Louisa Proske: "It was insane and thrilling. … It was like, ‘the director has to assemble a team, and we kind of need the design yesterday.’” - The New York Times
So much art was planned to be decommissioned. For instance: “The removal plan targeted 15 artworks in the African Lounge. ... The lounge’s textiles, artwork and a carved wood sculpture from Ghana representing Africans’ grief over Kennedy’s death were removed without public explanation.” - The New York Times
CNN is not OK with press passes being revoked: “We have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do our reporting without hindrance or interference from the government and this ban is an illegal assault on this fundamental right.” - CNN
“(His) alt-pop hit ‘Barely Breathing’ became a Generation X touchstone, but (he) squirmed under the label of MTV heartthrob and eventually decamped to Broadway, winning two Tonys for composing the smash musical.” - The New York Times
A joint statement from the plaintiffs said, “If the current leadership of the Kennedy Center is unwilling or unable to exercise its fiduciary duty to protect the historic building and the grounds of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the court should consider appointing a receiver or replacing that leadership.” - ARTnews
“A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Kennedy Center to provide 30 days’ notice before making any major physical changes to the building, including demolishing it as President Donald Trump has threatened.” - AP
“San Francisco Opera management and its orchestra musicians have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, ending a strike that began nearly a week ago and forced the cancellation of multiple performances at the start of the company's 2026-27 season.” - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
“I think that the Trump administration should certainly have recognition. Because frankly, if we don't do that, it's going to close. It'll end up being ripped down,” he told reporters. He said the previous day that he won’t spend congressionally-designated money for the center's renovation unless the building bears his name. - ABC News
“Through savvy marketing, his … color-saturated, almost hallucinatory depictions of stars, sun rays and people in profile showed up on walls and coffee mugs, on clothing, clocks, stationery, and even airplanes and cruise ships. In some ways, Mr. Max created the graphic equivalent of the rock-and-roll revolution in music.” - The Washington Post (Yahoo!)
“Center officials say they could be unable to make payroll or pay routine maintenance contracts ‘within a matter of weeks’ and argue that publicly recognizing Trump could secure his help raising enough money to keep the institution afloat.” - Washington Post (Yahoo)
We know AI is going to change everything, but how? “We face a choice: delay and obstruct AI adoption in the name of social justice, or embrace it in a radically altered form.” - The Guardian (UK)
“Museum workers, the police and government officials are rattled. They worry about how to protect France’s cultural patrimony in an era of increasingly violent criminal gangs, some of whom have broken into museums in broad daylight.” - The New York Times
What could justify moving the fragile tapestry to Britain this year? Probably politics: “Foot by foot, fiber by fiber, this is the material proof of England’s entwinement with the continent 21 miles from its coast.” - The New York Times
The BBC’s charter, the legal document which enables the national broadcaster’s existence, must be renewed every ten years. That renewal results from a multi-year negotiation, with plenty of public participation, between the network and the national government — a process largely hidden from public view. - The Guardian
“Bunch's resignation comes at one of the most politically fraught moments in the Smithsonian's 180-year history. ... Trump has sought to purge what he calls ‘improper ideology’ from its museums, while his administration has threatened the institution's federal funding, tried to fire a museum director and challenged its authority over personnel and exhibitions.” - The Washington Post (Yahoo!)
Venice only has two films directed by women this year - and one of those directors says that “the enduring cult of male genius is keeping down female film-makers.” - The Guardian (UK)
It’s "a nearly three-hour barn burner, racing from event to event with whirlwind kinetic energy. … Nolan’s reluctance to take a pause should, actually, give us pause. After all, Homer’s poem doesn’t just involve a lot of waiting. It is a postwar tale about waiting.” - Boston Globe
