“Kureishi, 70, who wrote the award-winning novel The Buddha of Suburbia and the film My Beautiful Laundrette, has devised a filmed piece about the devastating aftermath of his fall for two leading ballet dancers, in collaboration with choreographer and Royal Ballet principal character artist Kristen McNally.” - The Observer (UK)
Festival administrators canceled controversial director Milo Rau’s play The Pelicot Trial, allegedly over Rau’s criticism of the Serbian government last year; consequently, the festival’s artistic director resigned. Artists say the government — which has been facing months of protests over corruption — is putting political pressure on the festival and slashing funding. - AFP (Barron’s)
“German police said they busted an international forgery ring that was trying to sell fake works for millions of dollars to unsuspecting collectors. The fraudsters claimed the works were by artists including Rembrandt, Pablo Picasso, and Frida Kahlo." - ARTnews
“Books-A-Million … is in the process of opening 15 new outlets this year, which will keep the total number of outlets at over 220 spread across 32 states.” Both new and existing locations are getting redesigned interiors and a wider selection of titles; new stores average about 15,000 square feet. - Publishers Weekly
“Sheridan shocked Hollywood by signing a $1 billion+ deal with NBCUniversal and leaving behind his longtime partner at Paramount where the Yellowstone creator has built an empire. The movie deal starts in 2026 and will run for eight years, while the television deal starts at the end of 2028.” - TheWrap (MSN)
The work was owned by a Jewish couple who fled Germany in 1936; sale proceeds were confiscated by the Nazis. The couple's heirs sued the Met (which sold the painting in 1972) in federal court, where the case was tossed on jurisdictional grounds; they have re-filed in New York state. - The New York Times
“The Trump administration has revoked the visa for Wole Soyinka, the acclaimed Nigerian Nobel prize-winning writer who has been critical of Trump since his first presidency. … Soyinka previously held permanent residency in the United States, though he destroyed his green card after Donald Trump’s first election in 2016.” - The Guardian
College professors of English Johanna Winant and Dan Sinykin thought they had written a book to help other undergrad-level instructors to teach close reading. It’s turned out that their work is helping high school teachers learn how to get their students to read and understand whole books. - Slate (MSN)
Many museums do have security systems in place to prevent similar heists, but they aren’t always foolproof. Unfortunately, in the case of the Louvre, security concerns went unchecked until it was too late. - ARTnews
“The venerable Chicago-based improvisational comedy institution has quietly built out a surprising side-hustle: Using the fundamentals and tactics of improv to teach corporate executives and professional athletes how to be better communicators.” - The Hollywood Reporter
Steppenwolf is embarking on its 50 anniversary season as one of America’s pre-eminent theater companies. An invitation to join its storied ensemble — a familial coterie of actors, directors and writers — is a golden ticket. - The New York Times
Hearings continue in NPR’s lawsuit to block the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s distribution of $57.9 million to the newly formed Public Media Infrastructure (PMI). - InsideRadio
The house was designed to look like a domestic residence, not like the palace of a king or the compound of an autocrat or a dictator. It was meant to look like domestic architecture. - NPR
Wayne McGregor worked with a Google Arts & Culture Lab team to develop a choreographic language agent called AISOMA — a tool that can create and reiterate phrases and movements from a huge repository of dance data. He's also created a pas de deux which audience members watch inside a circular 12K LED screen. - Financial Times
