Stories

Two Years After UArts Collapsed, Its Endowment Is Still Tied Up In Court

“Many parties, including colleges that accepted UArts students and a charitable trust that had funded more than half of the endowment, have been vying for the money in court.” - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

Study: Participating In The Arts Slows Biological Aging

The findings are the first to show that both participating in arts activities and attending events, such as viewing an exhibition, lead to people staying biologically younger. - The Guardian

Will AI Make College Unnecessary?

The pressures on higher education seem extraordinary, even to someone like me, who is generally convinced that real change is rare, perhaps especially when it comes to America’s tried-and-tested system for replicating its élites. - The New Yorker

Report: Humanities Department Chairs Are Pessimistic About The Field’s Future

Humanities chairs—anxious about increasing political interference, declining enrollments and students’ skepticism toward the value of humanities degrees—are largely pessimistic about the future of their departments, according to a new report from the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. - InsideHigherEd

Critic Rex Reed, 87

“Reed’s reviews, as well as his stylishly written profiles of Hollywood and Broadway stars …, moved beyond the bland and laudatory, offering candid and penetrating portraits of artists and celebrities that stand out in an era where A-listers are (more protected). … His writing often moved beyond the incisive into the offensive.” - Variety

Theatre Cinemacasts And Livestreaming Don’t Discourage In-Person Attendance: Study

“Indigo’s report (for Britain’s National Theatre) states that ‘there is very little evidence that filmed theatre reduces in-person attendance of theatre overall’ and that 93% of survey respondents who saw at least one filmed theatre production in the cinema or via streaming also attended a performance in person.” - The Guardian

Chicago Sinfonietta’s “Pause” In Activities Blindsided Some Of Its Musicians

“The approximately 60 instrumentalists had a four-year contract with the orchestra that was due to end on Aug. 31, and they do not know if they will be re-hired. Beyond taking a financial hit, some in the group say they are concerned about the direction of the orchestra.” - WBEZ (Chicago)

The City Where The Arts Are Funded By Cigarette Taxes

“Cuyahoga County, home to Cleveland, is thought to be the only place in the country where a tax on cigarettes goes to arts organizations. … The innovative model has been so successful, raising money by making cigarettes more expensive, that it threatened its own demise.” - The New York Times

What Academics Found When They Examined A Guaranteed-Basic-Income-For-Artists Program

“As researchers who study artists, cultural work and public policy, we evaluated this (New York State) program to see whether it achieved its stated goals. Our main finding was simple: Artists did not stop working. Instead, they changed the kind of work they did.” - The Conversation

Visitors Get A Rare Closeup Look At Ceiling Murals By Klimt

The 10 paintings were done by the young Gustav Klimt and his brother at Vienna’s Burgtheater from 1886-1888. They’re currently getting a cleaning, and while the scaffolding is up, the theater is allowing some visitors to climb up and get a closer view. - AP

Dudamel Takes The New York Philharmonic Uptown To Play Salsa

As part of the lead-in to his formal assumption of the music director title, the Dude got the Phil together with the Spanish Harlem Orchestra to play both salsa-influenced classical compositions and genuine salsa. The program was a hit, both at Lincoln Center and 100 blocks uptown in Washington Heights. - The New York Times

Three Wildly Different Accounts On Selling Art

Three recently published books give us some perspective on the selling of art: a long-view history going back to the Middle Ages; a memoir by a successful contemporary maker; and a wistful biography of a relationship between two talented 20th-century artists who struggled to find their place commercially. - The New York Times

My Year Of Obsessive Listening To Keith Jarrett

By mid-October, I finally had something close to a single aphorism about Jarrett, an inversion of a half-remembered Wordsworth definition of the vocation of a poet. - The Walrus

LA’s Family Businesses That Built The Film Industry Are Dying

From florists to prop rentals to catering and beyond, production services and craft businesses are the hub and spoke of L.A.’s film and TV industry. But many of these businesses — some of which have been family-operated for generations — are struggling to weather a post-pandemic slump in film activity. - Los Angeles Times

Report: Museums Have Major Building Issues

Roughly 85 percent of museums across the country are dealing with deferred maintenance or major repair needs. Even more concerning, about 77 percent say they have at least one structural issue that could put their collections at risk. - ARTnews

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