Stories

Zurich Transfers Ownership Of All Its Benin Bronzes To Nigeria

Two of the 11 pieces have been sent back to Nigeria; the other nine will remain at Zurich’s Museum Rietberg on loan. - ARTnews

Brooklyn Museum Plans New $13 Million Galleries For African Art

“The institution’s new Arts of Africa galleries, … a 6,400-square-foot home for its 4,500-piece African art collection, … will open in Fall 2027, presenting 300 African artworks dating from antiquity through today, installed throughout the museum’s third floor.” - Artnet

“A Fiasco And A Miracle”: An Oral History Of The COVID Oscars In 2021

“It’s the story of an awards season unlike any other — one that stretched over 14 months and came to an end in, of all places, a train station in downtown L.A., with a ceremony that many felt went off the rails, even as its very occurrence was something of a miracle.” - The Hollywood Reporter

Using Tango As Therapy For Parkinson’s Patients In (Where Else?) Buenos Aires

“Once a week, about a dozen patients come to Ramos Mejía Hospital to dance — a session that uses the movements of tango to help address issues of balance, stiffness and coordination. The goal is to give them approaches to movement that they can use in their daily lives.” - The New York Times

Report: Most Galleries Are Now Using AI

According to the AI in Galleries report by the art industry network First Thursday, 84 percent of galleries surveyed say they are using AI tools in their daily work. Yet only 8 percent have a formal policy governing how those tools should be used. - ARTnews

Is Time Just Something We Made Up?

An emerging scientific picture is that such “clock time” isn’t a standalone, physical phenomenon at all. It’s a mathematical tool or book-keeping device – useful for coordinating our interactions, but with no independent existence of its own. - The Guardian

Dance Competitions Are Thriving. It’s Brutal

Dance competitions offer significant business opportunities. Yet visible profitability can invariably lead to exploitation. Is there a danger that competitions are at risk of becoming an easy way to make a fast buck? - The Stage

Chile’s New Conservative President Cuts Culture Budget, Avoids Cultural Policy

Reversing the pro-culture stances of his predecessor, left-leaning former president Gabriel Boric, new president José Antonio Kast has ordered a 3% reduction of the culture ministry’s budget. What’s more, his government has no stated cultural policy of any kind. - The Art Newspaper

Why AI Can’t Write Well

What I learned is that modern LLMs are built in a way that is antagonistic to great writing; they are engineered to be rule-following teacher’s pets that always have the right answer in hand. - The Atlantic

How Should Schools Teach In A Post-Literate Society?

If they are to survive America’s post-literate era and serve society in the future, colleges need to invest in programs that answer the question, “Why read?” They must also design courses where the techniques of close reading are taught. - The Hill

Is Dance’s Obsession With Feet Discriminatory?

The industry still has an obsession with “perfect” feet. High arches have traditionally been praised in ballet, and some dancers today use farches (fake arches), which give the illusion that your foot is more bendy than it is. - The Guardian

The “Turandot” Problem — Can A New Ending By Asian-Americans Solve It?

Puccini died without finishing the opera, and the standard completion by Franco Alfano is widely considered unsatisfactory. Not to mention, of course, that the opera is an Orientalist fantasy. So Washington National Opera commissioned a new completion (plus editing of the original libretto) by two Asian-American artists. - The New York Times

New York Theatre Settles Case Of “Ticket Discrimination”

Theaters have experimented with “Black Out” nights intended to attract patrons of color. At issue in the lawsuit was whether a discount offered as part of the Playwrights event was discriminatory. - The New York Times

The Movie Industry Has Been Leaving California. So What Are State Leaders Doing About It?

Los Angeles County lost more than 42,000 entertainment jobs from 2022 to 2024; and Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery made just 15 theatrical movies combined that filmed in the country over the last two years. - The Hollywood Reporter

A Major Chinese Tech Hub Now Wants To Be A Major Culture Hub

Though it has long been one of the country’s most successful technology hubs, Shenzhen has always been on the margins of the global cultural map. Now it is trying to shed its reputation as a “cultural desert” and claim a place in Asia’s increasingly active art scene. - Artnet

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