Thangam Debbonaire, 57 — a former professional cellist who danced at raves in her college days and has lines of poetry tattooed on her forearm — was in charge of developing Labour’s election promises on the arts. Those include more art, drama and music classes in schools, and a crackdown on ticket scalping. - The New York Times
The heirs of Alexandre Benois, a celebrated stage designer who worked on the original performance of "Bolero", argued that he should have been credited as a co-author and demanded a share of the proceeds. And because Benois died in 1960, that would put "Bolero" back under copyright until 2039. - France24
"First of all, the legislature had already reduced the budget from $60 million to $30 million. But $30 million in the budget of the state represents 0.03 percent. So it's negligible for the state economy, for the budget, but it makes a huge impact for (the arts programs). - CBS News
Summer heat getting you down? The Bard’s got you covered: There’s a new collection of the coolest Shakespeare movies of our time, including - of course- Baz Luhrmann’s “supercharged teenage dream” Romeo + Juliet. - The Guardian (UK)
The author of Erasure (on which the movie American Fiction was based) and James is also an artist. When he’s creating art, he says, it’s harder to explain his work. "I’m working off an idea or feeling that is not based in words. There is a physicality to it." - LitHub
“Tap City has been an important gathering each summer, a hub on a circuit of festivals that combine performances with classes. These festivals have been pivotal to the passing on of a tradition, largely left behind in popular and commercial culture.” And now Tap City might die. - The New York Times
"The sudden flashes of insight we have in states of meditative distraction—showering, pulling weeds in the garden, driving home from work—often elude our conscious mind precisely because they require its disengagement." - Open Culture
“The late-night categories are some of the most dynastic in Emmys history, but every reign has to end some time, and The Daily Show’s has never felt more vulnerable.” - Vulture
At the Gardner, it’s not easy to meet the city’s climate goals: “The building is strictly governed by Stewart Gardner’s will, which requires each gallery to remain exactly as it was at the time of her death.” - Boston Globe (MSN)
"When Daniel Day-Lewis read the name of Kathy Bates, there was some surprise in the Shrine Civic Auditorium. In the 1990 race to win the Oscar for Best Actress ... Bates was a virtual unknown. What’s more, she was nominated for playing a villain in a horror movie.” - El Pais
That’s what’s happening in Indiana, where "Valparaiso University has shuttered the Brauer Museum of Art and dismissed its director, Jonathan Canning, amid ongoing controversy over the university’s plan to sell three artworks to fund renovations of its freshman dormitories.” - Artnet
It took place the month after Woodstock, and it was in Toronto, but “the performances by each of the rock pioneers floored the young crowd, who had no idea of their power.” - CBC
She learned “to express my thoughts and opinions. I wasn’t used to that. I was never asked my opinion in India; I just kept quiet and listened to others. And then I’d go back to India and ... they’d all look at me and say, what’s happened?” - The Guardian (UK)
Though his publishing house has a massive influence, his histories of Paris may be more lasting. “Hazan’s passion derived in part from his despair over the disappearance of the old working- and middle-class Paris under a vast tide of tourism, gentrification and ostentatious wealth.” - The New York Times
