The West Kowloon Cultural District received a set amount of funding to open, expecting to sustain itself long-term by developing commercial and residential real estate on its property. But construction delays, and a market downturn have kept that plan from working, leaving WKCD desperate for cash. - Bloomberg (The Business Times, Singapore)
“We continue to see unprecedented levels of demand for the Open Fund for Individuals and will process the high volume of applications we have received. With the budget now confirmed, we will work to re-open this fund. - The Herald
Nell Bang-Jensen, artistic director of Theatre Horizon in (the Philadelphia suburb of) Norristown, will be (FringeArts') … new CEO, taking over from cofounder Nick Stuccio, who stepped down last year. She will begin her position after the current 2024 festival" — in which she's directing a major production — "wraps in October." - WHYY (Philadelphia)
"Several of the more than 600 organizations that lost state funding (said) that their educational programming is the first thing they will have to cut if they cannot make up the money elsewhere." The problem is especially acute in rural areas where school districts have fewer resources. - The Washington Post (MSN)
"The incoming class of seniors at New York’s Cooper Union learned at today’s convocation ceremony that they would pay no tuition for their final year. Outgoing president Laura Sparks announced, moreover, that for each of the coming four years, seniors at the school of art, architecture, and engineering would attend tuition-free." - Artnet
While its repressive attitude towards women’s rights has remained consistent, the Taliban's stance on the preservation of historic sites contrasts sharply with its actions in 2001, when the group destroyed the monumental Buddhas of Bamiyan. - The Art Newspaper
"The UK‘s accomplishments in the arts are something its public prides above all else, according to a new study, while fondness for British history has dropped dramatically. The findings come from the British Social Attitudes Survey, which shows stark changes ... since it was last conducted ten years ago." - The Art Newspaper
The Philadelphia school, which closed down without warning on June 7, was notified two weeks later by "successor trustee" UMB Bank that, due to the university's cessation of operations, full payment on the 2017 bond series is due immediately. - Artnet
Stanford University’s announcement that 23 creative writing instructors will be pushed out of their jobs and replaced has set off a national backlash in the literary community and among students in the program. - San Francisco Chronicle
"The Hamilton Family Charitable Trust, which contributed about half of UArts’ $62 million endowment, is not in favor of that money going to Temple as part of the deal, which largely appears to be sinking it. … Temple did not want to engage in a legal battle with a charitable trust." - The Philadelphia Inquirer
"California College of the Arts is facing a $20 million deficit due to a dramatic drop in student enrollment, even as it prepares to open a $123 million expansion to finalize a consolidation of its Oakland and San Francisco campuses." - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
"An estimated 49% of people who went to Black Rock City ... in 2023 identified as female, marginally higher than the 48% of attendees who identified as male. That reflects a stark change from 2013, when 40% of Burners identified as female and 58% identified as male." - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
Protest messages were read out after performances, including at the Traverse, Lyceum, George Square, Summerhall and Church Hill theatres, to loud applause from audiences, as thousands of artists and performers signed an open letter calling for the cuts to be reversed. - The Guardian
The ministry of culture of Buenos Aires dismissed Jorge Tetelman as director of the Teatro Colón, and the following day hired in his place Julio Bocca, a Buenos Aires native who was a world-famous dancer in the 1980s and '90s and director of Uruguay's national ballet from 2010 to 2017. - OperaWire
