"A 2023 session that began hopefully for the state's arts and cultural industries ended in deep disappointment, with many requests rejected outright or funded far below their target figures. The poor showing is especially disappointing in light of the huge impact of COVID on cultural venues and organizations." - Oregon Arts Watch
"Arts groups say Wisconsin ranks last in the nation in per-capita funding for the arts and want to see some of the state budget surplus used to help them grow. An arts community cultural development leader joins us to look at how the industry gets by in Wisconsin." - Wisconsin Public Radio
V&A director Tristram Hunt: "This is a real problem, and there's a social inequity here because the private sector is not closing its theatres and art studios. ... So we're seeing a horrible disparity emerging between the state and the private sector in terms of provision for cultural education." - The Guardian
The Brooklyn Academy of Music's president, Gina Duncan, "said that the changes were necessary in part to help BAM to 'weather the downturn in charitable giving for the arts, and address an outdated business model that heavily relies on a shrinking donor base.'" - The New York Times
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are rapidly changing how we investigate and imagine the world and the urban environment. They can generate a highly "realistic" representation of an urban scene with just a single prompt – but not always for the best. - Dezeen
"Starting in September, the Hermitage Amsterdam will be called H’ART Museum. It has established partnerships with the British Museum, Centre Pompidou and the Smithsonian American Art Museum to bring art to the historic building on the banks of the Dutch capital’s Amstel River." - Seattle Times (AP)
But museums are trying their damnedest to pick it up. "This surely is the route through the coming AI storm: the digital age demands more, not less creativity in schools and families. It is through play and imagination that we can rise above the robots." - The Observer (UK)
By "someone," we mean the Senate. "Tens of millions of Americans don’t have access to high-speed broadband. Depending on who you ask, that number could be as low as 14 million or as high as 42 million because the FCC has yet to fix the maps." - The Verge
"Why don’t more animated movies look this good? According to people who worked on the sequel , Across the Spider-Verse, it’s because the working conditions required to produce such artistry are not sustainable." - Vulture
"On average, each of the 300 towns in Flanders has about six churches and often not enough faithful to fill a single one. Some become eyesores, their maintenance a constant drain on finances. … Now, many once-sacred structures are repurposed for anything from clothes shops and climbing walls to nightclubs." - AP
"Many arts organizations," including such flagships as the San Francisco Symphony, "have seen their city funding reduced drastically or eliminated altogether. At the same time, up-and-coming theater companies and visual arts groups … are getting their first crack at a piece of the city's largesse." - MSN (San Francisco Chronicle)
"Under the new rules, … a film will need to continue its run beyond the current requirement, a one-week theatrical release in one of six U.S. qualifying cities, ... to add an additional run of seven days, consecutive or nonconsecutive, in 10 of the top 50 U.S. markets." - Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)
At a time of unprecedented need, do organizations owe it to their communities to move more money out the door, even if it threatens its perpetuity? Or should trustees stay the course, ensuring that organizations can tackle challenges 10, 20 and 50 years from now? - Inside Philanthropy
The first half of the bridge—a gently sloped, 340-foot-long arm coming out of the High Line Spur, as the final section of the elevated park is called— mimics a woodland path flanked by more than 60 trees, 90 shrubs and more than 5,200 grasses and perennials. - Fast Company
“There’s no point coming here just to do one thing. Blowing in and out doesn’t work – financially! Performers get all that, and they live and play here for these two or three days alongside their audience. That’s the joy of the thing. Everyone is part of the community." - The Guardian
