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Layoffs Coming At Minnesota Public Radio Following Funding Cuts

“American Public Media Group (MPR’s parent organization) plans to cut 5% to 8% of its 500 staff members over the coming weeks, citing a $6 million budget shortfall driven by state and federal funding cuts.” - The Minnesota Star Tribune

L.A. MOCA Loses Another Director

When Johanna Burton came to MOCA in 2021, the museum was still recovering from the contentious firing of curator Helen Molesworth and resignation of director Philippe Vergne. Burton was to be co-director with Klaus Biesenbach, who instead left for Berlin. Now she herself is headed to the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia. - ARTnews

Chuck Mangione, Smooth Jazz Hitmaker, Dead At 84

His biggest hit, “Feels So Good,” has become so familiar that many people know it without realizing it has a title. He developed a distinctive persona — flugelhorn, long hair, beard, banded fedora — which he cheerfully parodied while playing himself in the animated sitcom King of the Hill. - The Washington Post (MSN)

Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre Has A New Artistic Director

Paolo Santalucia, 35 and a native Torontonian, is a director, playwright, and actor known for both stage and television work. A co-founder of Toronto’s Howland Theatre Company and a graduate of the Soulpepper Academy (the company’s training program for young professionals), he’s currently associate artistic director of Crow’s Theatre in Toronto. - Ludwig Van

US Federal Regulators Approve Merger Of Paramount Global And Skydance

“The stamp of approval from the Federal Communications Commission comes after months of turmoil revolving around Trump’s legal battle with 60 Minutes. … With the specter of the Trump administration potentially blocking the hard-fought deal with Skydance, Paramount earlier this month agreed to pay a $16 million settlement with the president.” - AP

Difference In Arts Funding Between London And North Of England Remains Huge: Study

While the gap has narrowed from that of previous years, the north of England still receives only £28 per capita in arts and culture funding, while London receives £57 per capita. - Manchester Evening News

The Quest For The Ancestor Of All Chinese Typewriters

Adapting an alphabet-based machine to produce the thousands of different brush-stroke characters used in Chinese was a seemingly impossible challenge. But, in the 1930s one Chinese linguist-inventor in Manhattan succeeded. But only one of his typewriters was ever made, and that one was feared lost. - The New York Times

The Essentialness Of The Traditional Arts Review

Reviews are rooted in the most fundamental unit of the art business—the personal encounter with individual works (or exhibits of many works)—and in the economic implications of that encounter. The specificity of the review is both aesthetic and social. - The New Yorker

France’s Culture Minister To Go On Trial For Corruption

Rachida Dati, 59, who has publicly outlined her ambition to become mayor of Paris in 2026, was charged in 2019 on suspicions she lobbied for the car-making group, Renault-Nissan, while an MEP, which is the only directly elected body of the European Union. Dati has denied the allegations. - ARTnews

“Math For Musicians” And “Exercise For Engineers”: Change Ringing In North America

People in chilly church towers pulling on ropes attached to sets of thousand-pound bells — that's usually considered (by those who even know the practice exists) a pastime for geeky Brits. But there are some 50 towers in the U.S. and Canada where devoted change ringers keep the "mathy-musical sport" alive. - Early Music America

US Senator Proposes Anti Money-Laundering Bill For Art

The bill—titled the Art Market Integrity Act—would amend the Bank Secrecy Act to require art dealers and auction houses to comply with anti-money-laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing regulations. - ARTnews

One Of LACMA’s Greatest Assets Has Finally Been Pulled Out Of Storage And Put On Display

The museum’s collection of Buddhist painting and sculptures includes some of the greatest work in all of its holdings, writes Christopher Knight. It hasn’t been on view for the people of Los Angeles County for going on a decade, and right now it’s only there for a year. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

Benedict Cumberbatch: Hollywood’s Epic Waste Problem

“It’s a grossly wasteful industry. Think about set builds that aren’t recycled, think about transport, think about food, think about housing, but also light and energy. The amount of wattage you need to create daylight and consistent light in a studio environment. It’s a lot of energy.” - The Guardian

Arvo Part At 90

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Pärt has found a way to speak across boundaries of culture, creed and generation. In the world of contemporary classical music, where complexity and empty virtuosity often dominate, Pärt stands apart. - The Guardian

Are We Now Defining Ourselves By Who/What We Hate?

Descartes had a famous dictum about the constitutive powers of the thinking self: I think therefore I am. Could it be that, today, I hate, therefore I am? - The New York Times

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