Reputation is part of national security, and the U.S. has historically enhanced its reputation by building relationships through cultural tools. - The Conversation
Look to this year’s “Summer Stipends.” These are small grants given to scholars to support new research, and the NEH typically gives out close to 100 such micro-grants each year, at $6,000 a pop. This year, the grant amount has been bumped up to $8,000, but only 18 grants have been approved. - Artnet
Rome was always an enormous shapeshifting laboratory of experiments in governance, administration, and interregional trade. Crucially, the military troubles punctuating the third century taught emperors to move away from the isolated centre of the Italian peninsula and closer to where things actually happened. - History Today
A former director of the Vienna State Ballet and La Scala Ballet after his performing years, Legris was the supreme classicist of his era. Now he’s back home, making a new version of the Léo Delibes ballet Sylvia, using a classical movement style rarely seen in new ballet choreography today. - The New York Times
Psychological studies have long shown how memories can be shaped by cues, doctored images, or repeated misinformation. What AI adds is scale and precision. - 3 Quarks Daily
“The point of all these actions is to chill speech,” Gomez told the small crowd. “We all need to understand what is happening and we need people to speak up and push back.” - Los Angeles Times
This is not a new problem but the TV Academy has not made any changes to the talk or variety categories to address the situation, which comes as late-night is facing its own existential issues. - Deadline
John McWhorter: “Sitting through a three-or-more-hour performance in a language we don’t understand is a peculiar cultural phenomenon, ... and it’s a big part of what keeps opera from reaching more people. ... The composers of yore had their works translated ... because they wanted audiences to understand what they were hearing." - The New York Times
The news of his move to OpenAI felt something like learning that LeBron James was joining the Miami Heat: Jony Ive had become synonymous with Apple’s success, perhaps second only to Jobs. Now, after a period of independence, he was choosing a new team. - The New Yorker
Sales in the genre have electrified the publishing industry, reaching nearly 20 million in 2023 when U.S. book sales overall dipped. While there is no hard data on readership, the audience for romance novels generally is over 80% female. - The Wall Street Journal
Rondeau has been on a voluntary leave since the April 18 incident in which police were called to a United Airlines flight after it landed in Munich from Chicago, following reports that Rondeau had stripped off his clothes after drinking alcohol and taking prescription medication. - The New York Times
“On the Twentynine Palms Highway, a makeshift billboard declares “JTAM” in tall black letters. … Except for that recently erected sign — plus a website, social media presence and a ‘community outreach project’ named Alien Robot Museum — JTAM does not exist. And it may never. The reason is not for lack of funding.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
After a record $3.8 million shortfall on a $32 million budget in fiscal 2023, the Guthrie has made a dramatic turnaround. For fiscal 2024 (which ended last Aug. 31), the company’s deficit on its $29.6 million budget was only $85,578, far lower than the anticipated $1 million gap. - The Minnesota Star Tribune
While the Paris mothership is closed for a five-year renovation, items from its collection will be sent for exhibition at the museum’s satellites in Metz, Málaga, Shanghai — and, beginning in November 2027, a new outpost in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil. (Branches in Brussels and Seoul, and possibly Jersey City, are in development.) - ARTnews
Under Mayor Daniel Lurie’s budget proposal, Grants for the Arts, the San Francisco Arts Commission and the San Francisco Film Commission will operate side-by-side under a new umbrella agency with a single director. No current grants will be affected. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
