On 9 June, the Harvard Education Publishing Group, the journal’s publisher, abruptly canceled the release. In an email to the issue’s contributors, the publisher cited “a number of complex issues”, shocking authors and editors alike, the Guardian has learned. - The Guardian
Opinions differ over whether Trump or any president could make the NEA (or NEH) cease to exist without an act of Congress, but if that happens, it’s clear that smaller, less wealthy places will be the ones most affected. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
Yes, the photographer still best known for the 1987 image of a crucifix in a jar of urine that made him one of the NEA Four is now suggesting a mausoleum-like monument to Donald Trump as the official U.S. contribution to next summer’s Biennale. - Artnet
The donor: 88-year-old Klaus-Michael Kühne. His family’s company, Kühne + Nagel, is one of the world’s largest logistics firms, and collaborated with the Nazi regime to transport goods stolen from Jews during World War II. So the project has become controversial, with some accusing Kühne of “artwashing” his family legacy. - The New York Times
“Paramount agreed to buy the global streaming rights (to) South Park (for) the company's digital service, Paramount+, for the first time in the U.S. … The (five-year) deal with Trey Parker and Matt Stone, through their Park County production company, values the global streaming rights at $300 million a year.” - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
Prosecutors allege that Rachida Dati, who was a Member of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2019, accepted €900,000 in lawyer’s fees between 2010 and 2012 from a Netherlands-based subsidiary of Renault-Nissan — and that she either didn’t really work for the auto manufacturer or illegally lobbied for it while an MEP. - France 24
“’Continued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States,’ State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement. (She) Bruce accused the organization of platforming ‘divisive social and cultural causes’.” The withdrawal is effective at the end of 2026. - ARTnews
The notorious banana-duct-taped-to-a-wall, titled Comedian, debuted in 2019 at Art Basel Miami Beach, where a visitor walked into the gallery and ate the fruit. That's happened three times since, most recently last week at the Pompidou-Metz. Cattelan's complaint is that the guy didn't eat the banana peel and duct tape. - France 24
The report notes that "programmes about the arts, international issues, religion and belief were not readily available, prominent or discoverable, particularly on the platforms operated by commercial public service broadcasters". - The Stage
Mikhail Fokine’s idea for a ballet on the Greek myth was summarily rejected at Russia's Imperial Ballet. Sergei Diaghilev, however, was happy to take the project at his new Ballets Russes, and he hired Leon Bakst to design sets and costumes and Maurice Ravel to compose the music. Then the problems began. - Bachtrack
“We’re in an uncertain fiscal environment for state governments overall, but it is encouraging to see that 29 states increased their funding for their arts agencies. Overall, we can say that state legislatures around the country are sustaining their investment in the arts.” - The Art Newspaper
UMG and Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square have an agreement that Pershing Square can request UMG to list in the U.S. if it sells at least $500 million in stock as part of the offering. - The Wall Street Journal
St. George’s Guildhall, located in the Norfolk town of King’s Lynn and dating from 1445, and the surrounding buildings and courtyards are to undergo a £30.5 million restoration and development. The venue’s original stage floor, on which Shakespeare is believed to have once performed, was uncovered earlier this year. - BBC (MSN)
