Stories

California Arts Funding On The Chopping Block

The first budget proposal the governor made suggested a 58% cut to California’s state arts programs. Among those cuts is a $10 million reduction from $26 million to $16 million to the California Arts Council (CAC), the state agency that supports local arts infrastructure. - CultureOC

Report: Why Desantis Canceled All Florida Arts Funding

DeSantis said the cause was Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival, which he characterized as being overtly “sexual” and therefore an inappropriate recipient of state funds. While it’s unclear if the Orlando festival was slated to receive any money from the grants, the state of Florida awards money for cultural projects based on a ranked list. - ARTnews

The UK’s Next Culture Minister And Her Plans To Boost The Arts

Thangam Debbonaire, 57 — a former professional cellist who danced at raves in her college days and has lines of poetry tattooed on her forearm — was in charge of developing Labour’s election promises on the arts. Those include more art, drama and music classes in schools, and a crackdown on ticket scalping. - The New York Times

French Court Rules Ravel Was the Only Composer Of “Bolero”

The heirs of Alexandre Benois, a celebrated stage designer who worked on the original performance of "Bolero", argued that he should have been credited as a co-author and demanded a share of the proceeds. And because Benois died in 1960, that would put "Bolero" back under copyright until 2039. - France24

What Ron Desantis Did To The Arts In Florida

"First of all, the legislature had already reduced the budget from $60 million to $30 million. But $30 million in the budget of the state represents 0.03 percent. So it's negligible for the state economy, for the budget, but it makes a huge impact for (the arts programs). - CBS News

The Best Of Pop Shakespeare

Summer heat getting you down? The Bard’s got you covered: There’s a new collection of the coolest Shakespeare movies of our time, including - of course- Baz Luhrmann’s “supercharged teenage dream” Romeo + Juliet. - The Guardian (UK)

Percival Everett Isn’t Just A Novelist

The author of Erasure (on which the movie American Fiction was based) and James is also an artist. When he’s creating art, he says, it’s harder to explain his work. "I’m working off an idea or feeling that is not based in words. There is a physicality to it." - LitHub

Without Its Festival, What’s The Future Of Tap Dancing In New York?

“Tap City has been an important gathering each summer, a hub on a circuit of festivals that combine performances with classes. These festivals have been pivotal to the passing on of a tradition, largely left behind in popular and commercial culture.” And now Tap City might die. - The New York Times

To Be More Creative, Maybe Take More Showers

"The sudden flashes of insight we have in states of meditative distraction—showering, pulling weeds in the garden, driving home from work—often elude our conscious mind precisely because they require its disengagement." - Open Culture

Can John Mulaney Save The Late-Night Emmys?

“The late-night categories are some of the most dynastic in Emmys history, but every reign has to end some time, and The Daily Show’s has never felt more vulnerable.” - Vulture

Boston’s Cultural Institutions Face Climate Change Head-On

At the Gardner, it’s not easy to meet the city’s climate goals: “The building is strictly governed by Stewart Gardner’s will, which requires each gallery to remain exactly as it was at the time of her death.” - Boston Globe (MSN)

How Kathy Bates Became A Star

"When Daniel Day-Lewis read the name of Kathy Bates, there was some surprise in the Shrine Civic Auditorium. In the 1990 race to win the Oscar for Best Actress ... Bates was a virtual unknown. What’s more, she was nominated for playing a villain in a horror movie.” - El Pais

Why Fix Things When You Can Simply Shutter Your University Museum And Dismiss Its Staff?

That’s what’s happening in Indiana, where "Valparaiso University has shuttered the Brauer Museum of Art and dismissed its director, Jonathan Canning, amid ongoing controversy over the university’s plan to sell three artworks to fund renovations of its freshman dormitories.” - Artnet

The Other Most Important Music Event Of 1969

It took place the month after Woodstock, and it was in Toronto, but “the performances by each of the rock pioneers floored the young crowd, who had no idea of their power.” - CBC

Between Netflix And TikTok, Comedy Is Booming

But comedians are exhausted. - CBC

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