Today, for the booming young population of Africa and its diaspora, the relationship is more direct. There’s a reciprocity of inspiration, fueled by a multitude of creative efforts and propelled by social media platforms like TikTok. - The New York Times
"It’s heartening to see the strong GDP growth in the arts and creative sector over the past year despite the ongoing challenges from the effects of COVID and cost-of-living pressures. The GDP of $14.9b is a 12-month increase of 10% - compared to total economy GDP growth of 5.3%." - The Big Idea
Choreography is a way to start conversations about how bodies make meaning, whose bodies matter, how bodies interface with technologies. Dance is a way of demonstrating how agile, how kinesthetically intelligent, how capable today’s robots are. Making robots dance is astonishingly hard. - Dance Magazine
The study "measured psychopathological traits of almost 200 magicians and … concluded that magicians scored significantly lower than other types of creatives and 'normal' folk. Despite their job involving the illusion of delving into mystery, magicians were less likely to have unusual experiences such as hallucinations or cognitive disorganisation." - The Guardian
With all its decades of episodes, well-known characters, and worldwide brand recognition, Sesame Street has more than 5 billion views on YouTube. That’s impressive, but ChuChu has more than 19 billion. Sesame Street’s main feed has 4 million subscribers; the original ChuChu TV channel has 19 million. - The Atlantic
In an excerpt from his new book, Network of Lies, Brian Stelter lays out how, despite Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch being clearly in favor of conceding and moving on, the network first broadcast the conspiracy theories that ended up costing it $787.5 million. (The key figure: host Maria Bartiromo.) - Politico
The Sphere is a distillation of an evolving relationship among art, artist, and technology—somewhere between a warm embrace of and a final surrender to screens. It is an acknowledgment and maybe even a tribute to the ways in which our screens have become extensions of ourselves... - The Atlantic
Architects, engineers and other volunteers are taking careful high-definition photographs and laser scans of historic buildings around Ukraine — those that have been bombed and some that might yet be — so that photogrammetry can be used to create detailed construction plans for rebuilding. - The World
A growing cadre of music fans have joined the Spotify tattoo craze as a conversation starter or a way to commemorate sentimental favorites like wedding first-dance songs. But while many on social media tout the tats and how well they scan, some are starting to discover that nothing in life is permanent, even tattoos. - The Wall Street Journal
Yes, this was one of the orphanages where girls were taught music to a high level by the likes of Vivaldi. The music room of the Ospedaletto (not Vivaldi's institution) has a fresco with a singer holding still-legible sheet music — which musicologist Marica Tacconi set out to identify. - The Conversation
The auctioneer started the bidding at $40,000. Mr. Herman perked up. The camera crew leaned in. Then: crickets. By 1:32, with no live bids, it was all over. - The New York Times
"Comedy has been the rare field where square jaws and chiseled features can count against you," writes Jason Zinoman. "The assumption in stand-up has long been that it’s better to be relatable or ridiculous than ravishing." This just might now be changing. - The New York Times
Artistic director Gladisa Guadalupe and president/CEO Michael Krasnyansky, who are married, are alleged to have fired a teacher at the company school's outreach program after seeing a photo of her in class, and then to have fired the outreach program's manager after he complained to HR. - WKYC (Cleveland)
A writer and spoken-word artist as well as musical entrepreneur, "Dworkin will work with Complexions founders and co–artistic directors Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson to develop poetry that will be used in company repertoire or recited as an additional performance element." - Pointe Magazine
Orin O'Brien, now 88, played double bass in the Phil for 55 years, retiring in 2021. She chose the instrument because she likes being in the background (not least because her parents were 1930s movie stars), and she would just cringe when Lenny complimented her by name. - The New York Times
