Marc Bamuthi Joseph: “Monday afternoon we began to construct a plan, because we engage with scores of arts organizations, and it’s not easy given … those fully-executed contracts to just say, ‘OK, this s— don’t exist no more.’ … Then the leadership decided that it was gonna happen that day.” - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
“Staffers at the Kennedy Center are bracing for more cuts following the dismissal of several employees and a message from administrators that the performing arts center is in poor financial shape, a claim several of them dispute.” - The Washington Post (MSN)
“According to a statement from AFGE Local 3403, which represents IMLS workers, the agency's staff was notified by email about being placed on paid administrative leave for 90 days after a ‘brief meeting between DOGE staff and IMLS leadership.’ Employees had to turn in government property, and email accounts were disabled.” - NPR
For instance, at the destroyed Zane Grey estate: “How to rebuild the site in a way that preserves Grey's legacy while protecting it from the inevitable future fires and other disasters resulting from the impacts of human-caused climate change?” - NPR
The band Guster, “no fans of the current administration, played uplifting, poppy tunes (backed by the National Symphony Orchestra) at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall … while subtly — and then not so subtly — protesting the venue’s new management.” - Washington Post (MSN)
Looks like … maybe? “Ticketmaster may have misled fans, some of whom paid more than £350 for tickets with a face value of £150, in the way it priced tickets for comeback gigs this year.” - The Guardian (UK)
“The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences apologised on Friday after hundreds of its members criticised it for not supporting Oscar-winner Hamdan Ballal, a Palestinian who was recently detained by Israeli settlers.” - BBC
"When I was coming up in the ranks, no one ever talked about the complicated ethics of fundraising. How do you decide when to say no to that check because it comes with strings attached, or … you take the money and you hold your nose?" - Nieman Storyboard
“President Trump signed an executive order Thursday aimed at reshaping the Smithsonian Institution and removing what he deems ‘improper ideology’ from its museums, education and research centers and the National Zoo.” - Axios
“The president has instructed the vice president ‘to eliminate improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology’ from the institution’s entities. … But who runs and funds the Smithsonian and can Trump overhaul it like he is the federal government? Here’s what to know.” - The Washington Post (MSN)
“Senior U.S. District Judge William Smith, during a hearing in Providence, Rhode Island, questioned how such a policy could be reconciled with federal law, ‘which prohibits requiring grant recipients from engaging in essentially government propaganda.’" - Reuters
OpenAI’s and Google’s latest tools make it easier than ever to re-create the styles of copyrighted works — simply by typing a text prompt. Together, these new AI image features seem to reignite concerns at the core of several lawsuits. - TechCrunch
A state House committee working on the budget voted in favor of eliminating the state’s Division of Arts. They also considered, but later dropped, a proposal to completely defund the New Hampshire State Library. - New Hampshire Public Radio
