George Osbourne, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer in David Cameron's Conservative government from 2010 to 2016, instituted savage cuts to the budgets of arts institutions. Why did the board of the British Museum unanimously choose him as chairman? For the same reason that American arts organizations put rich and powerful people on their boards. - The Guardian
The 6,000-seat performance venue at the Hollywood Park sports and entertainment complex in Inglewood, Calif., will be called “YouTube Theater.” - Variety
"Penn Live Arts is the new moniker for the group and series long known as the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. The switch comes as the major arts presenter evolves to become more closely integrated with Penn students, faculty, and curriculum, and as it plans to increase the number of presentations it does in locations beyond its campus...
And Boris Johnson doesn't care at all. In fact, he's putting another monument - that's right, unbelievably, Stonehenge!? - at risk as well. - The Guardian (UK)
Rome was hardly white, whether in architecture or demographics. But historically, Europeans and white Americans - and especially Mussolini and his followers - have thought, and represented in art, otherwise. Why it matters today: "Cultural practitioners have an unprecedented chance to help the wider public engage with an idea of Rome that’s more diverse, realistic and interesting than the...
It feels as if there has been a dendrocentric turn in culture recently; a new sensitivity to the arboreal and, more broadly, the botanical. - The Guardian
Gay Angelenos like to remind their counterparts to the north and east that L.A. played a crucial, perhaps decisive, role in gay-rights history. Five men sat together on the hillside in the late afternoon, imagining a world in which they did not have to hide. - The New Yorker
"They perfectly embody the circumstance of generations of Italians stuck in precariato (‘precarious work’), unable to work year round, to start a family, to buy or even just to rent a flat on their own." - Hyperallergic
"The Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage has unveiled plans for the inaugural Olympic Agora, an exhibition and series of art installations that celebrate the ideals and spirit of the games. … Onsite installations will be complemented by a digital program, including virtual exhibitions and artist talks on the Olympic Agora website and the Olympic Museum's social media channels."...
The audience attitudes survey for national arts agency Creative Scotland has found that outdoor events currently have much more appeal to potential audiences than indoor entertainment. Nearly two thirds of Scots said they would be comfortable attending outdoor theatre, music or comedy shows. - The Scotsman
"The National Endowment for the Arts announced Wednesday that it will make $80 million in pandemic relief available to more arts and cultural organizations, including first-time applicants and those that have never received support from the federal arts agency. The relief funds will also support local arts agencies that will distribute the federal dollars to grass-roots organizations in their...
"Nicholas Kenyon, the Barbican's managing director for 14 years" — and, prior to that, controller of BBC Radio 3 and director of the BBC Proms — "is to stand down in September with the move coming shortly after criticism from the organisation's own staff that it was 'institutionally racist'. In a statement Kenyon confirmed he would be leaving in...
During the second half of the last century and the beginning of this one, Los Angeles County fell a million homes behind, relative to its population growth, after becoming a single-family mecca. - The New York Times
Not only did societies such as the Classic Maya and the Khmer empire of Cambodia flourish, but pre-colonial tropical cities were actually some of the most extensive urban landscapes anywhere in the pre-industrial world – far outstripping ancient Rome, Constantinople/Istanbul and the ancient cities of China. - The Guardian
