Researchers looked at 39 studies of play and included 17 in a meta-analysis that found when children ages three to eight engage in guided play, they can learn just as much in some domains of literacy and executive function as children who receive direct instruction from a teacher or adult. - Hechinger Report
Baryshnikov, the actor and ballet star, launched a fundraising drive to support Ukraine. But he also said Russian stars who do not speak out should not be targeted by the west. In contrast, Ratmansky, an admirer and friend of Baryshnikov, believes there is no excuse for not actively opposing the war. - The Guardian
"If Monster’s Ball is still the only movie in which a performance from a Black actress is recognized as superlative, does that mean that Leticia Musgrove is the best portrayal of a Black woman in the award show’s history?" (Hint: No.) - Vice
Cumbo "takes the helm of the Cultural Affairs department at a delicate moment — with the arts sector still struggling to emerge from the pandemic and her predecessor at the department warning that the agency is in trouble." What kind of a leader will she be? - The New York Times
The regeneration of cultural destinations and tourism is a key objective, but more so, the pandemic has prompted a critical rethink on pressing concerns including placemaking, accessibility and how people are engaging with cultural infrastructure. - ArtsHub
"About a week after Broadway shut down, Scott and Catherine Ricafort McCreary launched a support group for artists interested in making a career switch. 'We thought: If your job is gone, there's never a better time to learn what we did." The group? Artists Who Code. - Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)
Growth under these conditions is incredibly difficult, and of course the pandemic has thrown a giant monkey wrench in operations for nonprofits around the country, including Resonance Works. Where to begin? - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"A Peruvian historian and a leading US archaeologist argue that the UNESCO World Heritage Site was known by its Inca inhabitants as Huayna Picchu – the name of a peak overlooking the ruins – or simply Picchu." - The Guardian
The leadership of people directly experiencing inequities is essential, both because it is informed by insights no one else can contribute, and because it seeds power and opportunity within the community itself. - Medium
New data released last week by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) quantifies the extent of the damage: Between 2019 and 2020, the arts economy shrank at nearly twice the rate of the US economy as a whole. - Hyperallergic
"Putin's distortion of history and second-guessing sovereign states is a direct threat to our country also," said one Latvian arts executive. "Aside from experiencing palpable fear of being the next target ..., the cultural scene is pretty much paralyzed at the moment. This all hits too close to home." - Artnet
The G12 school is the second cultural institution in the besieged city of Mariupol to be attacked in a matter of days. On March 16, Russia shelled Mariupol’s Donetsk Regional Theatre of Drama, where as many as 1,300 Ukrainians had been hiding in basement shelters. - Artnet
"What I soon discovered was that none of them had much idea how to make an argument in any context. Nor were they particularly skilled at analysing the arguments of others. They didn’t know how to read; they didn’t know how to write; and they didn’t know how to think." - Unherd
