The court will now allow artists to proceed with discovery on claims that AI image generators relying on Stable Diffusion violate both the Copyright Act and the Lanham Act, which protects artists from commercial misuse of their names and unique styles. - ArsTechnica
“When it comes to these more serious cases, which may involve workplace harm or abuse, it’s concerning to think that a confidentiality clause within someone’s contract could affect their ability to speak up about their experiences.” - ArtsHub
The mural, in which a vandal spray-painted pink skin onto a Black athlete, “featured Egonu, who spearheaded Italian women’s volleyball’s first-ever gold medal win at the Paris Olympics, as she jumps to hit a ball with the words ‘stop racism.’” - The Guardian (UK)
"One by one, Metro Arts' Communications Manager Daryn Jackson, Public Art Manager Jessica Ingram, and Finance and Operations Director Christiana Afotey announced their resignations. The commissioners barely reacted. … That leaves the department without key staff members at a moment when the future of its grant programs is up in the air." - WPLN (Nashville)
"The crowds (marching in Bratislava) claimed that the dismissals (of the directors of the National Gallery and National Theatre) are a political purge by Robert Fico’s populist left-wing Smer-SSD party, which won parliamentary elections in Slovakia in October and formed a coalition government with the center-left Hlas and nationalist SNS parties." - ARTnews
"For more than a decade, tickets to Burning Man have sold out almost immediately – sometimes in a matter of minutes. But this year, less than two weeks before the festival kicks off, tickets are still available – raising questions about the future of the annual desert revelry." - The Guardian
“A federal investigation was launched after scorch marks were discovered by a member of the museum’s renovation team outside the front entrance of the museum. The museum is located between two historic synagogues on Baltimore’s Lloyd Street.” - ARTnews
At a major fan gathering last week, executives teased a soon-to-come Monsters, Inc. attraction. Sharp-eyed observers spotted that the location shown in the promotional video is exactly where Muppet*Vision 3D is now, something that Disney execs obviously hoped nobody would notice. Muppet fans are furious. - TheWrap
"A string of ministers have been tainted by claims of favouritism, corruption and elitist practices when it comes to funds. … We asked some arts policy researchers to tell us who (new minister Gayton) McKenzie is and what he should do to fix the department and grow the cultural industries." - The Conversation
Reasoning that he should not be held morally responsible for deaths from a drug (OxyContin) that his company (Purdue Pharma) brought to market years after he died, the Harvard Corporation decided not to rename the Sackler Art Museum and the Arthur M. Sackler Building. - AP
The Washington Post's art critic has been thinking about John Quidor’s 1849 painting The Return of Rip Van Winkle and about a certain Rip van Winkle Motel in Virginia. So he decided to ask AI about van Winkle's 20-year hotel stay — and even to create new paintings. - The Washington Post (MSN)
Well: "Already we know that the capital’s museums have seen massive attendance declines; now there is talk of a state fund for financial assistance to cultural institution.” - Slate
“Adelaide festival management confirmed on Friday it will post a deficit, just a week after the unexpected departure of its artistic director.” The good part? They say the loss was due to free events - and the festival has enough in reserves to make it up. - The Guardian (UK)
And Paris isn’t trying to hide it. “'I haven’t seen anything quite like this,’ says Jules Boykoff, a professor and former professional soccer player who studies the impact of the Olympics on marginalized communities. ’Typically, hostile architecture is more subtle.’” - Wired
