That Time William S. Burroughs Made A Claymation Christmas Movie
Yep, it's true. The 21-minute film, The Junky's Christmas (1993), was written and narrated by Burroughs and produced by no less than Francis Ford...
Research: How Walmart Impoverishes Communities
On net, they conclude, Walmart makes the places it operates in poorer than they would be if it had never shown up at all....
The Year Peter Gelb Declared War On Critics
Believing that you possess a perfect understanding of what the people want is a poor way to run an opera company—or any organization, up...
When Thieves Made Off With The Corpse Of St. Nicholas
In 1087, a group of three grain ships from Bari, the port on the heel of the Italian boot, decided to steal the relics...
Spotify Doesn’t Care About Music As Long As It’s Content
Unlike a record label, a tech company doesn’t care whether we’re hooked on the same hit on repeat or lost in a three-hour ambient...
Berlin Cuts €130 Million From Its Arts Budget
The budget cut is a departure from Berlin’s previous plan to inject the city’s cultural spaces with new capital. In 2021, Germany approved a...
K-Pop Has Been Fueling South Korean Protests
The sight of young people moving to K-pop’s electrifying beat has become part of the drama of this protest movement. Protest organisers are blasting out K-pop...
Why We Keep Returning To The Same Pieces Of Christmas Pop Culture, Even When...
Nostalgia is a powerful lure, even when it comes to songs like "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" and movies like "Santa Claus Conquers the...
Handel’s “Messiah’s” Rocky Start
When the librettist obtained a copy of the score, in early 1743, he didn’t like it. “His Messiah has disappointed me,” he wrote to...
How UK Theatre Got To This Point (20 Years That Defined A Crisis)
Twenty years ago marked a turning point for the arts in the UK. And not a good one. - The Stage
Florence Open’s Vasari’s 16th Century Corridor Built For Medicis
The corridor, designed by the Renaissance-era architect Giorgio Vasari, was commissioned in 1565 by Cosimo I de’ Medici, the second duke of Florence, and...
A New York Times Editor On What 2024’s Broadway Plays Got Wrong And Right...
Sarah Bahr: "For me, watching fictional journalists scheme their way to scoops is akin to what I imagine it must feel like for doctors...
Canada Proposes Resale Royalties For Visual Artists
Monday’s fall economic statement included the proposed update to the copyright act, which will give Canadian visual artists a slice of the proceeds if...
Is San Francisco’s Arts Scene Dying or Thriving
“There’s been a lot of conversation about a false doom narrative … surrounding our city’s art scene. I counter that assertion. I want to...
Super-Splashy “Turandot” In Seoul Nearly Collapses In Chaos On Opening Night
The venue is in the city's top conference center/shopping mall; the cast includes Asmik Grigorian and Brian Jagde; José Cura is conducting; top tickets...
The Birth Of The Christmas Card
As with so many innovations, the first Christmas card, sent out in 1843, was devised by a guy trying to avoid a big, tedious...
A Christmas Ballet In The Streets Of One Of Africa’s Largest Slums
Dozens of students from Nairobi's Kibera Ballet School, which provides free instruction to impoverished children and teens, donned Santa hats and sequined outfits to...
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” Almost Never Made It To The Airwaves
"CBS executives thought the 25-minute program was too slow, too serious and too different from the upbeat spectacles they imagined audiences wanted. A cartoon...
Why Some Of The Crown Jewels Of France Are Kept In A New Jersey...
The ultimate reason is the wave of anti-monarchism that swept the country after Napoleon III's fall and the foundation of the Third Republic. Why...
Prosecutors End “Rust” Shooting Case Against Alec Baldwin For Good
"Special Prosecutor Kari Morrissey withdrew the appeal of a July decision at trial to dismiss the (involuntary manslaughter) charge against Baldwin in the death...
Berlin Goes Through With It: €130 Million Is Officially Cut From City’s Arts Funding...
Well, Merry Christmas. (Even with the cuts, the city's arts and culture budget for 2025 is well over €1 billion.) - ARTnews
Hilma af Klint’s Family Tries To Stop Proposed Deal With David Zwirner Gallery
"Klint family members say that a proposed deal between Zwirner, who is one of the biggest gallerists in the world, and the foundation’s board...
How Trump Used Comedy To Win
While Jimmy Kimmel cries and Jon Stewart rants, the right wing in the U.S. has successfully depicted itself as the new home for free speech and cutting...
The Top Ten Book-Business News Stories Of 2024
"PW looks back at the major contractions in the independent book distribution space, an explosion of artificial intelligence tools and businesses, turmoil over freedom...
The Frightening Power Of AI Agents To Manipulate Us
This is a moment that philosophers have warned us about for years. Before his death, philosopher and neuroscientist Daniel Dennett wrote that we face...
