“The Conservative government suggested in 2022 it would abolish the licence fee when its charter was up for renewal and move towards a voluntary funding model,” but Keir Starmer says it will stay the same for now, and for a few years. - BBC
“The problem of visas for visiting artists has become almost as much part of festival season as festivals themselves. … There is also an unpalatable whiff of profiteering, with analysis showing that the UK last year raised £44m in fees for visa applications that were rejected.” - The Guardian (UK)
There was in the 19th century, a growing feeling that, far from there being universal standards of taste and beauty, every age needed to find its own style of artistic expression: The idea of the “spirit of the age” had arrived. - Wall Street Journal
Inside Out 2 finished Tuesday with $1.251 billion in global ticket sales, including $543.5 million in North America, where it’s already the third-biggest animated pic of all time, and $708 million internationally, where is the eighth-biggest animated title ever. - The Hollywood Reporter
Leaders of The Orlando Fringe and Tampa Fringe described the governor’s description as inaccurate on Thursday at a news conference, but they said it was important for the state’s arts groups to be funded because they play critical roles in their communities. - AP
The announcement blamed the pandemic and sought to frame the school’s demise in a broader context of falling student numbers: “The decision to close comes in response to a significant decline in enrollments following the COVID-19 pandemic, a challenge faced by many educational institutions,” it said. - Chicago Reader
The story of the sprawling former estate of pop singer Michael Jackson took a new turn this week when Neverland Ranch stood in the direct path of a wildfire that’s burned 34,000 acres in Santa Barbara County. - Los Angeles Times
Most of the bells in the towers of Spain's churches had been mechanized in the 1970s and '80s, and the machinery is now deteriorating. So one master in Catalonia is teaching younger people the old chiming sequences, what each one is meant to communicate, and how to execute them. - AP
The pandemic certainly shut down the social art scene. Inevitably, collectors became more comfortable purchasing art sight unseen. People of means found themselves restricted and bored by being quarantined. Staying put seemed to result in major purchases and renovations. - Coachella Magazine
When, in 1984, the director of the Prado and Spain's prime minister selected Met Museum chief conservator John Brealey for the job, many Spaniards were horrified, insisting that only a countryman could truly do the great masterpiece justice. Brealey had to work in a sealed-off room and once fled a mob. - Artnet
In L.A., Chan’s appearances at Walt Disney Concert Hall have already proved notable. Last year, she got her 15 minutes of unwanted viral fame from her performance of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony with the L.A. Phil, when a member of the audience had an audible incident that some attributed to an orgasm. - Los Angeles Times
"The 13th man to bear the name Danjuro Ichikawa — passed down between generations of Kabuki stars for over 300 years — he’s a household name in Japan, showing up in ads, movies and TV shows. … In his latest production, he plays 13 parts, including a princess, a sushi chef and a fox." - AP
The share of the typical white-collar workday spent in meetings has steadily increased for the past few decades, and it continues to grow by the year. - The Atlantic
"The global popularity of Turkish TV dramas — dizi in Turkish — has thrust Turkey into the position of a leading exporter of television, greatly bolstering the nation’s international image and drawing millions of viewers and tourists worldwide to its historical and cultural sites which are backdrops to many of the shows." - AP
