It's actually quite pleasing for architects - and fans of community spirit as well. "You can gut it and bring all of this modern stuff in … but people love the ‘imagine if walls could talk’ kind of feel."- The Guardian (UK)
Roy Moore, whom history will remember for putting a marble Ten Commandments monument at the Alabama Judicial Building and being banned from a mall for his interactions with teenage girls, just had his $95 million lawsuit against Sacha Baron Cohen for a "pedophile detector" TV episode tossed. - Washington Post
Andrea Bowers's show opened on June 24, the day that the Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe. "When you enter the first gallery, you’re greeted immediately by a big, blinking yellow and red neon sign that reads, 'My Body My Choice Her Body Her Choice.'" - Los Angeles Times
It only operated from 1933-1957 in North Carolina's Swannanoa Valley, and its great impact was through its summer program. But to see how important Black Mountain College was, you need only look at the astounding list of those who taught and studied there. - T — The New York Times Style Magazine
It was a network of theaters, nightclubs, and church halls throughout the US where Black entertainers performed during the segregation era, and where many great musicians and actors got their start. It still exists, on a smaller scale, as a touring circuit for Black-oriented popular plays and music. - Atlas Obscura
Instead of sitting in libraries, they began to study “primitive” cultures for themselves, across Africa, Asia and the Americas, living with their subjects for extended periods of time and then reporting back to western readers on what they’d found. - The Guardian
"Twitter's suit, filed in the Karnataka High Court in Bangalore, challenges a recent order from the Indian government for the company to remove content and block dozens of accounts. Twitter complied with the order, which had a Monday deadline, but then sought judicial relief." - The New York Times
Japan's opening up to mass tourism over the last decade brought an economic boost — a record 32 million tourists visited in 2019 and spent some $38 billion — but that also led to complaints of shoddy behavior at sites such as Kyoto's temples. - Japan Times
"Bosnia and Herzegovina share a painful legacy — yet, today, they live an enduring peace. Cities such as Sarajevo and Srebrenica are now largely reconciled with their history, aided in part by institutions like the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo and the Srebrenica Memorial Center." - The Art Newspaper
"Venues and organisations are frantically having to deal with a programming backlog and process delayed projects still 'on the books'. And from the visitor's perspective, there is a kind of 'just do it' attitude – the urge to attend events regardless of the semi-expectation of contracting a COVID variant." - ArtsHub (Australia)
The new Labor government's Arts Minister is also the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations: Tony Burke. He indicates particular interested in job security and insurance for gig workers, but says there will be no formal arts policy until after town hall meetings held all over the country. - Limelight (Australia)
BuzzFeed's reporters have compared video and photos from 2017 (not long after the current repression campaign against Uyghurs began) and earlier to more recent images taken by tourists to determine what changes have happened in Kashgar. The city has evidently been turned into a heavily surveilled theme park. - BuzzFeed
"By looking at the chemical deposits found within the amphorae, plant tissue residue, and pollen, researchers were able to determine which grape derivatives were used, but also, crucially, how ancient peoples were able to insulate their jugs and waterproof them." - Artnet
The Aspen-Festival-for-hipsters is crossing both the Pacific and the Equator: SXSW Sydney will run October 15-22 this year, focusing primarily on creative industries in the Asia-Pacific region but including participants from the US (Silicon Valley and Hollywood in particular) and elsewhere as well. - Adweek
The survey compared responses by older adults to those under 55, and while there were definitely differences, the interests of the two groups often aligned quite closely. - Artnet
