ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

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Why Can’t We Leave Princess Diana Alone?

Diana "is still too blazingly alive to be dragooned into trauma porn, mauled with the excuse of reincarnating her." But the last few years have been relentlessly Diana-focused. Why do we think we own her? - The New York Times

Alec Baldwin Indicted Again For Shooting Death Of Cinematographer

Baldwin was originally cleared of charges in April of 2023 because of testimony that claimed he didn't need to pull the trigger for the gun to go off, but the "grand jury was convened following retesting on the gun’s trigger" proving he had needed to pull it. - Vulture

Brazil’s Museum Of Democracy Will Include Major Archive Of 2023 Bolsonarista Insurrection

"An initiative to create a comprehensive record of the 2023 insurrection (at) the Brazilian congress" by supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro, who had lost his re-election bid, "has been launched as part of the development of the Museum of Democracy in Brasília." - The Art Newspaper

How Algorithmic Curation Has (Is) Changing Culture

It homogenizes, and it silos. It’s the commons, but with gatekeepers. There’s never been anything like it! But it’s really just an extension of Enlightenment rationalism. - Yale Review

Why Don’t Arts Organizations Pay More Attention To Their Digital Presence?

What is often the most engaged touch point with patrons is often also one of the most forgotten (and underinvested) areas in arts organizations. - Situation Interactive

After A Decade Without A Single Increase, Colorado’s Arts Budget May Be About To Double

"Gov. Jared Polis’s proposed budget" — likely to be adjusted by legislators — "includes a one-time $16 million tax credit for creative workforce housing, an additional $2.5 million for (state arts agency) CCI’s annual budget and a $540,000 cash fund for Colorado Creative Districts, which are supported by CCI." - The Colorado Sun

Thanks To Prop 28, California Schools Are About To Get $1 Billion For Arts Education. They’re Not All Ready To Use It.

"There are complexities to bringing $1 billion into classrooms — and restoring programs that have often been the ones to go when money is short. First, there’s hiring amid an extreme teacher shortage. Then, there’s the odd timing of the funding starting halfway through the school year." - The Mercury News (San Jose)

Algorithms Are Flattening Our Taste

"For us consumers, they are making us more passive just by feeding us so much stuff, by constantly recommending things that we are unlikely to click away from, that we're going to tolerate not find too surprising or challenging." - NPR

Why Do Coffee Shops Look So Much The Same? Algorithms That Drive The Generic

Of course, there have been examples of such cultural globalisation going back as far as recorded civilisation. But the 21st-century generic cafes were remarkable in the specificity of their matching details, as well as the sense that each had emerged organically from its location. - The Guardian

Education Standardization Has Been A Disaster For Our Students

The majority of the country has now signed up to a standardized and rigid curriculum that treats overworked teachers as untrustworthy slackers who need to be disciplined by measuring their output through standard lessons and evaluations. - Medium

A Small Arts Organization In Australia Loses Its Funding Prompting Questions About How Impact Is Measured

The decision raises questions about the financial health and sustainability of small to medium arts organisations, the assessment models for federal funding and the long-term effect on the ecology of Queensland arts. - ArtsHub

Even While Australian Arts Groups Are Struggling, Some Festivals Are Breaking Attendance Records. Why?

It’s not all doom and gloom. Many of our larger arts festivals are achieving record turnouts and box office highs, as ArtsHub discovered while surveying recent sales figures of a few prominent players. - ArtsHub

Warning Of Damage To City’s Economy, New York Cultural Institutions Urge Mayor To Reverse Budget Cuts

"Leaders of major cultural institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Carnegie Hall, sent a letter to Mayor Eric Adams urging him to reconsider millions of dollars in proposed budget cuts to their organizations, (arguing that he) should be investing in cultural institutions to spur tourism and create jobs." - Gothamist

What Taylor Swift Studies Teach; Madonna Studies Were First

Humanities professors, for their part, have already begun enlisting Swift as a silent partner. The organizer for the first international academic “Swiftposium,” to be held in February with the backing of seven Australian and New Zealand universities, began as a “half-serious tweet.” - LA Review of Books

France’s New Culture Minister Is A Combative, Controversial Conservative From The Sarkozy Days

"'Everyone knows I like fighting. Don’t be afraid of me,' Rachida Dati announced upon her arrival to the ministry. … She is known for her sleek style and forthright, no-nonsense approach, having returned to work just five days after her first child and, reportedly, declared that maternity leave is for 'wimps.'" - Artnet

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