"With a diving suit and helmet, and with dark glasses, earplugs, and a plan for retreat to the countryside." "We'll of course have a few books, but in a corner." "We have other things to think about." "Maybe we'll do one window about sports. Maybe some French flags." - The Paris Review
"That this was happening in Saudi Arabia — one of the most male-dominated countries in the world — was mind-boggling to many in the Middle East. … Moviegoers rushed to prepare Barbie-pink outfits. Some theaters scheduled more than 15 showings a day." - The New York Times
"While larger institutions ... can still attract and keep good artistic directors, regional theatres and arts centres are struggling. A job heading of one of these offers the same stress, accountability and long hours, but on a smaller budget and with a smaller salary." - The Observer (UK)
"SAG-AFTRA (had) argued that (waivers) supported the strike because they involved independent producers who agreed to all of the union's demands. But they have caused considerable backlash within the union, as some members felt they undermined the strike's overall impact." - Variety
The company has cut this year's budget by about 20% and eliminated six positions. One of this season's productions, Joseph Bologne's The Anonymous Lover, is postponed to 2024-25, the Opera Philadelphia Channel (paid streaming) will be shuttered, and President David Devan will depart next summer. - The Philadelphia Inquirer
"The (paper) has lost a further £16m and said it was reliant on extra funds from its owner, Evgeny Lebedev, to continue publishing. … The business model of printing hundreds of thousands of free newspapers aimed at commuters has been hit hard, (with) little sign it will revive anytime soon." - The Guardian
While admission to the general collection and some special shows is free, the NG does charge for certain special exhibitions. Last year, amidst the UK's cost-of-living crisis, the museum began a name-your-price scheme on Friday evenings; that has now been extended through January. - FAD Magazine
As the fine-art auction market has grown more and more financialized in recent years, it has also grown more and more opaque to nearly everyone except the auction houses. - Artnet
The labels' lawsuit filed in a federal court in Manhattan said the Archive's "Great 78 Project" functions as an "illegal record store" for songs by musicians including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis and Billie Holiday. - Reuters
The progressive marginalisation of the study of music theory and analysis, relentlessly dismissed as “formalism”, deprives music departments of the one thing, other than practical work, that is not undertaken (often more rigorously) by other disciplines. - Times Higher Education Supplement
“Every kid wants to play because of the love of music. But quite often they’ve got that beaten out of them and they’re having to subscribe to a formulaic syllabus. It basically is a brain and heart turn-off.” - The Guardian
I developed tendinitis in my elbows and my knees and neither healed. The pain and muscle spasms from those injuries increased and migrated, eventually meeting up with the pain and muscle-spasms in my back and neck. I developed vertigo, brain fog, and tinnitus. - NewMusicUSA
Selfie-takers in museums epitomise ‘possessive modes of looking’ that are a symptom of a history of art rooted in the conflict between how the art system (museum, art market) ‘alienates’ the work of art, against art’s ‘constituent alterity’, its ‘infinite capacity… to generate experience over time’ – or, in other words, its freedom. - ArtReview
Today’s libraries are a direct legacy of the Roman impulse to transcend practicality and invest arenas of knowledge with a sense of scale akin to that of churches – temples to a different creed – with their imposing porticoes and columns, their elaborate ornaments and staircases, their rows of desks and lofty shelves. - Psyche
As the oddly mismatched mega-companies who currently produce, own, and distribute TV shows and movies fumble to align themselves on basic issues, it has become clear that the only goal these corporations have in common is to gain market power and then exploit it; that is, to monopolize. - The Ankler
