Scholar Shannon McHugh reminds us that, going all the way back to the medieval Italian origins of the form, sonnets have been written to express deep affection for best buddies, siblings and other family members, living and dead — and sometimes even to the saints. - The Conversation
Andrei Molodkin claims to be sealing original works of art by Picasso, Rembrandt, Warhol, Sarah Lucas, Andres Serrano and more in a safe designed to destroy them all with acid. - The Guardian
In Olinda, a town on the northern coast near Recife whose historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage site, the puppets range from the traditional Midnight Man and Daytime Woman (and their son, Afternoon Boy) to David Bowie, James Brown, and the John Travolta of Saturday Night Fever. - The New York Times
“This was a giant building that a community of people is finding use in. It’s people making use of the things that others neglect or leave behind.” - Los Angeles Times
"Scaffolding surrounding the spire came down this week, revealing the restored structure in a landmark moment for the cathedral, which was ravaged by a fire in April 2019. The soaring spire, crowned with a cross and golden rooster, peeks out of a dense grid of support beams." - The Washington Post (MSN)
There’s a lot of boutique blogs and a lot of local localized music blogs. But as far as a thing that’s covering music, period, it’s probably like one writer at all the major newspapers and outlets and then a handful of music publications that still exist. - Columbia Journalism Review
"The Royal Court is known for putting the names of emerging playwrights up in lights for the first time, but … (its) literary department is struggling to survive as the venue on Sloane Square, renowned for staging risk-taking shows over 60 years, makes swingeing cuts in order to keep going." - The Guardian
Last month, the territory's Arts Development Council abruptly decided to withhold funding for a major theater awards event because (it later revealed) two disfavored writers were there. Now the entire arts community is nervous about how they might unknowingly violate China's sweeping national security law. - South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)
"Responding to residents’ fears that Venice is becoming a glorified water park, this city that has drawn awestruck visitors since the Middle Ages is seeking to become a laboratory for how to deal with a modern ill: tourists inundating Instagrammable destinations from Savannah, Georgia to Hallstatt, Austria." - The Washington Post (MSN)
After this past fall's revelations of misconduct that led to the resignation of executive director Michael Krasnyansky and the firing of artistic director Gladisa Guadalupe (Krasnyansky's spouse), the company's director of repertoire, Timour Bourtasenkov, was appointed to succeed Guadalupe. In a Q&A, he talks about the work ahead. - Dance Magazine
"For every dollar the state gave in tax breaks from 2018 through 2022, the Film Tax Credit drew an estimated 15¢ in direct tax revenue. ... When adding indirect and induced jobs — employees who don’t work directly on production but whose employment stems from it — that return rises to 31¢." - Gothamist
"Two activists from Last Generation pasted images of a flooded Tuscan town over the goddess's giant shell on the 15th-century work (at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence) before being escorted to a police station." - AFP (Yahoo!)
The show will include 50 works by Hals — but not Two Laughing Boys With a Mug of Beer, which was stolen (for the third time) from the Museum Hofje van Mevrouw van Aerden in Leerdam in August 2020. Rijksmuseum director Taco Dibbets has asked publicly for its return. - The Guardian
The vocation of theory to give us perspective on the production of ideas—on their historical conjuncture, their class interests, their philosophical deficiencies, their determined style—flounders in the current anti-idea immediatism. - e-flux
Released just last month, the most recent research shows that, while Calgarians are still interested in engaging in the arts, audiences are much more selective about what they attend. Affordability is an issue, but so is the amount of discretionary time available to take in the arts. - Calgary Herald
