Artur Solomonov describes the mood in the Russian theaters in the wake of the invasion as “complete shock . . . the realization that our way of life has ended.” - Stage Raw
The former ABT star, now artistic director of the Australian Ballet, wanted to bring together leading dance companies from all over the country for a festival. That gathering, called DanceX, was to open last September but was foiled by a COVID lockdown. DanceX will happen this October. - The Age (Melbourne)
In January, the Casino di Villa Boncompagni Ludovisi, also known as Villa Aurora, was put up for auction with a floor price of €471 million ($546 million), and nobody bid. This week the mansion went back on the block at a 20% discount (€376 million/$410 million). Still no buyer. - Artnet
WUNC is no. 1 in the ratings for the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill radio market, has $20 million in cash reserves, devoted listeners ready to donate, a growing newsroom, and signals in several other parts of the state. What ambitious new plans can it, and will it, pursue? - The Assembly (North Carolina)
"A district court judge in Florida ruled that the City of Miami Beach had the right to censor a public artwork depicting Raymond Herisse, a Haitian-American man who was killed by Miami Beach police in 2011." The city government, declared the judge, has First Amendment rights of its own. - Artnet
"Vincent Bolloré wields a fearsome agenda-setting power; his outlets, known for adopting the tics and style of Fox News, play an outsize role in directing the national debate. ... Much of the political class recycles, in varying shades, messages that run in a loop on his networks." - The New York Times
"The leading French daily, with 425,000 digital subscribers to date, plans to reach 1 million paying readers in the next two to three years, with a quarter of them reading the (online) English version, Le Monde's chairman said this week." - Bloomberg Quint
After two years' closure, and with both storage/maintenance of the collection and staff salaries desperately underfunded, five of the museum's 13 display rooms have reopened. Employees and volunteers are working to get the impressive collection (e.g., Picasso, Chagall, Dalí, Calder, Botero) back in shape. - The New York Times
The modern “word-cross” appeared for the first time in print in the December 21, 1913 edition of New York World’s FUN Supplement. Section editor Arthur Wynne, trying to fill the Christmas insert, drew inspiration from his native England. - Zocalo Public Square
If all works of literature are haunted by the ideal forms of which they are but imperfect instantiations, then the blank book symbolises the refusal to compromise authorial vision. - Aeon
Is an African museum, designed by an African architect, capable of undoing this level of institutional violence? Can it go beyond a restaging of the artefacts’ abduction? If not for an imperialist agenda, what is the role of the museum in a post-colonial world? - Hyperallergic
One can be forgiven for failing to see any common threads between these two seemingly divergent entities. However, a closer look reveals evidence to the contrary. - WQXR
The regal properties are reporting a “Bridgerton factor” as people enchanted by the baroque interiors and bucolic gardens of the hit show decide to visit its real life landmarks. - The Guardian
“If you define neuroaesthetics as the use of neuroscience to explain art and aesthetic experience, then it is not surprising that neuroaesthetics fails: art just isn’t a phenomenon (neurological or experiential) to be explained by neuroscience, psychology, or any other empirical science.” - Nautilus
Mansiya V.P. was three when her mother took her and her older sister to Bharatanatyam lessons. The family persisted despite opposition from the local mosque committee, and, at 27, she's pursuing a doctorate in Bharatanatyam. Now a Hindu temple has refused to let her dance there because she's Muslim. - BBC
