As researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, we had a question: Can America — the land of the free and the home of the sprawl — re-weave its urban fabric according to the 15-minute city model and achieve greater walkability? Our new study has assessed this possibility. - Bloomberg
"It is testament to the fresh energy injected into the (bande dessinée) market by the pandemic: between 2019 and 2021, fanned by measures such as the Culture Pass that gave teenagers hundreds of euros to spend, it almost doubled in size from 48.4m sales a year to 87.2m." - The Guardian
Researchers "wanted to find out whether having certain personality traits was related to how people perceived their friendships and to how they were perceived as friends. The researchers also wanted to explore whether the chemistry between two friends’ traits made a difference." - Psyche
When the group of "ultra-technologists" (as they describe themselves) called teamLab opened its flagship space in 2018, it drew 2.3 million visitors in its first year. That space, named Borderless, closed in 2022 for renovations and upgrades, has reopened to much excitement. - CNN
Many New Yorkers—including this one—forget that on the West End the show ran for 17 years. Estimations of the show’s total earnings ring up at more than $1.4 billion. Not bad for a musical that started life as a 1970s pilot for a Thomas the Tank Engine cartoon. - Gordon Cox
Shortly after the Russian invasion began, "the orchestra filed a request with the Ministry of Culture to go abroad. Military targets were under attack, but so was Ukrainian culture. The war’s ‘cultural front’ and Ukrainian culture’s fight for its continued existence was on minds throughout the country." - Classical Music (UK)
Plenty of people, upon hearing the biggest music announcement of the year, started thinking about diacritical marks and then talking about them on social media. - The New York Times
"The strong tendency in Western dance …, especially since the dawn of the twentieth century, … is to present honorable-sounding statements as rationalizations (often poorly conceived) for how the field functions. Whether intentionally or not, moral-sounding (vs. morally sound) perspectives have come to mask a broad spectrum of questionable behaviors." - Dance Magazine
Alejandro Triana Prevez, 30, has confessed to stabbing Sikkema to death in his Rio apartment, but Prevez's attorney has called the murder a "crime of command," alleging that Sikkema's estranged husband had befriended and groomed Prevez. Brazilian police, however, believe for now that the motive was robbery. - ARTnews
"Joan Lader has never advertised, never solicited clients. But for two generations of Broadway stars, as well as dozens of opera singers and pop and rock luminaries, she remains an indispensable vocal therapist and vocal coach." Patti LuPone says flat-out, "She saved my career." - The New York Times
"Kwei-Armah, who started out as an actor and has been greatly acclaimed as a playwright and director, ran Baltimore’s Center Stage theatre from 2011 to 2017 before returning to Britain." He ends his highly-lauded tenure as artistic director this fall. - The Guardian
American Ballet Theatre's dancers and stage managers, members of AGMA, have been working without a contract since September as negotiations drag on. The vote to authorize a work stoppage, which could begin at any time, was over 95% in favor. - American Guild of Musical Artists
"Trellis Art Fund, a new private family foundation dedicated to funding artists’ practices, … will provide 12 recipients with $100,000 spread across two years. … Nominated by an anonymous board-selected group of 75 academics, artists, and curators based across the United States, the initial grant recipients will be announced in mid-July." - ARTnews
"Timms, who guided Lincoln Center through the turmoil of the pandemic and helped complete the $550 million renovation of David Geffen Hall, will step down as its leader this summer after five years, … (and) will become chief executive of the Brunswick Group, a global public relations firm." - The New York Times
The U.S. studios are aware of the dangers behind “making a wholesale shift to AI,” according to the CEO of a leading artificial intelligence dubbing outfit that says its content has been viewed by more than 1 billion people in the past year. - Deadline
