“Despite a drop in cigarette sales in Cuyahoga County in the first quarter of this year, tax revenue is up, creating more funding for Cuyahoga Arts & Culture” — thanks to the cigarette-tax increase from 30 cents to 70 cents per pack. But this doesn’t mean that grants will double. - Ideastream Public Media (Cleveland)
“Since its founding in 1978 …, Links has been a cornerstone of the city’s dance scene, often giving a home to experimental new works that pushed the envelope, both artistically and politically. Executive Director SK Kerastas said Thursday that the venue will continue with performances scheduled through June.” - WBEZ (Chicago)
“(Carlos) Basualdo, 60, comes to Dallas from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where he rose through the ranks over 20 years to deputy director and chief curator. He succeeds Jeremy Strick, the Nasher’s longtime director who retired last June.” - KERA (Dallas)
Known for his work at The Village Voice and The Atlantic as well as for an influential annual critics poll, he, “more than many of his contemporaries, peered beyond the given framework of any musical subject, keen to consider the context, both cultural and commercial.” - NPR
“A scintillating principal dancer for the Paris Opera and New York City ballet companies, (he) took an unexpected leap by taking on yet another career-defining role, as artistic director of a fledgling program in Charlotte that he would help to massively transform over two decades” with his wife, Patricia McBride. - The Charlotte Observer
A visit to the headquarters of Just Born Quality Confections in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where some two billion Peeps are made each year (along with Hot Tamales, Mike and Ike, and Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews). - The Philadelphia Inquirer
Since their return in 2021, the Taliban have waged a war on music, claiming that it causes “moral corruption”. According to figures from its own Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, the group has destroyed more than 21,000 musical instruments over the past year. - Index On Censorship
None of the studios, production companies or streamers approached by Deadline who have films and TV series filming in Hungary are commenting, with current productions staying put in the Central European country and no filming or pre-production impacted by the ongoing unrest there.- Deadline
“More than 100 dancers auditioned for just 21 spots on the New York Liberty’s cheerleading team, the Timeless Torches. Founded in 2005, less than a decade after the creation of the WNBA, the Timeless Torches are a co-ed dance group in which every member is at least 40 years old.” - Gothamist
Today, lessons from the introduction of TV demonstrate how the creative industries have navigated the introduction of new technology. And could offer some comfort to those who fear that artificial intelligence (AI) technology could be a death knell for the creative industries. - The Conversation
Both Europe’s most right-wing nation and its second hottest destination for international shoots, Hungary has shocked the world with its recent ban on LGBTQ+ public events. But Hollywood is not yet ready to give up on the country’s generous tax incentives. - Variety
There’s a cost to this beyond the tourist dollars and economic impacts others will analyse. It’s the great silencing of a cultural conversation once led by America, rooted in values of social freedom and personal liberty that influenced the imagination of the world. - The Guardian
The rough economic times caused by the 2008 financial crisis and 2020 COVID shutdown were hard on the industry, but back then, at least, market penetration and consumer loyalty were solid. But now Hollywood is reeling from major changes in its business, and that’s before any economic instability. - The Hollywood Reporter
“This is happening faster than… our society, our democracy, our laws will address, and there’s lots of implications. That’s why it’s underhyped – people do not understand what happens when you have intelligence at this level which is largely free.” - Music Business World
