Last season, amid rising costs and still-lagging ticket sales and donations, the Met took $30 million from its endowment to cover its expenses; this season, it has withdrawn almost $40 million. Even so, general manager Peter Gelb says things are starting to move in the right direction. - The New York Times
In addition to giving its music director an automatically renewing contract, the BSO has appointed Carlos Simon to its composer chair (a new position expanded from the composer-in-residence role) and created the Boston Symphony Orchestra Humanities Institute, which will present lectures, film series, and other events.. - The Boston Globe (MSN)
"Portrait of Fräulein Lieser belonged to a Jewish family in Austria and was last seen in public in 1925. Its fate after that is unclear but the family of the current owners have had it since the 1960s. (One) auction house estimates the painting's value at more than $54 million." - BBC
Leading digital artists have claimed that some of the most popular commercial immersive experiences, particularly those based on the work of deceased artists, such as Van Gogh and Dalí, are a money grab that provide little reward to visitors beyond Instagrammable moments. - The Guardian
The drastic phase of the pandemic, with its restrictions, may have receded. But the landscape left in its wake is a panorama of compounding crises — and for artists, like everyone else, a period of high uncertainty and anxiety with the U.S. election looming. - The New York Times
Before joining Web Summit, she spent seven years as CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation, where she drove growth in global readership and impact while doubling fundraising income and raising an endowment to ensure Wikipedia's enduring sustainability. - NPR
Moving “Barbie” from the best original screenplay category — where it was the probable winner over films like “The Holdovers” and “Past Lives” — to adapted changed its Oscar chances. - The New York Times
Kristen Arnett, the new advice columnist: "Before we dig in, it’s important that I point out the obvious here: generally speaking, I don’t ever know what I’m talking about. But much like everyone on the Lord’s internet, I do have some Opinions™! And I definitely have some beers." - Literary Hub
"'Kathmandu valley was an open museum,' says Rohit Ranjitkar, director of the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust. 'There were centuries-old treasures. I think local people did not value it or there was less awareness. So many things were knowingly or unknowingly gifted or thrown out or sold by local people.'" - The Guardian
Unfortunately, for those of us who write about them, white-collar workplaces are not inherently high-drama. As an employee, this is ideal. For a nonfiction writer, it’s a challenge. - The New Yorker
"Playfulness, irreverence, goofiness are part of us too. ... It is a mistake to equate artistic greatness with emotional sobriety. P.D.Q. Bach’s best compositions are, genuinely, masterpieces, magnificent expressions of the deepest currents of joyful absurdity. They are great works not in spite of their humor, but because of it." - Van
The impacts of the arts go beyond annual operating expenses, data shows. The $751 million in capital investments since 2015 have generated an additional $842 million in indirect economic impact. - WCPO
