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A 260-Year-Old Theatre Token May Be Honored In England

The token, one of very few originally issued between 1764 and 1766 for the Bristol Old Vic, allows the owner unlimited tickets to the theatre. - BBC

More Editors Resign, And Artists Call For Boycott Of Artforum After Firing Of Editor In Chief

And many Artforum employees "have signed a letter demanding that Velasco be reinstated, saying his termination 'not only carries chilling implications for Artforum’s editorial independence but disaffirms the very mission of the magazine.'" - The New York Times

Board Of The Much-Troubled Banff Centre Is Fired

The Province of Alberta has sacked the board and appointed an administrator to oversee and assess. The institution has suffered for years with poor leadership. - Rocky Mountain Outlook

The Twisty-Turny Saga Of The British Museum Thefts

So began an antiques whodunit—whose cast of characters includes an Oxford-based priest-cum-archaeologist, a handful of rare-gem dealers and some of the British Museum’s most august researchers—that has shaken the premise behind the museum’s most important reason for existing. - The Wall Street Journal

Our Idea Of Attention Spans Came From 19th Century Factory Managers

So, stop worrying about whether your attention span is too short, and start understanding distractedness as "a radical alternative to an internalised puritan work ethic." - The Guardian (UK)

The Philadelphia Orchestra Ratifies A New Contract

Two months after a strike authorization vote, the contract ratification means the musicians play on, with a much better deal than management press releases last week would have suggested. - MSN (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Killers Of The Flower Moon May Be In Theatres, But Oklahoma Kids Are Barred From Learning The Story

Teachers are too afraid to teach the book or the reality. "If such policies continue, new generations of Americans will be deprived of the wisdom of history — all of history: the stirring, the cautionary, the truth." - The New York Times

92nd St Y Abruptly Pulls Event With Pulitzer Prizewinner Viet Thanh Nguyen

The author of the new memoir Man of Two Faces had signed a letter critical of the Israeli government's actions in Gaza. - The New York Times

Iowa’s New Library Book Ban Law Bans Books By James Joyce, Margaret Atwood And Toni Morrison

This week, the Iowa City Community School District released a list of 68 books that it removed from schools to comply with the law. Among the titles: “Ulysses” by James Joyce, “Nineteen Minutes” by Jodi Picoult, “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood and “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison. - Washington Post

Survey: Americans Say Live Entertainment Tickets Have Gotten Too Expensive

Nearly 60% of Americans say they have had to cut back on spending on live entertainment this year because of rising costs, according to a Wall Street Journal/Credit Karma survey of about 1,000 U.S. consumers conducted at the start of September. - Wall Street Journal

NEA Report: Significantly Fewer Americans Are Attending Arts Events

That number represents a six-point drop from the most recent survey in 2017, amplifying alarm bells that the arts community is struggling to regain its pre-lockdown audience. - Washington Post

The Very Meticulous, Very Determined Architect Of The New Arts Center At Ground Zero

"He’s very smart, really rigorous, and really inflexible," says former-boss-turned-colleague Rem Koolhaas of Joshua Ramus, "which in certain conditions is extremely useful." Says Harvard architecture dean Sarah Whiting, "Joshua is incredibly invested in how something gets pulled off ... the underbelly and the technical side." - The New York Times

Barnes & Noble Is Reviving Business By Dropping Something Chains Almost Never Drop: Visual Brand Consistency

Individual stores develop their own looks. "Any design agency would have a heart attack if they could see what we’re doing,” said CEO James Daunt. “We don’t have any architect doing our design at any stage. And certainly the identity people would have a complete crisis.” - The New York Times

New Owner Eliminates Half Of Bandcamp’s Employees

Half the staff at Bandcamp, the online music platform known for championing independent artists and labels, have been laid off following the recent purchase of the company by music licensing startup Songtradr. - The Guardian

What Do Book Censorship Advocates Actually Know About Libraries?

Weirdly: "People who do not know how librarians select material are much more likely to also believe librarians should be prosecuted for that material." - BookRiot

Art Spiegelman Didn’t Create Maus In Order To Become A Reading Rights Warrior

And yet, such are the times we live in. - Washington Post

The American Ballet Theater Coach Still Working At 90

Irina Kolpakova, who has worked with ABT for decades, "is a consummate coach, her skill evident in her rapid-fire suggestions delivered in an emphatic mix of Russian-English, her poses, her quick adjustment of a dancer’s chin or shoulders." - The New York Times

“Extraordinary. And Exhausting.” How The Staff Is Coping With Management Chaos At Sacramento’s Capital Public Radio

"An audit showing unpaid bills. More than half of CapRadio’s board later resigned. Potential conflicts of interest came to light. News from competitors ... was how staff members said they often first learned about each instance. ... Sadness, worry and exhaustion poured out from employees." - MSN (The Sacramento Bee)

This Seaside Resort Was A Retirement Haven Nicknamed “God’s Waiting Room.” Then The Turner Prize Came To Town.

"Locals are hoping it will change (Eastbourne's) reputation and place it on a (larger) cultural stage. But as shown by the experiences of other English seaside towns, big-city culture often dovetails with an influx of new residents and concerns about unfairly shared benefits often follow." - The New York Times

A New Alabama Sculpture Park Aims To Tell The Story Of Slavery In The U.S.

"When the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park opens in Montgomery, Ala., in early 2024, on a bluff flanked by railroad tracks overlooking the Alabama River, visitors will be able to arrive by boat — retracing the footsteps of tens of thousands of Africans." - The New York Times
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