“Central Works, which has been making new plays in Berkeley for 36 years, plans to close at the end of its 2026 season with the retirement of co-directors Gary Graves and Jan Zvaifler.” They tried to find successors, but nobody wanted to work that hard for that little money. - San Francisco Chronicle (Yahoo!)
“The proposed budget (reduces arts spending) from $13.8 million to just about $2 million, eliminating all funds under the city’s two grant-making arms. … The remaining $2 million will essentially keep open the city’s Cultural Affairs Department, whose staff oversee the public art program and grant-making process.” - The San Diego Union-Tribune (MSN)
Suliana Caldwell will plead guilty to one count of wire fraud and pay restitution. She admitted to making repeated unauthorized transfers of city taxpayer money intended for arts funding to her personal PayPal and bank accounts and to falsifying financial documents to hide her theft. - Fresnoland
“The BBC said Wednesday that it plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs to save 10% of its annual budget — £500 million ($677 million) — over the next two years. … The (broadcaster) said earlier this year that it faced ‘substantial financial pressures’ and wanted to cut a tenth of its budget by 2029.” - AP
Among those let go are 20 people from the company's publicity departments, as well as the entire home entertainment and EPK teams. On the digital marketing side, positions at every level, including senior vice president, were eliminated. Layoffs have also occurred throughout the Marvel division due to a reduced production slate. - TheWrap (MSN)
One wing has already been renovated; another is being built; galleries will be renewed and rehung; new retail and dining areas are coming; infrastructure will be improved. And it’s all happening within the museum’s current footprint and while the visitors keep streaming in. - The New York Times
“Axel Springer’s planned £575 million takeover of Telegraph Media Group has been approved by the UK Government. It is still awaiting regulatory approval in Ireland and Austria (due to there being a lower threshold for competition concerns in those countries although there is no expectation of any impact there).” - Press Gazette (UK)
“Handing down a name over generations is a central part of the traditional Japanese artform, … and that ceremony gets celebrated at theaters and special events every few years. Now, the ritual is taking place with the eighth Kikugoro, who is having that honor passed down from his 83-year-old father, the seventh Kikugoro.” - AP
All of a sudden, chefs, lawyers, podcasters, critics – all people with jobs once associated with an off-camera existence – are turning the lens on themselves. Even film director Werner Herzog, a once proud non-social media user, is now sizzling steaks and doing unboxing videos to camera. - The Guardian
“The bill aims to simplify the return of cultural property taken illegally from France’s former colonies, particularly focusing on items taken between 1815 and 1972 — the year UNESCO’s convention for the protection of cultural heritage came into force.” - Euronews
"How do I know this isn't a prank?" the 58-year-old asked when he was told he was the new owner of the 1941 work by the Spanish master. Organisers said more than 120,000 tickets for the prize draw were sold at €100 (£87; $118) each, raising around €11m (£10m; $13m) for Alzheimer's research. - BBC
“Further concentrating marketplace power in the hands of a smaller group of distributors that dictate the terms, windows, scheduling, screen-placement of movies, and access to historic film catalogs will have a real and lasting impact on Main Street and millions of movie fans around the world.” - Los Angeles Times
This book is Caroline Bicks’s account of what happened when King gave her permission to spend a year in his archive, poring over the drafts of five of his most popular novels, including Pet Sematary, The Shining and Carrie. Bicks’s particular aim is to spot what she calls King’s “biblio‑magic” in action. - The Guardian
The accidental shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust, the two (unsuccessful) prosecutions in New Mexico, finishing the film in another state — it all took a huge toll on Baldwin, financially as well as psychologically and physically. - The Hollywood Reporter
If 100 years of data are any indication, then an outsized share of the new recipients work at the most renowned universities in the US. Over time and across fellowships, the high prevalence of winners from well-resourced, high-status institutions can understandably bring to mind Percy Bysshe Shelley’s adage that “the rich have become richer.” - PublicBooks
