"Subscribers were long the lifeblood of many performing arts organizations — a reliable income stream, and a guarantee that many seats would be filled. The pandemic hastened their disappearance for a number of reasons." - The New York Times
"Authorities are reportedly on the brink of charging seven suspects in the September 2019 theft of Maurizio Cattelan's America, a functional solid gold toilet sculpture installed at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, U.K. The piece, which weighs 55 pounds, is said to be worth $6 million." - Artnet
Blurbs have always been controversial—too clichéd, too subject to cronyism—but lately, as review space shrinks and the noise level of the marketplace increases, the pursuit of ever more fawning praise from luminaries has become absurd. - The Atlantic
In some ways, more culture writing circulates than ever before, but with fewer resources invested in any individual piece of writing. What you get is a great sense of redundancy and thinness. - Artnet
After audience travel, by far the largest source of emissions is food and drink, which on average accounts for just over 34%. This is significantly reduced at events that have adopted plant-based policies. - Complete Music Update
As entertainment centres like Toronto become increasingly diverse, theatres that continue to program works with only their ever-shrinking base of traditional patrons in mind may fade into irrelevancy among the pool of potential audiences they need to attract, she added. - Toronto Star
Replace charismatic leadership with technocratic good manners and the whole edifice comes tumbling down. Fine by me, but just beware of what this means. Fewer recordings, fewer concerts, fewer subsidies, fewer jobs. - The Spectator
Child advocacy groups now suspect that a second FTC probe into YouTube could result in a fine that dwarfs that 2019 record penalty. Their letter suggested that if millions of COPPA violations are discovered through the FTC probe, "the Commission should seek civil penalties upwards of tens of billions of dollars." - ArsTechnica
Two separate developments are driving the trend: the advent of computer-controlled robots which can drill ornate designs quickly, precisely, and relatively cheaply; and the impetus to return to traditional building materials which are less carbon-intensive than steel, cement, and curtain-wall glass. - Slate
Given the vast difference in agency prevailing between artists and patrons, is an intellectual, artistic, ethical discussion on equal terms even possible? - 3 Quarks Daily
It was a big surprise when word came down that not only had Sondheim finished his long-rumored adaptation of two Luís Buñuel films, he had authorized a production. Here's an extended conversation between Rich, playwright Davd Ives, and director Joe Mantello about how Here We Are came together. - New York Magazine
"What Vivek is doing is trying to align himself with the struggle of overcoming adversity. From what I know of Vivek's policies, objectives and goals, they're not in alignment with Eminem at all." - BBC
He became director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela when he was 18, and he's known many of the players since they were all children enrolled in El Sistema. Yet, until this past Saturday at the Edinburgh International Festival, he hadn't conducted them since 2017. - The New York Times
Here lies the difference between viewing criticism as a passive medium of arbitration versus an act of creation—one that requires the critic to take a stand, to use her influences as materials, rather than be used by them. - The Point
Dance Data Project's research on this past season found that 32% of ballets presented by the largest 150 classically trained companies were by women, up from 29% in 2021-22. But for the 50 largest of those companies, the figure fell from 27% to 23%. - Dance Data Project
