Following the lead of the British group Just Stop Oil, two young protesters from the organization Ultima Generazione (Final Generation) glued their hands to the glass covering protecting Botticelli's Primavera at the Uffizi in Florence as a third held a banner saying "Ultima Generazione No Gas No Carbone." - The Guardian
"Archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem say they have made numerous discoveries, including an ornate first-century villa with its own ritual bath, after a project began to increase access for disabled people to Jerusalem’s Western Wall." - AP
"Susan V. Booth, a former Goodman literary manager and currently artistic director of the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, will be the new artistic director of Chicago's most prestigious theater company. Booth, 59, will replace Robert Falls, who ... (is) stepping down after 35 years in the job." - MSN (Chicago Tribune)
Over a five-decade career in theater, film, and television, he played a wide variety of men who were tough in one way or another, from Mafia boss Paul Cicero in Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas to Henry Kissinger in Oliver Stone's Nixon. - Variety
Many in France are concerned that broadcasters will now rely on a government grant from VAT receipts instead of a tax levied on households. They also fear that the amount could be cut in times of economic crisis or if a far-right candidate is elected as president. - Variety
What makes the Patterson the best new theater I’ve seen in years is the clear prioritization of the theater itself, which sits like a treasured heirloom in a custom case. The silence and the dark are part of that, creating a plush space that is paradoxically full of emptiness. - The New York Times
They provide an entry point for film enthusiasts to appreciate the power of a live orchestra, which can enhance the emotion and excitement of the moviegoing experience tremendously. And they’re significant revenue generators. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
For less-privileged others, wellness is an unattainable luxury, gatekept by racism, ableism and fatphobia, and thus cordoned off from those who need it most, e.g. the poor, workers, queer and trans folks, and people of color. - Washington Post
Olivia Rodrigo’s brilliance lies in her use of TikTok as a tool to present her celebrity image as authentic to a young, global audience. Her use of social media self-branding to remix already existing ideas, sounds and texts in fresh, new ways is what makes her and other young artists and creators shine. - The Conversation
Authorship as we know it — that is, singular, capital-A Authority — will become narratively obsolete. It won’t die, or disappear, but merely get integrated into a massive hive mind, a great narrative-making machine (“The newspaper is the sea; literature flows into it at will”). - LA Review of Books
In Adorno’s stricken 20th century, ‘any gaiety in art’ implied ‘an avoidance of the pain of history’. Good cheer had withered into a fake fix peddled by self-improvement merchants, ‘an affective tool that can reconcile you to drudgery.’ - The Spectator
As anyone who has attended concerts or stage performances over the past year can tell you, digital programs are increasingly sprouting up as the heir apparent to the printed programs we’ve come to know and love. - Washington Post
There is a breed of Homo sapiens that will walk inside, take a deep breath, and say, “Mmm, I just love the smell of old books.” They are to be got rid of as quickly as possible, with whatever violence it takes. - The New York Times
Though the publishing industry would never condone book banning, a subtler form of repression is taking place in the literary world, restricting intellectual and artistic expression from behind closed doors, and often defending these restrictions with thoughtful-sounding rationales. - The New York Times
The director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet says it's because dancers leaving the academy haven't spent as much time training with each other as they did before COVID - and he claims they're just not ready for complex ballets. - The Stage (UK)
