Katherine Farley, who became board chair in 2010 and led the arts complex through the complete renovation of David Geffen Hall, decided that the end of that project was a good time to hand over the reins. Her successor is Hearst CEO Steven Swartz. - The New York Times
The bill would make it defamatory to claim that someone is racist, sexist, or homophobic based on that person’s religious beliefs. This is, in some ways, the bill’s most reactionary provision, because it recasts what courts ordinarily consider an opinion as a defamatory fact. - The New Yorker
More than half the respondents (53.5%) said they were scared of clowns at least to some degree, with 5% saying they were “extremely afraid” of them. Interestingly, this percentage reporting an extreme fear of clowns is slightly higher than those reported for many other phobias. - The Conversation
"A new documentary ... brought together musicians, artists and journalists who used music and art to rebel against their imprisonment and to assert their right to a multicultural identity amid Serb nationalist attempts to destroy them and their cultural heritage." - The Guardian
"The latest edition of the Otis College Report on the Creative Economy, an annual study from the Los Angeles arts school, found that the state's creative economy outperformed the overall economy in its recovery from the pandemic — despite the disproportionate impact on cultural sectors." - Artnet
Flinders University scholars now believe they have identified multiple descriptions of the behaviour in ancient texts, the earliest appearing in the Physiologus – the Naturalist – a Greek manuscript compiled in Alexandria around 150-200CE. - The Guardian
Artists are a contentious lot and often downplay or deny that politics has any bearing on art and art making. Other artists fully accept that art is political and regard art as a necessary form of political engagement. I have reservations. - Discoveries in American Art
Blame the appeals court judgment from 2021 declaring that Andy Warhol had no right to appropriate someone else’s photo of Prince into one of the Pop artist’s classic silk-screened portraits. - The New York Times
"The continuing war in Ukraine has turned , which features many Russian artists and nationalistic themes, into a vexed issue." Many of the Russians involved live in Germany and have denounced the war. - The New York Times
"To indefinitely continue access to the ever-expanding glut of content – not just an invaluable artistic heritage, but a crucial account of how the world is and was – requires a herculean ongoing restoration effort from a global network of passionate experts and cinephiles." - The Guardian (UK)
The normal thing to say about such experiences is that you’ve lost yourself in a book or song — lost track of space and time. But it’s more accurate to say that a piece of art has quieted the self-conscious ego voice that is normally yapping away within. - The New York Times
"Without a wider strategy, the worry for many is that the changes in Arts Council England grants won't come in conjunction with other kinds of spending – education, transport links, infrastructure, as just a few examples – that are needed to ensure new cultural investment actually helps an area." - PoliticsHome (UK)
For the many independent artists who say that work they have posted online — in hopes of attracting paying gigs, or at least an audience — has been stolen by powerful companies, seeking redress has led to an uphill battle. - The New York Times
Mali and Burkina Faso are blessed by active art scenes and scores of museums — and afflicted with militias causing murder and misery, and often targeting those museums for looting. Now the International Council of Museums and the Aliph Foundation are training museum staffers to defend their collections. - The Art Newspaper
"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
