The €5 charge won't even cover the cost of administering it, let alone discourage or limit wear-and-tear from too much foot traffic. Anna Somers Cocks argues that it should cost at least as much to enter Venice as it does to go to the Uffizi Gallery (€25). - The Art Newspaper
Harvard, the faculty members said, should abandon its practice of taking official positions on political or social issues, as it did during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests and, more controversially, in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. - Boston Globe (MSN)
Everybody hated Prince Harry's memoir, which nevertheless became the fastest-selling book in history. A country hit managed to divide much of America. A rock star kissed his bandmate on stage and got thrown out of a country. Gwyneth Paltrow briefly managed to get most people on her side. - BBC
Preliminary findings from an upcoming report reveal that only a third of responding institutions say audience engagement is back to 2019 levels; for performing arts organizations, the figure is only 15%. 23% of the groups are still at "reduced capacity," down 10 points from last year. - WHYY (Philadelphia)
"Despite positive attendance numbers in the spring and fall, … several of the city’s larger organizations … are in a similar boat — single ticket sales are increasing, but not fast enough to cover the decrease in subscriptions. As an outlier, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust reports robust subscriptions for its Broadway series." - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Having grown from about 4,000 attendees in 1991, the festival now caps attendance at 80,000, many of whom are just too damn rich. Having (barely) managed to clean up this year's mess by the six-week limit in the land use permit, Burners don't expect major changes for 2024. But later? - AP
They also discovered evidence that the inhabitants developed into a complex society between 5,000 and 6,500 years ago with residential homes, as well as buildings for handicrafts, waste removal, and food processing. - ARTnews
"In a world that grows increasingly dark, the ability to slip free of its grim logic and into a realm of uncharted delight, even for a little while, becomes less a luxury and more a necessity. … (It's not "just" escapism) when escape is more than just hiding." - The Boston Globe (MSN)
Los Angeles Times design columnist Carolina A. Miranda looks at how, despite exteriors that can seem intimidating, the new Perelman Performing Arts Center near Ground Zero and the reconstructed David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center undo the separation between artists and audience. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
Based in Australia, the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies represents public institutions from around the world whose mandate is to support and advance arts and culture. … (This year's) report underscores culture’s role in implementing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Agenda." - Ludwig Van
“It is difficult to tell the nature of this attack but it is a symptomatic of a significant challenge globally to protect critical infrastructure from cybersecurity attacks." - The Art Newspaper
Modern fandom online is a vast and varied place, and some of its practices are shaped by the platforms where fan communities gather. On TikTok, fans might make videos they hope will reach millions of eyes, while closed spaces such as Discord might only reach a dozen intensely interested people. - Atlas Obscura
In response to the placement of a Nativity scene in the Iowa capitol, the Temple (per its usual practice) claimed equal representation and installed a display of the occult figure Baphomet there. Former Congressional candidate Michael Cassidy drove from Mississippi to Des Moines and ripped Baphomet's head off. - Business Insider
There is a significant audience for arts and culture: 96% of adults in Aotearoa New Zealand participated in arts and cultural events in the past three years. As we argue in the report, strengthening arts and culture media leads to better public conversations, more engaged arts consumers, and a healthier arts and culture sector. - IJNet
