“Terri Lesley was fired as the library system director in northeastern Wyoming’s Campbell County in 2023, two years into the dispute … over books with sexual content and LGBTQ+ themes that some people complained were inappropriate for youngsters and sought their removal from youth shelves … at the library in Gillette.” - AP
The backlash has grabbed far more attention than the product itself, so I wondered: How does Avi Schiffmann, the 22-year-old founder and CEO of Friend, feel about being the most despised tech founder in America’s largest city? - The Atlantic
High-engagement, AI-generated posts on Reddit are an example of what is known as “AI slop” – cheap, low-quality AI-generated content, created and shared by anyone from low-level influencers to coordinated political influence operations. Estimates suggest that over half of longer English-language posts on LinkedIn are written by AI. - The Conversation
A group of independent music venues in Chicago have come together to protest the building of Lincoln Yards, a $5 billion new development on the city's North side, which is set to include three to five new concert halls run by Live Nation. - Pitchfork
In a move to “thoroughly reform the landscape” and achieve a “more logical distribution” of visual art there, the regional government of Flanders in Belgium will transfer the collection of the museum (known as M HKA) to what will become the Flemish Museum of Contemporary and Current Art in Ghent. - ARTnews
“From the beginning, Clinée Hedspeth’s tenure was marked by turmoil. Eighteen percent of the department turned over in her first six months. … Before reaching her year anniversary, Hedspeth faced bullying accusations from several staffers. By spring, many artists were openly calling on Mayor Brandon Johnson to address the dysfunction.” - WBEZ (Chicago)
“More than 100 works of Austrian Expressionism worth ‘well over’ $60 million are being gifted to Los Angeles County Museum of Art by the family of Otto Kallir, a renowned art dealer who immigrated to America in 1938 after the German Reich annexed Austria.” - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
Actors’ Equity members have already voted to authorize a strike; American Federation of Musicians members are close to authorizing one. Box office revenue has hit an all-time high, and performers believe they deserve a piece of it; producers say new musicals have been failing at a shockingly high rate. - The New York Times
“James Meena, former principal conductor and artistic director for (the Charlotte-based company), said he took to Facebook to refute ‘unsubstantiated rumors’ by (board members and staffers) at the opera company that he stole money from the group and that artists weren’t paid because of that.” - The Charlotte Observer (Yahoo!)
Among the arts folks who won this year’s $800,000 no-strings grants are playwright Heather Christian, photographers Tonika Lewis Johnson and Matt Black, artist/filmmakers Garrett Bradley and Tuan Andrew Nguyen, artist/curator Gala Porras-Kim, composer Craig Taborn, author Tommy Orange, cartographer Margaret Wickens Pearce, and traditional Wabanaki basket weaver Jeremy Frey. - NPR
“Often described as postmodern, Krasznahorkai is known for his long, winding sentences, dystopian and melancholic themes, and the kind of relentless intensity that has led critics to compare him to Gogol, Melville and Kafka. Satantango, was famously adapted into a seven-hour film by director Béla Tarr.” - The Guardian
“I’ve been asked, straight up, if I could ‘handle’ composing for a big film because I’m a woman. I was asked that after I won the Oscar (for Joker). This isn’t ancient history.” - The Hollywood Reporter
After 25 years, the Bangladeshi-British choreographer is closing down his touring troupe to pursue new creative directions. In a Q&A, he discusses the Akram Khan Company’s final project: Thikra: Night of Remembering, which uses dancers trained in Bharatanatyam for a ritual work inspired by the ancient Nabataean culture of Petra and AlUla. - ArtReview
The move marks the latest step in a real estate overhaul that includes its 2023 acquisition of the Breuer Building, the Whitney Museum’s former home on Madison Avenue, and Gantry Point, a new 240,000-square-foot complex in Long Island City. - ARTnews
Both galleries reported a nearly 90% decline in pre-tax profits, coinciding with a rumored multiyear art market downturn marked by a global decline in public auction sales and a slew of gallery closures in the United States. - Hyperallergic
