“The whistleblower claims that the museum improperly moved funds between various accounts in order to meet severe cash crunches. The whistleblower alleged that a former director was forced out based on trumped-up staff complaints, and that the museum failed to even interview two qualified candidates to replace him before promoting an internal candidate.” - ARTnews
“In 1944 during the German army’s retreat, the 1719 ‘Lauterbach’ Stradivari violin was looted from the Warsaw Museum in Poland. … The violin’s value is estimated at €10 million. … Now, more than 80 years later, notice has been taken of an instrument which may be the looted violin.” - The Strad
“(Mayor Michelle Wu’s) approximately 27% cut leaves the city’s budget for arts and culture with a total of $3,365,057 for fiscal year 2027. While still above pre-pandemic levels, even when adjusted for inflation, this is one of the largest cuts to any city department’s budget.” - Boston Art Review
The move comes almost three months after news broke of a six-figure loan the museum made to Sirén for buying a house; the loan reportedly was never repaid. Under Sirén’s leadership, AKG greatly increased its collection, underwent a $230 million renovation and expansion, and achieved record attendance numbers. - ARTnews
Clarissa Hard argues that, with no hard evidence of serious sexual misconduct ever revealed, the gifted young choreographer should not have been made a total pariah and driven to take his own life. - The Critic (UK)
As expected, Brendan Carr and the FCC on Tuesday unleashed license-renewal hell on The Walt Disney Co. However, with another Jimmy Kimmel brouhaha erupting with Donald Trump and MAGAland, the Josh D’Amaro-led Disney is playing it cool and playing along, at least for now. - Deadline
“’We’ve not identified a way to make (the tax) not annoying,’ said Council President Jamie Dunphy, the architect of the new policy. ‘But we’ve found ways to make it less annoying.’” The proposed change: fewer people paying more money. - Oregon Public Broadcasting
Reviews are now even more crucial than they used to be while ratings have dipped in importance in a world of cannibalized viewing, Jeff Pope told a Broadcasting Press Guild lunch this afternoon in London. - Deadline
"So you could also call me a soft Viking. I tend to stay away from crime, but I do like parallel fifths and parallel octaves, so maybe I’m not as innocent as I’d like to pretend to be." - San Francisco Classical Voice
“The internet is getting worse, fast. The services we rely on, they’re all turning into piles of shit. Worse, the digital is merging with the physical, which means that the same forces that are wrecking our platforms are also wrecking our homes and our cars, the places where we work and shop. - Literary Review of Canada
“Scholars from Trinity College Dublin uncovered the manuscript that contains Caedmon’s Hymn at the National Central Library of Rome. Bede, the medieval theologian revered as the father of English history, recorded the nine-line poem in the eighth century.” - The Guardian
“We’ve had success in blue states that want to protect from book banning at the local level, but these efforts have moved to purple or even red states, to the point of Alaska now moving this forward." - Publishers Weekly
Erwin Bankowski, 50, and Karolina Bankowska, 26, admitted in federal court in Brooklyn to wire fraud conspiracy and misrepresenting Native American–produced goods. The pair, a father and daughter, now face up to 20 years in prison, along with at least $1.9 million in restitution. - ARTnews
Known as the Zimbabwe Bird, it has long been a symbol of national identity, but behind it lies a complex tale of displacement, colonial plunder and restitution. - BBC (MSN)
