425 Million Music Center
The 32-acre campus, designed by William Rawn Associates of Boston and HKS Architects of Orlando, will include an 1,800-seat concert hall, a 700-seat recital hall, and education center, rehearsal facilities, courtyards, and parkland with wetlands and water features. – Observer (Sarasota)
- New Study: 97 Percent Of Listeners Can’t Identify Whether The Music They’re Listening To Is AI
A staggering 97% of listeners cannot distinguish between artificial intelligence-generated and human-composed songs, a Deezer–Ipsos survey showed on Wednesday, underscoring growing concerns that AI could upend how music is created, consumed and monetized. – Reuters
- How Schools Across America Are Responding To AI Use
In the face of a revolutionary change that many educators believe will alter the career trajectories of school-aged kids and the instructional methods of their schools, a handful of districts across the country have responded with drastic measures to meet the moment. – Edutopia
- Preservationists Fight To Save New Deal-Era Murals In Building Called “The Sistine Chapel” Of Such Murals
The clock is ticking for Washington, D.C.’s 85-year old Wilbur J. Cohen building, described by preservationists as the “Sistine Chapel of New Deal Art” for the impressive art collection it holds, including works by Philip Guston and Ben Shahn. – Artnet
- Editing Video News Footage Has Become A Fraught Matter (Thanks To You-Know-Who)
“In the space of a few months, a straightforward journalistic skill — editing tape for broadcast — has been behind a $16 million legal settlement, a network’s change in how it offers interviews … and, now, the resignation of two top leaders at the BBC. The other common denominator: President Donald Trump.” – AP
- Spotify Launches A “Catch You Up” Feature For Audiobooks, To Summarize What You’ve Read So Far
The company likens the feature, called Recaps, to a “previously on” segment at the start of episodes in a TV series. – The Verge
- Ticket Prices Continue To Soar, But Lawsuits Abound
There are currently multiple class action lawsuits at various stages, as well as a Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit against the world’s largest concert promoter, Live Nation, which programs concerts at PPG Paints, Acrisure Stadium and PNC Park and owns the ticketing platform Ticketmaster. – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
