Coffee houses are one of the earliest examples of ‘Third Places,’ a term popularized by urban sociologist Raymond Oldenberg, who described them as “public places on neutral ground where people can gather and interact. - Spacing Toronto
More than $100 million has already been pledged to the campaign, with significant contributions from Rolex, a long-time academy partner. - Los Angeles Times
The advertisement titled "Crush" has over a million views on Apple's YouTube channel and was shared by CEO Tim Cook on social media platform X. It shows a variety of creative tools and objects such as a camera, guitar, piano and paint being destroyed by an industrial crusher. - Reuters
Were once-sepulchral towns reinvigorated by newcomers eager to put down roots? Were the new residents integrating into small-town life, or was an influx of new blood bringing unintended side effects? And did a town that drew enough newcomers lose the qualities that had attracted said newcomers in the first place? - Afar
Maybe this is a time to look for something else in art, to look at art that resonates with this moment on the precipice of authoritarianism, and to learn from it. What can be gleaned by reconsidering art made in similarly dangerous situations in the past. - Brooklyn Rail
“This store would probably still be a pipe dream if the book bans hadn’t happened,” said Groff, who has lived in Gainesville since 2006. “I want this for me too. I don’t want to live in a place where we stifle free expression.” - The New York Times
In 2005, the Maspro Denkoh Corporation of Nagoya decided to sell its European art collection, which included Cézanne, Gauguin and Picasso, to fund further acquisitions of Japanese ceramics. But the CEO couldn't decide whether to go with Sotheby's or Christie's. And so … - Artnet
The fire, caused by an electrical short-circuit, destroyed about 85% of its archive of 20m artefacts. Losses included Egyptian and Greco-Roman relics acquired by the Brazilian imperial family, a large dinosaur named Dinoprata, and invaluable records of Indigenous life and culture in pre-colonial times. - The Guardian
Heavy rains brought by climate change have caused serious damage to the 14th-century rammed-earth monasteries and temples of Lo Manthang in far northern Nepal. With the help of Western art conservators, Lobas have relearned traditional crafts and restored wall paintings, statues and even roofs. - BBC
What did make Beethoven stand out from the crowd was his personification of the Romantic revolution, which coincided more or less with his lifetime. In the popular imagination, Beethoven was the quintessential romantic hero. - History Today
Evidence shows that even in the early post-pandemic days, music recovered more quickly nationally than other performing arts disciplines, and the losses during COVID weren’t as severe. - CultureOC
"In nine years, the show (Critical Role), hosted on Twitch and YouTube, has become the team’s full-time job, spawning a transmedia kingdom of novels, comic books, animated series and original games, as well as a new membership program for fans launched Thursday." - The Washington Post (MSN)
We have found that discussions of the apocalypse unite the ancient and modern, the religious and secular, and the revelatory and the rational. They show how a term with roots in classical Greece and early Christianity helps us articulate our deepest anxieties today. - The Conversation
"In the four years since making the seemingly counterintuitive decision to leave his native New York for Dallas — moving his DASH Ensemble dance company along with him — the former child actor, born risk-taker and master networker has become a go-to collaborator on the Dallas dance scene." - The Dallas Morning News (MSN)
Dogged by debt, over-optimistic financial forecasting, leadership turnover and overreliance on a small group of funders, the museum patched holes by creating new ones. - Seattle Times
