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The World’s Digital Infrastructure Runs On American Technology. Europe Wants To Reclaim Its Sovereignty

In the 21st century, those who control digital infrastructure control the conditions of possibility for democracy itself. Europe faces a choice: build sovereign technological capacity or accept digital colonization. - Noema

Chicago’s Commissioner Of Cultural Affairs Resigns After 18 Turbulent Months

“From the beginning, Clinée Hedspeth’s tenure was marked by turmoil. Eighteen percent of the department turned over in her first six months. … Before reaching her year anniversary, Hedspeth faced bullying accusations from several staffers. By spring, many artists were openly calling on Mayor Brandon Johnson to address the dysfunction.” - WBEZ (Chicago)

Future Of Chicago’s Only Arts-Focused Public High School Is Suddenly In Doubt

Citing “unsustainable” deficits, the board that oversees the Chicago High School for the Arts has decided not to renew its contract with Chicago Public Schools and will cease operating the school after next spring. ChiArts is a privately managed contract school – similar to a charter – funded by public and donor dollars. - WBEZ (Chicago)

Australian Arts Industry Hampered By Rise In Touring Costs

‘We have no shortage of invitations to show our work overseas, but our level of secure, ongoing funding is not enough to underpin these international tours.’ - ArtsHub

Francis Fukuyama: Why Populism Has Been On The Rise

After pondering these questions for nearly a decade, I have come to conclude that technology broadly and the internet in particular stand out as the most salient explanations for why global populism has arisen in this particular historical period, and why it has taken the particular form that it has. - Persuasion

Universities Respond To Trump Proposal Of A “Compact”

“This action targets funding for things like cancer research, Pell Grants for students from low-income backgrounds, and criteria for hiring faculty. This displays a complete disregard for the role that higher education plays in advancing dialogue and debate from various viewpoints, and jeopardizes the success of students, the economy, and our competitiveness as a nation." - InsideHigherEd

Protest As A Collaborative Art Form

Global protests are not just about chanting slogans and marching anymore. What was really eye-opening was seeing different groups coming together organically and using very creative languages and tools, like singing, dancing, body movement, and graffiti, as well as taking common everyday acts like cooking or doing yoga and bringing them into public space. - Hyperallergic

Here’s What Portland’s Arts Organizations Have To Say About Making Culture In So-Called Hell

Portland is very clearly not “hell,” and just as clearly not a war zone. But also: "Although the number of events and the amount of ticket sales have not yet recovered to pre-pandemic levels, they have increased significantly ... and are now getting close to pre-2020 levels.” - Oregon ArtsWatch

Remember When The United States Senate Went After Prince And Madonna?

Sure, McCarthyism mostly ended (until, well, now) in the late 1950s, but in the 1980s, Madonna and Prince scared some adults so much that they got funding from Coors Beer and the Beach Boys, and went after popular musicians. - The Guardian (UK)

A Local Right-Wing Government’s Attempt To Quash Reporters In England Runs Up Against The Law

“County council leader Mick Barton banned the Nottingham Post and its online arm, Nottinghamshire Live, from speaking to him and other councillors ‘with immediate effect’ on 28 August.” - BBC

What Will New York City’s Cultural Life Look Like 25 Years From Now?

As the art world grows ever more corporate and culture continues its slide into an anti-intellectual dumpster fire, we will start to see a cultural rebellion — the return of a 1970s and ’80s “New York Drop Dead” barbarism, and with it a movement of making art for its own sake. - The New York Times

Head Of Presidential Library Out After Refusing To Deaccession Sword For Trump To Give King Charles

Todd Arrington, a career historian who previously worked at the National Archives, said he was ordered to resign from the Eisenhower Presidential Library. He had declined to turn over one of Eisenhower’s own swords so Trump could present it to Charles III while on a state visit to the UK. - CBS News

Trump White House Dismisses Over Three-Quarters Of National Council On The Humanities

Only four of the 26 members of the advisory body remain; the rest were terminated via a notably terse email from the White House personnel office. Meetings require a quorum of 14 members, and new members must be confirmed by the Senate, so for now the Council is paralyzed. - The Washington Post (Yahoo!)

Despite Federal Government Shutdown, Smithsonian, Kennedy Center And D.C. Monuments Are Open — For Now

The Smithsonian museums and National Gallery will remain open for as long as leftover cash-on-hand lasts, which will be at least through Monday. Kennedy Center events are privately financed and should proceed as scheduled. As for the monuments, it depends … - The Washington Post (MSN)

Syracuse University Pauses Admissions For 20 Undergrad Majors, Most Of Them Arts And Humanities

The decision was made by the institution’s senate in its first meeting of the 2025-26 academic year without faculty input. Among the majors affected are fine arts, music history, classics, digital humanities, African-American and Latino/Latin American Studies, and French, German, Italian, and Russian language and literature. - ARTnews

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