The Oakland City Council passed a budget on June 11 that eliminated its Cultural Affairs Manager position, citing budgetary concerns. But critics say money-saving justifications haven't been made in good faith. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
“Billed as a ‘financial trust fall,’ the project” — a sculpture of an infant, built to be taken apart and divided, which the collective MSCHF has titled King Solomon’s Baby — “invites collectors to take the plunge (and buy a piece), hoping others will follow suit in a reverse pyramid scheme that’s artfully self-aware.” - ARTnews
As ancient civilisations began to need more reliable timekeeping mechanisms, the technology took an extraordinary leap forward with the advent of dependable water clocks, which would remain the best technology available for the next 1,800 years. - Aeon
These decades-old guidelines determine the temperature and relative humidity at which museums maintain their collections, but implementing them comes with high energy costs and carbon footprints. - The Art Newspaper
The “slow-mo effect,” is retrospective, a trick of memory. Still, it indicates a remarkable theatricality, a cinematic flair, on the part of our brains. “We might experience almost everything in some form of slow motion if we thought that we were always dying." - The New Republic
“Omar, (an) Afghan minesweeper tasked with protecting Green Berets, … was allegedly tracked down from a scene in Retrograde. … The estate accused the documentary’s producers of exploiting Omar’s identity for ‘commercial gain while knowingly placing him in grave danger’.” The producers say they’re protected by the First Amendment. - The Hollywood Reporter
The surge comes as many young adults grapple with fears about the impacts of artificial intelligence, a sense of internet overload and a desire to reconnect with the physical world. - Gothamist
Provisions in the new law raise unsettling questions about how the nonprofit world will be affected — and the answers may not be known for months or years. - Chronicle of Philanthropy
Ten nominees have been chosen to meet this year’s theme of “rooted in culture”, which seeks to highlight how trees inspire creative minds and become ingrained in the cultural landscape. - The Guardian
“Last year, more tourists visited Kyoto than Barcelona, Amsterdam, or even Paris. … (It's a) conundrum with no obvious solutions. Tokyo and Osaka are big enough to soak up tourists the same way New York and London can, but Kyoto is hemmed in by mountains, which keeps the city from expanding.” - New York Magazine
“Because the policies that do exist vary so widely, dancers can be impacted in different ways depending on which company they’re a part of; whether they’re freelancers or full-time; and, in some cases, what their role is within the company.” - Elle
The cache of papers, dating from the 15th through the 19th centuries, was stolen from the National Archives of the Netherlands in 2015. Among the recovered papers are archives from the early days of the world’s first multinational corporation, the Dutch East India Company. - France 24
“The problem started with Facebook pivoting away from the news in 2022, and has accelerated in recent months as Google makes seemingly corrosive changes to its search algorithm while rolling out the innovation that will one day replace traditional search results: AI summaries.” - New York Magazine (MSN)
“How much panic over kids’ literacy is warranted? Scholars who study the subject, concerned English professors, and experts in the ‘kids these days’ phenomenon told me that the literacy landscape is a lot more nuanced than either of my gut impulses would have led me to believe.” - Vox
“The former prime minister Liz Truss and a hard-right lobby group have been accused of stoking culture wars after reportedly writing a letter claiming they would take legal action over alleged ‘covert’ plans to return the Parthenon marbles to Greece.” - The Guardian
