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Canada’s National Gallery Lays Off Staff As Outside Consultant Makes More Than CEO

The National Gallery of Canada’s interim chief operating officer and human resources director is being paid annual fees potentially worth up to a third more than its next chief executive and director. - ARTnews

An Intriguing Business Model For Presenting Concerts In London

Noisenights are run via a crowdfunding model—events are announced, artists and venues secured, and when audience members buy tickets, they are helping to create a fully-funded event. Each of the 17 noisenights so far has sold out. - Van

Banned From Schools, Afghan Girls And Women Go Online

There were 40 Afghan female students before the Taliban’s takeover back in mid-August 2021. Now there are 382 girls at Rumi Academy amid increasing Taliban restrictions on girls and women. They range in age from 13 to 25. - Toronto Star

Professional Dance As Pure Silliness

"(With performers) wearing colourful inflated suits and roaming across streets, parks and city centres, La Grande Phrase (The Big Phrase) is a dance-work series by Montpellier-based Campagnie Didier Théron that explores ways to upend stereotypes of what a dancer should look like or do." - ArtsHub (Australia)

Australian Arts Institutions In Funding Crisis

“We’re not start-ups. We have massive long-term responsibilities. And for that, we really need to have sustainable long-term funding, rather than the short-term injections.” - The Age

Decorating Deities: How A Hindu Temple Artist Does His Work

The idols themselves are typically made of plain stone or metal alloy, but part of Hindu worship is adorning the statues with clothing, flowers, jewels, and, sometimes, even weapons. Here's a profile of a former computer scientist in Chennai who gave up his career to follow his calling. - AP

Is Asking Smart Questions Actually Kinda Dumb?

Smart Questions are, typically, kind of dumb. And, just as typical, questions that might initially seem dumb or underinformed, or downright unintelligent, are the smartest way to learn stuff if you’re a journalist, an academic, or anybody else. - The Atlantic

A Book Critic Defends Prince Harry’s Memoir As Literature

Laura Miller: "At its best, (Spare) reads like one of those popular late-1990s novels about British singletons blundering their way out of solipsistic immaturity into self-awareness and true love: if not quite Bridget Jones's Diary, certainly High Fidelity or About a Boy." - Slate

The Ridiculousness Of Trying To Pick Oscar Nominees (And Winners)

Those voters can never quite decide how much heed to pay to a movie’s popularity or accessibility. That’s how you wind up with absurd best picture races like the one in 2010 between “The Hurt Locker” and “Avatar.” (“The Hurt Locker” won.) - The New York Times

Film Festivals These Days Are Treating Controversial Movies As Radioactive

"For many in the indie film world, the drama surrounding Jihad Rehab (now titled The UnRedacted) marks a new status quo. ... (There's)  a new, unspoken modus operandi in which festivals — once the bastion of provocative, button-pushing fare — are desperate to avoid controversy and the wrath of any identity-focused Twitter mob." - Variety

28 States Have Banned TikTok From State Devices. Users Are Rolling Their Eyes

Some tech experts argue that the sudden explosion of the bans, coupled with doubts over TikTok’s actual harm, is more a reflection of government groupthink — and an overreaction to an app they don’t entirely understand. - Washington Post

“A Justin Peck Ballet Doesn’t Look Like Anything Else”

"He is mathematical like Balanchine, but there's more of a lightness, an everyday quality that feels playful, even when the steps are technically arduous. … In honor of this peak Peck moment, we asked Peck and his collaborators to decode his artistic tics." - New York Magazine

Keeping Aztec Sacred Dance Alive In Los Angeles

"Twenty-two Indigenous dancers move as one in a circle with a man dancing in the middle. They call him 'el general.' Lazaro Arvizu has dedicated his life to promoting Danza Azteca, a spiritual Indigenous tradition from Mexico, in Los Angeles for more than four decades." - Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)

UNESCO Is Training Law Enforcement To Spot And Intercept Looted Ukrainian Art

"The United Nations cultural organization is training law enforcement and judiciary officials from countries on Ukraine’s western borders, seeking to prevent the trafficking of looted cultural objects from Ukraine amid Russia’s war against its neighbor." - AP

New York City’s PBS TV Station Is Buying A Radio Station On Long Island

WNET, one of the flagships of the entire PBS system, will pay $100,000 for WEER, an FM station in Montauk on the eastern tip of Long Island. The WNET Group already owns WLIW television and radio, the established PBS and NPR affiliates on Long Island. (sixth item) - Inside Radio

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