The Philadelphia Orchestra is averaging 78 percent attendance so far this season, compared with 63 percent before the pandemic. The New York Philharmonic is averaging 85 percent attendance this season compared with 74 percent. - The New York Times
Overall tickets sales in 2023 were 101% of what they were in 2019, the last complete year of data before Covid. More than half of audiences in 2023 were first-time bookers.54% of the audience had not attended before, a near record high in the decade, eclipsed only by the figure of 55% first-timers in 2013. - BachTrack
"An investigation into the clawback of Metro Arts grant funds intended for underserved artists (found) probable cause of discrimination. … Six people, including five artists who lost some or all of the grant money promised to them, filed formal Title VI complaints alleging that Metro Arts discriminated based on race." - The Tennessean (Yahoo!)
The Unesco convention defines intangible cultural heritage as: “Practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognise as part of their cultural heritage.” - The Conversation
In 2022 alone, charities raised $749 million nationwide through so-called point-of-sale donations, a 24% jump from 2020, according to Engage for Good, which tracks this type of charitable giving. - NPR
The state legislature hadn’t funded the arts at all during its regular session in 2023, so “news was both good and bad Thursday ... when, in the closing hours of the short legislative session, lawmakers approved less than half of the funding arts champions had hoped for." - MSN (Oregonian)
After honoring and thanking the crew members, "Kimmel turned to leave the crew members with a final promise. 'Thank you for standing with us,' he said. 'And also, we want you to know that in your upcoming negotiation, we will stand with you, too.’” - Vulture
To opt out, “users must send a letter to Roku's general counsel in California mentioning: 'the name of each person opting out and contact information for each such person, the specific product models, software, or services used that are at issue’” and much more. - Wired
To blame? AI (and some very poor teenage decision-making). "As AI image-making tools have become more widely available, there have been several high-profile incidents in which minors allegedly created AI-generated nude images of classmates and shared them without consent." - Wired
"Residents of Japan’s ancient capital have struggled to reconcile the financial boost from a return to pre-pandemic visitor numbers with overcrowding and incidents of bad behaviour among tourists," especially in the geisha district of Gion. While the neighborhood's alleyways are now off-limits, its main street remains open. - The Guardian
After two years dark, the Kharkiv National Opera and Ballet company has built an underground bunker with a complete auditorium in it.Says general director Ihor Toulouzov, "We want to bring life back to Kharkiv, including cultural life. Demand for any kind of cultural event here is really high." - BBC
The chancellor has given Britain’s creative industries a boost, including £26.4m to help the National Theatre upgrade its stages and tax relief to encourage film-makers to shoot more movies in the UK. - The Guardian
"More than half of the tickets will cost £30 or less, with £10 tickets on offer for every performance, while 2,000 free tickets will be distributed to young people. A half-price ticket offer will be extended to under-18s, those with disabilities or hearing impairments and to neurodivergent festival-goers." - The Guardian
