"Sadler’s Wells East is due to open later this year in London’s Queen Elizabeth Park, site of the 2012 Olympic Games. The 550-seat auditorium, which sits opposite the Olympic Stadium (now home to West Ham United football club), will be the fourth stage programmed by Sadler’s Wells." - Dance Magazine
The Stanley Museum of Art at the University of Iowa restored a brass plaque and a wooden altarpiece to the Oba of Benin, the hereditary ruler of the kingdom from which 3,000-odd art objects — now distributed among museums, mostly in Europe — were looted by British soldiers in 1897. - ARTnews
"A version of the Faust legend (well, several braided versions of the Faust legend), Life and Trust, which opens Aug. 1, occupies 100,000 square feet over six floors of a financial district skyscraper in New York that was once the home of the City Bank-Farmers Trust Company." - The New York Times
When Peter Biggs stepped down in April, the stated cause was ill health. He now acknowledges the reason was "grievous errors of judgment": commuting from his country house and charging the orchestra for expensive overnight stays in Wellington while renting out the apartment he already had there. - The Post (Wellington, NZ)
"We can’t give them back because of the act of parliament 1963," said Nicholas Cullinan, "we’re not allowed to deaccession. … I would hope a partnership of some form is possible, and that is something I think we will definitely want to take forward." - The Independent (UK)
"Orchestra members of the Welsh National Opera have voted overwhelmingly in favour of potential strike action, following threats of full-time jobs being reduced to 85% contracts by management. … The ballot was called as a result of WNO management plans to make the orchestra part-time, cutting the members’ pay by 15%." - The Strad
“All these challenges are an existential threat to summer theatre as we know it. I’m an optimistic person, but we are facing difficult headwinds. - American Theatre
Art History majors face the worst employment prospects of any profession after graduating from college, a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has found. - Artnet
The “current composition as a consolidated public company is not working. At current levels, we argue that exploring strategic alternatives such as asset sales, restructuring and/or mergers would create more shareholder value vs. the status quo,” the report, led by BoFA’s Jessica Reif Ehrlich, reads. - The Hollywood Reporter
"His understated comedy routines that emphasized the absurdities of ordinary life made him a national sensation. (He) became the first comedian with a No. 1 record and the star of two long-running sitcoms (and is) regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern comedy." - The Washington Post (MSN)
Following NPR’s 10% staff cutback last year, 2024 has seen 25 workers pink-slipped at KQED, 15 at WAMU, 31 at Boston’s WGBH along with 14% of WBUR’s workforce, 14 at Chicago Public Radio, and 15 at Colorado Public Radio. - Current
What does it mean to discover one’s true, authentic self? To act from a place of authenticity? Is there a truer self within the self that can be uncovered? What are we really talking about when we talk about authenticity? - Aeon
In a recent paper published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Cory Clark and 38 co-authors argue that, in science, censorship often flows from within, as scientists choose to avoid certain areas of research, or to avoid publishing controversial results. - Undark
The Witch of Konotop is a 1982 stage adaptation of a classic Ukrainian novella published in 1832, telling the story of a Cossack town administrator in the 17th century who goes on an honest-to-goodness witch hunt. For more than a year it has been the hottest ticket in Kyiv. (audio) - NPR
Beyond particular items in its collections, is the universal museum itself a product of colonialism that expresses an implicit belief in the superiority of Western culture over Indigenous cultures in the areas the West came to control in the age of imperialism? - The New Republic