Unveiled in February, this year’s CFD will distribute a new record of $59.3 million—north of $1 million more than the previous record—in grants to over a thousand non-profits across the boroughs. Recipients span a wide breadth of cultural, arts, and historical organizations, from marquee NPOs to smaller, more specialized outfits. - BKMag
The Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Milwaukee Repertory Theater each received a gift of $5 million from philanthropists Ellen and Joe Checota, the institutions announced Monday. - WPR
Yes, there have certainly been cases of what one might describe as method acting, but being intoxicated on set is never good for actors who want to control their own performances, and these days especially it’s frowned on. Here’s how some actors handle the challenges of playing a character who’s sozzled. - The Guardian
Four works at The National Gallery - Alexandros Soutsos Museum in Athens were vandalised earlier this week, allegedly by a Greek member of parliament who described the contemporary pieces as “blasphemous” to Christianity. - The Art Newspaper
For most poets, pandemics could provide a context for poems, but rarely became a focus. A tome of significant poems about pandemics would only be achievable with considerable barrel-scraping – perhaps excluding poetry about AIDS, which of course devastated some communities significantly more than others. - The Conversation
The need for responsible AI approaches is becoming increasingly urgent as artists deal with serious concerns regarding copyright infringement and job security. In the UK, the creative industries are worth £126 billion, employing 2.4 million people in 2022. - The Conversation
“The essence of drag is its exaggeration of gender stereotypes in a theatrical style that gives the performer permission to say outrageous, often offensive things. ... That is also the definition of Trump’s style: … performing with hypermasculine bravado in a space where one can’t quite take him seriously.” - The Washington Post (MSN)
Armed with a warrant, Fort Worth police reportedly seized five photos from the exhibit and put them under lock and key—all because a few Republican officials and pearl-clutching Christian activists had taken offense. - The New Republic
That it’s experimenting with writing could suggest OpenAI feels its latest generation of models vastly improve on the wordsmithing front. Historically, AI hasn’t proven to be an especially talented essayist. - TechCrunch
“Over the decades, Chicago’s lasting footprint on Broadway has helped make Fosse’s style of dance instantly recognizable. With its sly head tilts, specific hand gestures, turned-in feet, and pinpoint isolations, the choreography emits a sexy coolness that is frequently emulated, both on Broadway and well beyond.” - Dance Magazine
“At the Library of Congress, his employer for 44 years, he ... created a jazz film series, solicited and catalogued collections of recordings and papers of jazz greats, hosted concerts and curated a huge collection that barely existed when he arrived as an intern in 1979.” - The Washington Post (MSN)
Esteban Batallán was lured away from the Chicago Symphony’s famous brass section, and he decided to go back. He describes the reason for his departure from Philadelphia as an artistic difference, but, from what he describes, the issue may have been the extent of his authority. - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
Erik af Klint, the artist’s great-grandnephew and the current chairman of her foundation, wants to see her work removed from museum exhibitions and installed in a private temple open only to “spiritual seekers.” The rest of the foundation’s trustees are very much opposed. - Artnet
Five years after the lethal coronavirus arrived, “the recovery has been uneven, but there are signs that audiences are finally coming back. Here’s a snapshot of where things stand.” - The New York Times
“For the first time in five years, Minnesota’s largest theater will produce a work in its Dowling Studio, activating its ninth-floor third stage that has been dark for professional shows since the coronavirus shutdown.” - The Minnesota Star Tribune
