Arts news

• Top Posts From AJBlogs 07.26.17

  27-07-2017 09:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  Fireflies Are Out …
  “Veselka” cucumber conundrum soup You can tell the temperature by the firefly rate of thorax blinking, which can be hypnotic, like the gleam of this cucumber seed in fluorescent kitchen light. Those seeds, covered in slime, scoot like baby roaches onto counter or floor when you run a spoon down the center of your split green sausage to scoop them out. ... read more
  AJBlog: Out There Published 2017-07-26This is Reading — Artists Mak
  
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• Jasmine Little, Artist Who Painted Lush Still Lifes and Sculpted Etched Ceramics, Dead at 41

  21-02-2026 22:15 via artnews.com
  Jasmine Little, a Los Angeles–based painter who made lush still lifes and etched ceramic vessels dense with historical references, has died at 41. La Loma, her Los Angeles gallery, announced her death on Friday. No cause of death was provided.In a statement, gallery owner Kirk Nelson, who worked with Little since 2019, described her as “a force of nature” and her work as “a reflection ofher essence–at times tender, at times emotional, often naughty, always curious,
  
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• AJ Chronicles: Metropolitan Opera as Poster Child

  21-02-2026 21:36 via artsjournal.com
  My weekly pondering on arts and cultural stories for the week of February 22nd.
  
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• Ashley Stewart Rödder, Senior Director at Gagosian, Dies

  20-02-2026 22:40 via artnews.com
  Ashley Stewart Rödder, a senior director at Gagosian, died earlier this month, the gallery confirmed in an email to ARTnews on Friday. No cause of death was provided.Stewart Rödder had served as a senior director at Gagosian since 2019. She had previously served as director of sales at Salon 94 for four years, as well as a variety of positions at David Zwirner over the course of seven years.In an emailed statement, dealer Larry Gagosian described Rödder as a “fierce advocate
  
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• Commission of Fine Arts Approves Trump’s Proposed White House Ballroom

  20-02-2026 22:37 via artnews.com
  On Thursday, President Donald Trump came one step closer to building his $400 million White House ballroom, when an arts commission packed with allies approved designs for the project. Bypassing the usual review process—which at this stage of planning would normally have entailed only a preliminary vote—the Commission of Fine Arts gave its final approval of the proposal.The seven-person commission voted six-to-zero in favor of the plans, meaning they will not be subject to further re
  
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• online blackjack in california: a state of play

  20-02-2026 21:03 via zouchmagazine.com
  California’s tech corridors and coastal breezes make it a natural incubator for digital ventures. Still, when it comes to gambling, the state lags behind many of its peers. While the United Kingdom, Malta, and U. S.states such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania have rolled out fully licensed online casino ecosystems, California remains a patchwork of pilot programs and international offerings. Every evening, a handful of seasoned players fire up laptops or phones, hoping to capture the feel of
  
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• A New Spirit Of Choreographic Artistry In Olympic Figure Skating

  20-02-2026 20:50 via dancemagazine.com
  “It seems we’re in a particularly fruitful era of artistic innovation in skating. What’s driving the current wave — and how might it shape the future of the sport? – Dance Magazine
  
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• John Akomfrah, Isaac Julien, and Mira Nair Among Cultural Figures Who Signed an Open Letter in Support of Former Barbican Director Devyani Saltzman

  20-02-2026 20:41 via artnews.com
  As of press time, some 250 cultural figures from around the world have signed an open letter in support of Devyani Saltzman, the former director of London’s Barbican Centre. Saltzman left abruptly earlier this week, just a few weeks after Abigail Pogson was appointed chief executive.Notable signatories include artists John Akomfrah and Isaac Julien, filmmaker Mira Nair, curators Mark Sealy and Zoé Whitley, writers Salman Rushdie and Kiran Desai, andSaltzman was named director of art
  
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• The World Shunned The Taliban. So Why Do They Seem To Be Thriving?

  20-02-2026 20:31 via thewalrus.ca
  In January, the Taliban announced a new criminal code that, among other provisions, allows domestic violence and the corporal punishment of children and appears to legitimize slavery through the use of the word “slave.” – The Walrus
  
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• Bard College to Launch ‘Independent Review’ of President’s Ties to Jeffrey Epstein

  20-02-2026 20:27 via artnews.com
  Bard College has launched an “independent review” of its president’s ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after newly released emails from the Department of Justice revealed close links between the two.The liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, made the announcement in a statement from its board of trustees on Thursday. The board said it had retained the outside law firm WilmerHale to review the email correspondence. The New York Times reporte
  
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• Robert Nichols’s Indelible Railroad Poems Back in Print

  20-02-2026 20:11 via artsjournal.com
  <a href="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2026/02/robert-nicholss-indelible-railroad-poems-back-in-print.html" title="Robert Nichols’s Indelible Railroad Poems Back in Print” rel=”nofollow”>Just received a masterly bilingual edition in English and German of “Slow Newsreel of Man Riding Train” by Robert Nichols. It is the latest in Stadtlichter Presse’s bilingual Heartbeats series devoted to American poets of the Beat generation.
  
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• Reading “Animal Farm” In Afghanistan: A Women’s Book Circle Becomes A Form Of Resistance

  20-02-2026 20:01 via theguardian.com
  With the Taliban having outlawed the education of girls and severely restricted women’s other rights, a clandestine group of women gather weekly to read books ranging from Orwell and Hemingway to contemporary Iranian fiction. – The Guardian
  
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• Isaiah Zagar, The Artist Behind Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, Has Died at 86

  20-02-2026 19:50 via artnews.com
  Isaiah Zagar, an artist who created one of Philadelphia’s great public art attractions, died on February 19 due to complications from heart failure and Parkinson’s Disease, which he had been diagnosed with in 2023. His death was confirmed by Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens (PMG), the nonprofit organization that tends to the eponymous artwork. His creations “defined the spirit of Philadelphia,” writes the Philadelphia Inquirer.Zagar’s work is included in the colle
  
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• Ohio Comedian Jailed For Making Fun Of Police

  20-02-2026 19:44 via deadline.com
  Comedian Anthony Novak was nabbed by Parma police, tossed into the county jail and charged “with a felony punishable by up to 18 months in prison,” all for the alleged crime of making fun of said police force. – Deadline
  
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• Can A Rhythmic Beat Be Copyrighted?

  20-02-2026 19:31 via theconversation.com
  The case, known as the Fish Market dispute, asks whether a looping beat widely associated with reggaeton can be protected by copyright. More than 150 artists and producers have been named as defendants, and around 3,600 songs are implicated. – The Conversation
  
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• Who Is Championing Adventure In Classical Music?

  20-02-2026 19:15 via thecritic.co.uk
  Up-and-coming composers, looking for a break-out moment with their immense musical feel and depth, probably have their arms and tapping their feet wondering to themselves: where are our champions of new classical music? – The Critic
  
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• Should Our Museums Be Responsible For Healing Us?

  20-02-2026 19:14 via thecritic.co.uk
  Like many other words that have been “problematised” using post-structural approaches in the humanities, “care” is no longer simply a benign building block of a sentence, but is now part of a broader academic nexus that underpins its public expression. – The Critic
  
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• Melbourne’s Arts Community Alarmed As State Government Funding Keeps Falling

  20-02-2026 19:01 via theguardian.com
  From 2022 to 2026, the grant pool distributed by state arts agency Creative Victoria has fallen by over 25%, from $81.2 million to $59.4 million (Aus), with little hope of any change. Said one arts leader, “(Melbourne) is going to go from the cultural capital to the least funded city in Australia.” – The Guardian
  
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• Frida Kahlo’s Great-Niece Says Commercialization of the Artist Has Gone ‘Too Far’

  20-02-2026 18:47 via artnews.com
  Frida Kahlo’s art is now firmly established in the art historical canon, hanging on the walls of some of the world’s most illustrious museums. But it’s also inspired a sundry of wares the world over—from notebooks and coffee mugs to earrings and dolls—that bear her image, both licensed and not, and this appears to have rankled some her descendants.In an interview with the Times of London, published this week, Cristina Kahlo, another great-niece of the artist, said s
  
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• How Trump Gamed Approval For His Ballroom

  20-02-2026 18:44 via cnn.com
  “It’s sad that a majority of the commissioners lack expertise in art and architecture,” the person told CNN. “There is only one architect, yet he recused himself from reviewing the ballroom. This means that not a single architect will be reviewing the White House project.” – CNN
  
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• Epstein Files Reveal Links Between Leon Black and Possibly Looted Antiquities

  20-02-2026 18:40 via artnews.com
  A one-page document contained in the Department of Justice’s release of files related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein connects billionaire art collector Leon Black with potentially looted Cambodian art and artifacts, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. Formerly CEO of Apollo Global Management, Black is known to have paid Epstein for financial advice after his criminal offenses were public knowledge. He was formerly chair of the Museum of Modern Art’s board and remains
  
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• Epstein Files Reveal Connections Between Leon Black and Indicted Antiquities Dealer Douglas Latchford

  20-02-2026 18:40 via artnews.com
  A one-page document contained in the Department of Justice’s release of files related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein connects billionaire art collector Leon Black with potentially looted Cambodian art and artifacts, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. Formerly CEO of Apollo Global Management, Black is known to have paid Epstein for financial advice after his criminal offenses were public knowledge. He was formerly chair of the Museum of Modern Art’s board and remains
  
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• A Major Project To Revive Indigenous Languages

  20-02-2026 18:31 via artsjournal.com
  Chicago’s Newberry Library has received $4 million from the Mellon Foundation that will help widen access to Indigenous languages, some of which have been on the brink of disappearance. – WBEZ
  
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• Trump Administration Restores Philadelphia Slavery Exhibition After Court Order

  20-02-2026 18:15 via apnews.com
  The stories and images that had been on display for two decades were abruptly removed last month following an executive order by President Donald Trump. The city subsequently sued for the exhibit to be rehung and a federal judge set a Friday deadline for its full restoration. – AP
  
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• Germany’s International Broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, Loses Millions In Government Funding

  20-02-2026 18:03 via yahoo.com
  Between a reduction of €10 million ($11.8 million) in federal subsidies and the requirement to cut €11 million ($12.9 million) in expenses due to contractually mandated pay increases, Germany’s equivalent of the BBC World Service will eliminate its Greek broadcasts entirely and scale back its portfolio in other languages. – DPA (Yahoo!)
  
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• Are We Falling Out Of Love With Our AI Confidants?

  20-02-2026 17:44 via psyche.co
  There are good reasons why people, at least at first, feel positive about their relationship with an AI companion. But new research is showing that these feelings change over time. Artificial empathy, it turns out, comes at a cost. – Psyche
  
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• Former Owners of The Art Newspaper and L’Officiel Say AMTD Still Owes Buyout Funds Amid IPO Listings

  20-02-2026 17:43 via artnews.com
  On December 10, Calvin Choi, chairman of Hong Kong–based AMTD Group, attended a fashion show at the London Stock Exchange marking the secondary listing of AMTD’s media and luxury subsidiary, The Generation Essentials Group (TGE). TGE, which owns The Art Newspaper and the iconic French fashion magazine L’Officiel, had debuted on the New York Stock Exchange six months earlier with another catwalk party. The glitzy London event, where models dressed in Vivienne Westwood posed for
  
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• US Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump Tariffs That Had a Tumultuous Effect on the Art Market

  20-02-2026 17:31 via artnews.com
  Last year was marked by the uncertainty and disruption that President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff, which caused tumult in the art market. Now, just over a year after Trump signed executive orders imposing tariffs on major US trading partners Canada, Mexico, and China, the Supreme Court ruled to to strike down most of them.In a 6-3 decision authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court ruled that Trump exceeded his authority when instituting sweeping tariffs under the 1977 law, the I
  
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• Attention Spans Are A Design Problem

  20-02-2026 17:31 via aeon.co
  The same teenager who supposedly lacks attention span can maintain game focus for hours while parsing a complex narrative across multiple storylines, coordinating with teammates, adapting strategy in real time. That’s not inferior cognition. It’s different cognition. And the difference isn’t the screen. It’s the environment. – Aeon
  
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• Veterans Sue Over Trump’s Arch, Saying It Would Blight Arlington National Cemetery and Nearby Monuments

  20-02-2026 17:22 via artnews.com
  A group of three military veterans and a historical preservationist filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s proposed 250-foot arch that opponents contend would mar the views from Arlington National Cemetery to other monuments around Washington, D.C.At 250 feet, the arch would be more than twice as tall as the Lincoln Memorial. And at its proposed location on the bank of the Potomac River, the so-called Independence Arch would blight “the symbolic and inspiring view”
  
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