Benjamin Franklin, who founded the Library Company of Philadelphia In 1731. "(It) allowed members — at first, largely male artisans of modest means — to purchase (low-cost) shares in the library. … After early successes, the Library Company soon began allowing non-shareholders to borrow books, too, requiring only a small fee as collateral." - Smithsonian Magazine
Evidently, the time is ripe for a survey of the branch of cultural production concerned with the end of the world. And yet, tales have been told about it for as long as we’ve been doing story. - Literary Review
"The Worst Cafe in the World, a new, creatively interactive Off-Broadway production, … actually gives audience members a menu of theatrical moments to choose from, and based on their selections, the cast will piece together the show." - Time Out New York
News that the drawing is going on the market is likely to expand what has until now been a rather low-key, academic debate over the authorship of a work that has remained in private hands, and mostly out of the public eye, for the past five centuries. - The New York Times
He founded Sankai Juku, which did more than any other troupe to spread butoh in the West, in 1975 and had led it ever since. "Butoh performances are characterized by slow, intense and sometimes contorted movements. The dancers often appear with white body paint and shaved heads." - The Asahi Shimbun (in English)
“This campaign is going to solve a major problem that the symphony has wrestled with for years, of not having a big enough endowment to help balance its budget. It’s giving us future stability in a way that we’ve never been able to enjoy before.” - Charlotte Observer
"The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts can’t build its $175 million third phase until Orange County and the city of Orlando provide most of the funding, said arts center President and CEO Katherine Ramsberger. The center cannot raise that much money by itself, she added." - WFTV (Orlando)
Well, first he spent two weeks considering suicide. Then he realized that, with today's technology and his international contacts, he could set about recreating the books he lost. - The Guardian
"Industry professionals say soaring ticket prices are due to various reasons, including rising production costs, a changing industry and the rise of celebrity headliners. Many of the shifts they cited have been in the making for decades, but have been exacerbated by the pandemic," - Gothamist
"(Earl Marshawn) Washington ... was sentenced for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud. He was also ordered to pay restitution to victims in the total amount of $203,240.90 and serve a three-year term of supervised release after his imprisonment." - USA Today
Four of the eliminated positions are in the business office of the Chicago Sun-Times, which merged with WBEZ in 2022. The remaining ten come from the radio station's now-closed podcast unit and from Vocalo, a subchannel featuring indie jazz, hip-hop and R&B along with programming in Spanish. - Inside Radio
"Michael, 49, was chorus master at the National Theater in Mannheim, Germany, then has held the same job at Oper Frankfurt since 2014-15. He spent 10 years assisting the chorus master at the annual Richard Wagner Festival in Bayreuth." He replaces Donald Palumbo, who has retired after 17 years. - AP
The Kherson Art Museum, which was looted by Russian forces in November 2022, says it spotted the items in its collection in a video shot at the Central Museum of Tavrida in Crimea, which Russia has occupied since 2014. - Artnet
April 3 marks the 100th anniversary of Marlon Brando’s birth — the centenary of one of the most important figures of 20th-century popular culture. But where are his descendants: the brooding, mercurial, ultra-male actors who pull performances out of their guts and refuse to talk about it afterward? - Washington Post
The idea that we have rights is an unquestioned certainty, but rights are also often a source of considerable conflict in the modern world. Which rights do we actually possess? Do animals have rights? - 3 Quarks Daily
