"There’s also been a noticeable uptick in conversations among shoppers about the general plight of federal workers and the precarity of government employment these days.” - Publishers Weekly
Maurizio Cattelan’s satirical piece America, a fully functioning 18-karat gold toilet, was ripped from the plumbing and stolen from an exhibition in England in 2019. With security video and interviews with staffers at the venue, Blenheim Palace, the BBC has a report on how the theft happened. - BBC
In domains where I have strong opinions, I spend a lot of time confidently arguing for those opinions and criticising views I think are mistaken. I spend much less time contemplating the possibility I’m deeply mistaken. Even when people tell me I’m wrong—a common occurrence. - Conspicuous Cognition
It’s become an issue in the opera world, leading to directors and designers wrestling intensely with the question of how to both preserve the opera without engaging in its more troublesome stereotyping. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agreed, opens new tab with the U.S. Copyright Office that an image created by Stephen Thaler's AI system "DABUS" was not entitled to copyright protection, and that only works with human authors can be copyrighted. - Reuters
“Founded in 1989 by ABBA's Stig Anderson, the Polar Music Prize is an annual award, usually given to one contemporary and one classical musician. Each laureate receives 1 million Swedish krona (roughly €91,000 or $98,000).” This is only the second time it has gone to three recipients. - Euronews
Maria Manuela Goyanes is heading to New York’s Lincoln Center Theater, where she will be artistic director of LCT3, a black-box space devoted to developing new work, as well as a producer on other projects across the organization. - Washington Post
The RIAA reported that U.S. recorded revenue grew to $17.7 billion, an all-time high, while vinyl sales stayed strong, growing to $1.4 billion in 2024. But this year’s report confirms that streaming growth is slowing, down to just 3 percent compared to 8 percent a year ago. - The Hollywood Reporter
As the rules and criteria for grants have abruptly changed, many organizations in Philadelphia are taking a watch-and-wait stance, some, like the Black-founded-and-run Philadanco, more nervously than others, like the Philadelphia Museum of Art. One group has decided, for now, not even to apply for NEA grant money. - WHYY (Philadelphia)
Scientists are finding experimental evidence that supports what Edison and Dalí knew all along — that the transition between wakefulness and sleep is a portal for creative thought. - Washington Post
Authorities say that Schiff defrauded clients of her art advisory business out of roughly $6.5 million in connection with the purchase and sale of about 55 artworks. - Artnet
AI’s objective analysis has thrown a wrench into this traditional hierarchy. If an algorithm can determine the authorship of an artwork with statistical probability, where does that leave the old-guard art historians whose reputations have been built on their subjective expertise? - Wired
“Jury Games (is) one of several immersive theater productions that are taking jury service … and repackaging it as entertainment. Similar experiences will be popping up in cities around the world this year, including The Jury Experience in … North America and Europe, and Murder Trial Tonight, touring Britain.” - The New York Times
“Mayor Steven Meiner introduced a resolution last week describing the film No Other Land as antisemitic, but he withdrew it during Wednesday’s commission meeting after five of the six city commissioners opposed the proposal. … No Other Land opened earlier this month at O Cinema, located at the Miami Beach Historic City Hall.” - AP
