
Arts, Culture & Humanities

A Smithsonian museum is launching a new initiative exploring the ways giving is woven into American life, whether it's a multimillion-dollar school endowment, nights spent battling blazes by a volunteer firefighter or other contributions of time and money. The National Museum of American History's announcement of a plan to collect, research and exhibit artifacts documenting…
A four-year study by archaeologists has comprehensively demolished cherished myths about one of the most romantic religious sites in England, Glastonbury Abbey. Those feet, immortalized in William Blake’s poem "Jerusalem," never walked on the green and pleasant land of Glastonbury; the oldest church in England was not built there by Christ’s disciples; Joseph of Arimathea’s…
A federal judge did not rule Tuesday on the city's motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Friends of the Parks to stop the Lucas Museum project, allowing the preservation group time to respond to the city's effort to end the legal wrangling. The proposal for the museum between Soldier Field and McCormick Place has…
FOX23 learned the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame’s nonprofit status was revoked by the Internal Revenue Service. FOX23 previously reported about ongoing financial problems at the Jazz Hall, like the nonprofit bouncing checks to Tulsa County for insurance payments, part of its lease agreement. The Jazz Hall of Fame also is behind on its Downtown…
When Jeff Vinik bought the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2010, he wanted to connect with his new community. Born in New Jersey, he had lived most of his adult life in Massachusetts, not Florida, and as an owner, Vinik said he believed that helping the local community was not just the right thing to do,…
The Monuments Men Foundation, created to honor and further the work of the World War II art experts who saved cultural treasures looted by the Nazis, will probably cease ongoing operations this month, its creator said Wednesday. Robert M. Edsel, who founded the Dallas-based organization in 2007, said the foundation is closing for lack of…
In 2011, in the name of raising money for the Special Olympics, I participated in the Polar Plunge. As a native Texan going to graduate school in Wisconsin, I signed up on a sunny September day not only to support the cause, but also because it seemed like something that would make for a good…
Citing unnamed "multiple sources," the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the top fiscal official at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco has filed a whistle-blower complaint alleging financial misconduct by the organization's board president, noted Bay Area philanthropist Diane B. "Dede" Wilsey. Michele Gutierrez, the museums' longtime chief financial officer, claims Wilsey got her…
If you live in New York, you've probably noticed an influx of costumed pedestrians and strangers since last Thursday. Blame the 2015 New York Comic Con. The sold-out event is always a spectacle, which reverberates outside the Javits Center walls, and these events are only getting bigger. In many ways, the growth of these events…
This is a moment of critical mass for culture in New York, and it looks both energizing and daunting. Sixteen arts institutions in Manhattan alone are in the process of raising more than $3 billion for projects from the ambitious (the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s new wing for modern and contemporary works) to the more…