"Arts leaders are unsure what the new normal might be after attendance numbers took a hit from the pandemic. Much hinges on the answer, especially now that federal emergency COVID-19 funding for arts groups has ended and ticket income is becoming more critical." - The Philadelphia Inquirer
"After more than two decades of planning, fundraising, and construction, the International African American Museum in Charleston finally has an opening date: June 27, 2023 — just after Juneteenth. The announcement comes after myriad delays to the project, which was first proposed by Charleston mayor Joe Riley back in 2000." - Artnet
“Digital dualism” is finally on life support, replaced by a dawning recognition that the distinction between offline and online has collapsed. Instead, we face pervasive surveillance enabled by the growth of cameras, sensors, connected devices, and data collection in our communities. - The Atlantic
Ukrainian institutions and individuals, with support from UNESCO, the Getty Trust, World Monuments Fund, and others, are cataloguing damage, digitizing archives, and "winterizing" monuments with exposure to the elements. One notable gift: hundreds of fire extinguishers for historic wooden churches. - Artnet
The word event was once reserved for more special occasions. But now Zoom is doing to the word event what Facebook did to the word friend; Just as most people you come across can instantly become a friend on Facebook, most gatherings that take place online can become an event. - Slate
The US immigration service wants to raise visa costs from $460 (£385) to $1,615 (£1,352) alongside other changes that artists and their managers say would make it almost impossible for anyone but the biggest stars to perform in the US. - The Guardian
Sports are a harbinger of a future of surveillance that is more intrusive, multitudinous, and expansive. But they aren’t just showing us the future. Sometimes, they’re directly bringing it about. - The Atlantic
Basically, there are too many streaming services involved. "Warner Bros. Discovery claims that Paramount Global 'embarked on a multi-year scheme to unfairly take advantage of Warner/HBO.'" - Vulture
It's completely fine not to meet in real life - and look, virtual relationships of all kinds are "real." (Performance art spaces need to figure this out as well, especially so they don't alienate their immunocompromised audience and donors.) - Wired
Perhaps the inspiration for renewal can benefit from, or even require, an awakening humiliation. LaGuardia’s reconstruction was, in some sense, a response to Biden’s insult, but also to the disgraceful state of the airport—which has now been transformed into a swanky theme park. - The Atlantic
The benefits of excessive licensing are unsubstantiated, theoretical, or minimal. But the drawbacks? Those are very real for workers and consumers alike. - The Atlantic
To hide the precarity of its rule, the government wants to erase its people from political discourse. It has transformed the rich and varied history of the Arabia it came to control over the last century into the history of the House of Saud. - Catalyst
As the one-year anniversary of the deadly 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine approaches, we take a close look at the ongoing work of hundreds of professionals across a landscape of Ukrainian and international organizations to defend endangered cultural heritage. - Smithsonian
Chiwoniso Kaitano is the former executive director of Girl Be Heard, a nongovernmental organization that uses theater and the performing arts to advocate for social change. Originally from Zimbabwe, she also serves on the boards of several arts organizations. - AP
