"Despite positive attendance numbers in the spring and fall, … several of the city’s larger organizations … are in a similar boat — single ticket sales are increasing, but not fast enough to cover the decrease in subscriptions. As an outlier, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust reports robust subscriptions for its Broadway series." - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Having grown from about 4,000 attendees in 1991, the festival now caps attendance at 80,000, many of whom are just too damn rich. Having (barely) managed to clean up this year's mess by the six-week limit in the land use permit, Burners don't expect major changes for 2024. But later? - AP
They also discovered evidence that the inhabitants developed into a complex society between 5,000 and 6,500 years ago with residential homes, as well as buildings for handicrafts, waste removal, and food processing. - ARTnews
"In a world that grows increasingly dark, the ability to slip free of its grim logic and into a realm of uncharted delight, even for a little while, becomes less a luxury and more a necessity. … (It's not "just" escapism) when escape is more than just hiding." - The Boston Globe (MSN)
Los Angeles Times design columnist Carolina A. Miranda looks at how, despite exteriors that can seem intimidating, the new Perelman Performing Arts Center near Ground Zero and the reconstructed David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center undo the separation between artists and audience. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
Based in Australia, the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies represents public institutions from around the world whose mandate is to support and advance arts and culture. … (This year's) report underscores culture’s role in implementing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Agenda." - Ludwig Van
“It is difficult to tell the nature of this attack but it is a symptomatic of a significant challenge globally to protect critical infrastructure from cybersecurity attacks." - The Art Newspaper
Modern fandom online is a vast and varied place, and some of its practices are shaped by the platforms where fan communities gather. On TikTok, fans might make videos they hope will reach millions of eyes, while closed spaces such as Discord might only reach a dozen intensely interested people. - Atlas Obscura
In response to the placement of a Nativity scene in the Iowa capitol, the Temple (per its usual practice) claimed equal representation and installed a display of the occult figure Baphomet there. Former Congressional candidate Michael Cassidy drove from Mississippi to Des Moines and ripped Baphomet's head off. - Business Insider
There is a significant audience for arts and culture: 96% of adults in Aotearoa New Zealand participated in arts and cultural events in the past three years. As we argue in the report, strengthening arts and culture media leads to better public conversations, more engaged arts consumers, and a healthier arts and culture sector. - IJNet
That figure is "unheard-of for most State bodies," let alone arts-funding agencies in almost any country. How did it happen? With what one might (if so inclined) call sleight-of-hand that has made COVID-era emergency increases permanent. - The Irish Times
A mid-cycle cut of £6.6 million imposed abruptly in September has been made up for, with another £6.6 million allocated to make up for the reserve fund that Creative Scotland (the funding agency) raided to avoid passing the last-minute cut on to funded arts organizations. - The Scotsman (MSN)
If the humanities have become more political over the past decade, it is largely in response to coercion from administrators and market forces that prompt disciplines to prove that they are “useful.” - The Atlantic
"Audience numbers still aren't back to where they were in 2019. Emergency state and federal funding has nearly evaporated, and (expected) annual arts funding … wasn’t approved by the Oregon Legislature. All this has forced arts groups to put capital improvement projects on hold or scale back their seasons." - The Oregonian
