The grand-scale operation, code-named Pandora III, was coordinated by the Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) and supported by The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), Interpol, and the World Customs Organization (WCO). Since October 2018, these authorities assigned thousands of Police and Customs officers to the investigation, which included a special focus on illicit online trafficking of cultural goods. – Hyperallergic
Author: Douglas McLennan
A Wave Of Closings On Broadway
What’s unusual is that instead of hanging on until Labor Day to cash in on tourist dollars, five musicals are closing in the next two weekends: King Kong (which bumped up the losses significantly because it cost a staggering $36.5 million), The Prom, Pretty Woman, The Cher Show and Be More Chill. – NPR
So Your Show’s A Flop. Now What?
It’s devastating when you get to a pinnacle of your life and your career and people are like, “No. You suck. Like, literally, not just as a vampire.” – The New York Times
Cellist Anner Bylsma, 85
Mr. Bylsma’s 1979 recording of the Bach suites was widely credited with being the first performed on a period instrument using gut strings, which were typical of cellos of earlier eras. Pablo Casals’ historic recordings of these scores in the late 1930s, after long neglect, had brought them to wider attention. Today they are the most performed works for solo cello. – The New York Times
The Publishing Juggernaut Amazon Has Built
As Amazon Studios does with movies, Amazon Publishing feeds the content pipelines created by the tech giant’s online storefront and Amazon Prime membership program. At its most extreme, Amazon Publishing is a triumph of vertical engineering: If a reader buys one of its titles on a Kindle, Amazon receives a cut both as publisher and as bookseller—not to mention whatever markup it made on the device in the first place, as well as the amortized value of having created more content to draw people into its various book-subscription offerings. – The Atlantic
New York’s Central Park Transformed Into A Virtual Museum
It’s part of “a new initiative by Apple called [AR]T — a curation of augmented reality art, featured in a series of guided walks. Apple worked with the New Museum to select the artists: Nick Cave, Nathalie Djurberg, Hans Berg, Cao Fei, Carsten Höller, Pipilotti Rist and John Giorno. Each created an augmented reality work that’s been choreographed into the landscape of the tour, playing with the canvas of public space.” – The New York Times
San Francisco School Board May Reverse Course, Save Racist Murals
The controversy exploded into a national and international story, with historians, politicians, educators, artists and others arguing that the board was whitewashing an important artwork, and history itself. In the last few days, the local branch of the N.A.A.C.P. joined the opposition. – The New York Times
When Libraries Are A Tourist Destination
Libraries are certainly having a moment. In the past few years dozens of new high-profile libraries have opened close to home and across the world. And they certainly don’t resemble the book-depot vision of libraries from the past. – The New York Times
How “Bookstagramming” Is Changing How People Read
In these sprawling but welcoming communities, readers have found one another, banding together in a global, aesthetically pleasing book club that’s open for discussion 24/7. More than 33 million Instagram posts are tagged “#bookstagram,” and BookTube videos can amass millions of views — luring publishers and authors who actively court the most popular accounts. – Washington Post
Funding Data Reveals Problematic Diversity Funding At Arts Council England
“Diversity data is not considered when applications are checked for eligibility, so we do not think unconscious bias is playing a role. However, as an organisation we recognise the importance of tackling unconscious bias – this is particularly important to consider when eligible applications are being reviewed by panels – and have rolled out training on this for all staff.” – Arts Professional