Ottawa’s National Gallery CEO Steps Down After Ten Years

“I’m especially proud of pumping up the volume on all things indigenous. We’re playing a leadership role in the world here in Canada [recognising indigenous work]. We talked about that since I first got here.” Mayer says it was an “emotional moment” when the museum opened its Canadian and Indigenous Galleries in June 2017, covering 5,000 years of creative output in the region, from First Nations art and objects to contemporary work. – The Art Newspaper

Baltimore Symphony Musicians’ Contract Has Officially Expired

“A contract between management and musicians expired Tuesday night as they continue to debate whether shrinking the BSO’s season from 52 weeks to 40 weeks a year is the best path forward. The development is unlikely to have any immediate, public effects. … The dispute, however, is seen as a threat to the orchestra’s continued role as one of the nation’s preeminent orchestras.” — Baltimore Business Journal

When Trees Are Part Of The Design, Is It Okay To Cut Them Down?

Milwaukee’s Marcus Center for the Performing Arts has a need to attract new audiences (and don’t we all). So there’s a plan to refresh the complex’s campus, including an idea to cut down a grove of trees and replace it with a lawn. But Mary Louise Schumacher wonders if destroying the trees – an important design element of the current campus – is really in the best interest of the community. – Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Will The Oscars Ceremony Really Be Better Off Without A Host?

Kyle Buchanan: “One of the academy’s oft-stated priorities is to trim the telecast to a slim three hours, and with no monologue nor a host to keep cutting back to, the proceedings should at least be shorter. But will they be better? … I think we’re still underestimating the power a host has to shape the telecast in ways both noticeable and not.” — The New York Times