Spotify is laying off 200 workers from its podcast division, or about 2% of its total global workforce, the company said in a memo disclosed publicly Monday. - The Wrap
"The purpose of the arts is to question, challenge, reflect and enlighten. Great art reveals a truth, and debate and disagreement about the nature of that truth is a function of art. But such is the rallying power of social media, debate is being stifled by self-censorship and fear of disagreeing. - Prospect
Michelle Ebanks, 61, replaces the theater’s longtime leader, Jonelle Procope, who announced last year that she planned to step down this summer after nearly 20 years steering the Harlem organization, which she transformed from a struggling nonprofit to the largest African American performing arts presenting organization in the country. - The New York Times
It’s easy to see why librarians of the 1970s set out to revolutionise search. Work across the academy was expanding to such a degree that, soon, there would not be enough human librarians to support all of it. - Aeon
"Chantal-Iris Mukeshimana came to Belgium as a child after fleeing the genocide in Rwanda. Decades later, she founded a dance school where fellow wheelchair users can express themselves." (video) - Deutsche Welle
Financial reasons are the top barrier to attendance, affecting four in 10 audience members, especially the under-55s, according the audience research. - ArtsHub
"The Boston-based Holocaust Legacy Foundation has unveiled renderings of its proposed Holocaust Museum Boston, to be located along the Freedom Trail, by the intersection of Tremont and Park Streets." - MSN (The Boston Globe)
“Traditionally orchestras either say, ‘Come to us, we’re wonderful,’ or they go out into communities and say, ‘Hey, listen to us.’ We were very intentional that we were going to go to communities and ask, ‘What do you need from us?’” - The New York Times
The job? "To imagine future threats to national security. So far, sci-fi novelists from the Red Team Defense project have written more than a dozen stories and published two books dealing with warfare based on mass disinformation, bioterrorism and a pirate nation. Even President Macron is reading them." - France 24
The technocultural norms and habits that have seized us during the triple revolution of the internet, smartphones, and the social web are themselves in need of a thorough correction. Too many people have allowed these technologies to simply wash over them. - The Atlantic
"The union is demanding a 19-piece live orchestra, as mandated by contracts, barring 'special situation' exemptions. Producers want the show as it has been for 10 years, with actors singing mostly to pre-recorded backing tracks, which they say is an inherent reflection of the karaoke culture of the Philippines." - Variety
Attention must be paid to the core audience that has stuck it out and been filling these doddering old venues with their seasoned laughter and empathy. The Tony Awards on Sunday really ought to add one more prize to the evening’s roster — a special award to the stalwart Broadway theatergoer. - Los Angeles Times
"It will mark a new era for the (Royal Opera House) at a critical time, amid an arts education crisis, government funding threats and the ongoing 'culture wars'." Scappucci, who hosts a popular TV show in Italy, assumes the role in 2025, alongside music director Jakub Hrůša. - The Observer (UK)
The 15th-century icon of the Trinity by Andrei Rublev, Russia's most revered icon painter, was moved from Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery into Christ the Savior Cathedral, and the Moscow Patriarchate's possession, on Putin's personal orders, against conservators' warnings that the work is too fragile to move. - AP
"BP's sponsorship of the British Museum has ended after 27 years, new disclosures make clear, bringing to a close one of the highest-profile and most controversial of such deals in recent years, and marking the almost complete retreat of the fossil fuel giant from the British arts world." - The Guardian
