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Will America’s Polarized Politics Derail Next Year’s 250th Anniversary Celebrations?

Will the occasion underline the country’s divisions, as with Trump's military parade and the No Kings protests? Or can Americans come together over the principles in the Declaration of Independence?  The Bicentennial in 1976, also a time of division after the Vietnam War and Watergate, could offer some clues. - The New York Times

Paris’s Asian Art Museum Sued For “Tibet Erasure”

“Four pro-Tibetan groups in France have filed a legal complaint against Paris’s state-run Musée Guimet, accusing it of attempting to erase Tibet’s cultural identity by renaming its Nepal-Tibet gallery to ‘Himalayan world’ and removing references to ‘Tibetan art.’” - Artnet

Average Ticket Price In London’s West End Up By Nearly One-Quarter

What’s more, the difference between the shows with the highest and lowest average ticket prices is narrower than one year ago. - The Stage

The Last Of The Vatican’s Raphael Rooms Has Now Been Restored

“A decadelong project to clean and restore the largest of the four … spectacularly frescoed reception rooms of the Apostolic Palace … uncovered a novel mural painting technique that the superstar Renaissance painter and architect began but never completed.” - AP

How Sondheim’s Collection Came To The Library Of Congress

The Library announced this week that it has acquired more than 5,000 items from Sondheim's collection, which will be available to the public on July 1. - CBC

In Wartime Ukraine, Shakespeare Is Booming

“A King Lear and two Othellos are in repertoire in major Kyiv theatres; there is also A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the capital, a Hamlet, a Macbeth and a Romeo and Juliet.” And there’s the Ukrainian Shakespeare Festival in Ivano-Frankivsk, which Guardian chief culture writer Charlotte Higgins went to visit. - The Guardian

Cultural Vandalism: Alberta’s Book-Banning Project

“This isn’t about banning books,” Premier Danielle Smith posted on X. “It’s about protecting kids from graphic, sexually explicit content that has no place in a classroom.” (None of the books appear to have been part of any classroom curriculum, nor were students compelled to read them.) - The Walrus

Canada Debates What Qualifies As Canadian Culture

The outcome will shape who gets to tell Canadian stories and what those stories are, and also which ones count as Canadian under the law. This, in turn, will determine who in the film and television industries can access funding, tax credits and visibility on streaming services. - The Conversation

New Project Reveals 700 Years Of Irish History

The Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland, a global academic collaboration led by Trinity College Dublin, deployed historians, computer scientists and other specialists to digitally recreate parts of a vast archive destroyed in Ireland’s civil war. - The Guardian

Why Alicia Graf Mack Left Juilliard To Run The Ailey Company

“I’ve always been aligned with the mission and values of Ailey. So when I heard they were searching for a new artistic director, given all the knowledge and experience I’ve gained, it almost felt like I would be doing myself and the organization a disservice not to try.” - Dance Magazine

Hollywood Takes On AI Copyright Rules In Washington

America’s creators are mounting a campaign to push back on any use of their work without permission or compensation, seeking to head off potential abuses of their intellectual property. - The Wall Street Journal

Director of São Paulo’s Museu Afro Brasil Out After Less Than Two Years

Hélio Menezes is no longer the director of the Museu Afro Brasil, a key São Paulo institution founded by sculptor Emanoel Araújo that is known for its support of Afro-Brazilian artists, who have long been neglected by mainstream institutions in the country. - ARTnews

Warner Music Announces Layoffs, Cuts

In the memo, reviewed by The Hollywood Reporter, Kyncl wrote that WMG is looking to reduce costs by about $300 million to “future-proof” the company and “reinvest in the business,” particularly into the music itself. - The Hollywood Reporter

“Performative Reading” And The Cynical Young’uns Making Fun Of It

“It’s called performative reading not just because someone might be pretending to read, but rather that they want everyone to know they read. The presumption is that they’re performing for passersby, signaling they have the taste and attention span to pick up a physical book instead of putting in AirPods.” - The Guardian

Florida Governor Cuts Funding For Public Radio, TV

 Gov. Ron DeSantis cut nearly $6 million in recurring funding to the state’s public radio and TV stations, one day before the state’s 2025 budget took effect. - Inside Radio

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