City officials in Fujiyoshida, not far from Mount Fuji, said residents had been littering, entering private homes to use the bathroom, and even defecating in people’s yards and getting belligerent when confronted. The weeks-long event had attracted about 200,000 visitors each year for the past decade. - The Guardian
The exit, announced Monday, Feb. 2, comes just days after Mayor Daniel Lurie posted a job description for an executive director of arts and culture to oversee all three of the city's arts agencies, which includes Grants for the Arts and the Film Commission, in addition to SFAC. - San Francisco Chronicle (Yahoo)
What’s even fascinating is what this whole debacle tells us about the MAGA movement as a whole, and how Trump is the perfect symbol for their failed culture war aspirations. - Salon
To many Philadelphians who having been coming daily ever since to leave protest messages, it felt like an attack on a hard-won monument, and even on the city itself. Within hours of the removal, the city filed a lawsuit in federal court contesting it. - The New York Times
This struggle, we have found, applies across the board and includes live music venues, theater groups, performance arts, galleries, and does not discriminate between small and new or legacy organizations. But sometimes we don’t miss something until it’s gone. - CapRadio
The Folklife Festival normally brings artisans and performers from various spots to the Mall for several weeks. This year, the Smithsonian says it will present mini-versions of the Festival around the country, while the Mall will host a state-fair-style gathering with pavilions from each state and territory. - The New York Times
One is that the center needs major upgrades. That is true. The other is that those upgrades require full closure of the entire campus for multiple years. That is suspect. - The Conversation
While a list of all those who've lost their positions is not yet available, multiple arts and culture reporters have confirmed the layoffs. - The Violin Channel
After last year’s Eaton Fire tore through town, incinerating community infrastructure and scattering residents across the region, the importance of such places has grown dramatically — not only as centers of gathering, but as sites of refuge, planning and healing. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
Australia’s arts and cultural sector still has much to learn in terms of fiduciary duties and duty of care, risk and crisis management, communication and response, and navigating the difference between censorship and cultural safety. - ArtsHub
Since Prop. 28, the Art and Music in Schools Act, passed in late 2022, California has struggled to locate enough qualified arts teachers to place in every school in the state. The five-year, $11.3 million Arts Education Accelerator Fund will develop teacher training, credentialing and apprenticeship programs to help fill the gap. - EdSource (Oakland)
It certainly seems possible that the 1971 building, designed by architect Edward Durrell Stone, could be partially or completely erased. And with it, the center’s basic function, as a venue for the arts, along with its history, its distinguished legacy and its last remaining audience. - Washington Post (MSN)
Many people who should have been apprised of Trump’s plans before they were announced were not, including several Kennedy Center board members. And evidently little thought was given to either the National Symphony or touring Broadway shows booked for this summer. - The Washington Post (MSN)
“The Kennedy Center does not have a 2026-2027 season,” a source told CNN Inside Politics host Dana Bash. “There would not have been any programming to announce.” (video) - CNN
… he said that about the East Wing of the White House, too. And what Trump did say sounds worrisome: “I’ll be using the steel. So we’re using the structure.” - AP
