It’s a year of firsts for the International Booker: this is the first time that a collection of stories has won; it’s the first winner from the Kannada language; and it’s Banu Mushtaq’s first book to appear in English. At 77, she is also the oldest winner. - The Guardian
These days, two factors are pushing the fun out of memoirs. For one, the entertainment business itself is, as has been much remarked, a far more conservative, risk-averse, vanilla place than it once was, when the personalities and tastes of its potentates defined and dictated its evolution. - The Hollywood Reporter
We’re currently “embedded in the fourth industrial revolution” and points out that, like in previous revolutions, there is always a period of disruption and “disconnect” that follows the advent of a new technology. - The Stage
“Regularly staged behind large Plexiglas sheets that forced the audience to watch reflections of themselves perceiving the show, the plays had mesmerizing ways of generating momentary amnesia in viewers. It was far more than just spacing out." - Artforum
Venturing even a tiny bit beyond the red edge of the rainbow, into the undiscovered country of the infrared, is a transformative experience: it reveals an entire hidden Universe, a previously walled-off layer of reality that we are now exploring every day as results pour in from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). - Aeon
“When I’m dancing with her, I feel her feeding energy back to me. It’s not quite like being on stage with another human, but she’s not just an inert thing that I have to feed with my energy in order to bring it into the dance.” - ArtsATL
The orchestra unveiled details of its three-year comprehensive campaign in April 2024, after having already quietly raised $41 million since 2022. As of Wednesday, the campaign exceeded its goal, raising $50.1 million — marking the largest fundraising effort in the CSO’s 93-year history. - Charlotte Observer
San Diego Ballet executive director Matt Carney: “We've been really tasked right now to solve problems we weren't anticipating. So the cut with the NEA: we had seven days to make an appeal; they sent that email out on Friday; you get it on Monday, and now we have four days.” - KPBS (San Diego)
Rutger Bregman, 37, is a Dutch historian who has written best-selling books arguing that the world is better (mostly meaning wealthier, healthier and more humane) than we’re typically led to believe, and also that further improving it is easily within our reach. - The New York Times
"After a weekend of seeing four very different plays at four unique theatres, the word that hung in my mind was diversity. So many people have talked, trained, cried, pushed, borrowed, and begged for the theatre to be a place of multitudes. That's why the sociopolitical tumult of the current moment is especially piercing." - American Theatre
During the height of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Boston’s daily newspapers employed some of the nation’s best-known film critics. All of them were women. They tended to travel as a pack, lugging typewriters and formal gowns to movie premieres all over the world. - WBUR
“Art conservators were starting to panic after two critical ingredients for a glue called Beva 371 and used to line historical canvases were discontinued. However, researchers … have developed a new, safer version of the adhesive (which) comes in various forms, including a solvent-free extrusion that looks like rice noodles.” - ARTnews
“After the close of the season in October, the Mann will begin the work of creating a roomier campus (in Fairmount Park) and constructing new or expanded structures wrought in a nature-inspired wood and stone aesthetic. … Construction is expected to be finished for a reopening in May of 2026.” - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
“On May 14, Eksmo, Russia's largest publisher … sent a letter to ‘all interested organizations’ (including booksellers) with a list of 50 titles to be ‘disposed of on site or returned if unsold.’ … A government crackdown came a day later, resulting in the arrest of eleven current and former employees of Eksmo.” - Publishers Weekly
“The 1897 canvas, Prince William Nii Nortey Dowuona,” which was on sale at this year’s TEFAF in Maastricht, “had reportedly resided in Hungary for decades, but conflicting accounts from Hungarian and Austrian authorities have raised questions over whether the work was legally cleared to leave the country.” - Artnet
